Page 16 of Fetch Me A Mate (Shifter Mates of Hollow Oak #1)

ROWAN

T he walk to his cabin normally took twenty minutes through the woods beyond the square. Tonight, Rowan stretched it to forty, taking the long way around Moonmirror Lake, needing the cool air and physical exertion to clear his head.

The inn had been transformed. Diana had orchestrated the community effort like she'd been born to it, turning what could have been chaos into something beautiful. He'd watched her direct volunteers with growing admiration, seen the way she made each person feel essential to the project.

She belonged in Hollow Oak in a way he never had.

His cabin sat at the end of a dirt road, small and sparse and exactly what a man running from his past deserved. He'd rented it month to month for three years, never committing to anything longer. Never planning to stay.

Rowan climbed the porch steps and reached for his keys, then froze.

The scent hit him like a physical blow. Pack. Multiple wolves, their territorial markers overlapping in a pattern he recognized from years of enforced familiarity. They'd been here recently, close enough to leave their scent on his property.

His wolf surged to the forefront, hackles raised, territorial instincts blazing to life. They'd found him. After three years of careful distance, his former pack had tracked him to Hollow Oak.

Rowan circled the cabin slowly, reading the scent trails with predatory focus. Three wolves, maybe four. They'd spent time here, marked the corners of his property, left their calling card like a threat wrapped in old pack protocols.

His phone buzzed. A text from the same number he'd been deleting all week.

We know where you are. We know what you're protecting. Time to come home, brother.

Rowan deleted the message and grabbed a duffle bag from the closet. He threw in clothes for a few days, locked the cabin, and headed back toward town.

They knew about Diana. Somehow, they'd connected her to him.

The inn was dark when he arrived. Diana slept upstairs, safe, unaware of the danger circling her new life. His wolf paced beneath his skin, torn between the urge to run and the deeper need to guard what was his.

From his truck, he retrieved hardware and went to work on the back door. Heavy-duty deadbolts, reinforced strike plates, a security bar. When he finished, the entrance could withstand a coordinated assault.

His phone buzzed again.

Alpha's patience has limits. Don't make this harder than it needs to be.

Rowan typed back: Tell the alpha I'm not his problem anymore.

You'll always be pack, Rowan. Blood doesn't lie. Neither do bonds.

Some bonds break.

Not these ones. We'll be in touch.

Rowan deleted the conversation and settled into his truck with clear view of both entrances. His wolf remained close to the surface, silver eyes scanning darkness for threats.

The pack wouldn't move during daylight, but they were patient hunters when they wanted something.

Dawn was still hours away. He couldn't risk leaving Diana unprotected, not when his former pack knew she mattered to him.

The less she knew, the safer she'd be. They wanted him, not her.

But if they discovered the true depth of the bond, if they learned she was his mate, Diana would become a weapon they'd use without hesitation.

Around four AM, a raccoon triggered the motion light by the dumpster. Rowan's hand was on his door handle before he recognized the harmless intruder.

His phone stayed silent, but the scents on the wind carried promises of confrontation to come. The pack was patient, but not infinitely so.

As the first pale light touched the eastern sky, Rowan realized he'd already made his choice. He'd chosen the moment he'd kissed Diana by firelight, the moment he'd claimed her as his own.

Now he just had to find a way to keep her.

The pack knew about Diana. They'd use that knowledge like a blade, applying pressure exactly where it would hurt most. His only advantage was that they didn't understand the bond's true nature yet. Didn't know she was his mate, chosen by fate and sealed in passion.

Rowan checked his watch. Two hours until his usual arrival time. Two hours to think of a way to protect her without destroying her trust.

His former pack was closing in, and soon he'd have to choose between the life he'd built in Hollow Oak and the past that refused to let him go.

But sitting in the pre-dawn cold, watching over the woman who'd claimed his heart without trying, Rowan knew the choice was already made.