Chapter 92: The Wrong Pack to Cross

Athena screamed and jumped back, her blue eyes wild with fear. There were bruises on her cheek and wrist, and she looked like she'd been grabbed... maybe worse, but she was still standing.

A dead body of one of the intruders lay behind her.

"Athena, hey. It's okay. It's me." I said softly.

She panted. "T-Troy… you have to help Troy. He told me to stay here while he fought one of them outside."

Help Troy? Troy wouldn't need help.

It was the men who faced him who would.

"Where is he now?" I asked calmly.

"I-I don't know." She was shaking so hard. "H-he must've tackled him down the stairs… I heard it. I-I think there were four of them."

A sudden howl of pain cut through the atmosphere, followed by the crash of something heavy hitting wood.

I stepped out of Athena's room and looked down the hall, just in time to see a dead body dangling over the banister.

Troy must've flung him.

Athena said there were four of them in the mansion.

And two were already dead.

I leapt over the railing, landing on the ground floor.

Blood smeared the walls and dripped from the stairs. One intruder lay in full wolf form, already dead, his ravaged, bleeding body staining my rug.

The last one was still alive, barely, but Troy was on him. From the look of things, he'd been woken mid-sleep, too.

Shirtless and barefoot in only a pair of black joggers, his fists came down on the man beneath him, who was still partially shifted and partly conscious, coughing up blood.

His wolf ears, snout, and claws withdrew with each blow. Troy was beating the wolf out of him, and my precious rug was paying the price for it.

"Troy," I called.

He didn't hear.

I moved in, grabbing the now-dead wolf's body and yanking it from under him, flinging it across the room.

"That's enough."

Troy rose and let out a deep breath.

The scars on his back and chest were now exposed for all to see. Long, traumatizing things. The most horrific ones had been covered with black-ink tattoos, but the outlines were still easy to trace.

They weren't decorative. They were meant to hide damage.

I recognized a few before he'd had them covered. Like the one that ran from his shoulder to his ribs.

A sound made both of us look up.

Athena stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at us. The side of her face where the bruises had been had healed.

Troy didn't look away from her. Neither did she. They stared at each other, something emotional passing between them. Even I could feel the tension from here.

I chose not to interrupt, letting them have their moment.

Then, the front doors flew open, and Garrett and Ian rushed in, both wearing blood-smeared sleep shirts.

Garrett held a severed wolf's head by the fur, like he'd come bearing a gift.

"Alpha…" Ian said, taking in the bodies across the room, the blood on the floor, and the shattered furniture.

Fuck, even Lyla's vase was now ancient history.

"We just dealt with wolves, too."

"How many?" I asked, striding toward them. Troy followed without speaking.

"Five," Ian answered.

"How the hell did they get past the guards?" I growled. "They're mere wolves for fuck's sake."

It was no question how they'd been able to go over the walls or gates. Werewolves could leap quite high.

"Carl said they were caught off guard. A few slipped past before he and Anderson could respond. But they handled the rest."

"Caught off guard?" I repeated with disbelief. "We don't get 'caught off guard.'"

"It was planned. Timed." Garrett said, still holding onto the wolf's head. "Whoever sent them knew the guards' shift changes. And I believe we all have a good idea who sent these pathetic fools after the princess," Garrett added, raising the severed head in his hand for emphasis. Blood still dripped from it, further staining the rug.

The sound of footsteps drew our attention. And we all looked towards it to see Athena descending the stairs.

Lyla was beside her, holding a shawl which she now gently draped across Athena's shoulders.

I hadn't even heard Lyla come out of the room. Seeing my wife look so tired, dressed in nothing but her silk robe and still trying to comfort someone else, made something hot rage in my chest. I wanted to kill those bastards all over again just for waking her.

All three men lowered their heads, and Ian stepped aside respectfully as the two women joined us.

Athena's arms were crossed tightly over her chest. She looked shaken. But her voice was calmer than it was before.

"Yuri and Juste must've heard or sensed them coming. They rushed into my room to warn me and keep me safe, but… I don't know how it happened. They were just…" Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard, "...they were just gone. One moment, Juste was telling me to lock the door while Yuri battled the intruders outside my room, and the next, they were…"

Of course, they were gone. Fucking pathetic pussies.

A Wrath guard would've never gone down that easily. Never.

She stopped talking, and Lyla rubbed her back gently.

Athena's fingers rose to her wrist, rubbing the spot which had now healed. "One already had me," she said quietly. "He'd opened my door and grabbed my arm. I don't know if he was trying to drag me or… or kill me. But he grabbed me."

Troy, standing beside me, didn't move, but I saw the tight clench of his fists.

Athena glanced at him and then continued in a smaller voice, "But Troy came just in time. He… he saved me."

"I'm sorry you went through that, Athena. It won't happen again, I promise. We'll triple security from now on."

Athena nodded, then looked at me, her voice small. "Thank you… I-I'm sorry for bringing this mess to your doorstep."

"Hey," Lyla said gently. "Don't say that."

I turned to Garrett. "Triple the night watch. I want the best warriors taking shifts."

Garrett straightened. "Yes, Alpha."

I eyed the wolf's head in his hands. "And get that thing out of my sight, please."

He hid it behind him.

"Later today, inform Alpha Harold of what happened here. Let him know his daughter is still safe."

Garrett nodded.

I turned to Troy. "Effective immediately, I'm assigning you to Princess Athena."

He didn't argue.

"Understood, Alpha," he spoke for the first time.

"You'll stay with her for the rest of the night. Guard her door. We don't know if another attempt will be made."

Athena's eyes met his, and that same look passed between them again.

But this time, Lyla noticed it too. I felt her eyes on me, and when I looked at her, she gave me a knowing smirk. I had to bite back mine.

All of a sudden, Athena swayed, losing her balance, but Troy was quick enough to catch her before anyone else could react. Not even Lyla, who was right beside her.

"I got you," he said, in a soft voice I swore I'd never heard before in my life.

Then, he scooped her up into his arms.

The entire room stilled, flabbergasted by the action.