Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
CAELAN
Rowan walked into the study, hazel eyes brimming with anger.
Seymour hopped off the desk and launched himself at the other Lord who caught him in one hand and tucked him into the crook of his arm.
“What’s crawled up your ass?” I asked, pen paused in the middle of the hundredth damn form I had to sign. Simone was amazing, but the paperwork made me want to scream.
“You need to get your shit together, man. You’re going to lose her if you don’t.”
I froze. “Excuse me?”
He came close enough for me to catch a familiar scent in the air. The pen dropped. Fury boiled in my blood. I came to my feet and leaned on the desk, claws making gouges in the wood. “Why do you smell like Evangeline?”
“Because I was at her house earlier since you didn’t tell me she almost died.” He shoved a hand through his hair and plopped into one of the leather chairs. “Fucking prick.”
Rowan would have been acting guiltier if he’d done something unforgivable, but her scent…
Evie was all over him.
“Tell me,” I demanded.
Rowan scoffed. “I didn’t sleep with her. Nothing of the sort. Do you have zero faith in either of us? We’re just friends.”
“Then why do you smell like you’re involved with her?”
“Because I am. I care about her, and I’m starting to wonder if I care more than you do.”
The cracking sound of wood was the only noise in the room for a long moment. “Take care with your words right now.”
He snorted and watched me with his strange hazel eyes. “How about you rein your shit in and talk to me?”
Rowan’s levelheadedness had always appealed to me both as a friend and as a Lord, and the other man had been my friend long enough to speak to me even when I was being unreasonable.
Even though I had every reason to be unreasonable.
It took me a while to stifle the urge to rip his head off, but eventually my claws retracted and I retook my seat. “Talk.” My voice sounded like I’d been gargling gravel.
“Evie’s magic is bound to nature. She is a creature of the earth, and now that I know her full biological heritage, things make a lot more sense.”
“She told you about Cernunnos?”
Rowan nodded, and I studied the man a little closer. Evie trusted almost no one. How had Rowan gotten underneath her prickly tight shields so quickly?
“I’m aware of her magic.”
“But not of the requirements. She is full fae, and while the fae’s magic is tied into the natural world, they are not like her. Evie needs constant touch to thrive.”
My claws came out again, this time poking holes in the thighs of my jeans where my hands rested. “And you met this need for her?”
Seymour’s traps moved to and fro as we spoke, his body shivering inside his pot. The poor thing looked like he wanted to bite someone, but he wasn’t quite sure who was in the right yet.
Rowan stroked a finger over Seymour and said, “Shut up for a moment and listen to me, please.”
Every muscle in my body was tight and poised to leap over the desk. “Hurry up,” I growled.
“You scare Evie.”
The wolf inside me recoiled, horrified at the accusation. “Rowan, I swear to the gods—”
The other Lord leaned forward. “Put away your fucking ego and listen to me.”
The seriousness in his tone and the ferocity of his words made me blink. My anger drained away. “Fine,” I said quietly. “I won’t interrupt again.”
“Wolves and shifters are tactile creatures. We feel better when we’re surrounded by people we care about. They ground and settle us. It’s no big thing for one of our Pack to reach out and provide a comforting touch.”
I bit my tongue. All obvious observations from Rowan, but he was going somewhere with this, and I promised to listen.
“Pack is family. But what about those who have no family? Those people who’ve gone through traumatic circumstances and have since become hypervigilant and independent?
Some fae are tactile, some are not. What if that person had no idea who she really was and had inadvertently starved herself from an act that could help center her magic and help bring stability? ”
Rowan paused. I added in a hesitant comment because I didn’t like where he was going with this. “I would touch Evie as much as she wants.”
“If she asked you to.”
I gritted my teeth. “Evie is prickly on a good day.”
Rowan snorted. “With you, yes.”
“Goddammit, Rowan.”
The bastard had the nerve to laugh. “You might be having sex with her, but she needs more without any strings attached.” A pause. “And you, my friend, are a fucking ball of tangled yarn. You are all the strings, all of the time.”
I sat back in my chair. Seymour took pity on me and hopped from Rowan’s arms into mine. I stroked his trap and mulled Rowan’s words.
“Any advice?” I asked after a long moment.
“Besides get your head out of your ass?” Rowan said with an unrepentant grin.
“Don’t make me kick your ass.”
He laughed and stretched, bringing his arms behind his head. “Stop trying to push the poor girl into marriage.”
“And the Council?”
“Fuck the Council,” Rowan snapped. “Evie picked Ethan up with a whisper of power and tossed him around like a rag doll. The Lords should be afraid of her, and frankly, so should you. The woman can take care of herself, but you bastards have been coming at her from all sides. Evie has been fighting since you came into her life months ago, and her system is in overdrive with stress. While sex might be a decent stress reliever, you’re more apt to win her if you just love her.
No strings. No bargains. Nothing but you and her.
Caelan and Evie. Do that, you idiot, and I’m all but certain you can make her yours.
And for the love of the gods, touch the woman.
Show her she matters because of her, not what she can do for you or your power base. ”
“I thought I’d been doing that.”
“If you had, the woman wouldn’t have snuggled up with me and taken a nap.”
My fists clenched. “You lay with her?”
The asshole laughed again. “Yes. Because unlike you, I have no designs on her body or her soul. She can be herself with me. If you were smart, you’d let her be the same.”
Rowan’s words were a difficult pill to swallow, but as I sat there mulling over the decisions that had brought us to where we were, I realized he was right. And that enraged me.
Rowan held up a hand. “Don’t misplace your anger. I’m here as your friend. I am no competition for Evie.” His eyes glittered. “Unless you continue to fuck this up. And if you do, I can promise you, I will go for her, and you will lose.”
“I should put you in the ground for that,” I said, the wolf in my voice.
“Again, you can try.” Rowan stood, Evie’s scent beating from his skin and clothing.
Claws pushed from my skin and power came to the forefront of my brain, scrambling for escape to show Rowan whose dominion he was in.
Rowan smirked. “I’ll be out of your property within the hour so you can calm down.” He turned his back to me, a brave move when faced with another Lord more powerful, and left the office. I didn’t move a muscle until I was sure he was out of the Keep.
And when he was, I stood and carefully set Seymour down on the credenza behind me, tucking him into an unexposed crevice.
Then I picked up my desk with one hand and threw it against the side of the wall, reveling in the splinters of wood slicing my face and exposed skin. My breathing came fast and heavy, blood pooling in the wounds, and I sank to the ground, tipping my head up as a mournful howl tore loose.
How had I managed to fuck this up so badly?