Daniel.

I felt restless.

The kind of restlessness that clawed beneath the skin and refused to settle. I sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, staring at nothing in particular while everything inside me churned.

I needed to do something.

But what?

My jaw tightened. I tried to breathe slowly, to ground myself the way I had trained to do, but my thoughts refused to cooperate. They kept circling back to her. Over and over again.

Stay calm.

Stay sane.

That was what I kept telling myself.

But her image wouldn’t leave me alone.

Maria.

Her face kept flashing in my mind, those wide, confused eyes... the way her lips trembled slightly when she was trying to hold herself together. I tried to push it away, tried to focus on anything else, but it was like trying to hold back a tide with bare hands.

I was drifting.

Too far.

And a small part of me feared that if I didn’t catch myself now, I would fall into something deeper. Something I might not be able to climb out of.

"Arrrrrrghhhh!"

The scream tore out of me before I could stop it. Frustration burned hot in my chest as I gripped my head tightly, fingers tangling in my hair, pulling at it as if pain could snap me back to clarity.

Maria.

Damn it.

She looked so pretty. So fragile.

And that was the problem.

She wasn’t part of this. She shouldn’t have been dragged into whatever mess was brewing. Yet some twisted part of me couldn’t stop wanting her to be involved, to look at me the way she looked at them. To need me.

I exhaled sharply.

My wolf stirred restlessly inside me, pacing, agitated.

Go to her.

The urge was sudden and strong.

I needed to see her.

It felt irrational, but at the same time, it felt like the only solution. Like the only way to calm the storm raging inside me.

Before I could overthink it, I stood up.

The decision felt impulsive, but necessary.

I walked to the door, pulled it open, and stepped into the corridor.

The air outside felt heavier somehow. Tense. Charged.

I hadn’t gone far when I heard it, noise. A distant commotion. Voices overlapping. Urgent.

My instincts sharpened instantly.

I followed the sound without hesitation, moving quietly, letting my wolf take control of my senses. As I got closer, the murmuring grew louder. A crowd had formed in the corridor ahead.

Curiosity turned into unease.

What was happening?

I slowed my steps and concealed my scent, blending it into the background using my wolf’s power. No one needed to know I was there. Not yet.

I merged into the edge of the gathering, unnoticed.

And then I saw it.

Maria.

She stood in the middle of it all.

Noah was on the ground, unconscious.

Anabel was crying.

And the crowd was watching like hungry spectators at a show.

My stomach dropped.

I stayed where I was, hidden among them, my eyes scanning every detail. I watched as everything unfolded, the accusations, the tears, the dramatic gestures. I saw the way Anabel pointed at Maria. The way the crowd swallowed her words without question.

Then the Quadruplet Alphas arrived.

Commanding, dominant and authoritative.

They moved like rulers stepping into a courtroom where the verdict had already been decided.

I clenched my jaw.

Were they so blind that they couldn’t see it?

Anabel’s performance. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The cracks in her grief.

The subtle, fleeting smirk that crossed her face when she thought no one was paying attention.

But I was paying attention.

I caught every single one.

Every sly curl of her lips. Every drop of her fake tears.

And yet...her brothers stood there, defending her like she was incapable of deceit.

I doubted they were truly blind. I was sure they just didn’t want to face the truth. It was easier to blame Maria, easier to believe their sister.

Hypocrites.

The word echoed bitterly in my mind.

I watched as Davian struck Maria.

My fists clenched instantly.

Then Damien.

Each slap landed harder than the last, and with every impact, something inside me snapped tighter.

She didn’t even fight back.

She looked stunned and confused.

And they kept going.

My wolf growled low in my chest, furious.

I had to physically stop myself from stepping forward. From returning the slap to them. From grabbing their wrists and forcing them to see what they were doing.

They had no right.

No right to touch her like that.

My breathing grew heavier as I stood there, unseen, watching the injustice unfold. If they were going to turn against her so easily...then someone would have to stand on her side.

