Chapter 174: Reality

The tension seemed to hit its absolute breaking point: the thick panoramic glass beside me let out a pitiful crack, an ugly web of fractures spreading rapidly across its smooth surface.

That sharp sound sliced through the suffocating silence, and I was finally able to draw a breath. I realized I had barely been breathing, horror locking my lungs. Pressing myself tight against Magnus’s rigid shoulder, I hadn’t taken my wary eyes off the dangerous stranger for a second.

He hadn’t taken his off me, either.

"My, how rude of me to behave so poorly before the future Mrs. Rainn. How utterly uncouth," the man sneered, tilting his head. Yet this exaggerated display of remorse did nothing to soften the harsh aggression of his features.

If anything, it made it worse.

His predatory eyes practically devoured me, roaming unabashedly and filthily down the deep neckline of my loose shirt. A scraping chill of primal fear slithered down my spine. It felt as though I weren’t a person, but a slab of meat tossed into a cage with a starved, maddened beast. I shuddered, every fiber inside me knotting up. I wanted nothing more than to cross my arms over my chest, to hide, to dissolve into thin air—anything to escape that sticky, penetrating gaze.

"Max, I take that as a direct threat to my woman’s honor. You are crossing every line of decency," Magnus stated, his voice deadly flat and freezing cold. In the very next breath, he stood abruptly, his massive frame completely cutting off the intruder’s view of me.

An agonizing screech echoed through the space as the heavy table skidded across the floor, followed by the violent shatter of expensive chinaware breaking into fine shards. I didn’t even flinch. All my attention was anchored to the broad expanse of Magnus’s back. He towered over me like an unbroken fortress, shielding me from view, and that realization alone pushed back the numbing cold that had seized my chest.

"I didn’t expect to run into you here," Max said, his tone infuriatingly composed. Tilting his head with theatrical curiosity, he tried to peer past Magnus’s shoulder, clearly searching for my reaction. "I was tracking the scent of a very alluring female. But all I found in this restaurant was the two of you... Your mate smells divine, and I—"

He never finished the sentence. As he made an audacious step forward, attempting to push Magnus aside, the terrifying reality finally hit me: he was completely out of his mind.

A fresh surge of icy terror flashed across my skin, paralyzing my limbs. Unable to stop myself, I scrambled back into the deepest corner of the plush booth, my shoulder blades digging into the wall. In the same fraction of a second, Magnus threw the madman back with a single, devastating beast-like surge of force, sending him crashing several yards away.

"Fucking scum. If you can’t control yourself, stay locked in your house," my mate snarled violently at Max, who was already pushing himself off the floor. Magnus’s raw rumble tore through my raw nerves, making me tremble at the sheer, ancient power bursting out of my Alpha.

In an instant, several grim figures from our guard team materialized beside the fallen man, ready to rip the threat apart at a moment’s notice. But Max—devoid of any lingering instinct for self-preservation—lunged forward again. A single glimpse at his face, twisted with unhinged lust and insanity, struck me like a bolt of lightning. It was a terrifying mirror of my former university instructor, who had cornered me in an empty classroom with that exact same glassed-over, frantic gaze.

Is this happening all over again? Is my scent doing this to them—shattering their willpower and driving them into animals? Panic clamped tight around my throat, and my vision briefly turned dark.

Chest heaving, Magnus turned back toward me. He reached out with deliberate care, his searing palm gently enveloping my freezing fingers as he pulled me smoothly toward him.

"Did he frighten you?" His voice transformed instantly, dropping into a deep, velvet murmur as his eyes searched mine.

"A little... Is it my fault?" I managed to choke out, swallowing hard. My eyes compulsively darted toward Max, who was snarling through clenched teeth as he struggled uselessly against Jake’s iron grip, even with plenty of distance between us.

"No. He’s just a weakling who can’t control his own instincts. The fault is entirely his." Magnus laced his fingers tightly through mine in an unyielding, possessive grip, leading me firmly toward the exit of the ruined restaurant without bestowing a single glance upon the chaos behind us. "Hold that piece of trash until the enforcers arrive to haul him away."

By the time we finally pulled up to the estate, total darkness had swallowed the night.

As we passed through the high wrought-iron gates, I stared out the tinted window at the passing streetlights, realizing with a sinking feeling that something inside me was shifting. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was happening to me, but it was strange—completely defying logical explanation. I wasn’t sick. I wasn’t nauseous, nor was my head spinning. It just felt as though my entire body was bracing for something unknown, while heavy, molten lead seeped slowly through my veins instead of blood.

Killing the engine, Magnus turned around and reached into the back seat to retrieve a soft blanket, extending it to me right away.

"It’s already cold outside, and you’re dressed far too lightly," he said tenderly, stepping out of the vehicle. Rounding the hood, he opened my door and offered his hand.

His constant devotion and care were overwhelmingly sweet. It felt as though he was wrapping me entirely in his protection, shielding me from the rest of the world and taking complete possession of every single piece of my heart.

Even in my boldest, most hidden dreams locked away deep inside, I had never dared hope to experience even a fraction of such gentle devotion and love in my lifetime. Yet now, it was my reality.