# Chapter 48 – The Protector & The Mate
*Vanessa's POV*
I smell him before I see him.
Pine and rain and that wild scent that makes my wolf wake up. Kieran.
"You shouldn't be here," Damien growls behind me. His hand moves to his knife.
"And you shouldn't have her on Shadowfang land without permission," Kieran steps out from the trees. His eyes are glowing gold. Angry.
Alexander tenses next to me. He still doesn't fully get the wolf politics. How territory works. How dangerous this is.
"She goes where she wants," I say before anyone can start a fight. "I'm not property."
But my heart is beating fast. Kieran looks different. Bigger somehow. His wolf is close to the surface. The kind of close that means violence.
Damien's pack spreads out behind him. Kieran came alone. That's either very brave or very stupid.
"We need to talk," Kieran says to me. Only me. Like the others don't exist.
"We're talking now."
"Alone."
