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Before anything else could be said, with tears gathering in her waterline, Willow tore away from the stream and ran. As fast as I had met her, she was gone.
I carried my guilt for all those years. Since my dad felt only animosity toward witches, I never told him what happened that day. I couldn’t face the fact that I was an alpha’s son. The son of someone who wanted nothing more than to see the witches of Rose Valley, along with their leadership, fall. I couldn’t face that mortification.
But ever since I learned everything my father told us about them, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made a grave mistake. If I had robbed myself of potential happiness.
With my wolf AWOL, that broken and unhealed longing of our bond was silent, save for the small kernel that seemed embedded in my very being. It was weak and barely pulsing, but it was still there.
Seeing her again only made it burn more, and I had half a mind to swing my bike over to the curb.
But the approaching alpha and his men spliced my train of thought in half by his presence. It hit me in a wave, domineering and accusatory, before his mouth could even open.
Kai stood there with his arms crossed, eyeing me with suspicion. His eyes glowed even under the midday sun, blinding, and warning me to watch my step. The bulky man behind him seemed to make himself just as intimidating, and I couldn’t help but think he was reminiscent of what Griffin was to me.
Our group slowed to a stop in the center of town, cutting our bike engines and hitting our kickstands. Throwing my leg over, I dismounted and stood before the alpha of Rose Valley, along with his second in command. We pulled our helmets off, braving what was ahead. They both glowered at me, looking ready to dismember us in front of the gawking townspeople.
Griffin followed suit, while the rest of our group waited on their bikes, should they need to bolt at a moment’s notice. That was my direct order, to quell their worries of an ambush.
Since I had persuaded them to visit Rose Valley, I would stand there with Griffin by my side, and we would hold our ground so the others could leave if it came down to it.
“What do you want?” Kai said, voice traveling. I knew he was nothing short of an alpha from his sheer presence, which felt much bigger than himself.
Taking in those weary eyes around me, as well as the ones piercing with accusatory edges, I knew we deserved it. I couldn’t pretend like we didn’t.
We took it on the chin, and that was all we could do.
“We aren’t here to cause any harm,” I began, hoping to smooth my rough edges enough to prove we weren’t after blood. “My name’s Rowan Clark, and I’m here to call a truce on behalf of my group.”
Murmuring moved through the steadily gathering crowd of people. Kai’s brows went up in surprise while the man on his left narrowed his eyes. I already knew he was going to be the hardest to persuade.
They all seemed doubtful of my words, but I needed to keep going. I needed to convince them I meant it.
I took in a vulnerable breath. “Please, I know we have caused more than enough damage already, but that ended the moment I stepped in as our leader. I’d like to start with a simple conversation.”
The heavily muscled one stepped forward to cut the space between us, eyes hard as he jabbed a finger at my chest.
“Why should we offer you peace when you relentlessly attacked our town again and again? You certainly wanted to cause harm then, so why should we treat you any better?”
An instinctual growl that lacked his wolf’s strength came from Griffin as he stood by my side and squared up against the alpha’s second-in-command. The other bared his teeth at him, full of that predatory wrath we both missed more than anything.
My irritation spiked at the display of dominance, wishing I could let Griffin have a turn beating him down, but we were in no position to do any such thing. And without his powers, Griffin would run the risk of getting seriously maimed.
No matter how that anger coursed through me, I reigned it in. I had to.
The standoffish nature of the Rose Valley pack was caused by my father’s hand, and I had to deal with it until it could be fixed.
I never agreed with his way of leading, and since it was my turn, I didn’t want any animosity between us.
I wasn’t interested in making matters worse.
“Pull back,” I reminded Griffin, to which he remembered himself and deflated somewhat.
“Finn. Enough,” Kai said with a hand on his shoulder to pull him back.
Finn snarled one last time before stepping back and not saying another word to let his alpha take charge. He kept those hard eyes on me regardless.
“Why has your group had a change of heart?” Kai asked, lifting his chin as he inspected me closely. “Why come to us looking to talk when you could simply move on with your men?”
Swallowing my pride, I took a deep breath. “That is exactly what I want to talk to you about. It concerns some members in my group, and we’re hoping to work those rough patches out.”
