Page 77 of Wolf's Reckoning
But the Hollow was buzzing with activity.
People whispering. People moving. Lines being drawn, redrawn,shifted.And when I followed the sound of booted feet and sharp commands…I found him.
Wolfe stood in the training ring with five of our scouts. Not barking orders. Not dominating them like some conqueror staking ground. No. He was moving among them like he belonged. Asking questions. Testing reflexes. Correcting stances.
And they werelistening.
Killian stood nearby, arms crossed, watching like a guard dog with a vendetta. Three other males flanked him, clearly Stonefang Pack, because they were strangers to me. Whenthe heck did they get here? I pushed that aside for the moment, looking at the other shifters around Wolfe.
They were of my pack. Blueridge Hollow wolves,andthey were turning toward him like sunflowers to the sun.
I hated how efficient it all looked. How smoothly he inserted himself. Like he’d been here all along, just waiting for this to fall into his lap. I stayed at the far end of the clearing, watching. He corrected Marla’s stance with a low word and a nod, then clapped another on the shoulder and moved on to the next.
Not arrogant. Not overbearing. Worse. Much worse.
Capable.
I clenched my jaw, decided enough was enough, and began to walk to the practice ring.
He spotted me, of course. Eyes like a storm system—sharp, tracking every shift in the wind, monitoring for threats. He didn’t smile. He didn’t nod. Just watched me patiently.
“How are you?” he asked when I stopped in front of him. He was being nice; I wasn’t ready for nice.
“Training?” I asked flatly.
“Assessment,” he replied coolly. “You’ve got strong fighters, but their patrol patterns are outdated, and our eastern flank is soft.”
“Oh, forgive me for running anoutdated patrol pattern,” I said, voice low.
Wolfe didn’t flinch. “You’ve been keeping them alive. Now I make them dangerous.”
I folded my arms. “And they weren’t dangerous before?”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. “You were the leader this pack needed to survive afailing alpha, and now you need time to grieve. I’m the one they need right now to survive whatever comes next.”
It wasn’t arrogance. It wasn’t posturing. It was truth.
I hated him for it.
“I can still help,” I reminded him, every word laced with conviction. “Remember, this ismyhome.”
“Okay.” His stare was hard, unwavering. “Let’s starthelpingby remembering, I’m not your enemy.” His voice was a low rumble, eyes locked on mine, ignoring my snort of disagreement. “If you focus your energy on not fighting me every fucking day, then maybe we have a shot at keeping this place from going under when the attack comes, because trust me, Rowen, it’s coming.”
I didn’t reply. I turned to look at the training ring, anactualfightingring. “Where’d this come from?”
“Ikea.”
I was going to kill him.Goddess help me, I was. Instead, I smiled. Fake. For the benefit of anyone watching, and I knew they wereallwatching while they pretended to beveryinterested in their chores and their training.
“Ah, I remember,” I said, keeping my voice light, “you tell jokes the same way as you kiss…” I shot him a look of malice with a sweet, saccharine smile. “Sloppily.”
Wolfe smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Several of those nearby laughed, averting their heads so he wouldn’t see them appreciate the joke. Killian had no qualms about laughing out loud. Feeling slightly vindicated, I looked around and decided to park this until I could discuss it with him later. Hehadsaid I could help after all.
“I need to check the kitchens,” I told him, calm and controlled. “I’ll speak to you later.”
“I can’t wait,” he murmured.
I had walked a few steps away from him when he moved fast. Too fast. Fingers wrapped tight around my wrist, not enough to hurt, but enough to drag me backward in one unyielding motion. My breath caught as I stumbled into the solid wall of his chest. Heat radiated from him, wild and consuming, and before I could open my mouth to protest, his mouth was already on mine.
