Chapter 8 Cade #2
I watched her for a moment. Rowan paid close attention whenever Killian and I signed to each other.
I knew he had taught her a few words, but I also suspected she was learning more just by observing.
Despite being packmates with Talon and Ryker for over ten years, neither of them had ever bothered to learn our silent language.
Rowan, on the other hand, seemed determined to understand all of us, even the parts we kept quiet.
Yes. I admitted.
Why?
Not your concern.
She looked confused. At first, I thought she did not understand what I signed, but then her fingers moved.
It is. Omega.
I stared, head tilting slightly as I tried to understand what she meant.
Then she did something unexpected. Her head moved, exposing her neck, and it hit me.
She was responding to the stress she felt through the bond.
Her omega instincts were driving her to soothe me.
She was saying, "It's my job to settle you.
" For the first time, Rowan was embracing her role as an omega.
Perhaps the sealed packmate-bond activated those instincts.
Rowan was offering me her scent. Offering me the mark I left. Openly.
I closed my laptop and set it on the coffee table before pulling her gently into my lap. She settled into me, still offering her neck. My mouth went straight to my mark, breathing in her almond-honey scent before resting my teeth against the raised scar.
She hummed, a low sound that vibrated against my lips and shot straight to my dick. The noise sank through all the tension I had been carrying, loosening my muscles and clearing my head.
The sound was so uniquely calming and I soon realized she was purring. I doubted it was conscious or planned. It seemed she was operating purely on instinct. Her omega senses were responding to my stress, trying to calm me and care for me the only way her biology knew how.
I glanced toward Ryker. He leaned back and crossed his arms as a smug grin plastered his face. He winked.
"Fucking adorable," he whispered with way too much satisfaction.
Rowan didn't even notice his teasing. Her attention was too focused on me, too lost in instinct and our bond to care about anything or anyone else in the room.
Somewhere deep, I held onto that feeling she had pulled out of me.
The calm, the safety, and the rare freedom from the weight of command.
I took it and pushed it through the packmate-bond toward Killian.
He needed to feel this and know what he could have with her if he stopped drowning in his self-pity and just forgave Rowan.
Once night fell, we quietly filtered through the treeline, sticking to the shadows to avoid detection.
It was not unusual for Talon to come and go from the base at night, needing to shift or hunt, and for one of us to accompany him.
But it would be unusual for all of us to leave, especially with our omega.
I didn't want to draw any attention to our unit right now.
Rowan stayed silent, and we could feel her nerves humming through the packmate-bond. This would be her first shift since the incident in Falcon City. Fear and excitement warred inside her, pulsing through all of us.
Once we had traveled far enough from the base, we stopped in a wide clearing.
Killian lingered near the edge, still avoiding Rowan.
Talon and Ryker moved ahead to scout, checking for scent or tracks from direworgs.
We had gone south, so I was confident there would not be any here.
They usually lingered closer to the wall.
"All clear, boss," Ryker called as he slung his rifle over his shoulder. Talon, already shifted, padded beside him and nudged into Rowan’s hands. She ran her fingers through his fur, admiring his shifted form for the first time.
"It's time," I told her.
She met Talon’s eyes, and I could sense they were communicating through their bond. He was most likely coaching her through the shift.
Rowan stood there shaking, trying to steady herself. At first, she looked nervous, eyes darting and breath uneven. Then she forced herself still, jaw tightening, and determination settling over her like a wave. She closed her eyes, drew in a slow breath, and focused.
Her skin rippled, muscles tightening and rolling beneath the surface as if something powerful was pushing to break free.
Fingers curled, and her spine arched for a moment, like she was right on the edge of shifting.
It seemed as though her bones were ready to snap, and fur would soon burst through.
For one suspended heartbeat, she looked caught between forms.
Then an owl hooted in the distance, shattering the tension. Her body stilled, and the shift stalled. I waited, but nothing happened.
"Rowan, shift," I ordered impatiently.
"I just tried," she snapped. "Which you saw with your own two eyes, Cade!"
"Watch your tone," I warned. "We can address your bratty attitude when we return if needed."
She glared but shut her mouth. Good choice.
Talon let out a low howl.
"I am trying, Talon!" she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "But I can't feel her. Not like I can when I'm scared or angry. It’s like my wolf is asleep."
Ryker perked up. "I have an idea."
Killian made a low growling sound that meant absolutely not.
"You didn't even hear it," Ryker protested.
"Your idea," Killian answered flatly. "So it's stupid."
Ryker ignored Killian and continued. "When I chased her before we punished her, she almost shifted. The only reason she didn't was because Talon dosed her with that green goo."
He continued, "So, let's chase her now! Through the woods. We'll give her a little head start, just so it's not too easy. It will get her adrenaline going, and she either shifts, or whoever catches her first gets to claim their prize."
At the word prize, he made a crude gesture, forming a circle with his thumb and forefinger, then pumping his other index finger in and out of it.
He was such an immature pup.
Rowan stared at him as if he had lost his mind.
"No. Absolutely not! That is insane," she said, turning to me, expecting me to back her up.
Ryker just grinned. "Fear will make instinct kick in; she'll shift… probably. If she doesn't, it's a win-win."
I weighed it. Rowan just failed to access her wolf when ordered. She had far less control over the shift than I had expected. Ryker's solution was primitive, but promised to be effective.
"I like it," I said. "Pressure test for Rowan. Target pursuit for us. It will teach her how to handle real-time stress triggers."
Rowan’s head snapped toward me. "Cade—"
"It is a valid method for shift activation," I continued. "And you need to. Tonight."
Her mouth fell open. "You're joking. I thought I was coming out here to hunt, not to be hunted by you psychos! This was supposed to be training, not some perverted tag team."
"This is training," I said. "We're training you to survive. And you survive by shifting. It's simple."
Her eyes widened. "I hate you. I do not consent to this."
"In case you didn't realize by now, we don't need your consent if it's in your best interest. Hate me all you want, but if it keeps you alive, it's worth your despising me."
Then I lifted my hand, setting a timer on my tactical watch.
"We'll give you a two-minute head start. Starting now," I said as I clicked go on the timer. It made a beeping sound and began to count down, but Rowan just stood there, dumbstruck.
"Rowan, run!" I commanded with my bark, forcing her brain to compute what was happening.
Finally, flight kicked in and she bolted, like a scared rabbit, disappearing into the trees and darkness of night.
Ryker grinned. "Oh, this is going to be so fucking fun."
"Hold," I warned, my fist closed in the air. "One minute."
Talon growled, tail twitching, barely able to contain his wolf's impulse to hunt its prey.
Killian stood rigid, staring into the trees like he wanted to reject every instinct driving him to chase her, and yet he couldn't resist the pull.
Ryker paced back and forth, a grin spread wide across his dimpled cheeks.
I looked at my watch just as the timer counted down to zero and buzzed. My fist opened. "Times up. Go."
They all exploded forward, even Killian, and I followed suit.