Page 120 of Wolf's Reckoning
“They don’t need strangers,” I snapped. “Not outsiders. Not a babysitting unit from a pack that thinks we’re feral and backward.”
He stepped closer. “They need to survive.”
“You don’t get to treat my pack like it’s some wounded animal that needs your wolves to carry it.” My voice shook with restrained fury. “We are not broken. We arenot weak.”
“You werebreached, Rowen,” he said, voice rising just enough. “They got through your perimeter like it was made of leaves. How many more need to bleed before you stop pretending this place is untouchable?”
I took a step forward, heat flashing down my spine. “Thisplaceis my home. This pack ismine.You want to help? Fine. But you do not override me.”
He was silent for a breath too long. Then—softly, frustratingly calm—he said, “I’m not overriding you. I’m protecting you.”
I flinched at that. Not because I believed it—but because some terrible part of mewantedto.
“Your Stonefang shifters,” I said, stepping back. “They don’t belong here.”
“Maybe not yet,” he agreed. “But they will. Because you and I both know this isn’t the end. And I won’t risk another ambush without backup.Trainedbackup.”
The silence between us stretched taut. “Is this your decision as alpha?” I asked bitterly.
“It’s my decision as a male who nearly lost his mate today,” he said.
I hated the way that affected me. Like it slid right past my defenses and curled somewhere dangerous behind my ribs. So I did what I always did—I struck.
“Then next time, lead from the front. Andask, not dictate.” I turned before I could see the impact of my words. But I felt him watching me as I left.
Let him. I’d fight with him, against him, beside him. But I’dneverfall in line behind him.
The quiet hush of footsteps over pine needles got my attention. I knew who it was without looking. The druid. Always arriving like mist. Never when you wanted them.
They didn’t speak at first, just studied me as they fell into step beside me. Their pale robes were smudged with ash.
“Fate,” they said softly, “always asks for something in return.”
I stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You are bound now. And bonds, like borders, shift under pressure. Be wary of what you sacrifice—just to feel safe.”
My expression turned to stone. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s a truth,” the druid said. “One he should remember before he fills this land with shifters who owehimloyalty, but not the Hollow.”
Then they turned and walked away, robes trailing through the bloodied grass like a specter.
I didn’t look for Wolfe. I couldn’t shout across the forest that finally,finally, after all these years, the druid agreed with me. So I turned around and headed back to the pack hall.
The walk to the pack hall felt too quiet.
Blood hadn’t even dried on the grass, and already it was like the pack was trying to forget. Like pretending things were normal could erase the scorch marks.
I wasn’t in the mood for pretending. Is this why Wolfe thought he needed to bring in strangers?
I took some detours, checking in with pack, my legs aching from exertion, adrenaline still skittering under myskin. I wasn’t sure where I was going until I stopped outside Adair’s house.
I knocked once. Lightly. Then pushed the door open.
She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, drying damp hair with a towel, with that same quiet focus she always wore.
Her eyes flicked up. “You’re bleeding.”
