Page 88 of Wolf's Providence

We held each other’s gaze, his jaw tight, his eyes burning. For a second, his anger faltered, a hint of something vulnerable slipping through, then hardening again. He took a step back, raking a hand through his hair, breathing heavily.

Finally, his voice came out in a rough whisper. “I need some space.” He looked up at the peak. “This is…Goddess, I need to walk away and calm down. Stay here. With Eamon.” The look he gave the other man left us in no doubt that “stay” meantstay.

Caleb turned without another word, disappearing into the trees, leaving me standing in the cold, watching him disappear into the shadows, his retreating figure barely visible as he took his rage—and his fear—out on the quiet forest around him.

The silence after Caleb left was almost as thick as the tension he’d left in his wake. The air felt heavy, the chill sinking into my bones. Eamon let out a quiet breath and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing sideways at me, clearly unsure what to say.

“Don’t you start,” I muttered, crossing my arms, trying to keep warm. The anger still buzzed beneath my skin, the sting of Caleb’s words twisting in my chest. I hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but this…this raw, unrestrained fury at my choice…was more than I expected. More than I’d prepared myself for.

Eamon watched me for a moment, his expression neutral. “You know,” he started, his voice casual, but I caught the note of hesitation, “he’s not wrong. It was very risky letting them know we were here.” He looked down at the broken piece of wood I’d grabbed when I saw that we were too late and the rogues were already here. Surrounding Caleb. “You’d have done nothing with that,” he spoke softly, “didn’t expect you to runintothe clearing. You put yourself in danger.”

I turned, narrowing my eyes. “I know that, Eamon. I didn’t come here blind.” The fact I was pointedly ignoring the dead shifters on the ground didn’t help my position. I knew that as well.

A faint smile tugged at his mouth, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No, you didn’t. But understanding the risks doesn’t make them any less real.” He paused, glancing in the direction Caleb had gone. “He…he doesn’t lose control like that, not often. Not unless he’s worried…or scared.”

I looked away, biting back the words on the tip of my tongue. I knew Caleb’s anger was just another level of fear—fear for me, maybe fear for us? But it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. “I just thought…I don’t know. I thought he’d understand that I couldn’t stay back and wait this out and not know what was happening to him, you know? But when I saw they were already here, I couldn’t just…watchhim fight them alone.”

“I know,” Eamon said, nodding slowly. “You saw him and thought he was vulnerable. And that’s what he doesn’t want you to see. Doesn’t want you to feel that you need to put yourself at risk, or get hurt, to save him. That’s why he’s pissed off. He’d rather tear himself apart than let you get a scratch.”

There was something tired in his voice, an edge of empathy that made me glance up at him. “I forget you know him so well.”

Eamon shrugged, the faintest hint of humor returning to his eyes, this time a little softer. “Well enough to know he’s got athick skull. And he’d risk everything to keep the people he cares about out of harm’s way. Doesn’t always make sense, but that’s Caleb. And even though I brought you here, I would never have let you get this close had I known they were here.”

I nodded, taking in a slow breath, feeling the weight of the moment settle between us. Eamon shuffled his feet beside me, hands shoved into his pockets, a slight tension in his posture that mirrored my own.

“Look,” he said, his voice dropping slightly, “if it means anything, I think maybe you’re right to be here. Not right when we showed up, but I do think you should be where he is,” he admitted with a shrug. “Maybe you two aren’t exactly on the same page yet, but I can see how much he cares about you. And maybe…just maybe, you being here right now, isn’t the worst thing for him.”

I looked away, trying to swallow down the jumble of emotions rising in my throat. “Or…maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m just getting in his way.”

Eamon chuckled softly, his gaze focused on the darkening woods. “Trust me, Willow, you’re more of a help than you know. Even if he’s too stubborn to see it.” He paused, then glanced back at me. “Give him a bit of time. Seeing you threatened during the fight will have rattled him, and he doesn’t always know what to do when he’s shaken. But he’ll come around. He just needs a chance to realize that having you by his side doesn’t mean he’s lost control.”

A small smile broke through my frustration, and I met Eamon’s gaze. “Thanks. For, you know, bringing me here. For not letting him scare you off.”

“Someone’s gotta look out for him, even if he doesn’t know he needs it.” Eamon smirked, a spark of mischief in his eyes. “And, well, someone’s gotta make sure you don’t wander off the side of the mountain.”

I bit back my smile, feeling the tension ease, if only slightly. “Itoldyou I knew the drop was there.” Eamon gave me a look that called bullshit, and pushing my hair off my face, I admitted defeat. “Fine. It maybe would have been too close to the edge to be healthy for me.” His eyebrows rose into his hairline at how much I was downplaying the fact I almost fell off the side of the mountain in our climb to get here. “Good thing I had you to keep me right.”

Eamon snorted but didn’t say anything else about it.

As we stood there in the clearing, surrounded by silence and snow, I felt a surge of gratitude for Eamon—and a renewed determination to stand by Caleb, no matter how hard he tried to push me away.

Eamon turned to me, his tone easy. “Want to help me get rid of these bodies?” He walked over to the one nearest to us and, bending down, lifted the legs.

Before I could respond, I heard the faint crunch of snow underfoot, drawing our attention to the trees. A moment later, Caleb emerged from the shadows, his expression a storm of conflicting emotions. He was breathing heavily, his dark brows furrowed, and a fierce glint in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

“What the hell is going on? Why are you still out here?” he demanded, his gaze flicking between Eamon and me, the tension thickening the air.

“Just talking,” Eamon replied easily, though I could see the way his body coiled with readiness. “About to start the tidying up.” He gestured to the dead nearby.

Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “Talking? About what?”

“The dead shifters and how we dispose of them,” I interjected, stepping forward. “Are you okay?” I asked tentatively. “Do you understand why we came?”

“Understand what?” Caleb interrupted, his voice sharp. “How you wanted to get yourself killed? Because that’s what you’re doing, Willow. You put yourself in danger by coming here. You think the threat is gone because they’re dead?”

Did he mean him? That he was a threat? My anger rose swiftly to meet his. “When willyouunderstand thatyouwill not hurt me? Itrustyou, but I’m not going to sit back and wait for you to handle everything, Caleb! I care about you too much, damn it!”

He took a step toward me, fists clenched at his sides. “And I care aboutyou, which is why you shouldn’t even be involved in this mess. This whole shit with these bastards targeting you. It was never about you.”

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