Page 50 of Fetch Me A Mate
"What if I don't want protection? What if I want partnership?"
She pulled a pen from her clipboard and held it out to him. "Sign it, Rowan. Choose to belong somewhere. Choose to fight for something instead of running from everything."
His hand shook as he took the pen. This was insane. Signing his name to a protection ward wouldn't change the pack's deadline, wouldn't save Sarah and her family, wouldn't eliminate the choice he had to make.
But it would mean something. To Diana. To the community that had somehow become his without him noticing. To the wolf inside him that was tired of being alone.
He signed his name beneath the others, his signature bold and permanent on the page.
"There," Diana said, taking the papers back. "Now you're officially part of Hollow Oak's defense system."
"Diana, I need to tell you something."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. About yesterday morning, about those men, about why I can't promise to stay."
"Rowan." She set the clipboard aside and touched his face, her fingers gentle against his stubbled jaw. "I know you're in trouble. I know those men were dangerous, and I know you pushed me away because you thought it would keep me safe."
"How do you know all that?"
"Because I know you. Because I've watched you check sight lines and test locks and position yourself between me and everypotential threat for a while now." Her thumb stroked across his cheekbone. "Because yesterday morning, when you looked at me before you dismissed me, I saw apology in your eyes. Not indifference. Apology."
His careful walls cracked under her understanding. "Diana."
"Whatever you're facing, we'll face it together. But first, you need to forgive yourself for whatever you think you've done wrong."
"You don't understand what I've done. The choices I've made."
"Then tell me."
And suddenly, he wanted to. Wanted to spill everything - Sarah's desperate flight, the pack's betrayal, the impossible choice between justice and loyalty that had cost him everything he'd thought he wanted.
"Three years ago, I helped someone escape from my pack. A young woman who'd fallen in love with a human and gotten pregnant. Pack law said she had to give up the baby or be exiled.They all wanted execution for the betrayal of blood. I helped her choose exile."
"That sounds like the right choice."
"It broke pack law. Cost me my position as alpha. Split the pack and created enemies I've been running from ever since."
Diana was quiet for a long moment, her hand still curved against his face.
"And now they've found you."
"Yeah. And they want me to help clean up the mess my choice created. The human she ran with has been blackmailing them. They want me to come back, help them silence him permanently."
"And if you refuse?"
Rowan's throat tightened. "They'll make sure everyone I care about pays the price, Including the woman and child I helped leave."
"Ah." Diana nodded like pieces were falling into place. "So yesterday morning was about protecting me."
"Yeah."
"And today? What's today about?"
He looked at her face, at the trust and determination written in every line, and felt something shift inside his chest helping him make his own choice instead of torn. "Today's about being tired of running. About wanting to fight for something instead of just surviving."
"Good." Diana smiled, the kind of grin that made his wolf settle contentedly. "Because I've been wondering when you'd stop treating me like I needed protection and start treating me like I could be part of the solution."
