Chapter 4
970 Words
Dana's POV.
I got a message from Ivan but I didn’t answer, then he came to the training grounds and I ignored him. He waited in the cold for two hours before Sawyer told him to leave.
Next, he went to Grant.
I found out through one of our warriors that they met briefly. That Grant had told him to go to hell. That was more satisfying than it should’ve been.
But still, he didn’t stop.
He sent letters. I didn’t open them.
He sent a gift for Rina, a necklace with a silver moon charm. I gave it to Sawyer and told him to burn it.
The more he tried, the angrier I became.
Why now?
Why try after all this time?
He made his choice. He turned his back on me. On her. On everything.
I didn’t need him in our lives and neither did Rina.
"Mama, why can’t I talk to him?" she asked one morning while eating her cereal.
I looked at her and tried to smile. "Because I said so, sweetheart. He’s not someone you need to be around."
"But he was nice. He looked like me."
That part hit hard. I cleared my throat and stood to take her bowl. "No more questions, okay?"
She nodded, but I knew she didn’t mean it. She was too curious.
The days after the funeral were quiet, but not peaceful. Everyone in Uncle Axel's pack moved slower, spoke softer. Tiana's death had left a hole no one could fill. I tried to focus on helping where I could, but inside me, everything was in chaos.
Ivan hadn't left.
Even after I told him to go. Even after I pulled Rina away from him and warned her not to speak to him. He still stayed.
I saw him more than I wanted to. Sometimes walking the edges of the training field. Sometimes near the packhouse. Once, I caught him near the playground where the pups played. I knew he was looking for Rina, hoping she'd come out and speak to him. She didn’t— not because she didn’t want to. I saw the way she looked at him in curiosity.
I had warned her. Told her he was a stranger. That he wasn’t someone she needed in her life.
She nodded and stayed quiet but I knew my daughter. Her silence didn’t mean she understood. It meant she was thinking. Wondering. And I hated it.
I didn’t want Ivan anywhere near her.
But I couldn’t bring myself to bother Uncle Axel. He was still grieving. I saw it in the way he sat by the fireplace every night, holding Tiana’s scarf. In the way he didn’t eat unless someone reminded him. In the way he didn’t smile anymore. Asking him to remove Ivan would feel selfish, cruel even, so I stayed quiet.
Grant had already left. He didn’t even say goodbye when he did. He stood by Tiana’s grave with his head low, then turned and walked away. I watched him go. I didn’t chase him.
I had no one else to talk to except awyer.
He found me sitting outside the training cabin one evening. The sun had dipped low, and the air was cool.
"You okay?" he asked, sitting beside me.
I shook my head. "Not really."
He didn’t speak for a while. Just sat there with me.
I felt tears sting my eyes. I didn’t want to cry again. Not after all these years, especially not over the same man who had broken my heart before but I couldn’t keep it in.
"Rina met him," I whispered.
Sawyer turned his head to me, confusion in his eyes. "Who?"
"Her father."
He froze. "You mean... Ivan?"
I nodded, wiping my cheek. "At the funeral. She got lost in the crowd, and he found her. I don’t know what he said to her. But she remembers him. She keeps asking about him without really asking. I see it in her eyes."
Sawyer was quiet.
Then he said, "You never told me."
"I was ashamed. I didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t even want to remember."
"You don’t have to be ashamed of anything."
I looked at him. At his warm eyes and the kindness they always held. Sawyer had been my rock since the day I arrived at Axel’s pack. He trained with me, ate with me, sat with me when Rina cried in the night. He never asked for anything in return. Never pushed.
But now... something was different.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wooden box. I stared at it, my heart slowing.
"What is that?"
He opened it and found a silver ring with a tiny blue stone in the middle.
My breath caught.
"I know this isn’t what you were expecting. And I’m not trying to take anyone’s place. I just... I care about you. I care about Rina. You’ve built something here, Dana. You’re strong. You’re loved. And you don’t have to keep hurting."
I blinked, not sure what to say.
"Marry me," he said softly. "Let’s give Rina the life she deserves. Let’s give you the peace you need."
I looked down at the ring. My heart felt like it was being pulled in two directions. One toward the past I wanted to bury, and one toward a future I might actually want.
Sawyer was offering me safety, love and a fresh start.
Part of me screamed yes but another part still ached. Still burned with anger and confusion and pain from Ivan’s betrayal.
I took the box gently and held it in my lap.
"I need time.”
Sawyer nodded. "Take all the time you need."
I leaned into his shoulder, letting out a slow breath.
Rina would ask questions.
Ivan would keep hanging around.
- Writer
