ROWAN
Would I really do that? The thought rose slowly, heavy but clear. It should have shaken me. It should have filled me with disgust or shame. It didn’t.
Instead, something dark and steady settled in my chest. Not joy. Not guilt. Satisfaction.
A child would bind her to me in a way nothing else ever could. No distance. No arguments. No running. It would give me a reason no one could dispute. A reason strong enough to silence the council, the pack, even her.
It would give me the right to keep her close. To keep her watched. To keep her safe, even from herself.
And it would give me something Seraphina had taken with her when she died. A family. One that belonged to me. One that couldn’t leave.
The meeting dragged on, voices rising and falling around the chamber, but attention slippe
