Chapter 6
1146 Words
What He Lost
The pack felt off the moment Rowan stepped outside.
Nothing had changed in a way anyone could point to. Wolves still moved through the courtyard, patrols rotated like they always did, and voices carried across the training grounds. On the surface, everything looked the same.
But it wasn't.
There was a hesitation now-a pause where there hadn't been one before. Conversations dipped a little too quickly when he passed. A few wolves didn't quite meet his eyes.
It was small.
But it was there.
Rowan's gaze moved over the courtyard slowly, taking everything in without letting it show on his face. This was still his pack. His territory. Nothing had changed.
Except it had.
"Where is she?"
He didn't mean to say it out loud.
But he did.
A few wolves nearby stilled for half a second before moving again.
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
Rowan already knew.
Raymond stood a few steps behind him, arms crossed, watching him in that quiet way of his.
"She's gone," he said.
Rowan didn't turn. "I know that."
The silence that followed wasn't empty. It sat between them, heavy with everything neither of them was saying.
"She left before the order was finalized," Raymond added.
That made Rowan glance over, just slightly. "Of course she did."
He looked back toward the gates, toward the line where the pack's territory ended. It tracked. Kaia had never been the type to wait for permission, especially not when it was being used against her.
"And no one stopped her?" he asked.
Raymond shook his head once. "She didn't give anyone the chance."
Rowan let out a slow breath and turned away from the courtyard.
"She'll come back."
It sounded more like something he was telling himself than anything else.
Raymond didn't answer.
That silence said enough.
By evening, the tension had settled into the pack.
It showed in small things. Patrols are running longer than they should have. Wolves are checking in twice on things that normally didn't need it. The way no one said her name, but it lingered anyway.
Rowan stepped into the training grounds just as a sparring match ended. Two wolves broke apart, breathing hard, neither looking satisfied.
"Again," Rowan said.
They didn't hesitate. They went right back at it, faster this time, harder.
Good.
It kept them focused.
A guard approached, careful but not slow enough to draw attention.
"Alpha."
Rowan didn't look at him. "Speak."
"Still no sign of her."
Rowan's hand tightened slightly at his side. "Then look harder."
"We've checked the usual-"
"I didn't ask what you've checked."
The guard stopped immediately. "Yes, Alpha."
He stepped back without another word.
Rowan watched the fight continue, but his attention wasn't really there.
It kept drifting.
Back to the same thing.
The way she had stood in that room.
Not arguing. Not pleading.
Just... done.
"She made her choice," Rowan muttered.
It didn't settle anything.
Later that night, the storm rolled in hard.
Rain hit the windows in heavy sheets, wind rattling against the walls as thunder rolled through the distance. The sound filled the office, steady and constant.
Rowan stood by the window, staring out.
Or trying to.
His reflection stared back at him more than anything else.
The door opened behind him.
He didn't turn.
"You're still here."
Raymond's voice was low, steady.
Rowan let out a breath. "Where else would I be?"
The door shut, and the room settled again.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then-
"You really let that happen."
There was no accusation in it.
That made it worse.
Rowan's hand pressed against the edge of the desk, fingers tightening slightly. "It needed to be done."
Raymond didn't move. "No. It didn't."
Rowan turned just enough to look at him. "You were in the room. You saw how it was going."
"Yeah," Raymond said. "I did."
A pause.
"She wasn't coming for you."
Rowan looked away again, back to the storm. "That's not what this was about."
Raymond stepped further into the room, not pushing, just staying there.
"Then what was it about?"
For a second, it looked like Rowan wasn't going to answer.
Then-
"...Someone's been watching her."
Raymond frowned slightly. "Watching her, how?"
Rowan didn't look at him. "Paying attention. Asking questions they shouldn't have answers to."
"That happens," Raymond said. "She's Luna."
Rowan shook his head. "Not like this."
The words came quieter now.
"I started hearing things. Small at first. Names, movements, decisions-stuff that never left council. And it wasn't coming from the council."
That shifted the air.
"You think someone inside the pack is feeding information?" Raymond asked.
"I don't think," Rowan said. "I know something's off. I just don't know who."
The rain hit harder against the glass.
Raymond dragged a hand over the back of his neck. "And your answer was to send her out on her own?"
Rowan's voice dropped. "My answer was to get her away from it."
"That's not the same thing."
"No," Rowan said. "It's not."
He didn't argue it.
Raymond let out a breath. "You should've told her."
Rowan's head tilted slightly. "And say what? That someone she trusts might be waiting for the right moment to use her?"
"That's still better than this."
Rowan turned sharper this time. "Not if I don't know who I'm dealing with."
There was less control in it now.
"I wasn't going to wait for them to make a move while she stayed here like nothing was wrong."
Raymond held his gaze. "So instead, you made sure she thinks you chose against her."
Rowan looked away first.
"I made sure she was out of reach."
Raymond didn't answer right away.
Because there wasn't a clean response to that.
After a second, he shook his head. "That's not how she's going to see it."
Rowan's jaw tightened.
"I know."
The room went quiet after that.
Not tense.
Just... settled.
Raymond didn't push it further. He turned toward the door, then paused.
"Whatever you think you just prevented," he said, "I hope it was worth it."
Then he left.
Rowan stayed where he was.
The storm hadn't eased. Rain still hit the glass, steady and unforgiving.
He stared out at it, but he wasn't really seeing it.
Somewhere beyond the pack-
She was on her own.
Because of him.
For the first time since the council-
Something didn't sit right.
Not the decision.
Not the outcome.
Something deeper than that.
And he didn't have a way to fix it.
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🖤 Thank you for reading
I'm really curious what you think about Rowan after this...
Did he do the right thing trying to protect her, or did he just make it worse?
And the fact that someone inside the pack was watching her... who do you think it is? 👀
Votes and comments honestly mean a lot 🖤
- Writer
