Chapter Thirty-Six
1662 Words
For a few moments, the room settled into an uneasy calm.
Rowan sipped her coffee.
Lyra continued looking entirely too pleased that she was awake.
Jace leaned against the wall.
And Kael stood near the foot of the bed.
The brief moment of relief faded quickly.
Because reality was still waiting.
Eventually, Kael exhaled.
The sound immediately drew everyone's attention.
His expression hardened.
The Alpha returning.
"We've been reviewing reports."
The room quieted.
"Everyone agrees on one thing."
Rowan frowned.
"What?"
Kael's jaw tightened.
"It looks like you and Evelyn were the targets."
Silence.
Immediate.
Rowan stared.
"What?"
Jace nodded grimly.
"The warrior who found you wasn't random."
A knot formed in Rowan's stomach.
"He was looking specifically for you."
Kael folded his arms.
"And the rogues bypassed multiple groups of pack members."
The implication settled heavily between them.
"They went straight for the lake."
Lyra's smile disappeared.
Completely.
"They were hunting you?"
"Looks that way."
Jace didn't sound happy about it.
At all.
The room fell silent.
Rowan looked down at her coffee.
Thinking.
Why?
She wasn't important politically.
Neither was Evelyn.
Not compared to Kael.
So why target them?
The question lingered.
Unanswered.
"We still don't know who's behind it."
Kael moved toward the window.
"The warriors have managed to hold them back."
His voice darkened.
"But barely."
Jace nodded.
"They're exhausted."
Another pause.
"Hungry."
Another.
"Injured."
The room grew quieter.
"The attacks aren't stopping."
Kael's gaze remained fixed outside.
"And we can't put the targets underground with everyone else."
Rowan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Jace answered first.
"If whoever is behind this figures out where the shelters are..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
The implication was obvious.
Hundreds of pack members.
Families.
Children.
All trapped underground together.
One successful breach would be catastrophic.
"So what?" Rowan asked quietly.
"We keep moving."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"We keep guards around you and Evelyn."
The frustration in his voice was obvious.
"But every warrior protecting the two of you is a warrior not protecting the territory."
The realization hit immediately.
Gods.
That was it.
That was the problem.
The rogues weren't just attacking.
They were forcing Silver Moon to divide its strength.
And suddenly—
An idea appeared.
"My pack."
Every head turned toward her.
"What?" Lyra asked.
Rowan sat up a little straighter.
Ignoring the protest from her ribs.
"If the rogues are targeting us, then take us away."
Silence.
Kael frowned.
"What?"
"Cedar Ridge."
The idea became clearer the more she thought about it.
"You, me, Evelyn, whoever else is necessary."
Jace's expression sharpened.
Interested.
Rowan pointed toward the window.
"If we're the reason Silver Moon has to keep splitting its forces, then remove us from the equation."
The room went quiet.
"The warriors can stop babysitting us."
A pause.
"They can focus on protecting their pack."
Kael looked thoughtful.
But unconvinced.
"Cedar Ridge has fewer warriors than Silver Moon."
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
"But every warrior in Cedar Ridge was either trained by me or fights like I do."
Silence.
Kael stared at her.
Rowan stared right back.
A beat passed.
Then another.
Finally—
"Okay."
A pause.
"Fair."
Jace immediately looked away.
Suspiciously.
Like he was trying not to laugh.
Lyra noticed.
And immediately lost the battle.
"Did the Alpha King just admit Rowan had a point?"
"Don't start."
"I'm starting."
Jace sighed.
Already regretting being in the room.
Rowan looked entirely too pleased with herself.
As she should have.
Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.
Then continued.
"The point still stands."
But there was significantly less conviction behind the argument now.
Rowan smiled.
Victory.
Small.
But still a victory.
"If we're not here," she said, "Silver Moon gets most of its warriors back."
Jace pushed away from the wall.
Slowly.
"If the targets leave..."
His eyes narrowed.
"Silver Moon regains most of its fighting force."
Rowan nodded.
"Exactly."
"The warriors go underground when they're not on patrol."
Another nod.
"Families stay protected."
"Exactly."
The room grew quieter.
Because suddenly—
This wasn't running.
This was strategy.
It was taking pressure off an entire kingdom.
Kael crossed his arms.
Thinking.
Calculating.
"Why Cedar Ridge?"
The answer came easily.
Because Rowan already knew it.
"Because if they follow us, we'll know."
Everyone looked at her.
"If they follow us to Cedar Ridge, then we were the targets."
The room stilled.
Gods.
She was right.
"If they stay here..."
Rowan's expression hardened.
"Then Silver Moon was."
Neither possibility was good.
But at least it would give them answers.
Jace nodded first.
Of course he did.
The Beta's eyes had that look again.
The one that meant he was already five steps ahead.
"I like it."
Lyra looked scandalized.
"You always like her ideas."
"No."
Jace pointed at Rowan.
"I like the ideas that don't get everyone killed."
"That's fair."
"It is."
