“There’s another thing we need to discuss,” I say, vulnerability threading through despite my best efforts. “Lena.”
Rowan lifts his glass but doesn’t drink, watching me over the rim. “What about her?”
“You sent her to stay with people I don’t know.” My throat tightens around words I’ve kept bottled for days. “Strangers stepping into my role as her provider.”
“That bothered you.” Not a question.
“Of course it bothered me.” My fingers curl into my palm. “Milo. Leo. Spa days. Designer clothes. Custom nape guards. All these people I’ve never met, giving her things I could never afford.”
Rowan sets his glass down, his attention fixed on me. “It made you feel replaced.”
The simple truth of it knocks the air from my lungs. “Yes.”
“I should have considered that.” He runs a hand over his stubbled jaw. “But Saint didn’t drop Lena off with strangers, Ash. He lives with the Rockfords. Maybe you’ve heard of them?”
“The billionaires?” I ask in disbelief.
“The very ones. They have a family manor in Skyhaven, which is where he took Lena. The place is a fortress. There are nine Rockfords, and they all have mates. It sounds like the Omegas who live there took it upon themselves to welcome Lena to their fold.”
“I don’t care if they’re Saint’s family,” I say sharply. “I’ve never met them. And suddenly they’re taking my sister shopping and buying her things and?—”
“I understand.” Rowan lifts a hand, cutting through my building panic. “I wasn’t outsourcing Lena, Ash. I was expanding her circle of safety.”
I blink at him, thrown by the phrasing.
“Saint isn’t just crew, he’s family,” Rowan says with a certainty I’ve rarely heard when discussing personal matters. “He would die before letting anyone hurt her. Rockford Manor is the most secure place within a hundred miles. I wasn’t replacing you. I was adding layers of protection.”
My stomach tightens as I absorb his words,searching for the manipulation beneath them and finding none.
“If it makes you more comfortable, you can reimburse me for anything they purchased.” He steps away from the bar, giving me physical space as he continues. “But understand they didn’t do it out of pity or charity. Milo takes great joy in spending Rockford money, according to Saint. And Leo is a new papa who needed the excuse to relax.”
I frown. “And next time?”
“Next time, I’ll make sure you’re informed of the full situation first, so you can decide what you want to do.” Rowan’s amber stare holds steady. “But Ash, you need to consider that Lena is allowed more than survival. You can loosen the reins without losing her.”
My shoulders drop as the truth burrows beneath my defenses. For so long, keeping Lena alive and safe has been my singular focus. The idea that she might need and deserve more than basic security is both obvious and impossibly distant.
“You’re asking me to trust you with her.”
“You already trust me with her on an instinctive level,” he counters. “That’s why you asked me to make sure she was safe when you went into Heat. What I’m asking is for you to trust yourself enough to share the burden, even when it’s not an emergency.”
Rowan’s fingers tap a slow rhythm on the bar. “Letting Lena have nice things, experience comfort, and build connections doesn’t erase what you’ve sacrificed to get her this far.”
Reaching out, I take the whiskey from him and take a bracing sip, letting it warm my belly. “What do you want from me, Rowan?”
His chest rises with a slow breath. “I want the locksmith and the Omega. The asset and the partner. I want you to be independentandclaimed. Challenging meandtrusting me.”
He steps closer, his scent wrapping around me with familiar heat. “I don’t want ownership, Ash. I want you to choose me, the same as I’ve chosen you.”
“Choice must be visible.” I hold my ground as he approaches. “I have to be consulted when you disagree with me. Especially then. Not after decisions are made.”
His tongue skims his bottom lip. “And what do you offer in return?”
“I stay.” A tremor goes through me. “I don’t run when things get complicated. I tell you when I’m scared instead of icing you out.”
He reaches out to cup my jaw, tilting my face up. “And you’ll move back home? You and Lena?”
“Yeah.” The words catch in my throat, but I force them out. “If she wants to come.”
