AllFreeNovel
Share Us
While I expected her to assume the same thing, River shrugged. “I’m not so sure. He seemed pretty genuine about everything. Supposedly, they lost their ability to shift, and that’s why we thought they were all human. But only some are.”
“What?” I couldn’t hold back my surprise at that, completely caught off-guard by it.
From what very little I knew about Rowan, he had immense pride in being a shifter. That and the fact that I wasn’t like him was exactly why he refused me.
The more I thought of him, the more that feeling of gloom seemed to intensify. I felt almost dizzy from it, along with the old longing in my chest—the one I had suppressed for five years.
River nodded simply. “I know, it’s completely different from what we all assumed. He apparently wants our help finding a way to help them. Kai’s getting Soren to—are you all right, Willow?”
I hardly realized she had stopped, too consumed by everything hitting me at once. Seeing Rowan again felt like opening Pandora’s box and freeing all of the awful things I had kept away.
Blinking back at her, I shook the stupor away. “What was that?”
River looked at me strangely. “I asked if you were all right. You looked paler than usual.”
Annoyed that I had shown it so plainly on my face, I sighed and looped my arm through hers while we kept moving.
“I know him. Rowan. We have a bit of a past.”
It was her turn to look surprised. Then, the confusion settled in, and she furrowed her brows. “What do you mean you had a past?”
Overwhelmed by the memories all over again, I tried to push it down. I needed to keep myself together.
I’m usually the collected one, and I didn’t want any of my coven sisters to pick up on my strange behavior. They often looked to me for advice, and I needed to be level-headed to help guide them.
Moving closer to River so that she could hear me, I said lowly, “Rowan is my mate, and I found out five years ago. But that same day, he rejected me because I’m a witch. He didn’t believe in shifters cross-breeding with other paranormals, and it broke me.”
River’s face softened despite her intrigue and shock. She put a supportive hand over mine where our arms looped. “I’m so sorry, Willow. I never would’ve guessed. It’s horrible that he treated you like that.”
Taking in a deep breath to calm myself down, I nodded to reassure myself. “I’m okay, but seeing him again has brought everything to the surface again. Besides, I don’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing it hurt me.”
“Of course, I understand,” River said, expression still empathetic for me and the strange situation. “It seems that today has been full of surprises already, and it’s not even noon.”
Feeling a slight tug on that slumbering bond again, I risked a glance over my shoulder.
From his place some distance away, I caught sight of Rowan looking at me. My throat went dry immediately, and that rush of mixed emotions made me want to be sick.
Those brown eyes reminded me of how immediately attracted I had been to him, so surprised by how strongly it hit me. It had almost felt like instant infatuation but with the desire to get to know him. To be near him.
My end of that fractured bond left me feeling riddled with melancholy from that previous rejection. It was like it wanted to hide forever—to protect itself from further harm.
Yet, that part of me longed for him as it naturally would. It seemed too keen under his gaze, like a last-ditch effort to get what it wanted.
Even from our distance apart, I could tell he looked good still. Those handsome features hurt to gaze upon, and I had had enough.
Bristling away from him, I gently squeezed River’s hand and forced a small smile. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince her or myself that I was fine.
“I’m going to get back to the shop. Keep me in the loop if you hear anything else.”
River gave me a prolonged look as if wondering how much she should comfort me. Then she nodded with a gentle expression. It felt full of understanding, and I was glad she didn’t push. “I’ll let you know if Finn tells me anything else.”
We said our farewells as we both moved on, heading to our respective shops. I was lucky to have friends like River and the other girls, but the moment I was inside, being alone gave me some much-needed relief.
I leaned against the reading table and sucked in a deep breath, needing time to collect myself after it all.
Rowan’s presence in Rose Valley was enough to have me unraveling, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do about it.
Chapter 5 - Rowan
