Page 27 of Whispers of the Dryad

“It seems like a cop-out to me,” Rowan said simply.

“What?”

“Leave her before she can leave you.Hurt her before she can hurt you.”

I bristled.“I’m not trying to hurt her.”

“What did you think was going to happen?You’re not the only heart in this equation, you know.If you’re so much as thinking of asking her to give it all up for you, she’s got to be as attached and invested as you are.”

Damn it, why was it so complicated?Rowan was right, of course.He always was.Fuck if I was going to say it to him, though.“I don’t know which way to go,” I said dully.“I don’t know how to choose.”

“Are you willing to lose her?”

I shook my head right away.The obvious answer was no; I didn’t want to lose her.I didn’t want to lose myself either, or I was scared that it would happen again.I was scared of a lot right now, which pissed me off because it wasn’t very alpha of me to be so fucking scared.“I think you’ll make the right decision in the end,” Rowan said.

“I was hoping you could point me in a direction,” I said.Rowan laughed.“That’s one thing I can’t do.I’m not here to make your decisions for you.I think Lorraine is good for you, but I also think it’s a big deal to become a human and to get tangled up in that world in the first place.We all told you not to get involved.”

I sighed.He was right; I shouldn’t have gotten involved.The thing was… I had gotten involved, and this had become so much more than me just fucking a woman and keeping her in my cabin until the assholes who hunted her were gone.My heart had gotten involved, and fuck, now it was a tangled mess.“I should get back,” I said, standing.

“Thanks, man,” Rowan said.I frowned.“For what?”

“Talking,” Rowan said.“You’ve been all locked up and not talking for a fuck long time, and it’s nice to see a side of you I was scared was long gone.”

I sighed.“A part of me wished it was long gone for good because it would have made everything easier.”

“Being dead on the inside isn’t worth it, man,” Rowan said.Maybe he was right.I just didn’t like the idea that doing all of this could cost me.I’d paid so fucking much already.

ChapterTwenty-Five

Lorraine

When I woke up, Ash was gone again.This happened a lot, and I hated it.I loved that he came to me at night—he never used to do that before—but it only made things so much worse when he was gone in the morning.I made coffee and breakfast and sat on the couch, eating when the door opened.Ash walked in.“Oh, you’re here,” I said, happy to see him.“I thought I wouldn’t see you until tonight.”

“I figured we could hang out,” he said.“I don’t have much to do today.”

I smiled and nodded.I was always eager to hang out with Ash.“What do you usually do during the day?”I asked.Ash sat down on the couch next to me in a huff.He was irritated about something.“I used to sleep a lot,” he said.“Then you came along, and I had to make sure it was all good around here.I have personal shit I take care of, too.”

“Like what?”I asked.Ash only shrugged.He clearly didn’t want to talk about it.I was just curious—what kind of personal shit did a drus have to deal with in a place like the vale, where the world was so different from the world I knew?I couldn’t imagine there was much to do when the enchanted beings here didn’t work every day to make a living the way humans did.Did they make homes, raise children, did they have hobbies?Maybe because time was so weird, they went about things like that differently, too.I wanted to ask, but Ash was broody and quiet.I could feel his tension from here.I didn’t even have to feel it through the bond.“How was your morning?”Ash asked me.“It was okay,” I said.“I only woke up a short while ago.”

“Hmm,” Ash said.“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”

He glanced at me, his eyes guarded.“What?”

“I’ve been having dreams.”

“Okay?”

“I can’t tell if they’re real or not.I mean, if it’s something I should worry about.What do dreams mean here?”

“What do you mean, what do they mean?”Ash asked, and the double talk was almost confusing.“I mean… do dreams have a significant meaning?”

“Usually,” Ash said.“It’s a product of magic.”

I thought about that.“I’m human.I don’t have any magic.”

Ash shook his head.“No, you don’t.”

“Do you ever have dreams because you’re traumatized?Do you dream about your ex?”

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