Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
CAELAN
An emergency meeting notice went out later that evening from the wannabe new Lord, Dario. I thought about ignoring it, but the second text that came in gave me serious pause.
Rowan’s mark was on Donovan’s old land, somehow merged with Evie’s magic.
She’d given him a claim to territory that belonged to the Lords.
Rage bloomed in my veins. Evie had stolen everything from me. My good name, my Omega and Second, Seymour and Hannah, my heart, and now land that rightfully belonged to us. But not only had she taken the land, she’d shared it with someone who was not me.
I picked up the phone.
He answered on the first ring. “I’ve been expecting a call from you.”
“Why?” was all I could say.
“She trusts me. I did not ask. Evie offered.”
“You didn’t think this was a decision for the Council?”
Rowan snorted. “So you could fight like dogs over a bone and squabble over petty politics rather than act as a true steward of the land?”
Disgust filled me. “Cut this shit,” I snarled. “You took the land to secure more power for yourself.”
Rowan’s laugh sent my hackles up. “You think in terms of what you would do. All these years and you still don’t realize I don’t give a shit about power.
I stay within the boundaries of my territory, rarely engage unless directly threatened, and try my best to keep the peace within the Council.
I am not like you. I never have been. Evie can take that land back any time she wants to, and I wouldn’t bat an eye.
She saw Dario trying to claim the land from under her nose and booted him out.
That right there shows how fairly the Lords play.
He hasn’t been officially approved by the Council yet and he’s already staking a claim. ”
“That’s Donovan’s land.”
“Evie won the land by might and right. If you want to get deep in the woods about things, none of the land we hold belongs to us. We’re here by the grace of the fae. This land belongs to them and always has. They don’t want to be involved in petty human politics and allow us to govern.”
My laugh is mirthless. “I knew this was a way for the fae to reclaim their position.”
“She visited you, didn’t she?”
“What of it?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “You refused her help. Of course you did. You fool.”
“Evie has taken all she will ever get from me.”
“You will die if you do not allow her to help.”
I touched my cheek and wondered how true his words were. “I’ll take my chances.”
Rowan changed the subject. “She would have stayed with you forever, Caelan.”
I didn’t want to think about what my life would have been like if I’d stayed with her. I made the right choice, didn’t I? “Evie could not have given me what I needed.”
The other Lord sighed. “Love? Power? Meaning? She could have given you all of that and more, but you were a stubborn fool and chose to cast her out.”
“My people come first!” I heard the words and realized they sounded hollow.
“Your people would have been protected for the rest of their lives with her standing as their Lady.”
“She could not give me heirs.”
Rowan’s anger crackled over the line. “Heirs that you approved of. How very elitist of you, Lord.”
The word dripped with condescension.
“You can have her.” My words are petulant and sound childish.
Rowan laughed. “I will be lucky if she comes back to me after what you’ve done to her. You will reap what you’ve sowed, Caelan. Mark my words.”
“Enjoy my used seconds.”
I’d gone too far. Even over the telephone, I could feel his rage. And when he spoke once more, I knew I’d shattered our friendship into dust. “When we next meet, we will meet as enemies. Speak of my mate like that again, and I will revel in tearing the flesh from your bones.”
The line went dead.
His mate.
Rowan and Evie were mates.
What had I done?
The phone crumbled into metal in my hands.