Garrett leaned forward, still wearing that intense look. “You have much to lose, Lord. Caelan has never willingly relinquished his possessions.”
A ring of gold glowed in Rowan’s eyes. “Evie is not a possession. Neither is Fee or Poe or Evie’s carnivorous plants.”
Seymour, who’d been surprisingly docile, waved his traps around and thumped over to Rowan, hopping in his pot a few times until the Lord picked him up and stroked one of his traps.
Seymour let out an odd purring noise and bumped Rowan’s chest.
But guilt flooded me. Caelan and Seymour were friends, weren’t they?
Simone leaned over. “He came willingly. Hannah as well.”
“What happened, Simone?” The words were a whisper.
Simone jerked her head at Moira. Both women rose, Moira’s cool fingers touching my shoulder. “Come on,” she said softly.
Both women linked arms with me and guided me away from the table.
Empathy filled Simone’s eyes. “Shifters are complicated creatures. Lords even more so. I know you love him, Evie, but wolves are highly intelligent and crafty creatures. They approach challenges with intricate plans and will do whatever it takes to win.”
My heart lurched at her words. “You think I was just a challenge to him.”
Moira shot Simone a recriminating look.
“No,” Simone breathed. And just as my shoulders relaxed, she sighed. “And yes. He cared about you, loved you even, but of course you were a challenge. You embarrassed him in front of all his peers, and it infuriated him, but it was also a red flag waved in front of an angry bull. That was the start of everything. He was obsessed with you, and obsession is never a healthy way to begin a relationship.”
“I saw him first,” I admitted. “When I was at lunch. Later that night, I found him dying in the woods.”
Simone nodded. “It took him some time to connect the dots. Adding you to his Keep would have been a boon for him, both as the Pack Alpha and as a Lord. And a boon to the other shifters.”
Moira’s upper lip curled into a snarl even as I wanted to curl in on myself. “I’ve been a fool,” I whispered.
Moira tugged me to a stop underneath a large willow tree still in its spring greenery. We sat underneath, Moira leaning her head on my shoulder. “What does it matter how it started?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we only be concerned with the end?”
“Everything should matter,” Simone said, tucking her feet underneath her thighs. “Beginning, middle, and end.”
“Simone is right,” I said. “But it’s not all Caelan’s fault.”
Fury vibrated Moira’s thin frame. “He said you were flawed. Who speaks to someone they love like that?”
“He was also under Lugh’s influence.”
“That’s no excuse. We all know how magic like that works. Just because you don’t say the words out loud doesn’t mean you don’t believe them. Caelan spoke what his heart felt.”
And that was the truth I kept trying to avoid, but I knew the inevitable day would come when I finally took that truth into my heart and made the decision that would change everything permanently. I was here with Rowan, but my house was still in Joy Springs. It still belonged to me. The shop still stood, thanks to my friends’ goodwill, but that would change soon, too.
I could go back any time I wanted.
But seeing Caelan again felt like a bruise I kept poking. The look in his eyes, the words he said to me, I wasn’t sure I’d ever forgive him.
Nor was I sure I should, but there was more to this now. There was the male sitting at the table with my father who’d taken me with him when he didn’t have to and gave me a space to rest and heal. He’d given me far more than I’d ever given him, trusted me with more than Caelan ever had. Rowan still had secrets, many of them, but he owed me nothing when I hadn’t given him all that much of myself either.
“All wolves are like Caelan?” I asked Simone.
“Every wolf is different, but they’re all crafty and have a one-track mind when they see something they want. Different hierarchies exist as well. A Lord is much different than an Omega, like me.”
“What about other animals?”
Simone went still. A smile played on her lips. “Like…a bear, for instance?”