Even if that someone had to be me.

"Lock Maria up in the dungeon. We will decide how to punish her later."

Aidan’s voice was calm, with so much finality.

And that was it.

The air shifted the moment those words left his mouth. The crowd seemed to inhale collectively, as if satisfied that justice, their version of it, was about to be served.

Dungeon.

The word echoed in my mind like a warning bell.

No.

If they locked her away, everything would spiral. The competition would be suspended. The so-called prize would be caged like a criminal. And I—what then? I wouldn’t even be able to see her freely.

The thought came uninvited and shameless.

How could the prize be locked away... and I not be allowed near her?

I clenched my jaw at myself.

I wasn’t so sure if this was still about the competition or her.

The guards stepped forward without hesitation, their boots striking the floor in unison as they moved to seize Maria.

That was when I stopped hiding.

I let my wolf surge forward and released my scent deliberately, letting it roll through the corridor like a silent wave of authority. Heads turned instantly, murmurs faltering as my presence made itself known.

I stepped out from the crowd.

"Stop!"

My voice cut through the hallway, firm and commanding.

Every single pair of eyes shifted to me.

I could feel the weight of it, the shock, the disbelief. I had just dared to interrupt the Quadruplet Alphas in their own territory. In front of their pack.

But I didn’t care.

Consequences be damned.

I straightened my shoulders and forced a smile onto my face. Calm. Polite. Controlled. I let my gaze sweep over the four of them before landing briefly on Maria.

Her cheek was red.

My chest tightened.

Focus.

I looked back at the brothers, keeping my expression easy.

"Maria," I said smoothly, as though none of this chaos existed, "I’ve been waiting for you. I asked you to call Alpha Noah for me some minutes ago."

I let the words settle deliberately before turning to face the Quadruplets fully.

"What’s happening here?"

Silence followed.

For a moment, no one moved.

"She... I don’t know what she did to my Noah," Anabel’s voice rang out immediately, thick with practiced emotion. She clung to Noah as though she were the victim in all this.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but I did glance away from her briefly, unable to hide my irritation entirely.

Instead, I focused on Maria.

"What exactly happened?" I asked her, keeping my tone measured. "Why the delay?"

Her expression shifted.

For the first time since I arrived, the panic in her eyes softened. A faint, almost relieved smile appeared on her lips, as though my presence alone had anchored her.

And that small reaction did something dangerous to my pulse.

She opened her mouth to answer.

But Anabel cut in sharply.

"Alpha Daniel," she said, her voice suddenly steadier. "You said you sent Maria to call Alpha Noah?"

I nodded once, meeting her gaze evenly. "Yes, I did."

The corridor seemed to grow still again.

"Then you were the one who sent her to make him this way," she declared, as if the conclusion were obvious. As if the accusation were weightless.

The words hit harder than I expected.

I froze.

For a split second, I actually couldn’t process what she had just implied.

She was turning this on me.

The murmurs began again, this time laced with confusion.

"What does she mean?"

"Did he send her?"

Anabel’s eyes gleamed faintly, and I saw it then, the calculation behind the tears.

"I can recall the other day," she continued, her tone deceptively mild, "you hit Vanessa for her."

The memory flashed instantly.

Vanessa’s insult.

My temper.

The slap.

I hadn’t regretted it then.

But now...now Anabel dared to use it as a proof to stake her claims.

The corridor seemed to tilt slightly as the implication settled over the crowd. Their gazes shifted again, this time not just toward Maria, but toward me.

Doubt.

Suspicion.

Interest.

I felt it all.

Dumbfounded didn’t even begin to describe it.

I had stepped forward to protect her.

And in doing so, I had just stepped into the center of the fire myself.

Anabel watched me carefully, waiting.

The Quadruplets’ expressions hardened, their eyes narrowing ever so slightly as they assessed me.

The tension thickened.

And in a moment, I realized that since I walked into that corridor, this was no longer just about Maria.

It had become a power play.

And I had just made myself a piece on the board.