Page 28 of Tides of Fate

“Rowan,” his pack alpha growls.

Rowan ignores the warning, keeping his eyes on the others. They’ve all stepped back, and they won’t interfere. Rowan’s wolf is glad because he doesn’t want them to get hurt in the upcoming fight.

Jay isn’t worried about it, though, given that he hasn’t taken his eyes off Rowan.

It incenses the wolf.Does he not care about their well-being?What good is a pack alpha if they let their mates be harmed? Not just today but tomorrow, too.

It’s such a good question that Rowan says it out loud.

Jay flinches—because Jay isn’t a bad guy. He’s not, but he is, maybe, just a bit too soft.

He says that out loud, too.

Leo whispers, “Oh shit,” before joining Luca and the dog behind the couch.

“What is this about, Ro?”

The wolf doesn’t like the casual way Jay says that. It’s insulting. Jay isn’ttaking him seriously, and he needs Jay to listen.

Needs Jay tohearhim.

“It’s about how you are forgetting who you are, Jay. You are supposed to be Pack Alpha; you are supposed to keep us safe. You are supposed to be in fucking charge. But look at them. They’re sad or scared or fucking bleeding.”

Jay seems to get broader as billows of forest fire flow across the living room in a storm of petrichor and rain.

“That’s enough, Rowan,” Gideon says.

“No, love. He’s right,” Jay says, but doesn’t back down. “I’m not perfect, and fuck, I’ve been struggling. I have been responsible for a lot of the things that aren’t going well lately, and while I do try to keep you all safe, I will not choose my happiness over the others’. I don’t fucking own you. We are a pack. A family.”

Jay steps forward and shakes off Gideon’s restraining hand. “Everyone clear out.”

There’s a chorus of denials, and the swirls of upset scents surge, making Rowan’s nose burn. An unspoken look passes between them, but in the end, Gideon herds them all out the right-wing door and up the stairs.

The wolf thinks Jay doesn’t want them to see him lose (Rowan’s wolf is an idiot).

“Nix. You, too, please.”

It’s then that Rowan remembers Nix is standing behind him. How could he forget Nix? Isn’t he the reason he started this thing?

“Fuck that, James.”

The wolf won’t take his red eyes off Jay long enough to look, but Nix sounds seriously pissed.

“Okay.” Jay takes another step toward Rowan. “Ro. If you want to challenge me, then do it. I am not going to give in or walk away, and I sure as fuck am not giving up. This is my pack, and while I don’t own you, I am done dealing with your wolf. You are undermining what we are trying to do, and frankly, if kicking your ass is what I need to do, I will do it.”

“Really? You never have before.”

The muscle in Jay’s jaw ticks, and Nix gasps.

“You’re right. I haven’t because I don’t want to hold you down, Rowan. I want to lift you up.”

Lift him up?Jay can hardly hold himself up this past week, and the closer Nix gets to being on that field, the worse Jay’s confidence has gotten. And the worse he’s smelled, and the less time he’s spent with Rowan—too busy hiding from himself and the rest of them.

It’s shaken Rowan to the core when, for as long as he can remember, he has known that all is right with the world when all is right with Jay.

“You aren’t lifting Nix up. You’re letting him go off to slaughter. But look at you. You are so afraid he’s going to hate you that you’ll let him go off and die, and I can’t let you do that. So if I need to, I’ll do this…”

Nix’s hand touches the center of his back, and the wolf growls, snapping his teeth in warning.

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