Chapter 17 #2
Rowan fights it at first, but her blinks grow longer, her body heavier against mine. When she finally surrenders, her head tucked beneath my chin, it feels like the earth settles back into alignment.
I should sleep too, but I can’t. Because she wasn’t the only one to ask questions. Now, my mind reels with everything she’s shared about her time with Malrik, what he put her through, and all that she’s learned.
But mostly, with her resilience. It’s a force all its own.
I hadn’t known about the intruder she killed that night before she left. I hadn’t known half of what she’d survived alone. But that ends now.
I promised her that she has no reason to be scared—something she assured me that she now knows without a doubt—and that I would do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
She laughed at that.
Actually laughed.
Told me she didn’t need a knight in shining armor.
My wolf and I both growled at that, but deep down, I also appreciate her strength and determination to become the version of herself that she chooses. Not what everyone has been fearing.
Even more, I know she can do it.
I’ve sensed her capacity to do so ever since she first transformed into a wolf.
It’s been hours since she finally closed her eyes, and the sun is almost up now.
Iris arrived late in the evening, insisting on the dinner she was promised, but Rowan slept through her name being yelled twice, and the death glare I leveled at Iris had her backing out of the doorway before she could launch into one of her speeches.
She left with a mutter about “rude young people” and an agreement that we’d eat breakfast instead, but that time hasn’t come yet.
Right now, I’m content just holding Rowan, her breath warm against my chest, her heartbeat steady and safe.
Interesting how the tables have turned, my wolf murmurs lazily. You were dead set on killing her a few weeks ago. Now you can’t even pretend to live without her.
I didn’t know she was my mate then.
But you had the prejudice anyway, he pushes.
Are you trying to make a point here?
Always, he says. Talk to the pack betas. Get their new alphas in line and reform that council, Cade. But more importantly, we need to be on it. Don’t let the past keep you from your future.
A low growl grows within my mind as he continues.
You said earlier that fixing the council was nearly as important as protecting Rowan, but it’s the same thing.
To keep her safe, we need the wolves on our side.
Malrik is already going to be enough, and he brought some of those vampires to the fight before.
If even a fraction of the covens join him…
He’s right. I know he is, but I also hadn’t been looking at things as if they were one and the same. It’s time I do that.
After breakfast, I’ll begin making the calls, I promise.
And you’d better hope the two other surviving council members haven’t hidden themselves too well.
Why is—
A startling snarl fills the room, and suddenly, dog-sized Archie is standing at the foot of the bed, panting, fur bristling, eyes wide and wild.
“She’s okay,” he says heavily, finally scanning Rowan next to me.
“We’re back at NightShade,” I say softly, not wanting to wake her. “We’re safe for now.”
Archie exhales sharply, and in a blink his body compresses—fur shrinking, limbs shortening until he’s back to ferret size. He scurries up the blankets and settles himself firmly between Rowan and me, like a sentinel.
His small voice is rough with emotion. “She’s really back.”
I nod. “Yes, she is.”
Archie studies me for a long moment—long enough that I realize this isn’t about Rowan anymore.
It’s about us.
“I couldn’t find her,” he admits quietly. “The trail I’d been on had gone cold. I knew she was right there, but I didn’t know where there was. It was maddening, and the fact that I failed her…”
“You didn’t fail her,” I say immediately.
He flicks his tail. “Doesn’t feel that way.”
“You’ll see when she wakes.” I keep my voice low, steady. “As much as I hate what she went through, I don’t think she’d change her time with Malrik. But even as strong as she is now, we still have our roles. You’ll get to protect her again.”
He tilts his head. “And you?”
Is this small animal really challenging me? Based on the intensity of his beady black eyes as he stares me down, I’d say yes.
And it’s one I don’t hesitate to meet.
“I won’t let anything touch her,” I vow. “Not Malrik. Not the council. Not even fate. Whatever comes next, I’ll be standing between her and every threat she faces.”
Archie watches me for another beat. Then, surprisingly, he relaxes. His little shoulders slump. His whiskers twitch, but not in warning.
“Good,” he murmurs, settling against Rowan’s hip. “Because that’s our job now.”
My chest tightens with something fierce and bone-deep.
Approval and acceptance. Not just from her wolf.
Not from her father.
But from the one creature who’s been with her longer than any of us.
“Yes, it is,” I reply with certainty.
Rowan shifts in her sleep, curling closer to me, but also placing a hand over Archie’s back.
For over a decade, I haven’t known what family feels like, but I think I’m finally starting to remember, and not only that…
I’m remembering how to be part of one again.