Page 73 of Wolf's Providence

“Or I can be challenged for it,” he told me. “Then I would need to fight for it.”

I didn’t need to ask if he would fight for it; the look in his eyes said it all.

The question wasn’t whether he would fight for Shadowridge Peak, the question was what lengths he would go to, to keep it.

TWENTY-TWO

Caleb

She was asleep,and I was outside, sitting on her back step, watching the woods, my wolf prowling beneath my skin, agitated and eager to return to Shadowridge Peak.

I welcomed the cold stone on my ass. It grounded me and kept me from spiraling as the realization solidified in my mind.

This had never beenjustabout Willow. They were after my land.

My territory.

In hindsight, it seemed so obvious. I had suspected on the Peak that they wanted my land. I just had the wrong set of shifters. I never thought of those who lived on the cusp of our society. Why would I? I’d had little to do with them. When I was part of a pack, I knew of them, but since I’d been alone, I gave no thought to what they were.

Outcasts.

But that had been all they were. Why did they want my mountain now?

Scowling in the dark, I considered it. Was it because I’d been gone from the mountain for so long? Were they already there?

No…no one had been in those cabins. If the outcasts had taken or tried to take my land, there would’ve been signs of their intrusion.

So, what had changed? What had prompted them to think they could exploit my weakness, my grief, and take what was mine?

Willow?

She was right. They’d seen her as a way to get to me. Thinking they could use her to break me. A low growl rumbled in my throat so feral it echoed through the trees around me.

But then I thought of Willow’s face when I helped her stand earlier. The way she’d looked at me, her eyes wide, almost fearful.

My knuckles cracked in the silence of the night as I flexed my hands. She’d stepped back because I scared her. The shifter that grabbed her may have been a threat, but to her, I’d come off as the real danger. She’d felt it—felt the weight of my anger simmering under my skin, the barely contained fury of my wolf that would have shredded anyone who came near her.

And because of that, she’d looked at me like I was one ofthem.

Little did she know I was barely holding on to the thin threads of my control as it was, and if she knew just how fragile my hold was…I didn’t even want to think about it. She was already looking at me differently. I wasn’t sure I could take more.

My head turned north, my gaze on the horizon to the peak I couldn’t see but that drew me to it.

I could go…

I needed space, a chance to pull myself back, to get a grip on the control I was holding on to so desperately. I could check out the mountain, ensure their sniveling hides hadn’t set foot on Shadowridge, and center myself.

My instincts were to protect Willow, but instinct wasn’t enough—I needed to shield her from the darker side of me as well. She shouldn’t be their target, and she should never feel unsafe in her home. I didn’t want that for her, and I didn’t want to be the one responsible for her fear.

The thought of her soft body moving under mine filled my head. The husky moans she made when I fucked her willing body…a body that was always ready for me. She felt so right when I was holding her. Caring for her.

Loving her.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, willing myself to get a grip. I’d have to keep my distance just for now, let her know that I was giving us both space. Healthy relationships survived distance. Right? If anything, it showed her I wasn’t one to hover. I would never smother her or push her. She and I, we could survive this. But this was bigger than her and me, and I didn’t want her to become collateral damage.

I could go back to Shadowridge Peak, secure the mountain, remind it who its alpha was, and come back. It would be a few days at most. Eamon would stay close by so she wouldn’t be alone. Hell, she had her friends around her most of the time. Her own pack. She probably wouldn’t even miss me, and she may want some space between us too.

Off of Shadowridge Peak, I was weak. Soft. I’d been away from it for too long. Ten years away from my packlands hadn’t done me any favors. The truth was that I couldn’t protect her as I was…and without control, I couldn’t protect her from myself.

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