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“Rowan knows what his primary responsibility is—to lead this pack. The Alpha gene is patrilineal, and that has been the tradition of our bloodline for centuries. Since before we even occupied this land. I will not allow anything to stand in the way of my son ruling his people!”

“And what about my son?” I blurt.

Dead silence falls on the wise woman’s garden.

Kseniya hums under her breath, almost thoughtfully.

My father is staring at me like I’ve grown a second head.

“What are you talking about, Rowan?”

I clear my throat and meet his ferocious gaze. “I have a son with my Mate. He is almost ten years of age. His name is Noah. He and Alina have been living in the Whiterose pack for the past decade, practically right under my nose. The boy is just like me, Father. And he is destined to rule this pack someday, too. But, more importantly than that, my Mate is destined to rule this pack at my side. I don’t care what the prophecy says. I know that to be true.”

Kseniya speaks up before my father can continue arguing.

“Alpha, perhaps I might invite you inside, and we can consult the scrying bones together? I must humbly admit that my prophecy was, indeed, vague.”

“The idea of being ruined is not vague to me,” huffs my father.

But, when it comes down to it, he’s a reasonable man and a just ruler. So, when Kseniya beckons to him, he nods once and marches past me, heading for her cabin so that he can consult the spirits of our ancient bloodline with the wise woman.

My mother and I are left standing out in the garden. Beside me,the rhododendrons are already buzzing with bees. Soon, the lilacs will bloom, too—the flowers that dominate Alina’s beautiful aroma.

My mother approaches me, placing a gentle hand on my arm. She smiles.

“Go to her, Rowan,” she whispers to me. “Bring her home. Tell her that she has always been one of us.”

Chapter 23

Alina

It’s barely been three hours since Rowan left this morning. Or maybe almost four hours. I haven’t really been able to keep track.

Before he left, which had been fairly early, he’d left a note for me on the kitchen counter, along with a fresh pot of coffee.

I’ll be back soon. Be safe, my beloved Mate.

My heart had thrummed like a hummingbird’s wings, and I ended up rereading the note at least a dozen times before I could actually remember how to function like a normal person again.

Left with little else to do, and with the wolf within begging to take form, I shift and take a quick jog around my property. I don’t go far into the woods, and I keep my nose tuned to the sourness of the Blackburn scent just in case. I run for about an hour, enjoying the newfound mightiness and dominance in my limbs from the healed Mating bond, knowing that if things were different, I could have felt this way all along. Unstoppable. Gorgeously terrifying. Wonderfully deadly.

I run through the trees, knowing that Noah is safe and sound at school, and allow myself to replay the most precious scenes from the day before.

The moment when, after merely ten minutes of catching his breath once our first round was over, Rowan pulled me to him again, and I rode him until we both unraveled a second time.

Then, later, when he tangled his hands in my hair and kissed me breathless.

And, after that, when he traced his name onto my bare spine with an idle finger, murmuring to me about old childhood memories and whispering the truth that, even when we were kids, he knew there was something special about me.

It had all been so sweet. So perfect.

So easily destroyed, too.

Don’t think about that yet, I remind myself.

I finish my run, shift back into human form, and head into the house. In the shower, I get distracted for several minutes when I remember the taste of Rowan on my tongue, and end up slipping a hand between my thighs to pleasure myself just to take the edge off.

Once I’m dried off and dressed, I dare to check my phone.