Page 11 of The Honor of Being Hers
When he finally rose to leave, he didn’t touch her.Instead, he just rested one large hand lightly on the bench as he stood, anchoring, not guiding.His fingers were long, she noticed, with calluses at the tips that spoke of practical work—gardening, maybe, or woodworking.The kind of hands that created rather than destroyed.The gesture left the faintest trace of cedar and leather in the air, but it faded quickly, never overwhelming the space she’d claimed.
Later, after lunch, she retreated to her room and reviewed the updated schedule.She felt steadier now.She had slept.She had space.Now, she was ready to know how the days would unfold.
Tyler was first.
Then William.
And there, just below Tuesday afternoon, was Ryan.
She stared at the name for a full ten seconds before her pulse started to rise.
One hour.Tomorrow.
Grounding rotation.Just like the others.
It hadn’t been her idea.
Her hand curled into a fist before she even realized it, and, by the time she was halfway down the hallway, she wasn’t walking, she was moving with intention.With heat in her veins and a tightness in her jaw, she hadn’t felt since her last departmental review.
William was in the reading room, reviewing footage from the symposium on his laptop.The leather chair creaked softly as he shifted, and he looked up as she entered, then closed the file with a decisive click.
“I didn’t approve this,” she said.
“Lauren—”
“You said I had control.That no schedule would include Ryan unless I—,” the words seemed stuck inside her throat.
“You’re not scheduled with Ryan,” William said calmly.“He’s on the general rotation.Nothing’s assigned.You choose to activate or not.No one will knock.No one will enter.”
She stepped closer.“Then why is he listed at all?”
William didn’t flinch.“Because with your history, and after yesterday’s events, he offered to stay away as long as was necessary.Even permanently.And I asked him not to.”
Lauren’s mouth opened, but the next words didn’t come.
William’s voice stayed quiet.“He said he’d leave the estate if that made you feel safer.Said he’d dissolve his claim before it even formed.”
“He doesn’t have a claim,” she said sharply.
“No,” William agreed.“But he could have tried to make one.Alphas have done far worse with far less reason.”
Lauren’s chest felt too tight.
“I’m not defending him,” William added.“I’m telling you what he chose.”
She dropped her gaze.
It was easier than looking at William’s face.
“I don’t want to be managed.”
“Then don’t be,” he said.“Say no.Close the door.Opt out of the hour.You’ll never see him unless you open that door first.”
Lauren stared at the edge of the desk.A deep scratch ran along the oak, long and jagged, like someone had pressed a coin into it once out of habit.Not destructive.Just repeated.
She closed her eyes.
Then nodded.
