33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Peace lived in the quiet moments. The smell of coffee filling a kitchen nook, or a babbling brook accompanying the latest novel of a favorite author. It was sand in your shoes, seagulls overhead, and the crash of salty waves on a hidden beach.

Peace was the contentedness of sleeping next to the woman Riaz loved most in the world, her soft breath tickling his skin.

Except when the sounds of an intruder broached that perfect bubble.

A single key fitted into the lock, opening the door silently. Odd, Riaz thought. Those hinges were purposefully creaky to warn him of anyone entering without his permission.

Fury rose unabashed in his blood. Someone who knew the intention behind those hinges had intentionally dampened the warning sound, which meant this was someone he trusted, who was now entering his quarters while he slept without his express permission.

The scent of the intruder hit him just as realization dawned.

Renata.

Light breathing punctuated calculated steps, the she-wolf purposefully stepping around the known creaks in the wood flooring. Even from this distance, Riaz could hear the wild fluttering of her heartbeat, smell the anxious sweat that sheened on her skin.

It would never be more apparent: Renata approached with the intention to do harm. Not to him, but to Cortana.

His skin shuddered with the need to withhold his wolf, writhing just beneath the surface from the compounding need to protect his mate. Riaz stiffened, eyes flashing. The trick to this was keeping his wolf from making it too messy.

Ideally, it could be settled with words, and a chance for Renata to prove her intentions weren't as dark as Riaz anticipated them to be.

Mere steps separated them now. Moving silently, Riaz shifted so that Cortana's sleeping form was tucked behind him, his body a protective barrier. Everything now was focused on his mate's wellbeing—and his all-encompassing drive to keep her safe.

Lithe, feminine, and shaking with adrenaline, Renata's shadowed form appeared in the open doorway. In her hand, she held a black handgun. Narrowing his gaze, he realized it was the one that'd been reported missing from the armory. She staggered back when Riaz stood from the foot of the bed, his imposing silhouette entirely blocking out her view of the sleeping vampire.

"Renata."

Every ounce of loathing, every scrap of wrath, every scrap of feral protectiveness was concentrated on that single word, a guttural growl of a name that sounded only vaguely human.

Her responding whimper did nothing to dispel his fury. "She's not good enough for you, alpha. She doesn't know you like I know you."

"She's my mate, Renata."

Ren's hand trembled as she held up the gun, waving it about wildly. "That vampire has used suggestion on you, alpha. You're not actually her mate—she's just poisoned your mind!"

The snarl in his throat wouldn't be silenced, and the she-wolf in from of him cowered as it roared through the dark bedroom. "You're in denial, Renata. I love her."

"You can't love her." Tears dripped down Renata's face. "You love me."

In that instant, Riaz knew how to diffuse the situation and protect his mate. If he could convince her and play the part well enough, he could spin this into something that wouldn't end in bloodshed.

Riaz adopted his fa?ade and took a step forward, loosening his shoulders to appear like he was giving in, just realizing the ‘truth' of the words Renata spewed.

"You're right, Ren. I do love you—I always have." Another step forward, and away from Cortana. "Why don't you give me the gun and we can go talk about this? Where'd you get that gun, Sweet?"

A sniffle. "The armory."

"And the bullets?"

Crying, Renata wiped tears away with her arm, still clutching the gun with white knuckles. "The Citizens. I stole the clip out from under their noses."

Eyes widening, the terror of the situation hit him like a two-by-four. With that ammunition, she could claim Cortana's life—or the life of anyone else in his den.

Truth mingled with utter and complete disgust for the she-wolf before him. "I'm impressed, Ren."

"See? I can be your mate, Riaz. I did this, to erase the poison from your mind and ensure she'd never hurt you again. I even greased the hinges on your door to make sure she didn't wake up and turn you against me. You thought I wasn't enough, but I am."

Her chin lifted in pride, but he saw the bitter jealousy that was branded into her features. The notion of forced suggestion had taken such root in Renata's mind that she'd convinced herself of it, fabricated an entire story as to why Riaz hadn't wanted her.

"Renata, let's go outside and let our wolves run." The increasing chaos behind Renata's gaze was worrying him. "It'd do our animals good."

The flicker of hope was quickly erased by suspicion. "You're trying to protect her."

Riaz took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, opting for gentle. "I couldn't care less about the vampire. You're here now."

A sickly-sweet smile curved over Renata's lush lips, her feminine figure melting into his. It took several measured breaths to control the urge to vomit at her closeness, the way her hands possessively brushed over his chest in measured touches.

"I just have to take out the trash first."

When Renata went to step around him, he shifted to block her path. Gasping at his evasion, her widened eyes blinked up at him repeatedly.

"Alpha, she has to be removed!" Her crazed tone betrayed how irrational she was in this moment. Impulsive. "I have to remove her, because she owns you!"