Chapter 26
Sunday afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling the porch in gold and shadow.
I’d claimed Axel’s Adirondack chair, my stack of physics exams balanced precariously on the wide armrest, red pen tucked behind my ear.
The autumn air carried the scent of woodsmoke and fallen leaves, cool enough to need my cardigan but warm enough to enjoy being outside.
Perfect grading weather.
Not that I was getting much grading done. There was too much happening inside my head. Axel’s shocking revelation last night. Our argument. The way we’d cuddled afterward. What we’d done this morning.
Waking up with his head between my thighs, his tongue and fingers doing absolutely sinful things while soft morning light streamed through the bedroom windows.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d coaxed three orgasms from me before we’d even gotten out of bed, lazy and thorough, like he had all the time in the world to worship my body.
I forced my attention back to Tyler Brennan’s exam. He’d mixed up the kinematic equations for projectile motion again, using the wrong formula for vertical displacement. But at least he’d shown his work this time. Progress.
I marked down partial points for the parts that were correct.
The workshop behind the cabin had been quiet for the past hour.
Axel had disappeared into it after lunch, claiming he needed to work more on one of his projects.
I suspected he was just giving me space.
When I’d asked if I could go in there and join him, he’d been cagy.
Which certainly had my curiosity raging.
Before that, we’d had a brief disagreement about the caves—he’d wanted to make another attempt today, push himself further, but I’d put my foot down.
Especially after our late start to the day.
“I have seventy exams to grade,” I told him.
“And you’ve been in that cave three times in the last two weeks.
You’re making incredible progress, but you don’t have to punish yourself. ”
He’d looked like he wanted to keep arguing. That stubborn set to his jaw, the one that meant he was going to dig his heels in. But then his gaze had softened, taking in the stack of papers on the kitchen island.
“Fine,” he’d said finally. “You’re right. We’ll go next weekend instead.”
Now I was second-guessing myself. What if we could have made it all the way to the chamber today? What if I was letting the curse win by choosing grading over breaking it?
But that thought didn’t consume me the way it would have two months ago. Two months ago, I would have sacrificed anything—my job, my sleep, my sanity—to get closer to that knife. Would have pushed Axel past his limits without a second thought if it meant breaking the curse one day sooner.
Now? Now I could wait until next weekend. Could prioritize my students’ exams and Axel’s mental health and just...living.
When had that happened? When had the knife stopped being my only reason for breathing?
I knew the answer, even if I didn’t want to examine it too closely.
Deep down, I knew I made the right call. Axel needed rest as much as I needed to do my actual job. Besides, we were close. I could feel it. A few more attempts and we’d reach the knife.
Then everything would change.
A part of me was still fuming about what he had said. About the mate bond. About how I’d feel differently once I had my magic back, once I didn’t need him anymore.
He was wrong. I knew that.
But the fear in his eyes when he’d said it? That had been real.
A sound cut through my thoughts. The crunch of tires on the gravel drive.
I looked up, squinting through the trees. A sleek black sedan was making its way up the lane, picking through the winding path toward the cabin. My brows pulled tight.
We didn’t get visitors. Ever.
I set down my pen and stood, one hand braced against the porch railing. The car emerged from the tree line and my heart stopped.
Somehow I just knew who it was by the expensive make and model.
It came to a stop about seventy-five feet from the porch, right where the gravel drive met the invisible boundary of Axel’s protection artifact.
It stopped abruptly. For a moment, nothing happened.
It was a little too far to see the driver, but I could picture his expression.
The engine cut off. The driver’s door opened.
Ambrose Blackthorn stepped out.
He looked exactly as he always did—infuriatingly handsome in tailored slacks and a crisp button-down, dark hair perfectly styled, that easy smile on his face. The smile that used to make my stomach flip. Now it just made me want to throw up.
“Rebecca.” His voice carried easily across the distance, smooth as honey. “There you are.”
Anger surged through me, hot and bright. How dare he show up here?! After everything? The texts. My office. Making an appearance at the Fall Fling last night.
And now this?
Enough was enough.
I walked down the porch steps at a clipped pace, my boots crunching on gravel as I marched toward him. I knew the protection ward was there. Knew exactly where the boundary line was.
I knew he couldn’t touch me, couldn’t use his magic, assuming that what Axel said was correct.
