Rowan's POV

"The bloodline runs deeper than we thought," Lyk says quietly, setting the leather folder on my desk. "Much deeper."

I don't look up from the reports I'm reviewing, but I can hear the tension in my beta's voice. Whatever he's discovered about my mate, it's significant enough to make him nervous. And Lyk Reed doesn't get nervous easily.

"Tell me," I say, finally raising my eyes to meet his.

"Her father is Axel Ryder," Lyk says simply.

The name hits me like a physical blow. I set down my pen carefully, fighting the urge to crush it in my grip.

Axel Ryder. The most feared hunter in three generations. The man who single-handedly decimated the Eastern Pack five years ago. The hunter whose very name makes grown wolves check their doors twice before sleeping.

"You're certain?" I ask.

Lyk nods grimly. "Birth records, family documents, even a portrait that matches her perfectly. She's not just any hunter's daughter, Rowan. She's the heir to the most dangerous bloodline our kind has ever faced."

I lean back in my chair, processing this information. My beautiful little mate, who trembled in my arms last night, carries the blood of our greatest enemy. The irony would be amusing if it weren't so potentially catastrophic.

"The pack council is demanding a meeting," Lyk continues. "Word is already spreading through the ranks. They want answers."

"Then they'll get them," I say, standing. "Call the assembly. All senior pack members, immediately."

An hour later, I'm standing before fifty of my most powerful wolves in the great hall. The room buzzes with nervous energy and barely contained rage. These are men and women who've followed me through battles, who've built this territory with blood and sacrifice. Their loyalty runs deep, but even loyalty has limits.

"You all know why we're here," I begin, my voice carrying easily through the stone chamber. "Questions have been raised about my mate's identity."

"Questions?" The voice belongs to Derek Morrison, a grizzled warrior who's been with the pack since the beginning. "We have more than questions, Alpha. We have concerns."

Murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd. I let them voice their unrest for a moment before raising my hand for silence.

"Speak your mind, Derek."

The older wolf stands, his scarred face twisted with anger. "The girl you've bonded with, she's Axel Ryder's daughter. The spawn of the man who butchered half the Eastern Pack. Who hunted our cousins for sport."

More voices join his now, emboldened by his boldness.

"She's a hunter!"

"She'll betray us all!"

"This bonding is madness!"

I listen to their fears, their anger, their legitimate concerns. These wolves have every right to be worried. In their position, I might feel the same.

But she's mine now. And I protect what's mine.

"Are you finished?" I ask when the shouting dies down.

Derek steps forward, his stance challenging. "With respect, Alpha, your father would never have allowed this. Your grandfather would have killed her the moment her identity was revealed."

"My grandfather," I say calmly, "is dead. As is my father. They died long ago, thousands of years ago. I lead this pack now."

"Into destruction!" The voice comes from the back of the crowd. Marcus Webb, a hot-headed young wolf with more ambition than sense. "You've doomed us all for a piece of hunter flesh!"

The insult to my mate sends rage coursing through my veins, but I keep my expression neutral. For now.

"She survived the bonding," I point out. "That makes her valuable beyond her bloodline."

"Valuable?" Derek spits. "She's a weapon pointed at our hearts. Her father trained her to kill our kind."

"Did he now?" I ask mildly. "Strange, then, that she seemed so surprised by our world. So innocent of our ways."

"It's an act!" Marcus shouts, pushing through the crowd to stand near Derek. "Hunter deception. They train their young to blend in, to earn trust before they strike."

The crowd is growing more agitated now, feeding off each other's fear and anger. I can see the situation spiraling toward violence, and I need to regain control.

"The bonding is complete," I state firmly. "She is my mate, your Luna. This is not open for debate."

"Then you're a fool," Marcus snarls, and several wolves gasp at his audacity. "That hunter bitch will slit our throats while we sleep. Mark my words, Alpha, she'll be the death of us all."

"Enough," I say quietly, but my voice carries a warning that makes the smarter wolves step back.

Marcus, however, is too caught up in his own fury to heed the danger. "No, I won't be silent! You want to know what should happen to her? She should be tied to a stake and burned alive, like her kind did to our ancestors. Let her scream as she dies, and maybe that will remind you where your loyalties should lie!"

The hall goes dead silent.

Everyone knows he's crossed a line. You don't threaten an Alpha's mate and expect to walk away unscathed. But Marcus is young and stupid, drunk on his own righteous anger.

I move faster than human eyes can follow.

My hand closes around his throat before he can blink. His feet leave the ground as I lift him up, his hands clawing desperately at my fingers.

"What did you say about my mate?" I ask conversationally, as if I'm not slowly crushing his windpipe.

Marcus tries to speak, but only choking sounds emerge. His face is turning purple, and his legs kick uselessly in the air.

"I'm sorry," I continue, still in that same pleasant tone, "I don't think everyone heard you. Could you repeat that part about burning her alive?"

His eyes are bulging now, and I can feel his pulse hammering against my palm. The other wolves watch in frozen horror, remembering exactly why they follow me.

"No?" I tilt my head like I'm considering. "Nothing more to say about what should happen to the woman who carries my mark?"

With a casual flick of my wrist, I snap his neck.

The sound echoes through the silent hall like a gunshot. Marcus's body goes limp, and I release him to crumple on the stone floor like a broken doll.

I turn back to the assembly, not even breathing hard.

"Anyone else have suggestions for my mate's treatment?" I ask pleasantly.

The silence is absolute. Even Derek, for all his experience and courage, has gone pale.

"I thought not," I continue, stepping over Marcus's corpse. "Let me make something very clear. The woman upstairs is mine. She carries my mark, my bond, my protection. Anyone who threatens her threatens me directly."

I let my gaze sweep across each face, making sure they understand.

"Her father may have been our enemy, but she is not him. She will prove herself in time, or she will not. But that decision is mine to make, not yours."

Margaret steps forward from where she's been watching near the wall. Her face is carefully neutral, but I can see the calculation in her eyes.

"And if she betrays us?" she asks quietly. "If the hunter blood proves stronger than the bond?"

"Then I'll deal with it," I say simply. "But until that day… if it ever comes… she is under my absolute protection. Challenge that, and you challenge me."

I look down at Marcus's still form, then back at the assembly.

"I trust I've made my position clear?"

Nods and murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd. The message has been received: my mate is off limits, regardless of her bloodline.

"Good," I say. "Then this meeting is over. Return to your duties."

As the wolves file out, carefully stepping around the body, Derek approaches me.

"Alpha," he says quietly, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I, old friend," I admit. "So do I.”