“So your parents can arrive and actually evaluate if we’re worth keeping around or better off as dinner?”
The fear in her voice, buried under sarcasm but there nonetheless, made my chest ache. My parents’ reputation wasn’t exaggerated. They were old school wolves who believed in pack purity and strength above all else. The thought of them near Lina and the twins made my protective instincts roar.
“They won’t touch any of you. I’ll make sure of it.”
I watched the bleeding slow, grateful for the bond’s healing properties even as I cursed the complications it brought. “Whatever Mary told you happened last night, we didn’t sleep together. We’ve never slept together. I can barely stand to be in the same room as her.”
Lina looked away. “I don’t care what you do with her.”
“Then why did you fight her?”
She was quiet for so long I thought she wouldn’t answer. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft but fierce. “Because she called my children mongrels.”
Rage filled my body so fast I had to close my eyes to keep from shifting. Mary had called my cubs mongrels. Had insulted them to their mother’s face. Had made them cry, based on the scent of tears I could detect on Lina’s shirt.
“She’s dead,” I growled, my voice dropping to a register that wasn’t quite human. “I’ll fucking kill her for this.”
“No.” Lina’s hand touched mine briefly before pulling back. “No more violence. I just... I want to leave.”
I forced my wolf back, made myself focus on what mattered. Lina. The twins. Keeping them safe even if they hated me.
“We’ll stay until I’m healed enough to travel,” she said finally, exhaustion clear in every word. “But I don’t want to see you. Don’t sleep in the house. Don’t talk to me. Just... stay away.”
Each word cut deeper than any claw could. She was setting boundaries, building walls between us that felt insurmountable.
“If that’s what you need,” I said quietly, standing up. The tissue was soaked through but the bleeding had stopped. “I’ll sleep elsewhere. But I can’t guarantee I’ll stay away from you, Lina. I’m not giving up on us.”
She closed her eyes, leaning back against the couch. “There is no us, Knox. There never was.”
I wanted to argue, to remind her of that night when there had definitely been an us. When she’d called me mate and meant it. When we’d created two perfect children who carried both our scents. When she’d trusted me with everything and I’d thrown it away like a coward.
Instead, I headed for the door, pausing at the threshold. “I’ll have Noah check on you later. Make sure the bleeding’s fully stopped.”
“I don’t need-”
“Please.” I turned back, letting her see everything I couldn’t say. The desperation, the love, the self-hatred for hurting her. “Just let him help. For the twins’ sake if not yours.”
She nodded once, barely perceptible.
I left before I could do something stupid like drop to my knees and beg. I would definitely do that, but not right now. She would certainly kick my ass if I tried to do so now. My wolf howled at leaving our injured mate, at walking away when every instinct demanded I stay and protect. But she’d asked me to go. And today, I’d respect her wishes.
25
— • —
Lina
Day six in Ravenshollow, and despite my very clear demands that Knox stay away, the man had apparently decided that “stay away” meant “court me like we’re in some regency romance novel.”
Fresh coffee appeared in Noah’s kitchen this morning with my name written in careful script on the cup. Not just any coffee either, but my exact order from back home, which meant he’d either gotten incredibly lucky or he remembered every single word I’d said five years ago. And not even to him, whichalsomeant he’d been eavesdropping on my conversations with other people back then. The elaborate breakfasts he dropped off “for the kids” always happened to include chocolate chip pancakes (my weakness) or those fancy pastries I’d mentioned liking once in passing.
He visited daily to teach the twins control exercises, always bringing wildflowers they’d “helped pick” that coincidentally matched whatever I was wearing that day. The man was shameless, and the worst part was how it was working. Each thoughtful gesture chipped away at my carefully constructed walls, reminding me of the man I’d fallen for before he’d revealed his true nature.
I maintained a cold distance because what else could I do? But god, it was exhausting. Every interaction required military-level strategic planning to keep my face neutral, my voice flat, my body language closed off. All while my traitorous heart did little flips whenever he walked through the door.
The truth I’d been avoiding hit me after Mary’s visit. When she’d talked about their date, about him being eager and energetic with her, I’d felt raw, burning jealousy that made me want to claw her eyes out for reasons that had nothing to do with her calling my kids names.
Which meant I wasn’t over him. Not even close. Five years, two kids, and a broken heart later, I was still pathetically hung up on Knox Raven.
