Page 54 of Wolf's Reckoning
“Too late to duck?” Killian mumbled.
“Way too late.”
Rowen cut off from Lewis mid-sentence. She didn’t rush—no, that wasn’t her way. She walked directly toward me as if the ground had already submitted beneath her boots.
Killian eased back a step, smart enough to recognize a battlefield when he saw one. I held my ground, arms crossed, spine straight.
She stopped a few feet away. Her mouth was tight. Her eyes sharper than any blade I’d ever dodged.
“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” she said.
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
She scoffed. “Taking the chair. Lording over them like you’ve already claimed Blueridge Hollow.”
I pretended to frown. “Did I look uncertain?”
She stepped closer. “No,” she spat. “You lookedsmug.”
“Smug?” I looked her over. Her dark green combat pants, black laced-up boots, and a cropped black T-shirt that clung to her chest. She looked prepared to fight. “If I lookedsmug, maybe it’s because no one stopped me.”
Her breath caught for a split second—just long enough for me to see it. That flicker. That wild part of her wolf that didn’t know whether to challenge me or run.
That’s right. Let her feel it too.
“This is not a game,” she hissed, voice low.
“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “But if it were, I play to win.” My gaze drifted over her body more slowly. “You know that better than anyone.”
That got her—just a flash of teeth. No smile, just a warning. Reminding me that she could bite. “I’m not some conquest.”
“I never said you were.”
“Then stop acting like you’ve already claimed me.” Furious deep green eyes, the color of moss, glared at me.
I leaned in. Close enough for her scent to hit like a sucker punch to the ribs.
“I’m not here toclaimyou, Rowen,” I said, voice rough. “You rejected all your prospects,” I added, hearing her sharp intake of breath at the reminder I had once been one of them. “Your father passed this pack to me, and I will look after it as he asked me to.” I leaned back. “You’re only interested in the pack. Right?”
She didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But her pulse kicked hard in her throat, and fuck me if it didn’t do something to mine. She stepped back first. Not far. Just enough to reclaim space.
But I’d felt the shift, and I knew she did too.
Rowen looked between us, her temper flaring.
“You forget yourself,” she whispered furiously. “Our alpha is dying. This pack is getting ready to grieve. They don’t need you rubbing it in their faces.” She took a deep breath, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill as she spoke of her father’s failing health, and I felt a stab of guilt. “Show compassion, Wolfe,” she said softly. “If not for me, for the pack you’ll lead very soon.”
She didn’t say anything else as she turned and walked away, and I didn’t try to stop her.
No need to. That pulse at her throat? The flicker in her eyes when I moved closer? I’d gotten under her skin—and she hated it.
Fine. Let her hate me. That was simpler. Easier. Love made wolves stupid. Rage made them honest.
Killian let out a slow breath beside me. “You’re really leaning into the villain arc, huh?”
“They don’t need a hero right now, neither does she.”
“Yeah? What does she need?”
