Chapter 332: Three Words
Rowan
The past five weeks were some of the longest I have ever experienced.
Five weeks of back-to-back meetings, discussions, arguments, and careful negotiations to reach an outcome she could live with.
And five weeks of watching her become a force I barely recognized.
I wasn’t sure if it was because of the heavy gloom no longer hanging over her shoulders, but the jump in assertiveness had been a bit jarring. Pleasantly, if I was being honest.
And it saddened me a bit of it might have come from fear of what the world would be like if she didn’t hold her ground now.
There had been discussions she simply refused to move from, even with uncomfortable push from a few of the Supreme Alphas.
When compromises were offered that fell short of what she wanted, she looked at them with those grey eyes and said no.
So many nos.
I might have liked it a little too much.
It truly was grating that Kael’s input and mine were not taken fully seriously due to the mate bond with her, but we did whatever we could to make things easier.
The Lycan protections had been the primary focus, but what surprised me was the second issue she had raised.
Omegas.
I knew she was going to bring it up at some point, but I hadn’t expected she would handle it hand in hand with the discussion over Lycans.
To my shock, this had been something more difficult for the others to move on from. It had been quite ridiculous.
Despite the fact that two other Supreme Alphas, including Voya and I, had omegas being treated fairly in our territories.
It had gotten to a point Violet had to use her Lycan lineage as leverage over the Omega issue.
She would not sign or confirm the final Lycan accords until the matter of Omega treatment across territories was formally adjusted.
"That is a separate issue entirely."
"It is not separate to me. I was an omega before I was a Lycan. The mistreatment I endured was not because of my bloodline. It was because of my rank. And if this council is willing to acknowledge that an entire race were persecuted unjustly, it should not be difficult to acknowledge that the same is happening to omegas in your territories right now."
And she didn’t linger until she got what she wanted.
We all managed to reach an impasse. The omega protections were less sweeping than the Lycan ones, and it needed more framework than enforcement. But it was a start, and the fact that she had forced the other Supreme Alphas to formally address Omega rights was staggering.
I felt ashamed I hadn’t fully considered it earlier.
But I had never been more proud of anyone in my life.
And I had sadly felt a small distance from her.
She had been avoiding moments alone with me. With both of us, as far as I could tell, but the distinction didn’t ease the ache in my chest.
I knew we were all busy, and there was hardly any time to rest and settle down. But I haven’t spent time with her in so long it felt like forever.
The few times I had sought her out, I would find her asleep, curled on her bed fully clothed, documents scattered around her, her face slack with the deep exhaustion of a wolf running on determination alone.
If only he wasn’t around, I’d have snuggled up with her.
But I wasn’t sure about that either.
It disturbed me that she avoided my eyes more often than not.
Even when she was less busy and not sleeping.
It almost felt like she was pulling away.
I tried not to think about it. I was being selfish.
I didn’t like how unsettled I was.
Likely because Kael was around too.
I threw myself into helping where I could. Reviewing documents, advising on territorial disputes that arose from the new agreements, coordinating with Telsid back in Silverwood to ensure my own territory was running smoothly in my continued absence. I worked until my eyes burned and my thoughts blurred, because the alternative was sitting alone with the growing certainty that I was losing her.
I just wanted to hold her for once... was it that bad?
[ - ]
The delegations began departing in that final week when the bulk of the whole load was done. One by one, the Supreme Alphas and their wolves filed out of Frostheim. Each departure lightened the castle’s atmosphere and quieted the constant hum of political activity that had defined the past weeks.
I stood on a balcony overlooking the encroaching forest of the castle’s backyard, watching another delegation take their leave.
The cold bit at my face but I didn’t move.
Below me, in the distance beyond the courtyard, two figures walked along the tree line.
Violet and Kael.
They moved slowly, side by side, their breath clouding in the frozen air. They weren’t touching, but they walked close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed. Kael’s head was slightly bowed, and Violet’s hands were clasped in front of her.
They were talking.
My chest constricted.
I turned away from the balcony before I could see anything else.
I didn’t know what they were discussing. It could have been politics. It could have been Bei. It could have been anything.
But just seeing them together like this made my stomach turn with a jealousy I hated myself for feeling.
She had every right to talk to Kael. He was her mate too.
But what did he have that I didn’t?
The evening crawled by, and I ignored my wolf’s persistent warnings to interrupt them. I doubted she would appreciate another instance of me barging in. The thought that she had taken some time to still see him over me left me with an odd numbing feeling.
I wasn’t sure I could fully accept it either.
I thought she had felt the same.
Hours passed and she still hadn’t returned. I ate without tasting the food. I paced the length of my room until the floor should have worn a groove, then forced myself to stop because the restlessness was making my skin crawl.
When exhaustion finally overtook the anxiety, I stripped off my outer clothes and fell into bed. The sheets were cold against my skin and the room was dark and quiet and empty.
I missed her.
Sleep came eventually. Not peacefully, but in the grudging, fitful way of a wolf whose mind refused to fully surrender. I drifted in and out, never quite settling, my body tense even in rest.
I don’t know how long I had been under when I felt it.
The bond flared from the muted hum it had been for weeks.
My eyes snapped open.
The room was dark. The cold air was still. But the space behind me was no longer empty.
Arms slid around me from behind.
When had she come in?
Her body pressed against my back, and she buried her face between my shoulder blades.
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt.
I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I barely breathed.
"I love you."
