Page 53 of Pack to the Wall

"No," Marty sputtered, watching his reinforcements engage in battle with Zev's pack. "How did you?—"

"You're not the first rogue I've dealt with." Zev advanced slowly, enjoying the way panic crept into Marty's eyes. "Just the most annoying one."

Behind Marty, Zev saw Ewan silently positioning himself near Chrissy and her father. A few more seconds and they would be safe. But Marty sensed the trap closing.

With a howl of rage, Marty's body contorted, his bones cracking as he shifted. His russet wolf form lunged—not at Zev, but toward Chrissy's father, going for the vulnerable human.

Time slowed to crystal clarity. Chrissy threw herself in front of her father, her red gown flaring like blood in the moonlight. Marty's jaws, aimed for the kill, were seconds from her throat.

Not my mate. The thought exploded through Zev's mind like wildfire.

His own shift happened with unprecedented speed, the wetsuit tearing as his body transformed. His massive grey wolf form, larger than Marty's by a significant margin, intercepted the attack with surgical precision. His teeth clamped around Marty's foreleg just before the rogue's jaws could close on Chrissy's vulnerable flesh.

The taste of blood flooded his mouth as Marty howled in pain. Zev used the momentum to fling the russet wolf across the deck, giving Ewan the opening he needed to pull Chrissy and her father to safety.

Marty recovered quickly, circling with a limp, his ice-blue eyes now glowing with feral hatred in his wolf form. He lunged again, his teeth snapping at Zev's throat.

Zev sidestepped with Alpha grace, raking his claws down Marty's exposed flank. The fight was brutal and primal—two wolves locked in ancient combat for dominance, territory, andthe right to claim a mate. But where Marty fought with desperate rage, Zev fought with cold, calculated fury.

Every move Marty made, Zev countered. Every attack, Zev turned back on him with greater force. Blood matted their fur—mostly Marty's. The rogue was fast and vicious, but he lacked the discipline that came from leading a pack and from putting others before himself.

When Marty feinted left then lunged right, Zev was ready. His powerful jaws closed around the rogue's throat, clamping down with inexorable force. Marty's struggles grew frantic, then weaker.

It didn't have to end this way, Zev thought as he felt the life draining from his opponent.But you threatened my mate. Nobody lives to tell that tale.

With one final, decisive move, Zev ended it. Marty's body went limp, then still.

The deck fell silent except for Zev's heavy breathing. He turned, still in wolf form, his blue eyes seeking and finding Chrissy in the moonlight. She stood protected in Ewan's shadow, but her gaze was locked on Zev with a mixture of awe and relief.

Jim, her father, had been freed from his bonds and stared at the enormous wolf with undisguised shock. But there was something else in his eyes too—a father's gratitude to Zev for saving his daughter's life and the recognition that his daughter had found a protector worthy of her.

Zev padded toward Chrissy, his posture relaxing from battle-ready to vigilant guardian. The wolf inside him quieted, satisfied that their mate was safe, and that their enemy was vanquished.

No one would ever threaten what was his again.

TWENTY-ONE

CHRISSY

Zev's massive wolf form padded slowly toward Chrissy on the deck of Marty's boat. His blood-matted grey fur glistened under the moonlight and his blue eyes locked intensely on hers. Even in animal form, he moved with unmistakable authority. Her breath caught—not from fear, but from overwhelming pride and love.

"My God," her dad whispered beside her, his voice hoarse from the gag Marty had forced on him. "That's... that's your boyfriend?"

"My mate," Chrissy corrected, her voice strong despite the trembling in her limbs. The red gown clung to her curves, one leg exposed through the slit that now bore a small tear from when she'd lunged to protect her dad. "That's my mate, Dad."

She watched Zev's ears prick forward at her words, his wolf's posture straightening with unmistakable satisfaction. Despite everything—the terror of nearly losing her dad and the fight to the death she'd just witnessed—warmth flooded her chest. She sensed her dad's eyes on her, taking in her expression.

"He loves you," her dad said, not a question but a statement. His salt-and-pepper hair was extremely disheveled, and his wrists were red from the ropes, but his eyes were clear as theymoved from Zev back to his daughter. "You could see it in how he fought for you."

"He'd die for me," Chrissy whispered, the weight of that truth settling over her. "And I'd do the same for him."

Two pack members emerged from below deck, nodding to Ewan. "The enforcers have been neutralized," one reported crisply.

Chrissy peered beyond the boat's railing to where splashes and growls indicated the ongoing battle in the water. Zev's pack—her pack now—moved with coordinated precision, systematically securing the perimeter to protect their Luna and her father. The knowledge that all these people—these wolves—had rallied to save her and her dad left her breathless.

"They're nearly finished," Ewan said, his black wetsuit still dripping seawater. "Marty's enforcers didn't expect organized resistance."

With a final look at Chrissy, Zev's wolf form trotted toward the cabin entrance and disappeared below deck.

---