## ALPHA ZEUS’ POV

I sat in silence long after the front door clicked shut. My ego was burning. No one in my entire life had ever dared to talk to me with that kind of tone—not my pack elders, not my commanders, and certainly not Maxwell, who knew exactly when to keep his mouth shut.

I hadn't built my reputation as the most feared Alpha in the territory by being soft. I earned it through blood and absolute authority. What bothered me most was that I knew she had been terrified. I listened to her heartbeat the whole time she stood in my living room; it was hammering against...