Chapter Thirty
1360 Words
The moment the vehicle stopped, Rowan was out.
No hesitation.
No goodbye.
No looking back.
She grabbed her bag from the back seat and headed straight for the packhouse.
The bond tugged immediately.
Painful.
Persistent.
She ignored it.
The front doors were only a few steps away when they burst open.
"ROWAN!"
Gods.
Not now.
Lyra practically flew down the steps.
A grin already forming.
Excitement written all over her face.
Without thinking, Rowan stopped.
Turned.
And snapped.
"I am NOT in the mood for this right now, Lyra."
Silence.
Immediate.
Brutal.
The words echoed louder than she'd intended.
Lyra froze.
The smile vanished.
Rowan regretted it instantly.
Didn't stop.
Didn't apologize.
Didn't explain.
She simply turned and kept walking.
Straight through the doors.
Straight toward her room.
And straight away from the stunned expression she'd left behind.
───
Lyra stared after her.
Then slowly turned toward Kael.
Who had just climbed out of the vehicle.
"What did you do?"
The accusation came immediately.
Kael sighed.
Long.
Tired.
Exhausted.
"Lyra—"
"What did you do?"
The question came again.
More suspicious this time.
More concerned.
Because Rowan never snapped at her.
Ever.
Something had happened.
Something bad.
Before Kael could answer, another voice interrupted.
"Kael."
Jace crossed the courtyard quickly.
His expression immediately wiping away any chance of having this conversation.
The Beta looked serious.
Very serious.
Lyra noticed too.
Her frustration faded instantly.
"What happened?"
Jace's gaze shifted briefly toward her.
Then back to Kael.
"We need to talk."
Kael felt his stomach sink.
The look on Jace's face told him everything he needed to know.
This wasn't routine.
This wasn't paperwork.
This was a problem.
A real one.
"Now?"
Jace nodded once.
"Now."
Lyra crossed her arms.
"I still want answers."
Kael managed a tired smile.
"We'll talk later."
The answer satisfied exactly no one.
Especially Lyra.
But after a moment, she sighed.
"If it's pack business, go."
Reluctantly.
Very reluctantly.
Kael nodded.
Then followed Jace toward the packhouse.
───
The walk to the study passed quickly.
The silence between them felt heavy.
By the time the door closed behind them, Kael was already preparing for bad news.
He wasn't prepared for this.
"What happened?"
Jace remained standing.
His expression grim.
"Someone's making moves against the pack."
Kael immediately straightened.
The exhaustion vanished.
The Alpha took over.
"What kind of moves?"
"We've had multiple incidents along the borders."
Jace crossed his arms.
"They're using rogues."
Kael frowned.
"Using them?"
Jace nodded.
"Creating distractions."
The room grew colder.
"They hit one side of the territory."
His jaw tightened.
"Then something happens somewhere else."
A slow knot formed in Kael's stomach.
Coordinated.
Organized.
Intentional.
Not random.
Not normal rogue behavior.
"Casualties?"
The answer came immediately.
"One."
Silence.
Kael's stomach dropped.
"Who?"
Jace looked away briefly.
Then back.
"Malcolm."
The name hit harder than expected.
Kael remembered him.
Young.
Married.
Two children.
A dependable guard who had spent years protecting the territory.
Gods.
Kael lowered himself into his chair.
Running a hand over his face.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then—
"Make sure the family doesn't pay for anything."
Jace nodded immediately.
"Already started."
"Funeral expenses."
"Covered."
"Good."
Kael stared at the desk.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Planning.
"What about their finances?"
Jace paused.
Then nodded.
"I'll look into it."
"Do more than look."
Kael's voice hardened.
"If they need support, they get it."
No hesitation.
"No questions asked."
Jace nodded again.
"Understood."
The room fell silent.
Eventually, Jace spoke.
"What do you want to do?"
Kael leaned back in his chair.
Thinking.
The attack.
The rogues.
The timing.
The coordination.
None of it felt right.
"When did the incidents happen?"
"Night."
Immediately.
Every time.
Kael's jaw tightened.
Of course.
"Then we start there."
Jace waited.
