The drive usually took me an hour, but today I managed to cut it down to about forty- five minutes. During the trip, I kept my phone glued to my ear, making as many calls as I could squeeze in. I needed to reach my girl—my girl. Saying it aloud didn''t feel as strange as it once did. Maybe I was starting to ept it. Now, my mission was clear: convince her that she belonged to me and reassure her that I had no intention of stripping her of her title, no matter what nonsense the fools around her were spouting.


    "At least you made it in the end," a familiar voice teased from the passenger seat.


    "Shut up, asshole," I snapped back, a smirk tugging at my lips. "You love Kennedy just as much as I do."


    "I was never in love with her," he replied smoothly. "But enough talk-move it. The closer we get, the more I can feel the tension radiating off our mate. She''s suffering."


    I knew she''d need time to ept me as her mate, and a whole lot of convincing. But before I could even begin that, we had a bigger problem to solve: the rogue and witch situation. If that wasn''t handled, she wouldn''t even consider listening to anything I had to say.


    We pulled up in front of her packhouse. I barely had the car in park before I was out the door, sprinting inside. The heavy weight of unease was thick in the air—I could feel it pressing down on me.


    I dashed toward the source of raised voices near the Alpha''s office.


    "No! I won''t eat a thing until you show me," a desperate voice cried out. What the hell was going on?


    “But Alpha, I made it myself, just like always. There''s no one else here," came the frantic reply. This wasn''t normal.


    “ra, what''s happening?" I asked, stepping through the doorway.


    Mnie looked wrecked her face pale, dark purple circles shadowing her eyes, a clear sign she hadn''t slept in days. She''d lost weight too, her body trembling as she shrank back from ra, who was a whirlwind of panic and fury at her father''s desk. There was an aggressive energy radiating from ra, almost tangible. I wasn''t sure if she was aware of it, but it was hurting Mnie.


    "Mel... Mnie, look at me," I urged gently. The omega turned slowly, clearly afraid to take her eyes off ra. "When was thest time she ate?"


    "Two days ago," Mnie whispered. “I found out how they poisoned her mother. ra made the whole staff leave-except me. It''s bad, Ben. She needs to eat. She needs to sleep. But she won''t, not after..."


    "After someone nned and seeded in killing both my parents?” ra''s voice cracked, wild and raw. "No. I won''t rest until those bastards are caught and sent to the Goddess." Her eyes were wild, unfocused, paranoia creeping in like poison. The rogues were winning; she was isting herself, tearing her pack apart from within. She was ying right into their hands.


    "Mnie, leave the tray. I''ll handle it. My things should have arrived. Can you find Jax and Dev and have them put the supplies in the room across from hers? Please.”


    "Yes, sir," she nodded quickly and hurried off.


    I turned my gaze to ra. I wanted to offerfort—she had just lost both her parents while I was away. That''s what I felt, but this ra wasn''t in the mood for gentle reassurances. What she needed was someone who could match her fire.


    "ra! Get up. You''re going to eat, then shower. After that, we''ll go over all the information we have and figure out a n."


    "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?" she snapped, rising slowly, stalking around her desk like the predator she was.


    "The only person you can''tmand," I replied coolly. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but you''reing."


    "The fuck I am," she spat. "I have work to do. Go back to your little blonde girlfriend and leave us to handle things ourselves."


    I tilted my head but stayed silent. I''d never mentioned Kennedy to her, but there was only one blonde she could be talking about.


    "Oh, you think I don''t know about her? That''s why you always rush off when Junior or I need you, isn''t it? Well, run along. We don''t need you." She waved me off dismissively.


    There was something about that gesture that snapped something inside me. That was thest straw.


    Without warning, I lunged. She barely had time to react before I mmed my shoulder into her abdomen-probably harder than necessary, but she''d pissed me off, and she could take it. I stood tall, hoisting her over my shoulder as she screamed every curse word imaginable. Last time, I''d had to wear her out just to get her to sleep. I wasn''t sure if that was the best approach now, but right then, I had an overwhelming urge to spank the sass right out of her.