Jayme POV:
"Cut!" Kenan yelled, ignored by the dying engine whine.
Autry marched through the lavender, crushing flowers with Italian leather. His Alpha aura rolled off him in waves, terrifying the human crew.
"I told you to get in," Autry growled, grabbing my wrist. His grip was a shackle.
"Let go!" I yanked back.
"Stop making a scene," he hissed. "The council knows I let a Fated Mate walk. My reputation is bleeding out. You’re coming back to the guest house until I fix this."
"I am not your property!" I shouted. My wolf snarled, and a flash of strange, white-hot heat surged through my veins.
"Release her."
The voice was a low rumble of thunder.
Kenan stepped between us. T-shirt versus suit, but the air around Kenan grew dense.
Autry sneered. "Stay out of this, human. Family business."
Kenan didn't flinch. He grabbed Autry's wrist.
"I said, let go."
Kenan squeezed.
Autry’s eyes went wide. He tried to pull away, but Kenan’s grip was a vice. Autry realized what I had: this "director" wasn't human. And he wasn't weak.
Autry released me, rubbing his wrist. "Which pack? You're interfering with Blood Moon."
"My set," Kenan said flatly. "My actress. You are trespassing."
Autry sniffed the air, smelling Kenan on me from the handshake.
"Replaced me already?" Autry laughed, a cruel bark. "With a Rogue director?"
"Autry! Wait!"
Cassie stumbled out of the chopper, heels sinking into the dirt. She linked her arm through Autry's.
"What is taking so long?" Then she saw me. "Oh. You."
She looked at the cameras, then Kenan. "Wait, is this Midnight Rain ? My father is the main investor for the distribution."
Kenan frowned. "So?"
"So," Cassie smirked, "I want the lead. If Jayme is leaving, the spot is open."
"I'm not going anywhere," I stepped closer to Kenan.
"Actually," Cassie tapped her phone, "I just texted Daddy. Unless you want your funding pulled, cast me. Jayme can be the... stunt double. The dangerous stuff."
Autry didn't stop her. He watched me, waiting for me to beg.
"Fine," I said, voice trembling with rage. "I'll do the stunts. But I'm staying."
"Jayme, you don't have to—" Kenan started.
"I need the money," I whispered. "And I won't let them run me off again."
Two hours later, I stood on a cliff edge. The scene: a jump into a stormy ocean (a water tank).
Cassie, standing off-camera, "accidentally" tripped over the wire. The safety harness jerked early.
I slipped.
I fell toward the concrete edge of the tank.
I braced for impact.
It didn't come.
Strong arms snatched me from the air. A body slammed into the concrete, taking the blow.
I gasped. I expected Kenan.
But the eyes staring down were amber. The scent was chocolate and rain.
Autry. He’d moved with Alpha speed, catching me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, breathless. For a second, the mask slipped, and he was just the boy who used to protect me.
