He closes the distance to Cathal again in two steps. His shadow falling over the man’s still bowed head.
“If your feet are still inside my borders when your time’s up, you better get used to being on your knees before an audience because that’s where I’ll keep you.” He then flicks his attention to Talis. “Collect your father and get the fuck out.”
She doesn’t wait for a second invitation. The copper of her hair flying around her as she hurries to Cathal, one palm clamping over the torn skin at his damaged throat.
With one last sharp glance back, the big sable wolf who’d acted as our guard steps away, moving to rejoin the escorts starting to herd the McNamara wolves toward the front gates. As he passes Rennick, he bumps his shoulder against Rennick’s flank. It’s a causal gesture that speaks to their familiarity. Maybe even friendship. I frown, because I still have no idea who he is. Ijust know he carries authority like a second skin, and every wolf around him responds to it.
Rennick moves to me once Cathal is on his unsteady feet.
Siggy’s frigid and trembling fingers slip from mine when he approaches, her steps small as she gives us space. She stays close, though, within reach, like a baby bird not ready to leave the branch entirely.
The moment I’m within arm’s length, Rennick’s reaching for me. His fingers are warm and careful as he touches my cheek. He tips my face left, then right, scanning for damage like he’s trying to prove to himself that I’m fully intact.
“You’re the one bleeding, and you’re worried about me?” Missing the mark for dry humor entirely, my voice comes out far softer than I mean.
He stares at me like I’m the ridiculous one here, as if it should be obvious to me that he’d put my well-being before anything else, even his own visible injuries—that there’s no world in which I’m not the beginning and end of his concern.
“I’m fine. Really,” I tell him. It’s half true. Hitting the ground did rattle every bone in my already fragile body. A dull ache now throbs with every heartbeat. I already know it’s the kind of pain that will fully bloom hours later when the bruises really set in. But none of that is important. Not right now.
He’s not hearing my reassurance. Eyes flicking between gray and that ghostly shade, his wolf tests the resolve of Rennick’s control, the aftermath of the fight still burning through his system. That volatile edge riding him licks along my own nerves. My omega instincts stir, insistent with a single directive.
Soothe him. Anchor him. Ours.
I wrap my fingers around his wrist where he still holds my jaw, the steady drum of his pulse against my fingertips grounding me. I breathe his name, trying again to pull him from his own internal battle, “Ren?—”
“I need you to get home, sweet one, where I’ll know you’re safe,” he cuts me off. His words are gentle, but stern enough that he leaves no room for me to argue. “I can’t think with you standing out here in the open while they’re still on our land.”
Our land. I swallow hard.
“I have to be the one to take him to the gates,” he continues, head turning briefly to the SUV where Talis is helping her father get in. “I thought I could hand it off to Canaan or Rook, but it needs to be me. I need to see with my own eyes that he’s gone. That he’s away from us.” His intense gaze returns to me. “Far away fromyou.”
The automatic question—who the hell is Rook?—dances at the tip of my tongue, but I swallow down the curiosity, planning to save it for later. I begin to nod, ready to tell him I understand why he needs to do this, when the worry on his face sharpens.
“Fuck, baby, I shouldn’t be leaving your side right now.”
“You’re not leaving me,”I cut in, my first gut response to reject his concern, but no sooner do the words leave my mouth that a familiar sense of dread and worry seep back into my bones. Even after everything he’s done to prove himself today, the bond between us still feels like glass—cracks starting to mend but delicate, one wrong move from a new fissure. The idea of him walking away, even temporarily and for the right reasons, scrapes the sensitive places left within me.Frantic energy swells behind my sternum, a kind of panic that reason can’t seem to touch.
Fuck. I’ve dedicated years to caring for omegas, but knowing how to be one myself? Evidently not in my skill set. All these new feelings are hitting at once, and I have no idea what to do with them.
His other hand lifts, framing my face with his palms. The world reduces to the press of his skin against mine and the warm weight of his full attention. “I won’t be long. Promise.”Hisvoice softens but does not lose that commanding edge. “Listen to me. Go home, and wait for me in my room.” He pauses, eyes searching mine like he’s still scouring for cracks in my façade. “Take anything you want from my closet. Being wrapped in my scent will help until I can get back to you.”
Color abandons face before I can stop myself from reacting.
He knows.
I don’t know how much he knows, but enough. Enough to recognize what his scent does to my fraying edges. Enough to know that when we’re apart, my body weakens in ways I can’t hide. His comment about not leaving isn’t just reassurance. It’s an acknowledgment of my secrets.
My wolf hums, pleased that our mate’s finally caught on to what she’s been howling for. I’m the one who’s battling the old reflex to hide, to pretend I’m fine and not actively unraveling without him.
I meet his eyes and search for judgment, some flicker of resentment for keeping this from him. I don’t find any. There’s only understanding, and that warm, steady patience he keeps offering me. The one I’m slowly learning to trust. The relief hits so fast it leaves me a little lightheaded.
“How do you—” I start.
He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead that lingers long enough to help ease the spike of rising panic. “The second he’s gone, I’m running back to you, mate,” he murmurs against my skin. “I promise.”
He steps away before I can answer. One step. Two. His body reshapes mid-stride, dark fur sprouting over smooth muscle. His wolf leaps forward in a clean, powerful arc and gravel sprays as his big paws dig into the earth. He charges after the silver SUV pulling away with the McNamaras inside.
I stand there a moment longer, heart pounding, palms sweaty, replaying his words.“Wait for me in my room... Myscent will help.”The question hangs here, heavy and glaring.Who told him?Because it sure as hell wasn’t me.
