“Then at least you’ll know.” Tessa released her hand, sitting back in her chair. “And at least you’ll have given him the chance to choose for himself. Isn’t that what you would want? The freedom to make your own decisions, rather than having someone else decide what’s best for you?”
She thought about her father. About the sheltered life he’d built for her, the walls of protection that had become walls of limitation. She thought about Marina, making decisions about Ember’s future without ever asking what Ember wanted.
She thought about Rykan, standing by the window with that careful blankness in his eyes, already withdrawing because he assumed she would leave him behind.
Have you told him what you want?
The truth was, she hadn’t. She’d been so busy preparing herself for inevitable loss that she’d never stopped to question whether it actually had to be inevitable. She’d decided that Rykan would be unhappy in Port Cantor, that he would resent her for pulling him away from his mountains, and that whatever they had couldn’t survive the pressures of her real life.
But she’d never asked. She’d never given him the choice.
Just like he’d never asked her what she wanted when he’d pulled away last night. When he’d decided that claiming her would be a mistake, that she deserved better, that he knew what was best.
We’ve both been doing the same thing,she realized.Protecting each other from decisions neither of us has the right to make alone.
“You’re right,” she said quietly. “I need to talk to him.”
“Good.” Tessa’s smile warmed. “Though maybe wait until after dinner. Difficult conversations are easier on a full stomach.”
A startled laugh escaped her throat—the first genuine laugh she’d had in days. “Is that the secret to a successful relationship with a Vultor? Strategic meal timing?”
“That and learning when to stand your ground.” Tessa’s eyes sparkled with humor. “They respect strength. Even when—especially when—that strength is being used to tell them they’re being idiots.”
The door opened, letting in a gust of cold air and the scent of blood and evergreens. Rykan ducked through first, a massive haunch over one shoulder, with Korrin following carrying the rest of the kill wrapped in a hide. Both men were speckled with snow.
“The weather is clearing,” Korrin announced, setting his burden down near the cold storage alcove. “Looks like we’re in for a warmer spell.”
She met Rykan’s eyes across the cabin. He looked uncertain, wary, like a male expecting rejection and bracing himself against the blow.
We need to talk,she thought.Really talk. About what we want, what we’re afraid of, what we’re willing to risk.
But Tessa was right. That conversation could wait for later, when they weren’t exhausted and surrounded by strangers.
For now, she rose from her chair and moved to help him with the meat, her shoulder brushing his as she reached for the cutting tools.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked quietly, and watched the surprise bloom in his eyes.
It wasn’t much. Just a small thing—a willingness to be present, to not run away from the complicated tangle of feelings between them. But it was a start.
CHAPTER 19
The snow creaked beneath their boots as Rykan led Korrin through the darkening trees. Neither spoke. He had nothing to say, and Korrin seemed content to observe. The other Vultor moved with the easy confidence of a male comfortable in his own skin, scanning the forest with the casual alertness of a born predator.
He hated how natural it felt to have another Vultor at his side.
Six years alone in these mountains. Six years of silence and solitude and the slow, grinding work of rebuilding himself from the wreckage of his old life. He’d convinced himself that he preferred it this way. That the absence of pack meant the absence of betrayal, and that was a trade worth making.
But walking beside Korrin now, matching strides through territory he knew better than his own heartbeat, something in his chest ached with recognition.
You miss it,his beast rumbled.The belonging.
He ignored it.
“This way.” He veered left, following the trail he’d broken earlier when he’d abandoned his kill.
Korrin kept pace easily, his amber eyes missing nothing. “Nice territory you’ve carved out here. Good hunting grounds, defensible position, fresh water year-round. You’ve done well for a lone wolf.”
“Stop calling me that.”
