Kieran -
The scent hit me like a physical blow—human, male, reeking of desperation and cheap whiskey. But it was the location that made my vision go red around the edges. The rose garden. The one place on my entire estate that I'd marked as sacred, untouchable, mine in a way that went deeper than mere ownership.
I was moving before conscious thought caught up with instinct, my body shifting from wolf to human form as I ran through the corridors of the castle. Stone floors that should have been cold against my bare feet felt warm, almost burning, as if the very foundations of my home were responding to the violation taking place in its heart.
Twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven years I'd protected this place from human intrusion, kept it hidden behind walls of mist and legend and carefully
