Gaius returned before dawn, the scent of blood and rage rolling off him like smoke.
He had ridden hard through the night after receiving word of the intrusion. The moment he stepped into his chambers and saw Maisie curled on the pallet — lip split, fresh bruises blooming on her thighs and arms that he had not put there — his expression twisted into something feral.
Not concern. Not love.
Ownership.
“She is mine,” he snarled to the empty room, voice low and venomous. “How dare he touch what belongs to me.”
He didn’t unchain her immediately. He paced first, fists clenched, jaw tight. Then he dragged her up by the collar and marched her through the corridors to the central courtyard where the pack was just beginning to stir for morning training.
Beau was already there, laughing with a g
