Page 58 of Wolf's Reckoning
She hummed. “So, the usual.”
I exhaled as I stared into the fire. “They want me to marry him.”
Adair didn’t flinch. Didn’t gasp. Just stirred the fire with a stick, sending a small burst of sparks into the night. “I figured.”
I looked at her. “Youfigured?”
“You think I didn’t see the way the druid was circling? The way your father’s eyes light up when Wolfe walks into the room?”
I dragged a hand down my face. “It’s not a solution. It’s a trap.”
“Maybe,” she said softly. “But it’s a trap with an easy escape hatch. You know Wolfe, you used tolikehim a lot more than you seem to remember.”
I barked a laugh. “You think this is funny?”
“No,” she said, finally turning to face me. “I think it’s tragic. Because you’ve wanted to lead this pack your whole damn life—and now that the path isactuallyin front of you, you’re too busy snarling at the wolf beside you to see it, no pun intended.”
I tensed. “He’s not beside me. He’s ahead.” I had a moment of clarity. “I think he always was.”
Adair shook her head. “Not always. Not when you were younger. Not when he left.”
I said nothing.
She pressed on. “Rowen…what do you want? Not the pack. Not the politics. You.”
“I want my father’s pack to continue.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
My throat tightened. “I want to choose.”
“Then choose,” she said. “But don’t confuse freedom with fear.”
I stared into the fire again. Let the silence stretch. Then I whispered, “What if choosing him means losing myself?” I took a deep breath. “It’s what I was fighting against with the other two, and now…how is thisdifferent? If anything, it’sworse. I know him. He’s…he’s, ugh, it’shim. He hates me for what I did to him.”
Adair’s voice was quiet. Steady. “Then you don’t choosehim. You choose Blueridge Hollow. You choose your pack, just like you were prepared to do. If he’s worth anything at all…he’ll choose them too.”
I looked at her in surprise. “You think he’ll say no?”
Adair smiled, her eyes dancing with mischief. “He hasoptions,” she reminded me. “He’s potentially got someone at his pack.”
I lost some of my anger. She was right. He could already be involved with someone, he could bring them here, and then they could be the pack leader’s wife, which would be even worse than me being the pack leader’s wife.
My head dropped into my hands. Somehow, my father’strickwas far more complicated than the prospect of marrying Tyler or Dex could ever be.
I had no idea what I was going to do, and worse, I had no idea what Wolfe would do. I could see the benefits for me, but how did Wolfe benefit?
Adair let the silence stretch, only the fire crackling between us. Finally, her soft voice penetrated the night’s air, “That’s the part you’re not used to, isn’t it?”
I lifted my head, brow furrowed. “What?”
“Not knowing what someone else wants.” She shrugged,like it was obvious. “You’re used to controlling the pieces. Steering the ship. Making sure everything and everyone lines up so you can carry the whole damn pack on your back without dropping a single one.”
I frowned. “That’s what being a leader is.”
“No,” she said gently. “That’s what being alone is.”
I stared at her. At the flames. At the flicker of ash spiraling into the night sky.
