Page 99 of Never Tamed
“Right.” I nod. “I can do that.”
A small sound cuts through the sudden silence, the soft whimper of a baby. On instant alert, we all turn as Flora steps through the screen door with her son cradled in her arms. Her hair is tied back and several strands have escaped, curling damply against her temples. The baby clutches at her dress with tiny fists, blinking sleepily, his round face pressed against her collarbone.
Her gaze darts over the desk, the map. Over us. Her eyes narrow. “You’re planning something.”
“Flora,” I start, but she strides forward, her chin high despite the shadows under her eyes.
The kidnapping has made her look older and fiercer all at once. She’s still the same sunny girl who cooked for us in Torin’s posh penthouse, but there are added layers to her now.
“I want to help,” she says.
Torin huffs a laugh. “An omega?”
“Yeah,an omega,” she snaps, glaring. “Thisomega.No one comes between me and my children. No one. I have a bone to pick with Andras, and I want to see him bleeding.”
Torin clears his throat and goes back to looking at the map. Or at least, pretending to look at it. He knows not to antagonize Flora by now.
“Don’t tell me I can’t fight. I was there. I survived him. I know what he’s capable of, and I won’t sit by while the rest of you risk everything to finish it.” She clutches her baby closer. “I won’t let what he did to me happen to anyone else.”
My chest aches. I understand her reasons, but she’s still recovering from childbirth. She shouldn’t even be on her feet at this point. She needs rest.
Before I can say anything, Mathis speaks; his voice is raw, sharp. “No.”
Flora blinks at him, startled by the vehemence. “Excuse me?”
Mathis takes a step toward her, and for a moment I don’t see the alpha of the Grey Valley pack but the man I got a glimpse of when she was gone—broken, untapped, haunted. He had a lot of things to work through in her absence and he’s not recovered either. Not from all of them.
“You don’t get to risk yourself again. Do you understand me? You don’t.” His throat works as he swallows hard. “I thought you were dead. I thought he’d killed you, and it almost—” He cuts himself off, fists clenching at his sides. “The answer is no.”
The baby stirs, making a soft fussing sound. Flora rocks him gently, but her eyes shine, torn between fury and sorrow.
“Mathis…” she whispers. “Please.”
He shakes his head. “No. Not this time. Not ever again. You have a family. Your children, that little boy—” His voice breaks as he points to the bundle in her arms. “He needs you here, alive. We all do.”
The silence goes thick and I clear my throat.
Flora’s jaw tightens. She looks at me, searching for backup or for some sliver of support. And gods, I want to give it. She’s strong and brave. She has every right to this fight.
But then I see Mathis’s face, the way his shoulders tremble though he stands tall. I had felt the guilt, the bone-shaking grief he had inside me.
To him, Flora isn’t just pack. She’s family and one of the few he has left.
I exhale slowly. “He’s right. It’s safer if you stay behind.”
Flora flinches, as if I’ve struck her. “Ren…”
“We need you here, Flora,” I say gently. “Watching over the camp. Watching over him.” I nod to her son. “You’ve already survived the worst of Andras. That alone makes you braver than most of us. But this—this fight—we can’t risk losing you again. Not when you’ve just come back to us. Not when your family needs you.”
Please forgive me for this.
She won’t hear my silent plea but I hope the sentiment somehow reaches her. If the circumstances were different, if the danger wasn’t so close, then maybe I’d give in. Maybe.
Lips pressing together, her eyes drop to the baby, who has drifted back into sleep against her chest. Then, she squares her shoulders and takes a deep breath.
“Fine,” she says. “But don’t any of you eventhinkabout dying.” Her gaze lands on Torin. “Even you.”
He chuckles. “Understood.”
