Page 17 of Red Hood, Bad Wolf

The room erupted. Through their bond, Rowan felt Alder's agony as he tried to maintain order. His wolf howled at the threat to both mate and pack. The conflict tore at him, bleeding through their connection until she could hardly breathe through the shared pain.

She slipped out while the arguing continued. Her feet carried her to the garden where she'd first met Mae, where everything had seemed simpler. The mate bond throbbed with Alder's distress, and beneath it, her own growing certainty.

She had to leave.

The thought hurt like silver in her veins, but she couldn't destroy his pack. Couldn't be the reason his family fractured. She could request another Red Hood to investigate, someone without her complicated history with wolves—

"Don't you dare."

She turned to find Alder in the doorway, his eyes wolf-gold with emotion. Through their bond came his fury, his fear, and beneath it all, his absolute certainty.

"I feel what you're thinking," he growled, stalking closer. "Feel you pulling away. Don't."

"Your pack—"

"Needs time." His hands framed her face, grip gentle despite his intensity. "They're scared. Hurt. But you're my mate. My true mate. I feel it in my bones, in my power. Do you really think I could let you go?"

Her magic reached for him instinctively. "I won't be the reason your pack falls apart."

"Then help me hold it together." Through their bond came his love, his trust, his absolute faith in her. "Stay. Fight. Prove them wrong."

She felt the moment her resolve cracked. Her magic surged into him as his power wrapped around her, the mate bond singing with rightness. When he kissed her, she tasted his relief.

"I'll stay," she whispered against his lips. "Until we solve this. But after we solve these murders, if the pack can't accept me..."

"They will." His certainty flooded their bond. "We'll make them see the truth."

Chapter 6

Rowan's boots crunchedon the gravel path leading to Mae's cottage, each step echoing the unease churning in her stomach. The mate bond zinged beneath her skin, a warm comfort, but her magic bristled like a cat sensing a storm.

The cottage itself looked perfectly ordinary—weathered stone walls draped with climbing roses, smoke curling from the chimney, herbs drying in the windows. But something felt off, like a painting hung slightly askew. Her Red Hood training screamed at her to notice, to catalog, to hunt out the wrongness. The mate bond purred, telling her to relax.

She forced herself to breathe, to center.Focus, Rowan. This was Alder's grandmother, for goddess's sake. The pack's respected elder. The local healer who'd kept them safe for decades.

Mae opened the door before Rowan could knock, her movements quick and precise for someone who claimed joint pain kept her close to home. "I thought I caught your scent," she said, smiling. "Come in, dear. I've just put the kettle on."

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