She nodded, refusing to make any threatening moves. "What did he do?"
"Last night was the second time I caught him with the Castillo girl in the middle of the night. This time, he had four feet."
Her eyes widened, and she stepped back. "Oh my god. They didn't..."
That was all she had time to say before David hauled the boy down the stairs, still wearing nothing but his underwear. That only made it easier to see the bruises on his body where Lane had left his mark. One of Roman's eyes had a dark ring under it that looked like it was still growing. There was no way for him to deny what had happened, so he wasn't trying. Like any teenage boy, he was doing his best to shrug off his dad's grip, right up until he saw me standing there. Then he wanted to rush back upstairs again, to retreat with his tail between his legs.
"What were you thinking?" I growled, moving toward him.
"I just wanted to see her," he tried, his eyes hitting the floor.
I had to fight back my anger. "Not good enough. Elena's made it clear that she's willing to trust you, so if that's all it was, you would've walked there on your own two feet. Try again, boy. Tell me exactly why you thought it was a good idea to slink over there as a wolf!"
"Because I didn't want to get caught!" he hissed, moving back to keep the distance between us.
And he could keep backing up because I wasn't about to make this easy. I stalked him, barely keeping my instincts in check. "So you thought breaking my rules was a better idea? You didn't think that one of your pack leaders might notice the stench of a horny pup around our place? Were you honestly that stupid?"
"I didn't mark anything," he whimpered. "No one was supposed to see me!"
Another step had him up against the wall. "I made it clear that there would be no wolves past my place. I told you, specifically, not to expose us. You ignored both of those commands. Both!" I roared in his face.
"I didn't expose us," he tossed back. "You did that. If Lane hadn't rolled me, they would've seen nothing more than a wild animal crossing through their yard."
"And it's not your place to decide that!" I was right in the kid's face, making him wince from my rage. I also didn't care. This boy needed to know true fear so he wouldn't make an even bigger mistake. "But don't worry. It won't happen again. We made sure Gabby knows that any wolf willing to approach her is most likely rabid so she should call us. So we can let 'Red' deal with it just like he did the last one."
His eyes snapped up and met mine. "Gabby's not yours to command. You can't make her listen to you."
I clenched my jaw and forced myself not to tear his throat out. I would not be that kind of alpha. This was a boy - a child! He'd made a stupid mistake, yes, but he'd also disobeyed my orders, and that would not be tolerated. The line I was walking was a narrow one, but I refused to be like the cruel and savage beasts we were all assumed to be.
"That's where you're wrong," I told him, a warning dripping from my words. "I'm dating her mother, and that makes her my responsibility too. My duty to protect. And you? I don't care how lonely you were in the middle of the night. If it happens again, you won't ever be allowed to see her. Try jerking off instead, because you will not risk exposing my mate's daughter to this disease. Especially not as a wolf. Am I clear?"
The boy's lip lifted in an unconscious urge to snarl at me. "Just try to keep me from her."
"Oh, you can see her," I promised. "Believe it or not, Elena actually likes you. That means you can act like a perfectly respectable human boy and visit. What you cannot do is take any more stupid risks. No wolves. No fucking her. Keep your dick in your pants and the fur off your body, Roman, and you'll be doing just fine."
And that struck a nerve. "What we do is none of your business!"
Kim huffed out a sound that was on the verge of being a growl. "It's my business, Roman.