BLAZE POV
I don't fucking share.
And especially not with mutts.
Reed walks beside me like we're equals. Like we're not one spark away from tearing each other apart. His silence isn't peace — it's pressure, coiled tight and barely contained. And I can feel it under my skin too. The burn. The tension. The relentless need to find her.
But not for the same reason.
He wants to protect her. I want to possess her.
He wants her safe.
I want her mine.
And gods help anyone who stands in the way of that — even if it's him.
I see it in his eyes when he catches that fading trace of her scent, the way his shoulders snap straight, like he's going to shift on the spot and run until the world ends. It makes my skin crawl. Makes my fangs twitch behind my lips.
Because he's feeling it too — the pull.
And that's what sets my nerves on fire.
Because he shouldn't. He can't.
He's a wolf. She's human. And more importantly — she's my Beloved.
Not his.
