I sit and lick my paw. It aches from the blows to the tree.Do you ever get tired of feeling helpless?
Sage sits beside me.Every damn day.
I let out a slow breath.When Tobias first came here, I didn’t think he’d last a week. He was so skittish, so afraid. Didn’t trust anyone. And now—I shake my head.Now I’d tear apart anyone who touches him.
Sage gives me a sideways glance.That’s the fated instinct talking. It’s not rational.
The tether thrums again. I focus on it, trying to listen without being swallowed by it. It feels… dimmer now. Like Tobias has pulled back.
That terrifies me more than anything.
What if he shuts me out? Doesn’t open up to me?
Sage looks at me like he’s heard that same fear in his own head once.That’s a heartbreak I wouldn’t wish on anyone, Ro. To be rejected by a fated mate…He bumps me with his head.But I don’t think that’s what’s happening. He’s just scared. Keep trying.
Grant turns toward the house.We should head back before it rains.
Sage gets to his feet, but I don’t move. My gaze lingers on the vast forest. It’s so dark and endless, just like Tobias’s fear.
Rip’s not done. He knows where we are now.
Grant’s jaw tightens.Then let him come.
Easy for him to say. He’s not the one with a mate branded by the enemy.
I take off toward the house, needing the motion, the release. The others follow close behind.
By the time we reach the edge of the yard, my lungs burn and my body aches, but the anger hasn’t left me. It just sits there, coiled. Ready.
The porch light glows faintly through the trees. I can smell Tobias here—his scent tangled with the acrid scent of fear. I sink onto the bottom step, elbows on my knees, head bowed. My wolf growls low inside me, restless.
Sage stops beside me, his voice soft. “Have you ever asked him if you can mark him? Or have you just been so determined to give him time and space that it never crossed your mind?”
The bluntness of his question cuts through the fog.
I look up at him. “You really think it’s that easy?”
He smiles faintly. “Tobias wants you, Rowen. That’s all I know. Trust your gut.”
He leaves me there, and I stay long after the others have gone, listening to the house creak around me.
Through the bond, Tobias’s heartbeat evens out, slower now, steadier. He’s not asleep—but he’s calm enough that I can breathe again.
I press a hand to my chest, feeling the echo of it.
He’s mine. Not in the way Rip thinks. Not as possession, or power.
He’s mine because fate decided I’d be the one to stand in front of him when the world comes for him.
And gods help anyone who tries.
33
ROWEN
Irun a hand down my face and stand. The boards creak under my bare feet as I climb the stairs, slow and uncertain. I’ve never been good at this part—the aftermath. It’s why I’ve never had a relationship last longer than our first argument. I’d rather just walk away than deal with the consequences.
But not with Tobias.
