Claim that mouth of yours

"Don't you dare touch her, Rowan, or I won't go easy on you," Cassian warned, his voice low and dangerous as his hand shot out, gripping Rowan's collar.

Rowan met his glare head-on, his brooding eyes filled with defiance. He didn't flinch, didn't cower—he challenged Cassian in silence, waiting for the inevitable clash.

Before Rowan could speak, Darius's hurried footsteps broke the tension.

"Alpha—the lady—" Darius's breathless voice cut through the charged air.

Cassian didn't wait to hear the rest. He shoved Rowan aside and bolted toward her chamber, his heart pounding with a sudden, unshakable urgency.

"What's with this sudden submissiveness? I've never seen him care about anyone before," Rowan muttered, tearing his gaze away from Cassian's retreating figure and fixing it on Darius.

The Beta shot him a sharp, seething glare. "She isn't just anyone, Rowan. She's his mate."

Rowan scoffed, rolling his eyes, but the uneasy clench in his gut betrayed his indifference. "You really think he's ready to accept another mate?" His voice was quieter this time, less mocking—more uncertain. "Darius, the woman he just auctioned is wolfless. Do you think our pack will ever accept her as their Luna?"

He didn't say the rest—do you think Cassian will survive losing another mate?

Rowan had been by Cassian's side since childhood. A rogue taken in and given shelter by Cassian's father, he had sworn his loyalty to the man who had become his brother. He had watched Cassian rise, had fought beside him in every battle, had seen him grow into the Alpha their pack feared and respected.

And he had watched that same man shatter when his mate died.

Rowan had been there—when Cassian stopped sleeping, stopped feeling. When the man who once commanded armies turned into a ghost of himself. When he drowned in blood and grief, using war as an escape, until he became something cold and unrecognizable.

Now, after all these years, Cassian had found another mate. But Rowan wasn't relieved.

Because he knew his Alpha. He knew the man Cassian had become.

And he knew that if Cassian let himself care again—if he let himself believe in love only to lose it once more—it would destroy him completely.

"I understand your concern, Rowan, but it's not up to him," Darius said firmly. "He can't stay alone forever when the Moon Goddess has given him a second chance."

He had been by Cassian's side through it all—through the bloodshed, the sleepless nights, the silent agony that had turned their once-great Alpha into a man who lived only for battle. Cassian hadn't just lost his mate. He had lost himself.

Darius had watched him waste away, consumed by grief, a hollow shell of the leader he once was. Cassian had stopped believing in destiny, in fate, in the gods themselves. He had fought not to win but to escape, to fill the emptiness with war.

And now—now—when the Moon Goddess had finally given him another chance, another mate, Rowan wanted him to ignore it? To walk away from what could be the only thing that could save him?

Rowan let out a humorless chuckle. "But she's weak. She couldn't even fight me."

Darius met his gaze, his voice steady. "Maybe she is," he admitted. "But what if she's stronger than we think?"

Because strength wasn't always about claws and combat.

Sometimes, strength was the ability to heal a broken heart.

And Darius prayed—prayed—that she was strong enough to heal Cassian before he was lost forever.

Back inside the chamber, Lyra refused to eat anything. Instead, she kept begging Penny to let her go, her body trembling with desperation.

"My lady, I cannot disobey the Alpha's orders. Please, hear me out and have something to eat. You're too weak to even stand," Penny pleaded, her eyes filled with concern as she watched the fragile woman before her.

It was unfortunate that Penny couldn't hear her voice, but at least they could communicate through writing. Yet, despite the efforts, Lyra simply shook her head, refusing to listen to any of her pleas.

Suddenly, the door to the chamber flung open, and Cassian entered, his presence as commanding as ever.

A jolt of ice ran down Lyra's spine as his brooding gaze fell on her, and she instinctively flinched away from him.

"Privacy," he muttered, and Penny, sensing the tension, quickly vacated the room, leaving just the two of them alone.

Lyra's throat tightened, her bag still pressed protectively to her chest as she met Cassian's intense stare. Despite his refusal to let her go, she had tried to persuade Penny to help her escape. It was futile. All she wanted was to disappear from this place, to never burden them again, but the relentless refusal to let her go only stirred her anxiety about what they intended to do with her.

Unable to endure the suffocating tension any longer, Lyra turned on her heels, ready to flee. But before she could take a single step, Cassian's powerful form blocked her way with a swift movement.

"Stop," he growled, his voice low and deadly, "before I lose my mind."

Lyra's breath caught as she stumbled backward, her body trembling with a mix of fear and confusion. Before she could lose her footing completely, Cassian's strong arms swept around her, lifting her effortlessly and carrying her toward the bed.

"Let me go... What are you doing?" she gasped, her voice shaking with desperation. She twisted in his hold, attempting to break free, but his grip was unyielding. With a gentle yet firm motion, he laid her down on the bed, his hands steady against her skin.

"You don't seem to listen, Lyra," Cassian's voice rumbled, low and commanding. It sliced through the thick silence in the room, sending a shiver up her spine.

Her pulse quickened, and instinctively, she scrambled backward, the edge of the bed pressing into her legs as she sought some distance. Fear flooded her senses—he was too close, his presence overwhelming. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, his commanding aura pressing down on her like a storm.

Just when she thought he might force her into submission, Cassian tossed her bag aside, sending it crashing to the floor. The sudden movement startled her, and in the same breath, he caged her in, leaning forward and planting both arms on either side of her, effectively trapping her against the bed.

Lyra's chest heaved with panic, her body freezing beneath his intense gaze. His eyes—dark, unblinking—focused entirely on her. He wasn't just looking at her; he was studying her, as though she were an enigma he had to solve.

Despite her frailty, there was something in her—something that made her defy him even now. Stubbornness.

Cassian's lips twisted into a faint, inscrutable smirk as he leaned closer, his face inches from hers. The proximity made her breath catch, but it wasn't just fear that flooded her veins—it was something else. Something that unsettled her even more than the physical closeness.

There was something fascinating about her resistance. In all his years, he'd never encountered anyone who fought like this—never anyone who dared to defy him with such quiet defiance. Most people trembled in his presence, but Lyra… Lyra seemed almost unwilling to submit, even when faced with his power.

The tension between them grew, thick and palpable. Cassian's grip on his emotions faltered for a moment, the pull of the bond gnawing at him, urging him to claim her, to assert his control. But there was something about her—something fragile, yet strong in a way that made him hesitant. She wasn't like the others.

Lyra, still trapped beneath his gaze, could feel the undercurrent of conflict in the air. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but instead, her mind scrambled to find any way to escape. She couldn't stand the feeling of helplessness. She couldn't bear the thought of being owned again, not after everything she'd endured.

But Cassian… He watched her, his expression unreadable, the tension between them thickening like a storm cloud, waiting to burst.

"Now, you will eat the food or else or I will claim that mouth of yours"