Chapter 8 - Mine to Protect

Leo’s POV

The moment Connor left, the shadows in my chest clawed for release, threatening to rip through the thin veil of control I maintained. My wolf howled inside me, furious that another Alpha—a lesser wolf—had dared to touch her, dared to even think she was his. Ivy. My flower.

She stood before me now, her eyes searching mine, uncertain but curious. Her soft voice whispered, “Leo?” as though afraid I might vanish.

I couldn’t vanish, even if I wanted to. She was the rope that held me in this broken world, the prophecy-made-flesh I had waited decades for. My fingers tightened around her waist before I lost my nerve. I pulled her against me, feeling her body mold perfectly to mine, as if carved for this moment.

My chest still burned with Connor’s words. Mate. How dare he? The word meant nothing when spoken by a pup who discarded her. But the mate pull—how could it still linger between them? That question clawed at my sanity like poison, igniting jealousy that turned my blood to fire.

“Leo, what—” Ivy started to say.

“I need to get you out of here,” I cut her off, my voice raw with barely-contained rage. “Come with me.”

Her brows furrowed, the distrust I’d worked so hard to erase flickering briefly in her eyes. She didn’t move. “Why? Where are we going?”

My pulse throbbed at her hesitation, but I softened, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “Somewhere quiet. Please.”

It was the ‘please’ that did it. Her gaze softened, her lips parting slightly. She nodded, and I seized the moment, guiding her toward the grand ballroom’s terrace. The night air hit us like a wall, sharp and bracing, but it did little to cool the storm raging inside me.

We stopped under the faint glow of lanterns hanging from the ivy-laced balcony. Beneath us, the city stretched out, oblivious to the war brewing here. I turned to face her, gripping the railing, trying to calm the beast snarling to break free.

“Leo, what happened back there?” Her voice was soft, but there was a strength in it that reminded me of the woman she’d become—stronger than Aria ever was. She stepped closer, her warm hand resting on my arm. “You’re not just some human, are you?”

I huffed a bitter laugh, my mask slipping. “No, Ivy. I’m not.”

“Then who are you?” she pressed. The moonlight caught in her eyes, turning them to lighter brown, and for a brief moment, I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to rip away the veil of lies and let her see the man, the monster, the king hiding beneath.

But I couldn’t. Not yet.

“I’m the one who’s been waiting for you,” I said, my voice low, dangerous. “Ivy, you don’t understand—when Connor rejected you, he made the greatest mistake of his life. You are mine now. My second chance.”

“Second chance?” she echoed, tilting her head, her fingers twitching against my arm. “What does that mean?”

My throat tightened. Because I lost her once. Because my mate—the first woman I loved—was stolen from me by this cursed fate. I killed her!

The prophecy had forced me to wear a mask, to hide among humans and wait for the one who could lift it. Her. Ivy. She didn’t know it yet, but she was the answer to everything. The prophecy. The bond. My salvation.

And now this pathetic Alpha thought he could claim her? Should I just sell his pack into slavery?

“Leo, talk to me,” Ivy urged, her voice cutting through my thoughts. She was so close now, close enough that I could feel the faint rhythm of her heartbeat against me. “Why do you look at me like you’re afraid to lose me?”

I stiffened, my jaw clenching. My hands moved to cup her face, holding her as if she might disappear. “Because I am. Ivy, you don’t know what you mean to me.” I leaned in, my voice dropping to a whisper that brushed across her lips. “You’re the only thing keeping me from becoming the monster they think I am.”

A shiver ran through her, and her breath caught. “Leo…”

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I closed the distance, claiming her lips with a hunger that shook me to my core. She gasped against my mouth, but she didn’t pull away—her hands fisted in my shirt, as though she was just as lost as I was.

I kissed her like I was starving, like she was the air I needed to breathe. She tasted of warmth and sweetness, a balm to the dark chaos raging inside me. But I could feel the bond sparking to life—an electric pull I couldn’t ignore. She felt it too. I knew she did, even without a wolf.

When we finally pulled apart, her lips were swollen, her chest heaving. “Leo…” she whispered again, her voice trembling. “I don’t understand.”

“You will,” I promised, brushing her hair back. “Soon.”

She shook her head, stepping back slightly, though her body still leaned toward mine. “And Connor? What will you do if he comes back?”

A growl rumbled in my chest, low and dark, my wolf clawing to the surface. “He won’t. If he does, I’ll end him.”

Her eyes widened, but I didn’t care. She needed to know the truth—I was no ordinary Alpha. I was the Alpha King, the ruler who had hidden for years, his identity shrouded in shadows, waiting for this moment.

“Who are you, Leo?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I stepped closer, my hands on her waist, grounding her. My lips brushed against her ear as I murmured, “I am the man who will never let anyone take you from me. Not now. Not ever.”

Her breath hitched, and I pulled back to look into her eyes, the weight of my words heavy between us. I knew I was walking a dangerous line. The truth would unravel soon enough—about who I was, about the prophecy, about her.

But for tonight, I would hold her. I would claim her in every way that mattered, because she was mine, and I had waited too long for this moment.

“Come,” I said softly, offering her my hand. “Dance with me.”

She hesitated for just a second before slipping her fingers into mine. I pulled her back inside, the music soft and lilting, the guests still murmuring about the earlier scene. I ignored them all.

Ivy swayed in my arms, her body pressed against mine, her warmth seeping into my skin. But even as we danced, my mind raced.

Connor’s arrogance had exposed me tonight, and though I’d handled it, I couldn’t ignore the risk. Ivy was now in the center of it all—the prophecy, the bond, my enemies. And I would burn the entire world to the ground before I let anyone take her from me.

Because she was my second chance at life.

And I wouldn’t lose her. Ever.