"We need to figure out who's behind this."
Kael stood.
Moved toward the window.
The territory stretched beyond it.
His territory.
His responsibility.
His people.
"But until we do, nobody takes unnecessary risks."
Jace nodded.
Already understanding.
"Pack-wide curfew?"
"Pack-wide curfew."
No one out after dark.
Not until they knew what they were dealing with.
"Make the announcement."
"Yes, Alpha."
Jace turned toward the door.
Then paused.
His hand resting on the handle.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then—
"Kael?"
Kael looked up.
Something in Jace's expression had changed.
The Beta studied him quietly.
Carefully.
Like he'd been waiting to ask the question all along.
"Are you okay?"
The room fell silent.
For a second, Kael almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it wasn't.
Not even a little.
Slowly, he ran a hand over his face.
Exhaustion settling back onto his shoulders.
The Alpha.
The bond.
Rowan.
The attacks.
The dead guard.
Everything.
All at once.
"No."
The answer came quietly.
Honest.
Painfully honest.
Jace didn't look surprised.
Kael stared down at the desk.
Then shook his head.
"But I'm the Alpha King."
His voice steadied.
The mask sliding back into place.
Piece by piece.
"I don't get to not be okay."
The words hung heavily in the room.
Jace said nothing.
Because there was nothing to say.
After a moment, Kael forced himself to stand straighter.
Forced himself to breathe.
Forced himself to be what everyone needed him to be.
"I'll be fine."
It was a lie.
Both of them knew it.
Neither mentioned it.
And after a long moment, Jace nodded once and quietly left the room.
Leaving Kael alone with the weight of an entire kingdom.
And one heartbroken woman he couldn't stop thinking about.
Rowan didn't remember walking to her room.
One moment she was stepping through the front doors of the packhouse.
The next she was standing inside her bedroom.
Alone.
The silence felt deafening.
For several long moments, she simply stood there.
Staring.
The room looked exactly the same.
The quilt folded neatly across the foot of her bed.
The wooden wolf carving her father had made for her when she was ten.
The stack of books she'd left on the nightstand before leaving for Fernhaven.
Everything exactly where she'd left it.
As though nothing had changed.
Rowan laughed once.
A short, bitter sound.
Everything had changed.
Slowly, she crossed the room and dropped her travel bag beside the bed.
Then she started unpacking.
Not because she wanted to.
Because she needed something to do.
A shirt.
A sweater.
The books she'd bought in Fernhaven.
Her hand froze on the first one.
The bookstore.
Gods.
For one terrible moment she could smell old paper again.
Hear Kael laughing at the number of books she'd purchased.
Feel the warmth of the afternoon sun spilling through the windows.
Rowan shoved the book into a drawer.
Harder than necessary.
No.
She wasn't doing this.
Not again.
Not today.
Her eyes landed on the writing desk near the window.
And suddenly she knew exactly what she needed to do.
The decision came with surprising clarity.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Just certainty.
Rowan crossed the room.
Pulled out a chair.
And sat.
The blank page waited.
For several moments, she simply stared at it.
Then she picked up the pen.
Dear Council of Elders,
I am formally requesting an immediate meeting regarding the continuation of the trial between Alpha Kael Blackwood and myself.
I believe circumstances have changed significantly enough to warrant early review and discussion.
I ask that this meeting be scheduled as soon as possible.
Respectfully,
Rowan Wilder
She read the letter once.
Then folded it.
Sealed it.
And stood.
The bond twisted painfully in her chest.
She ignored it.
The bedroom door opened.
A young servant paused in surprise at the sight of her.
"Miss Wilder?"
Rowan held out the letter.
"I need this delivered to the Council."
The servant accepted it immediately.
"Of course."
Rowan's gaze hardened slightly.
"As soon as possible."
Something in her tone must have carried the weight of the request.
Because the servant straightened instantly.
"Immediately."
Rowan nodded once.
Then watched the woman disappear down the hallway.
The door closed again.
The room fell silent.
And for the first time since leaving Fernhaven, Rowan felt like she could breathe.
Not because the pain was gone.
Because she had finally done something about it.
- Writer
