Page 7 of Wolf's Reckoning
I didn’t comment. I let him and the druid discuss when Lewis and I should leave. I had grown used to being discussed as if I weren’t there. It had been happening more and more as his health suffered. I understood hisdesire to ensure our pack was protected. ThatIwas protected.
But the truth stung—they didn’t want me to lead a pack. They wanted a symbol. A womb with loyalty.
And the worst part of it was that Iunderstoodit. Neither my father nor the druid was wrong. Very few packs stayed true to the land and the old ways as we did, preferring to embrace the human world more and let tradition slip through their fingers.
If I didn’t find the right husband…then I wouldn’t be able toalignus, and the Hollow would be in danger of its roots, its laws, its very bones being buried in progress.
And yet still, every part of me rebelled at the idea. My wolf didn’t want to be chosen like cattle at auction.
She wanted to run.
To bite.
Todecide.
She wanted something else.Someone.And she was growing tired of waiting.
“Do you agree, Rowen?”
I looked up at the druid, who had their stare fixed on me. I knew they knew I hadn’t been listening. My upcoming heat was making me cranky and less focused.
“I wasn’t listening.” I could bullshit with the best, but I also didn’t have the energy, and sometimes just owning up and admitting you weren’t listening was just as easy.
“Your heat should be passed in a few days, and it is better to leave after that.”
Or the alternative was that I traveled in tremendous pain, or worse, tangled in the arms of another. The very thought made me queasy.
“I think if you want Lewis to ever return to this pack, waiting for my heat to pass is best.”
My dad chuckled. Lewis was much older than I was, and less likeable, more rigid, and as talkative as a stone. He’d been in my life forallof my life, and I don’t think he’d ever spoken more than a few sentences to me at a time.
What a fun outing this would be.
“You will be in your rooms tonight.” The druid looked over at me.
I almost snapped at him and then thought about how he had said it. It wasn’t a question; it was a fact.
My heat would fully be upon me this evening.
Standing, I leaned over and kissed my father’s cheek. “I’ll get some stuff from the kitchens, check over the meal planning, and ensure the drain from the last storm has been cleared. I’ll see you in a few days.”
He clasped my hand. “In a few days, daughter. May the Goddess grant you peace.”
If the Goddess wanted to grant me peace, she’d allow females to be alphas and wouldn’t make us endure a heat. I didn’t say that out loud though. Instead, I took my leave and went about my daily chores of ensuring my pack ran smoothly.
Because that’s what leaders did.
They led.
Chapter 3
Rowen
My heat had broken sometimein the night.
Three days of pacing, clawing, and sleeplessness passed, and that burning ache that persisted inside me finally vanished as swiftly as it had arrived. Three days of misery left behind what felt like a cracked-open husk of myself.
I hadn’t needed a male. Or a promise. Sheer willpower and locked doors had been my “go-to” ever since I endured my first heat with a body that was ready to betray me in every possible way.
