"Then you accept the consequences," she says, her tone suggesting those consequences will be severe. "Without my protection, without my resources, without my name opening doors for you."
The threat is clear. She wants to cut me off. I’m surprised that it doesn’t scare me in the slightest. Instead, I feel something like relief flooding through my veins. It should feel like betrayal, but instead, it feels like freedom.
"I accept," I tell her simply. “I don’t need your money, Mom, or your connections. I’ll make my own way.”
“You can’t be serious.” Her tone rises, and her eyes are wide. She never considered I would be strong enough to tell her that I don’t need her.
A knock at the door interrupts the standoff, and Caroline goes to answer it. I can see her whisper with the security guard at the door, but I don’t dare take my eyes off Mom. Caroline bursts back in, breathless and wide-eyed.
"It's a circus out there," she gasps, her wings fluttering with agitation. "Someone alerted the media and the lobby is packed."
Mom turns back to me, her expression constrained but implacable. I watch her put the pieces of her countenance back bit by bit until she’s the senator again.
"Last chance, Rona. Accept the prepared plan or accept the consequences without my protection."
I look at her, really look at her, and see not just the powerful senator, but the mother who raised me to be strong. Who taught me to stand up for what's right, even when it's hard. Even when it costs everything.
"Then I guess I'll have to learn to protect myself," I say quietly.
For the second time, a fissure appears in Mom's composure. Her mouth hangs open, and she holds her breath for a beat too long. For just a moment, I see something vulnerable and unarmored flicker across her features before her neutral mask resets.
“Very well.” She inhales deeply, still looking me.
Another knock echoes at the door, followed by a voice I recognize instantly. My heart stops, then starts racing so fast I feel dizzy.
"Don't open it," Mom shouts, but I'm already moving.
I reach for the handle before anyone can stop me, and I pull the door open to reveal Darhg filling the doorway. He looks calm and immovable despite everything that's happened, his amber eyes finding mine immediately. Behind him stands a tall, thin troll I don't recognize, clutching a laptop bag.
"You shouldn't be here," I whisper, even as my heart soars at the sight of him.
His lips lift in a grin and he shakes his head slowly.
"I'm never leaving you again."
Without hesitation, I launch myself into his arms. When our lips meet, the rest of the world disappears.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Darhg
EverythingexceptRonafadesto the background as I hold my mate in my arms.
The soft warmth of her mouth, the way she melts against my chest. This is where she belongs. This is where I belong. I kiss her for a long time, losing myself in the taste of her, in the smell of her. Then someone coughs behind me, and reality comesrushing back.
I have Rona back, but my job is not done yet. I set her gently beside me, but I don't take my arms away from her. I need to feel her against me. I’ll go mad if I don’t.
"Senator Quinn," I say, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "I need five uninterrupted minutes with you."
Her expression hardens immediately. "You have some nerve showing up here."
"Mom, please." Rona's voice cuts through the tension, her hand finding mine. "Just listen to him."
Senator Quinn's gaze flicks between us, taking in our joined hands, the way Rona leans into my side. Her jaw tightens, but she doesn't order me to leave.
"You were dismissed, Mr. Rooke," she says coldly. "I made my position clear."
"You did," I acknowledge. "I’m not here to ask for my job back."