I stopped well away from the barrier’s edge. Close enough to see his face clearly. Far enough to run if I needed to.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
“Looking for you, obviously.” He spread his hands, all innocence. “You haven’t been answering my calls. Your parents are worried sick. Your mother said she talked to you. I had hoped that would change your mind.”
“My mom knows my thoughts on the matter.”
He tilted his head, that patronizing gesture I had come to hate. “Does she know you’re shacked up with a werewolf in the middle of nowhere? Playing house while you chase fairy tales?”
“What do you want, Ambrose?”
“What I’ve always wanted.” His voice softened, turning almost gentle. “For you to come home. To stop this dangerous game before you get hurt.”
“I’m not playing games.”
“Aren’t you?” Something flickered in his expression—frustration breaking through the polished exterior. “Hiking through the forest with your wolf? Exploring caves? Searching for something to save you when all you need is me?”
Cold dread pooled in my stomach. How could he possibly know about that?!
“Don’t look so shocked, darling. Did you really think I wouldn’t figure out what you’re doing up here? That I wouldn’t be paying attention?”
My mind raced. Had he followed us? Put tracking spells on me? Was he watching the cabin even now?
“You cannot hide from me, Rebecca.” His voice dropped lower, more intimate. “I can break the curse.”
“By forcing me to marry you.”
“By giving you what you need.” He took another step toward the barrier, coming close enough that I could see the intensity in his eyes.
“I’m offering you everything, Rebecca. Your magic restored.
Your family freed. A life of comfort and power.
All you have to do is stop running and come home with me. Right now. Today.”
“No.”
“You’re choosing him.” It wasn’t a question. “That mongrel who’s too damaged to leave his mountain. You’re throwing away your family’s future for what? The idea of playing house in the woods?”
“That’s not—“
“It is.” His charm cracked further, anger seeping through. “I’ve been patient. More than patient. I’ve given you space, time to come to your senses. I even tried to be understanding about this little...fantasy you’re chasing. But my patience has limits.”
The threat in his voice made my pulse spike.
“This is your last chance, Rebecca.” He held my gaze, and for a moment I saw something almost pleading beneath the anger. “Come home with me now. We’ll forget all of this happened. We’ll marry, I’ll break the curse, and everything goes back to the way it should be.”
“And if I refuse?”
His expression hardened. “Then you’ll have no one to blame but yourself for what happens next.”
A growl cut through the air—low, feral, dangerous.
I spun to see Axel emerge from the workshop, his eyes already wolf-yellow, his entire body coiled with lethal intent. He must have heard our voices. Must have sensed the threat.
“Go inside, Rebecca.” His voice was barely human.
“Ah.” Ambrose’s smile turned sharp. “The mongrel himself. How rustic.”
Axel ignored him, his focus entirely on me. “Now, sweetheart.”
“I’m not—“
“Now.”
The command in his voice brooked no argument. But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t leave him here to face Ambrose alone, even with the protection ward between them.
Axel reached me in three strides, positioning himself between me and Ambrose. The protective instinct rolled off him in waves, his wolf so close to the surface I could practically feel it.
“You.” Axel’s voice dropped to a growl. “Get the fuck off my property.”
“I would,” Ambrose said pleasantly, spreading his hands. “But your little witch and I were having such a productive conversation. Weren’t we, Rebecca?”
“She’s done talking to you.”
“Is she?” Ambrose’s gaze slid past Axel to me. “Are you going to let him speak for you? Control you? Because that’s what this is, you know. Werewolves love control. Their entire hierarchy of power is built from it. That’s what you’d be doing—signing up for a caged existence.”
“That’s rich, coming from you,” I shot back. “You’re the one who wants to chain me to a marriage contract.”
“I want to give you your birthright back. There’s a difference.”
“The only difference is the packaging.” Axel’s hands flexed at his sides, claws threatening to emerge. “Now leave. Before I make you.”
Ambrose laughed. “You can’t touch me, wolf. Whatever magical protection ward you have here—it keeps you in as much as it keeps me out. We’re at an impasse.”
“For now.”
“For as long as it takes.” Ambrose’s smile faded, his expression turning cold. “But she can’t hide here forever. Eventually she’ll have to leave. Go to work. Run errands. Live her life. And when she does—when you’re not there to play guard dog—I’ll be waiting.”
The threat hung in the air between us.