Chapter 31 #3
We’re in this together, now and always.
Taren’s gaze lands on Rowan immediately, but there’s no challenge in it. No need to test or measure any longer.
“We’re glad to see you settled back home and looking more rested,” she says, then glances at me briefly. “We don’t mean to interrupt you, but we thought this needed to be said sooner rather than later.”
Rowan lifts her chin slightly, her voice quiet but certain. “And that would be…”
A subtle shift moves through the others, but there’s no nervousness. Just the surety of what’s to come next.
“What happened out there,” she adds, her voice carrying without effort, “what you did… It’s a show of power unlike any wolf before you.”
I feel the tension spike in both me and Rowan until Taren continues.
“But you no longer have to worry about the wolves being concerned with your powers,” she states with nothing but truth in her tone.
The others nod in agreement behind her as she continues.
“We all saw—us, the witches, and the vampires—the choices you made while fighting Malrik,” Taren says. “We’ll be there to make sure no one tries to punish you for abilities you didn’t ask for and that you don’t have to use them beyond what’s required.”
The words fall over the space with a weight that doesn’t need emphasis.
Bram shifts beside her, crossing his arms as he studies Rowan with something that resembles respect of the highest degree. “You’ve already proven what you are. More than you should have had to.”
“And what you aren’t,” Dax adds quietly.
Kael’s voice follows, calm. “We won’t hunt our own. Not again.”
Rowan’s breath catches beside me, and I feel it through the bond like a thread loosening that’s been pulled too tight for too long.
Brynn steps forward just enough to be seen clearly, her expression thoughtful as she looks Rowan over. “Whether you claim it or not,” she says, a hint of something almost amused in her tone, “you’ve changed everything. For the better.”
That might be the understatement of the century.
“You stand with all of us, as one of us, in this council,” Taren adds. “Not above, not beneath, but our seventh member.”
Equal and balanced. Exactly where my mate belongs.
Just like that, it’s done.
They’ve said all they needed to. No drawn-out formalities.
Just truth and acceptance.
The moment dissolves as naturally as it formed.
The alphas don’t linger. With Taren’s pack witch at the ready to transport people, each of them seems ready to turn their attention back to their own responsibilities, their own people, and the world that still needs to be steadied after everything that’s transpired.
“I’ll be seeing you two,” Bram offers before he leaves with a wink for Rowan.
My glare is instant, but he slips through the portal, leaving behind only his laughter.
And then it’s just us again.
Me and Rowan.
Until it isn’t.
Liz exhales slowly on our right, dragging a hand through her hair. “Well,” she says, her voice dry, “that was significantly less dramatic than I expected.”
“Give it time,” Iris mutters beside her. “We could still find a way to make it interesting.”
Archie scampers in from somewhere, as if the moment Rowan left our bedroom, it sent out a beacon to everyone else.
He finds his place on her shoulder, his tail flicking once. “I was fully prepared to bite someone.”
“You’re always prepared to bite someone,” she points out.
“It’s called being proactive.”
“It’s called being a menace,” Liz corrects.
“Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe,” Archie says primly.
Rowan laughs at that, the sound soft but real, and something in my chest settles completely at the sound of it.
That’s what all of this was for.
Not the fight. Not the power.
That.
She turns toward me then, her expression easing in a way I hope to see every day moving forward. “You’re staring.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Am I not allowed to?”
She matches my snark without missing a beat. “Why?”
I shrug and yank her closer. “Because I can.”
Her expression softens just enough to give her away. “I guess that’s acceptable.”
Archie clears his throat. “I’m right here in case you two forgot.”
I growl. “Then go away.”
Everyone laughs but me.
A quiet moment passes between Rowan and me, easy and unforced, before she steps closer and slips her hand around my neck, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Only then does the vermin finally scamper off.
“I think I’d like more of that rest time,” she says just for me.
I huff a quiet breath, letting my fingers tighten around hers. “That can be arranged.”
Ignoring the protests of the others, I guide Rowan back toward the house, not rushing, not pulling—just moving together toward something that doesn’t feel like a battle for once.
Because for the first time since I put eyes on my mate…
There’s nothing waiting for us on the other side of the door.
No threats. No expectation.
Just time.
And as she settles against my side, I accept something I wasn’t sure we’d ever get back.
Peace.
The real kind.
The kind that rises from the ashes and vows to overcome all else.
A peace we get to claim.
Now and forever.