Dimitri’s POV
I thought that I was going to lose it when I saw her empty room. I thought that I was going to lose it and go on a rampage. I was already on edge and walking into her empty room had me seething with anger.
But that was nothing compared to barging into the patrol cabin and seeing her there with Seth. That was nothing compared to seeing him take care of her split lip.
My heart stopped beating and I almost passed out.
She was hurt. My princess was hurt.
I was staring at her wide-eyed, unable to move. I couldn’t look away from the wound on her lips. It wasn’t big, but to me, it looked huge. It was a symbol of my failing as a mate. I didn’t protect her. She was hurt and I wasn’t there to stop it.
“What the fuck happened?!” I forced myself to speak.
I looked at Seth and saw red. One of his hands was on her knee. He was touching her. He was touching what belonged to me! I could feel my heartbeat in my eyes. Anger was flowing through my veins, making it impossible for me to feel anything else.
Skol was screaming and thrashing inside me. I tried to ignore him, but it was so fucking hard.
“She…,” Seth spoke, but Maddie interrupted him.
“Fell,” she said, making me flinch. “I went out for a walk and I fell. Seth is helping me.”
I gritted my teeth and tried to take a deep breath. It was impossible, though. I was full-blown panicking. I forced my body to move and I slammed the door shut. I approached her and grabbed the gauze from Seth’s hand.
Both of them were staring at me wide-eyed.
“Move,” I growled at Seth, making him narrow his eyes slightly.
“It’s okay, Alpha,” he said. “I can take care of her. You don’t have to…”
“Move,” I growled again, interrupting whatever he was going to say next.
I was angry and jealous as fuck. I wanted to rip his head off, but I couldn’t do that to Maddie.
Seth glanced at her again and did as I said. I sat down next to my princess and lifted her head so I could look at her lip.
“How the hell did you manage to hurt your lip like that?” I asked, trying to hold back a growl.
I lifted the gauze and patted her lip gently. She flinched a little, making me grab her waist tightly. She relaxed under my touch and a wave of relief washed over me. Her body knew who I was.
“I fell and bit it,” Maddie mumbled, glancing at Seth.
I frowned and remembered what she had said earlier. I didn’t register it before because I was so fucking angry and scared that I didn’t listen properly.
She went on a walk.
We had a rogue problem and she went on a walk in the woods.
The fear exploded inside me and I almost threw up. If something had happened to her… If they somehow got inside my territory and hurt her…
My vision blackened and I growled loudly. She flinched and I tightened my hold on her.
“Did you say that you went out for a walk?” I asked, blinking hard so I would get my vision back.
She gave me a small nod and I almost screamed in terror. I threw the gauze on the coffee table and cupped her cheeks. I was breathing heavily and I was sure that my heart was going to jump out of my chest. She was staring at me wide-eyed.
“Don’t you ever do that again!” I exclaimed, trying to control the fear I felt.
I took a deep breath and clenched my jaw.
“Listen to me, Madeline,” I said sternly. “I forbid you to go for a walk without me present. I forbid you to leave the house unless it is to go to work. If you want to go somewhere, I go with you. Is that clear?”
My heart was racing so fast that my ribs started to hurt. Skol’s panic wasn’t helping one bit. He was even more scared than I was.
Maddie’s eyes widened even more. Her eyebrows furrowed.
“That’s not fair, Alpha,” Seth spoke, making the anger inside me rise. “She isn’t a prisoner. She can go wherever she likes.”
I growled loudly and looked at Seth. He was just starting on my patrol so he didn’t know about the rogues yet. That still didn’t give him the right to question my decisions. I was his Alpha and Maddie was my mate. Mine!
“We have a rogue issue,” I said, keeping my eyes on Seth. “They could have breached our borders. She could have been attacked. She could have been hurt. I’m not forbidding her from leaving the house because I want to make her a prisoner, I am forbidding it because I want to keep her alive.”
Seth’s eyes widened. He looked at Maddie and I saw pure terror on his face.
I ignored him and looked back at my princess. I was still holding her face in my arms. I caressed her cheeks with my thumbs and looked at her lip. My heart clenched painfully. I wanted it to heal. I wanted to kiss it and make it go away.
“I am sorry if I scared you, Maddie,” I said, looking back into her beautiful green eyes. “I can’t let anything happen to you. Please just do as I say, okay? I can’t let you get hurt.”
“She will do it, Alpha,” Seth spoke instead of her. “I will make sure that she obeys the rules.”
He was looking at her with a stern expression on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest and his jaw kept twitching.
“I was thinking that she could come live with me,” Seth said, making me freeze. “I would keep an eye on her and make sure that something like this never happened again.”
Fuck no. Over my dead fucking body.
“No,” I growled at him. “I can keep her safe.”
I was going to move into my mother’s house. I had enough. I couldn’t let her get hurt and I couldn’t let Seth take her away from me.
I looked back at my princess and gave her a small smile.
“Come on, Maddie,” I said softly as I moved my hands from her beautiful face and took her hand in mine. “I will take you home.”
I stood up and pulled Maddie behind me.
“Thank you for helping her,” I told Seth. “I will take it from here.”
He wasn’t happy, but there was nothing he could have done. I was his Alpha and my word was final. Seth gave me a small nod and looked at Maddie.
“I will see you tomorrow at work, okay?” he said and Maddie gave him a small nod.
Seth approached the door and bent down to grab a backpack from the floor. He turned around and handed it to Maddie.
“Are you staying here?” Maddie asked, making him nod.
“I’m on patrol tonight,” Seth confirmed.
“Be careful,” Maddie said with a hint of worry in her voice.
Seth gave her a small smile and pulled her into a hug. I tightened my hold on her hand, wishing that I could just pull her away from him.
“I will, Mads,” Seth said softly.
He finally let her go and I pulled her out of the cabin. I had to get her as far away from the forest as possible. I had to get her as far away from Seth as possible.
Only five more months and I would never have to go through something like that again.
