Chapter 337: I Would Do Anything For This Woman
Kael
[Warning: Mixed POV]
Even if what I had done had worked, this one had just carelessly left his territory, his responsibilities, and had run after her without hesitation.
He had been there.
And I had not.
I hated this...
"How were her days in Silverwood?" The question left my mouth before I could stop it. "Was she treated well?"
Rowan looked at me, and I could see him weighing his answer.
’Ah... I see...’
I added quietly. "I want to know."
His eyes eased into a fond, distant look that made my chest constrict.
"She was treated well," he said. "My wolves welcomed her."
I smiled.
I was hurt, but at the same time, relieved. So, she had been happy there.
"Though, her mind drifted at times," Rowan added with a hint of sadness.
"Yes, her mind did tend to drift..." I whispered, no longer even looking at him.
Her mind drifted a lot in my territory, not just a few times. And it only took me so long to understand why.
I wondered if she had factored in our territories when making her decision. But that would be a terrible thought to have.
I feel pathetic for even trying to make excuses for myself.
"Take care of her." I returned my gaze to his.
He held it. "I will."
A pause.
"Kael, I want to thank you for discovering Violet. I—"
"Don’t."
He stopped.
"Don’t thank me." A dry laugh escaped my throat. "There is nothing to thank me for. Or is this some sort of insult?"
He straightened, frowning. "No—"
"Think carefully about what you say."
I turned away before the words I actually wanted to say could claw their way out. The bitter, petty, wounded words that wanted to accuse him of taking what was mine. Of swooping in when I wasn’t looking and stealing the one person who had made my life feel like it meant more than just territory and power and duty.
"Forgive me."
I turned away, stiffly nodding.
It irritated me so much that thanks of his was genuine. After he had...
I clutched my chest.
But she wasn’t stolen.
She had made a choice.
I could have marked her properly to even prevent this. Or found some way to keep her hidden within my borders and...
’Stop. Just stop...’
I sighed, raising my gaze to the stars.
If Rowan had never existed, if there hadn’t been a second bond, maybe I could have fixed what was wrong. I should have made Fresna a place where she could walk through the streets without flinching at the looks thrown her way.
But maybe was not reality.
Rowan’s footsteps retreated, and I strangely found myself replaying all the moments I had spent with her.
The first time I saw her, half-dead at my border, with those grey eyes that held more fight in them than most wolves carried in their entire bodies.
The curiosity and shock when learning about her bloodline, how her expressions had been caught between wonder and grief.
The training sessions, the night she had kissed me back, the feel of her skin, the gentle look in her eyes, the way her syzygy...
I wasn’t sure I could take this anymore.
Especially when I came to realise for so many of those memories, she had constantly looked troubled too.
I wished I had treated her better.
I wished I had said the words when they mattered.
I wished I had been braver, softer, less consumed with duty and more consumed with her.
But wishes were for wolves who still had time.
I turned from the sky and moved to join my wolves.
Now, I would never feel that smile of hers ever again.
- Rowan -
I think I shouldn’t have gone out there.
The look on his face when I thanked him had made my stomach twist with a guilt I hadn’t anticipated.
I had meant it genuinely. Without Kael, Violet might not have survived those early days. He had found her, sheltered her, helped her understand what she was. Every moment I had shared with her existed because Kael had kept her alive first.
But saying that to a man who had just lost her was cruel, even if I hadn’t intended it to be.
I dragged a hand down my face, exhaling a plume of frost as I made my way back in.
His words and eyes lingered in my head.
He was right to feel the way he felt.
I pushed open the door to my room.
The faint glow of moonlight filtered through the frost on the glass, casting pale blue light across the bed.
Violet was exactly where I had left her.
She lay on her side, curled slightly, her hair fanning across the pillow. The reddish brown tinge consuming the bottom half reminded me of that time at Sunweave inn.
She looked at peace.
I moved to the edge of the bed and sat down, careful not to rouse her up. My eyes traced the lines of her face in the dim light. The faint scars from Palisa’s claws was pale against her skin, and I wished I could caress them away.
She did not need a reminder of that gruesome moment.
Her lips were parted just slightly, her breath escaping in quiet, even puffs.
I reached out to brush her cheek. She thankfully didn’t stir.
She had chosen me.
The reality of it still hadn’t fully settled.
She had walked with Kael earlier that day, looked him in the eye and had told him her heart belonged to someone else. She had endured whatever pain that conversation had caused, carried it through the cold, and then she had come to me. She had told me those words I were terrified I would never hear.
I thought of Kael’s face and felt a small bout of sadness. Maybe it was a good thing she shouldn’t see him now.
Despite the other things, he was a good man. I would not pretend otherwise.
Violet choosing me did not mean he deserved to lose her.
But a selfish part of me was so glad she chose me at the end of the day.
I slipped beneath the blankets, moving slowly, and holding my breath as the mattress dipped under my weight. She still didn’t wake.
I eased myself beside her and carefully pulled her into my arms.
She came easily, her body shifting against mine with a sleepy, unconscious trust that made my heart sing.
I buried my nose in her hair and breathed her in.
I closed my eyes.
I was going to make her the happiest wolf in the world.
I would spend every day earning the choice she made tonight. She deserved everything, and I would make sure that every morning she woke up beside me, she knew without question that she was wanted.
That she was loved.
Sleep slowly pulled at me, and I drifted off with the quiet, overwhelming certainty that I would do anything for this woman.