Kael ignored both of them.
Still thinking.
Still planning.
Still wearing that expression that meant an entire kingdom's worth of problems were currently being sorted inside his head.
Finally—
He nodded.
Once.
Decision made.
"We move."
The room stilled.
"We take only the people necessary."
His gaze shifted toward Jace.
"Healers."
Another glance.
"Evelyn."
Another.
"Guards."
Then finally—
His eyes landed on Rowan.
And lingered there.
Just for a second.
"Cedar Ridge."
Relief settled unexpectedly in Rowan's chest.
Not because she wanted to leave.
Because maybe—
Just maybe—
Silver Moon would finally get a chance to breathe.
Jace immediately headed for the door.
Already planning.
Already organizing.
Lyra stood too.
"I'm helping."
"You're absolutely not helping."
"I am."
"You're not."
"I am."
Their argument continued all the way into the hallway.
Leaving Rowan and Kael alone.
Again.
The silence that followed felt far more dangerous than any rogue attack.
The armored vehicles waited in the courtyard.
Warriors moved between them carrying crates of supplies, medical equipment, and weapons. Orders echoed across the grounds. The atmosphere felt tense. Controlled.
Everyone understood the situation.
Everyone understood the danger.
Rowan adjusted the strap of her bag.
Immediately regretted it.
Pain shot through her shoulder.
Gods.
She was tired of being injured.
She was tired of being exhausted.
She was tired of all of this.
The sooner they reached Cedar Ridge, the better.
"Rowan."
She froze.
Not because she wanted to.
Because that voice still had entirely too much power over her.
Slowly, she turned.
Kael stood several feet away.
Alone.
For once.
No warriors.
No Jace.
No Lyra.
No Evelyn.
Just him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The sounds of the courtyard seemed strangely distant.
Then—
"I thought you were dead."
Rowan blinked.
The words hit so unexpectedly she almost thought she'd misheard him.
"What?"
Kael swallowed.
His gaze dropped briefly before returning to hers.
"When Evelyn found me."
Something tightened in his expression.
"When she told me what happened."
The courtyard faded further.
"When she said you stayed behind."
His jaw clenched.
"When she said there were rogues everywhere."
For a moment, he looked away.
Toward nothing.
Toward a memory.
Toward the worst few minutes of his life.
"I thought you were dead."
The confession landed heavily between them.
Kael laughed once.
A hollow sound.
Not humor.
Pain.
"I kept reaching for the bond."
Rowan's breath caught.
His eyes lowered briefly.
"I kept trying to feel if it was still there."
His voice grew quieter.
Rawer.
"I didn't even know if that's how it worked."
For the first time since she'd met him, he looked genuinely helpless.
Not like an Alpha.
Not like a king.
Just a man who had been terrified.
"Would I know?"
The question came quietly.
"Would I feel it?"
Another pause.
"Would the bond break?"
His throat worked.
"Or would I get there and find out too late?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful.
Rowan stared at him.
Gods.
She believed him.
That was the problem.
She believed every word.
She believed he had been terrified.
She believed he had thought she'd died.
She believed he had searched for her.
She believed all of it.
And it changed absolutely nothing.
Because none of it erased Fernhaven.
None of it erased the look on his face when he'd pulled away.
None of it erased—
I should have.
The memory cut through her instantly.
Sharp.
Fresh.
Painful.
"Kael..."
His eyes lifted.
Hope flickered there.
Just for a second.
And Rowan hated it.
Because she couldn't give him what he wanted.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
"I can't do this."
The hope disappeared.
Immediately.
Rowan forced herself to continue.
"You broke my heart."
The words came quietly.
Which somehow made them worse.
The color drained from his face.
"You spent weeks making me question everything."
Her throat tightened.
"You made me think..."
The sentence died.
She couldn't say it.
Couldn't admit it.
Not out loud.
Not yet.
So she shook her head.
"You made me second-guess my decision."
A breath.
"To break the bond."
Kael went completely still.
"And then when I finally made a move..."
Gods.
It still hurt.
Even now.
"You rejected me."
The courtyard seemed to stop.
Around them, warriors continued moving.
Supplies continued loading.
Orders continued being shouted.
But Rowan barely heard any of it.
All she saw was the look on Kael's face.
Like she'd driven a blade straight through his chest.
Good.
Maybe now he understood.
Maybe now he understood what that night had done to her.
"I can't do this."
The words came softer this time.
Tired.
Honest.
Broken.
"I just can't."
For one long moment, neither moved.
Neither looked away.
Then Rowan turned.
And walked past him.
Past the warriors.
Past the supplies.
Past the vehicle.
Without looking back.
Without giving herself a chance to stop.
She climbed into the armored transport.
And took the first empty seat she found.
Outside, the loading continued.
Inside, Rowan stared straight ahead.
Refusing to think.
Refusing to feel.
Refusing to cry.
Several yards away, leaning against another vehicle, Jace slowly looked away.
Because he'd heard every word.
- Writer
