The scent of blood lingered long after the rogues were dead.
I stumbled into the healer's chamber, my side slick and throbbing. Ronan's hand was firm around my arm, guiding me, but I wanted to rip it away, to prove I didn't need him. Still, my legs trembled, and every step sent fire shooting up my ribs.
Elder Mira waited inside, her sharp eyes cutting over me before landing on Ronan.
"She's injured."
"She fought," Ronan said simply, his voice low and unreadable. "Like a true wolf."
Mira's brows lifted. "Or like a reckless child."
I bared my teeth at her, my wolf snapping beneath my skin. "Better reckless than cowardly."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing more as the healer approached.
I hissed when the poultice touched my wound, cool against the torn flesh. Ronan didn't move away. He stood at my side like a shadow, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin burn hotter than the herbs.
"You don't have to watch me bleed," I muttered, looking anywhere but at him.
"I've already seen you bleed," he replied. "I won't look away now."
Something twisted inside me. The bond pulsed, tugging at me, as if my wolf wanted to lean into him, to accept the protection I swore I didn't need.
When the healer finished, binding the wound with clean cloth, Mira spoke again, her voice low, cutting. "She shouldn't have been out there. One mistake, and the Alpha's bond would have been wasted."
"Wasted?" I snapped, fury flaring. "I'm not a breeding mare, tied to him for the sake of your pack."
Mira's eyes gleamed with something sharp, something cruel. "And yet, you bleed beside him as though you already belong to him."
Ronan growled, the sound vibrating through the chamber. "Watch your tongue, Elder."
For a heartbeat, power thickened the air, heavy and suffocating. Mira stiffened but didn't bow. She only turned and swept out of the room, leaving silence in her wake.
I sagged against the cot, exhaustion weighing me down. My body screamed for rest, but my mind spun, tangled in the words I'd overheard, the betrayal whispered in the council hall, the blood spilled tonight.
"You should sleep," Ronan said quietly.
I scoffed. "And dream of what? Your claws in my father's throat?"
His jaw clenched. He moved closer, crouching so his silver eyes met mine. For once, his voice wasn't a growl. It was soft, almost human.
"You think I wanted his death?" he asked.
"You think I enjoyed it?"
Pain flashed across his face, gone almost before I caught it. But it was there. Real.
I swallowed hard, my chest tightening.
"Then why? Why him?"
His gaze dropped to the floor, shadow cutting across his face. "Because sometimes, an Alpha chooses between one life… and the survival of all. He made a choice. And I—" His breath hitched. "I carried it out."
The words weren't enough. They weren't answers. But they weren't lies, either. And that unsettled me more than anything.
I turned my face away, refusing to let him see the storm in my eyes. "Leave me."
For a long moment, he didn't move. Then, slowly, his hand brushed against my wrist, feather-light. Not a command. Not a claim. Just… there.
The bond surged, answering him, my wolf pressing toward his touch. I yanked my hand back, furious with myself.
His jaw hardened again. The softness vanished, replaced by steel. "Rest," he ordered, his Alpha's voice curling around the word. "I'll be outside the door."
I wanted to scream, to curse him, to tell him I didn't need him. But my eyelids betrayed me, dragging shut under the weight of exhaustion.
When sleep finally claimed me, the last thing I felt was his presence, unwavering, just beyond the door.