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Zahra leaves the house quietly. I wait until the sound of her footsteps fades enough that I know she’s no longer within hearing distance, then turn toward Alina.

She purses her lips and moves to the table. Keeping her back to me, she cleans up the ceramic mugs and teapot with all the methodical grace of someone who has worked at a restaurant for years.

“I was having a nice afternoon until you barged in, you know,” she mutters.

“We can fight about that later, if you’d like,” I suggest. “But for now, I need you to come with me to go get our son, and then we need to go back to Greenbriar territory. Whatever is about to happen is not something I want my family involved in.”

Alina whirls around, eyes flashing with fury. Instantly, I know I’ve said the wrong thing.

“Your family?” she snarls, lips curling with such merciless disgust that I feel my stomach drop at the sight. “I will never be part of your family, Rowan Greenbriar. You are the one who made that decision for me. If anything, you are the one who has ruined me.”

Chapter 17

Alina

It’s as if my words have landed like physical blows.

I will never be part of your family.

Each word caused him to flinch as if I had flung a handful of knives in his direction.

A trickle of guilt flows through me, and I force it back down. It’s not real guilt. It’s just a result of the Mating bond, which would urge me to never purposefully harm my own Mate.

But, as I’ve been trying to remind myself constantly these past few days, Rowan isn’t really my Mate. The rejection is still a palpable ache between us. And if he rejected me, and continues to uphold that rejection, how can he possibly throw around words like family?

Even so, the flicker of pain that breaks through his stony features leaves me slightly breathless. I’ve hit a nerve, and I don’t understand why.

Rowan clears his throat lightly. “If that’s how you see things, I understand. But I need you to listen to me, Alina. If there is mutiny among the Whiteroses, then this territory isn’t safe. And given that Noah was born a Greenbriar Alpha, whether you’re willing to acknowledge that or not, there is a target on his back.”

Deep down, I know he has a point. God knows the wolf inside me agrees with his side of things.

He’s yours. You are his, the wolf argues. Together with your son, you are one unit. You are destined. A mighty family, indeed.

It’s nonsense.

“He’s at a fucking sleepover, Rowan. If there’s a target on his back, I’m almost certain that it’s something we can deal with in the morning when I go to pick him up.”

“Alina—”

“He’s just a child!” I snap. “He deserves to have a normal life! And he’s been perfectly safe for the past nine years, by the way. It’s only now that you’re back in my life that problems have apparently arisen.”

Rowan opens his mouth, maybe to argue, but then he closes it again. He crosses his arms. Uncrosses them. Takes a deep breath. Glances down at the floor. Works his jaw.

All in all, in the span of just a few seconds, I swear he’s fighting some kind of internal demon. Or maybe his relationship with the wolf inside is just as fraught as my own.

He takes a step toward me.

“You have done an amazing job as his mother, Alina.”

I blink numbly at him. That’s not what I was expecting.

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“He’s a good kid. He will be a great wolf. It’s all thanks to you.”

“Well, your blood runs in his veins, too.” I’m surprised by my own concession.

But it’s true. Over the years, I couldn’t help noticing the ways that Noah has mirrored his father. In countless painful ways, my son reminded me of the boy that I used to know. The soft, sensitive kid who hadn’t yet grown into his full Alpha nature. The patient, polite boy who my parents always spoke highly of, even when other elders questioned if young Rowan had any potential at all.