Nicholas’s POV
The command hung in the air like a threat. My wolf wanted to rip his throat out, but I knew shifting back was the smarter move right now. These weren’t ordinary people.
Bones cracked and reformed as I forced the shift. Fur receded, claws turned back into fingers, and in seconds I stood before them as a man—naked, bleeding from multiple gashes, but with my head held high. My face stayed hard as stone while I stared them down. Blood trickled down my side and shoulders, but I didn’t flinch. I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction.
“What are you doing in my land?” I asked, my voice filled with every ounce of authority and power I carried as king.
The tall man at the front studied me with those eerie glowing green eyes. A slow, cold smile spread across his face. Water still cl
