“I’m not hiding. The Hollow’s magic is moving because of me, Wolfe. If I don’t stand by your side, they’ll say the bond broke. Or was false. Or was forced on me.”
His chest rose sharply. “I won’t risk you.”
“And I won’t let them use my absence as a weapon to use against you.” I reached up, stroking his cheek. “You protect me,Iprotect you. Remember?”
His jaw flexed so hard I heard his teeth grind. “I remember,” he said, voice low enough to vibrate in my bones. “But protecting you doesn’t include parading you into a nest of shady fuckers who already want your head on a spike.”
“They wantyourhead on a spike.” I stepped into his space, spine straight. “Mine is just a bonus.”
“Not funny,” he growled.
“Not a joke.” His glare was one of fire, and I felt a momentary pang of sorrow for the Pack Council because my mate was ready to kill them all.
He turned away, pacing once, shoulders rigid. “You’re pregnant, Rowen.Pregnant. And you want me to march you into the Council’s hall like it’s a fucking celebration?—”
“I never said that.”
“—while they prepare to tear us apart?—”
“I never said that either.”
He spun, eyes blackened, wolf right at the surface. “Then whatareyou saying? Because all I’m hearing is you asking me to risk the only thing that matters.”
“I’m not the only thing that matters,” I reminded him, feeling my own temper rise. “The Hollow, Stonefang, our pack!” My temper sparked. “And, Wolfe, I’m notasking.” His head snapped toward me like a struck animal. I didn’t backdown. “I’mtellingyou,” I said, voice sharp, steady, and sure. “I will not stay behind.”
His breath stuttered in outrage. “You don’t get to tell me?—”
“I do because I’m your mate.”
He said nothing, and I pressed forward.
“And I do when the land itself reacts to me. When the magic wants me there. When the Council’s lies hinge on my silence. When the Hollow chose both of us, Wolfe—not just you.”
“That’s not the point.”
“It’sexactlythe point.”
His wolf snarled, his emotions leaking through the bond in a hot rush of fury and fear. Mine answered instinctively, rising beneath my skin, sharp and wild, refusing to be overshadowed.
“You are carryingmyson,” he said, voice breaking on the wordmylike he couldn’t control it. “And you want me to walk into the Council chamber knowing they’ll sense it and could?—”
“Could what?” I snapped. “Use me against you? They already are.My absence is their weapon, Wolfe.If I’m not with you, they win before we even step inside.”
He shook his head, almost desperate. “I will not lose you. You understand that, right?”
“I will not hide,” I whispered. “That’s not how we survive this.”
He let out a harsh sound and grabbed the edge of the table like he needed something to hold onto. “Rowen…” His voice was shredded. “You can’t ask me to choose between being an alpha and being a mate. You can’t ask me to choose between the pack and you.”
“I’m not,” I said softly. I stepped closer, pressing my hand to his chest, feeling the rapid, furious pounding beneath his skin. “I’m asking you to stand with me,” I whispered. “Like you always have. Like you told me we did. Together.”
He shut his eyes, pain dragging across his features like a blade. “And if something happens to you?” He sounded broken this time.
“Nothing will happen to me that doesn’t happen to us both,” I whispered. “But we could lose everything if I don’t go.”
His eyes snapped open. That was the truth he couldn’t outrun. Because it wasn’t just about us. It was about the Hollow. Our pack. The magic awakening under our feet. The unborn child who carried the future of our pack.
A long, heavy silence stretched between us. His breathing slowed. His shoulders dropped an inch. Not agreeing with me, but accepting. Finally, he stepped closer, cupped my face in both hands, and pressed his lips to mine, breath shaking.
