Page 30 of Fetch Me A Mate (Shifter Mates of Hollow Oak #1)

ROWAN

R owan found Callum at the ranger station, bent over topographical maps. The lion shifter looked up when Rowan knocked, amber eyes taking in everything from posture to scent in a single glance.

"You look like hell," Callum said without preamble. "Come in."

The station was exactly what Rowan expected from Callum—functional, organized, no wasted space or unnecessary decoration. Maps covered one wall, radio equipment hummed quietly in the corner, and coffee brewed in a pot that had seen better decades.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Callum poured two mugs and settled behind his desk, waiting. He'd always been good at silence, letting other people fill the space with whatever they needed to say.

"I need advice," Rowan said finally. "About security, territory, protecting what matters."

"The inn."

"The inn. Diana. The community. All of it."

"From what?"

Rowan told him everything. Sarah's escape, the pack's ultimatum, Kael's escalating threats. The impossible choice between going back to clean up old mistakes and watching everything Diana had built get destroyed piece by piece.

"Pack politics," Callum said when Rowan finished. "Messiest kind of conflict there is."

"Yeah."

"They know about Diana."

"They know she matters to me."

"How much does she matter?"

Rowan stared into his coffee, seeing Diana's face reflected in the dark surface.

"She's my mate."

"Figured as much. You've got that look."

"What look?"

"Like you'd burn the world down to keep her safe." Callum sank back in his chair. "Question is whether you're willing to admit that to yourself."

"I just did."

"You said it, doens’t mean you are letting yourself acknowledge it. It sounds like you're still trying to handle this alone. Still making decisions about what's best for her instead of trusting her to make her own choices."

Rowan set down his mug harder than necessary. "I'm trying to protect her."

"From what? The truth? Your past? The reality that loving a shifter comes with complications?"

"From pack politics that could get her killed."

"And how's that working out? Your pack leaving her alone because you're being noble about it?"

The sarcasm hit its mark. Rowan's wolf stirred restlessly, recognizing the challenge in Callum's tone.

"They're escalating."

"Course they are. You think showing weakness makes predators back down?"

"I'm not showing weakness."

"No? Then what do you call pushing your mate away to protect her from choices she's capable of making herself?" Callum's amber eyes held no mercy. "What do you call letting other wolves dictate the terms of your relationship?"

"I call it keeping her alive."

"You call it cowardice."

The gauntlet was thrown. Rowan's hands became fists, his wolf pushing close to the surface.

"Careful, Callum."

"Or what? You'll run away again?" Callum's voice stayed level, unimpressed by the threat. "That's your pattern, isn't it? When things get complicated, when choices get hard, you disappear rather than fight for what matters, to hell with what you promised."

"I fought for Sarah."

"You helped her run. That's not the same as fighting."

"She was nineteen and pregnant. What was I supposed to do?"

"What you should have done was challenge the pack's decision directly.

Force them to defend their position, make them face the consequences of their choices.

You were the alpha." Callum leaned forward, his presence filling the small office.

"Instead, you undermined them in secret and then ran when they called you on it. "

"I saved her life."

"You postponed a confrontation. Now it's caught up to you anyway, and you're making the same mistake again."

Rowan stood abruptly, pacing to the window that looked out over Moonmirror Lake. The water was dark under gathering clouds, reflecting the storm building on the horizon.

"What would you do?"

"I'd stop running. I'd claim what's mine and dare anyone to take it from me."

"Even if it put Cora at risk?"

"Especially then. You think my mate wants protection or partnership? You think she'd rather be safe or included in the decisions that affect her life?"

Rowan thought about Diana's determination to face problems head-on, her refusal to be managed or shielded from difficult truths.

"She wants partnership."

"Then give it to her. Stop making choices for her and start making them with her. I assume you may have even told her you would. So start doing it, Rowan."

"The pack won't just give up."

"Course they won't. But they'll respect strength. They'll back down from a wolf who's willing to fight for his territory instead of running from it."

"And if I'm wrong? If they decide to make an example of her?"

Callum stood, moving to stand beside Rowan at the window. "Then you handle it. Together. The way mates are supposed to."

"Together."

"Diana's tougher than you think. She's built something worth defending in that inn, earned the community's respect through competence and determination. You think she did all that by avoiding conflict?"

Rowan watched a hawk circle over the lake, riding thermals with effortless grace. Predator and survivor, claiming its territory without apology.

"She wants to fight alongside me."

"Then let her. Stop treating her like she's fragile and start treating her like she's yours."

"She is mine."

"Then own it. Stop half-measures and make your stand. Show your pack what happens when they threaten what belongs to you."

Rowan felt a tension he'd carried for years finally snapping. All this time, he'd been fighting the wrong battle. Fighting his feelings instead of fighting for them, protecting Diana from choices instead of supporting her through them.

"You're right."

"Course I'm right. Question is what you're going to do about it."

"I'm going to stop running from my past and start fighting for my future."

"Good. What do you need from me?"

"Backup, if it comes to that. Council support for territorial claims."

"You've got both. This community protects its own, and Diana's definitely one of ours now." Callum's smile was sharp with anticipation. "Besides, been too long since we had a good pack war around here."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Standard operating procedure." Callum returned to his desk, pulling out a regional map marked with territorial boundaries. "Show me where they're likely to make their move."

For the next hour, they planned. Defensive positions, communication protocols, community alert systems. The kind of preparation that acknowledged the reality of supernatural politics while protecting the ordinary humans caught in the crossfire.

"One more thing," Callum said as Rowan prepared to leave. "When you tell Diana about the mate bond, don't make it sound like a burden she has to carry. Make it sound like a gift you want to share."

"What if she doesn't want it?"

"Then you respect her choice and love her anyway. But stop assuming she'll reject something she hasn't been offered yet."

Rowan left the ranger station with purpose burning in his chest and a plan taking shape in his mind. No more half-measures. No more protecting Diana by pushing her away.

Time to stop running from his past and start claiming his future.

Time to show his pack what happened when they threatened his mate.