Page 28 of Fetch Me A Mate (Shifter Mates of Hollow Oak #1)
ROWAN
D iana deserved to bask in the afternoon's success without worrying about dinner.
The soft reopening had been a masterclass in community relations, turning skeptics into supporters with nothing more than good tea and transparent competence.
Rowan wanted to give her space to savor the victory while he handled the mundane details.
"Stay put," he'd told her as she started clearing the last of the teacups. "Relax. Enjoy being right about everything."
"I'm not right about everything."
"You're right about the things that matter. Let me get us some dinner from Twyla's. You've earned the right to be waited on."
He'd kissed her temple and headed out into the crisp evening air, Twyla's forgotten serving tray tucked under his arm. The square was quiet, most of the townspeople probably home discussing the inn's impressive afternoon over their own dinners.
Rowan was halfway across the cobblestones when the scent hit him. Wolf. Pack. Familiar.
His steps slowed as his senses sharpened, cataloguing threats and escape routes with automatic precision. The scent was fresh, close. Whoever it was had been waiting for him to emerge.
Griddle & Grind's windows glowed warmly in the gathering darkness, but Rowan's wolf was on high alert now, hackles raised beneath his human skin. He approached the café's entrance with calculated caution.
"Evening, brother."
Kael stepped out of the shadows beside the café's front door, his smile sharp as broken glass in the lamplight. He looked exactly the same as he had at the lake confrontation, all predatory confidence and expensive clothes that didn't belong in a small town.
"Kael." Rowan didn't stop walking, forcing the other wolf to fall into step beside him. "Thought you'd given up on Hollow Oak."
"Not even close. Just giving you time to think about our offer."
"I've thought about it."
"And?"
"And I'm not interested." Rowan paused at the café entrance, his hand on the door handle. "Find another solution to your problem."
"Our problem," Kael corrected smoothly. "The problem you created when you decided pack law didn't apply to you."
"Ancient history."
"Is it? Because it looks like you're about to make the same mistake again." Kael's gaze flicked toward the inn's glowing windows across the square. "Getting attached to a human who doesn't understand what she's gotten herself into."
Rowan's grip tightened on the door handle.
"See, she's become part of the equation whether you like it or not." Kael leaned against the café's brick wall with casual arrogance. "Pretty little thing. Smart, too. That afternoon's performance was impressive. Very professional."
"You were watching."
"Course I was watching. Had to see what kind of woman could make the great Rowan Baneville forget his responsibilities." Kael's smile widened. "She's got spine, I'll give her that. Takes real confidence to open your books to public scrutiny."
"She's got nothing to hide."
"No? What about her association with a rogue wolf? What about the kind of turmoil that follows pack outcasts around?" Kael pushed off from the wall, moving closer. "Accidents happen to humans who get too close to supernatural politics. Especially humans who think they belong in places they don't."
Rowan's wolf surged, silver bleeding into his vision. His voice dropped to a growl that rattled the café's front windows.
"Are you threatening her?"
"I'm stating facts. Humans are fragile. They break easily when they're in the wrong place at the wrong time.
" Kael's tone remained conversational, but his eyes held predatory interest. "Take that lovely afternoon she just hosted.
So many people, so many opportunities for things to go wrong.
A gas leak, a kitchen fire, a structural failure during peak occupancy. "
"You son of a?—"
"Now, now." Kael held up a hand in mock peace. "I'm not threatening anyone. Just pointing out how quickly situations can deteriorate when the wrong elements are involved."
Rowan's control hung by a thread. Every instinct screamed at him to shift, to let his wolf handle this threat the way nature intended.
But they were standing in the middle of Hollow Oak's square, surrounded by witnesses and security cameras and the kind of exposure that would destroy everything Diana had worked to build.
"What do you want, Kael?"
"Same thing we've always wanted. For you to come home and handle your responsibilities like an adult.
" Kael straightened his expensive jacket with theatrical precision.
"The offer stands. Resume your position, help us clean up the mess you made, and your pretty innkeeper gets to keep playing house in her little sanctuary. "
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we stop being subtle about encouraging your cooperation." Kael's smile was winter-cold. "Amazing how quickly a thriving business can develop problems. Health code violations, zoning disputes, financial irregularities that require intensive investigation."
"We handled Jerry Kowalski."
"Jerry was amateur hour. A small demonstration of what coordinated pressure can accomplish.
" Kael pulled out his phone, scrolling through messages with theatrical casualness.
"But we've got resources Jerry never dreamed of.
Connections in state agencies, federal departments, regulatory bodies that can make life very complicated for small business owners who attract the wrong kind of attention. "
The threat was clear. Crystal clear. They could destroy Diana's life without laying a finger on her, could turn the inn into a liability that would crush her dreams and scatter her community.
"How long?" Rowan asked quietly.
"How long for what?"
"How long before you stop playing games and get to the point?"
Kael's laugh was soft, dangerous. "We're not playing games, brother. We're demonstrating consequences. Every day you delay is another day your innkeeper's life gets more complicated."
"She handled today's complications just fine."
"Today was easy. A few rumors, some minor supply chain disruptions. Child's play." Kael pocketed his phone and stepped closer. "Next week will be harder. Next month will be impossible."
Rowan held his ground, letting his wolf's presence fill the space between them. Two predators measuring each other in the gathering darkness.
"You're making a mistake, Kael."
"I think it’s you who's confused about where your loyalties should lie." Kael glanced toward the inn again. "Pretty as she is, that human's not pack. She's not blood. She's not worth destroying everything you used to be."
"Maybe what I used to be needed destroying."
"Careful, brother. That kind of thinking is how you ended up exiled in the first place." Kael's smile turned predatory. "Don't make the same mistake twice. Some bonds can't be broken, no matter how far you run."
He melted back into the shadows between buildings, leaving Rowan alone on the café's front step with rage burning in his chest and the scent of threat lingering in the night air.
Inside Griddle & Grind, Twyla looked up from wiping down tables. "Evening, Rowan. You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Something like that." He set her serving tray on the counter, his hands steadier than he felt. "Diana and I were wondering if you had any of those dinner specials left."
"Course I do. Soup and sandwich? Dessert?"
"Whatever you recommend. It's been a long day."
"Good long or bad long?"
Rowan thought about Diana's triumphant afternoon, the way the community had rallied around her competence and vision. Then he thought about Kael's threats, the coordinated pressure campaign that was just getting started.
"Both," he said finally. "Definitely both."
As Twyla packed up their dinner, Rowan stared out at the inn's glowing windows and made a decision.
Kael was right about one thing - this was just the beginning.
The pack wouldn't stop with minor harassment and manufactured crises.
They'd escalate until Diana's life became unbearable or until Rowan gave them what they wanted.
But they'd made one crucial miscalculation. They still thought he was the same wolf who'd run three years ago, the one who chose flight over fight when the pressure got too intense.
They were wrong. This time, he had something worth staying to protect. Someone worth fighting for.
Let them escalate. He was ready.