He’s right. I know he is, but I also hadn’t been looking at things as if they were one and the same. It’s time I do that.
After breakfast, I’ll begin making the calls, I promise.
And you’d better hope the two other surviving council members haven’t hidden themselves too well.
Why is?—
A startling snarl fills the room, and suddenly, dog-sized Archie is standing at the foot of the bed, panting, fur bristling, eyes wide and wild.
“She’s okay,” he says heavily, finally scanning Rowan next to me.
“We’re back at NightShade,” I say softly, not wanting to wake her. “We’re safe for now.”
Archie exhales sharply, and in a blink his body compresses—fur shrinking, limbs shortening until he’s back to ferret size. He scurries up the blankets and settles himself firmly between Rowan and me, like a sentinel.
His small voice is rough with emotion. “She’s really back.”
I nod. “Yes, she is.”
Archie studies me for a long moment—long enough that I realize this isn’t about Rowan anymore.
It’s aboutus.
“I couldn’t find her,” he admits quietly. “The trail I’d been on had gone cold. I knew she was right there, but I didn’t know wheretherewas. It was maddening, and the fact that I failed her…”
“You didn’t fail her,” I say immediately.
He flicks his tail. “Doesn’t feel that way.”
“You’ll see when she wakes.” I keep my voice low, steady. “As much as I hate what she went through, I don’t think she’d change her time with Malrik. But even as strong as she is now, we still have our roles. You’ll get to protect her again.”
He tilts his head. “And you?”
Is this small animal really challenging me? Based on the intensity of his beady black eyes as he stares me down, I’d say yes.
And it’s one I don’t hesitate to meet.
“I won’t let anything touch her,” I vow. “Not Malrik. Not the council. Not even fate. Whatever comes next, I’ll be standing between her and every threat she faces.”
Archie watches me for another beat. Then, surprisingly, he relaxes. His little shoulders slump. His whiskers twitch, but not in warning.
“Good,” he murmurs, settling against Rowan’s hip. “Because that’sourjob now.”
My chest tightens with something fierce and bone-deep.
Approval and acceptance. Not just from her wolf.
Not from her father.
But from the one creature who’s been with her longer than any of us.
“Yes, it is,” I reply with certainty.
Rowan shifts in her sleep, curling closer to me, but also placing a hand over Archie’s back.
For over a decade, I haven’t known what family feels like, but I think I’m finally starting to remember, and not only that…
I’m remembering how to be part of one again.
