Chapter Four
1137 Words
Chapter Four —
He came back three days later.
Not alone.
Never alone.
───
Kael arrived with a diplomatic escort that looked too much like an army pretending to be polite.
Rowan saw him the moment he crossed the ridge.
And so did everyone else.
The entire pack felt it.
That pressure.
That shift in the air.
───
Mine.
The bond didn’t whisper anymore.
It pressed.
Demanded attention.
Rowan hated how her body reacted before her mind did.
───
Kael dismounted.
Slowly.
Controlled.
Like every movement was deliberate restraint.
His eyes found hers instantly.
Everything else disappeared.
───
Edrin stepped forward first.
“Alpha Kael.”
Kael nodded once.
“Edrin.”
No hostility.
No warmth.
Just recognition.
Then—
his gaze flicked back to Rowan.
And stayed there too long.
───
One of the elders behind Edrin muttered, “That’s not diplomatic behavior.”
Rowan almost agreed.
───
Kael spoke.
“I need to speak with her.”
Edrin didn’t move.
“That’s not how this works.”
Kael’s jaw tightened slightly.
“I’m not asking for permission.”
That changed the air instantly.
───
Rowan stepped forward before Edrin could escalate it.
“You can talk,” she said sharply. “But dont act like you own me.”
Kael’s expression hardened almost imperceptibly.
───
Silence hit the clearing.
───
Rowan felt it again.
That pull.
Stronger now.
Because distance hadn’t weakened it.
It had sharpened it.
───
Kael lowered his voice.
“We need to discuss what this means.”
Rowan scoffed.
“It means you walked into my territory, caused a problem, and now want to fix it.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t care.”
───
But she did.
And he knew it.
Edrin looked at Rowan.
Then Kael.
Then sighed heavily.
"You have one hour."
Rowan frowned.
"What?"
"You clearly need to discuss this."
His expression hardened.
"But you're not leaving the territory."
The warning was directed mostly at Kael.
The Alpha inclined his head once.
"Understood."
The warriors looked less understanding.
Especially when Rowan began walking toward the tree line with Kael following behind her.
She could feel dozens of eyes burning into her back.
Connor looked like he was attending her funeral.
It made her chest ache.
The moment they disappeared beyond the edge of the clearing, silence settled between them.
Neither spoke.
The bond hummed.
Annoyingly aware.
Annoyingly present.
Rowan hated it.
After several minutes, she finally stopped beside a small stream.
The same stream where she'd spent half her childhood.
Kael stopped several feet away.
Giving her space.
Smart man.
Because she was dangerously close to throwing him into the water.
Neither spoke.
The silence stretched.
Then Rowan laughed.
A sharp, humorless sound.
"This is ridiculous."
Kael's gaze remained fixed on her.
"I agree."
She looked at him.
Really looked at him.
Tall.
Powerful.
Controlled.
The kind of Alpha most wolves would willingly follow.
And somehow that only made everything worse.
"I didn't expect it to be like this."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Something flickered across his face.
"What did you expect?"
Rowan laughed again.
This time it sounded sad.
"I don't know."
She kicked a stone into the stream.
"I thought I'd find him here."
Her voice softened.
"In my pack."
Kael remained silent.
Listening.
Rowan stared at the moving water.
"I thought I'd know him already."
The confession hurt.
"I thought we'd grow up together."
Her throat tightened.
"Maybe train together."
She smiled weakly.
"Maybe he'd be one of the idiots I already spend every day yelling at."
A small smile touched Kael's mouth.
It vanished quickly.
Rowan folded her arms.
"I imagined a life."
The bond shifted.
Listening.
Watching.
Waiting.
She hated that too.
"I imagined having pups here."
Her eyes drifted toward the distant pack lands.
"My children running through these woods."
Her voice cracked.
"My grandchildren growing up here."
The ache in her chest became unbearable.
"This is my home."
The words came out barely above a whisper.
"And now I'm supposed to leave it."
Silence.
The stream continued flowing.
Birds sang somewhere overhead.
The world carried on.
As though hers hadn't just fallen apart.
"I saved myself for my mate."
The admission slipped free unexpectedly.
Heat immediately rushed into her face.
Gods.
Why had she said that?
Kael's expression changed.
Something softer, just for a second.
Something almost painful.
Rowan looked away.
"I thought it would mean something."
His voice was quiet when he finally spoke.
"It does."
She laughed bitterly.
"Does it?"
Kael stepped closer.
Not enough to crowd her.
Just enough that she could feel his presence.
"The bond matters."
"Easy for you to say."
His jaw tightened.
"You think this is easy for me?"
Rowan rounded on him.
"Isn't it?"
For the first time since she'd met him, genuine frustration crossed his face.
"No."
The force of the answer surprised her.
Kael dragged a hand through his dark hair.
"You think I wanted this?"
Rowan blinked.
He exhaled sharply.
"When I found my mate, I expected certainty."
Something painful entered his expression.
"Not this."
His eyes flicked away.
Briefly.
As if certainty had once seemed possible.
Rowan froze.
Because she knew exactly what he meant.
The confusion.
The frustration.
The impossible circumstances.
The mess.
Kael looked away briefly.
"As Alpha, every decision I make affects my pack."
His gaze returned to hers.
"And now every decision affects you too."
The bond pulsed.
Warm.
Steady.
Relentless.
Rowan swallowed.
Neither spoke for a long moment.
Then quietly asked,
"What happens now?"
Kael's expression hardened slightly.
Back to business.
Back to reality.
"The Accord will be reviewed."
She groaned.
"Wonderful."
A ghost of amusement flickered across his face.
"The elders will verify the bond."
"Wonderful."
"They'll recognize the ruling."
"Even better."
His mouth twitched.
The first hint of an actual smile she'd ever seen from him.
It irritated her immediately.
"Stop that."
"What?"
"Looking amused."
The smile grew.
Very slightly.
"You make it difficult."
Rowan rolled her eyes.
For a brief moment, the crushing weight on her chest eased.
Then reality returned.
Because it always did.
Her smile vanished.
"So that's it?"
Kael's expression sobered immediately.
"No."
The single word felt heavier than it should have.
"What else is there?"
His eyes met hers.
Direct.
Unflinching.
"The bond."
The air seemed to thicken.
Rowan's pulse jumped.
Annoying.
Traitorous thing.
Kael took another slow breath.
"We decide what happens with it."
Rowan stared at him.
"Do we?"
"Yes."
"The Goddess tied our souls together."
"She did."
"The law says I have to leave."
"It does."
She spread her hands.
"So where exactly is my choice in all of this?"
Kael went silent.
Because for once...
He didn't have an answer.
And somehow that hurt more than if he had.
- Writer
