The gunshot exploded in the cramped cellar like thunder.
Iris braced for death, but the bullet slammed into the wall instead.
In that split second of distraction, Demon moved.
He was no longer the composed ruler.
He was pure alpha fury unleashed.
With a roar that shook the foundations, Demon ripped the insurgent away from her.
Bones snapped.
The man screamed once before silence claimed him.
The other attackers didn’t stand a chance.
Demon’s fists and claws moved in a blur of lethal grace, years of battlefield dominance turned against those who dared touch what was his.
Iris slumped against the crates, the sedative making her limbs heavy.
Blood roared in her ears.
She watched through blurring vision as Demon finished the last man, then spun toward her.
“Iris!” His voice cracked with something raw and terrifying — fear.
He dropped to his knees, pulling her into his arms.
Strong hands frantically checked her for wounds, his forehead pressed to hers.
“Tell me you’re okay.
Please.
”
“I’m… here,” she whispered, fingers weakly gripping his torn shirt.
His heart thundered against her palm.
The Alpha King was shaking.
“You’re safe now,” he vowed, voice hoarse.
“I’ve got you.
”
Commander Steel and guards burst in moments later.
The palace was secured, but the cost was real — injured guards, chaos in the halls, and the knowledge that someone inside had betrayed them.
Demon refused to let her go.
He carried her himself through the smoke-filled corridors to the medical wing, his grip gentle yet unbreakable.
Doctors swarmed her, but his presence loomed over everything.
“If she has so much as a scratch that worsens, heads will roll.
”
The sedative wore off slowly.
Bruises from the struggle bloomed across her skin, but she was alive.
When the doctors finally stepped back, Demon sat at her bedside, holding her hand like it was the only thing anchoring him to sanity.
“You jumped in front of a child,” he said quietly, storm-gray eyes never leaving hers.
“Again.
You keep risking everything for others.
”
“Someone has to,” Iris murmured.
Exhaustion pulled at her, but his touch kept her awake.
“Even if that someone is just a human with nothing to lose.
”
“You have everything to lose now.
” His thumb traced her knuckles.
“You have me.
”
The days that followed were a storm of consequences.
The insurgents were human supremacists, but their network ran deeper than anyone imagined.
Interrogations revealed bribes paid to palace staff, coordinated strikes planned for months.
And Iris had become their prime target — the symbol of everything they despised: a human who chose pack children over her own kind.
Death threats flooded in.
Notes slipped under doors.
Whispers in the corridors.
Lady Vivien Ashford cornered her in the gardens two weeks later, elegant and venomous.
“You’re going to destroy him.
Walk away before this kingdom burns because of your little romance.
”
But Iris couldn’t walk away.
Not when Demon found her that night in the south garden, the same place their connection had begun.
“I won’t lose you,” he said, pulling her close under the ancient willows.
Their kiss was desperate, born of survival and unspoken longing.
His hands framed her face as if she might vanish.
“I’ve spent five years being the perfect king.
You make me want to be a better man.
”
The world outside their stolen moments grew darker.
Protests erupted in the capital.
Packs demanded a “proper” omega queen.
Human groups radicalized further, using her name as fuel for violence.
Then came the northern facility inspection.
Demon insisted on joining her.
The new dormitories were bright and warm, a far cry from the hell Iris had once known.
Tomas, now healthier and smiling, ran to hug her.
“Miss Iris! You came back!”
For a moment, it felt like victory.
But as they toured the grounds, a sniper’s shot cracked through the air.
Chaos erupted.
Guards shouted.
Demon shifted instantly, his massive wolf form shielding Iris as he roared a challenge.
Another shot grazed his shoulder.
Blood matted his dark fur.
“Get her to cover!” he snarled through the link.
Iris refused to hide.
She grabbed a fallen guard’s weapon, heart pounding, and stood beside him.
“Not without you!”
The attackers emerged — a mix of humans and rogue wolves, faces twisted with hate.
“The human whore and her pet king!” one yelled.
Demon fought like a force of nature, tearing through enemies, but more kept coming.
A rogue wolf lunged at Iris.
She fired, the recoil jarring her arms, dropping it mid-leap.
Demon’s eyes met hers across the battlefield — pride, fear, and something deeper burning in them.
But as reinforcements arrived and the last attacker fell, a final hidden threat revealed itself.
A traitor among the facility guards stepped forward, pressing a blade to Tomas’s throat.
“Drop your weapons or the pup dies,” the man hissed.
“This is what your reforms get you, King.
”
Tomas whimpered.
Iris’s blood ran cold.
Demon froze, bloodied and breathing hard.
His gaze locked on hers — the impossible choice written across his face.
The kingdom… or the children… or the woman who had become his heart.
One wrong move and everything they had fought for would shatter.
Disclaimer : This content may be created by AI for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
