Page 45 of Howl About That

"Well, what's also really bad is that I just pushed the man I love away because he was trying to protect me, and I took it as him trying to erase me." Poppy set down her mug with shaking hands. "I'm such an idiot, Neve."

Neve leaned forward, her expression shifting into that combination of exasperation and affection that Poppy had come to recognize. "Poppy, do you hear yourself right now? I may have just met Keiro, but that man is completely in love with you. He seems like he would literally move mountains for you, and you're taking that as him wanting to control you and remove your autonomy?"

The words hit like a slap of cold water, forcing Poppy to confront the irrationality of her own reaction. When Neve said it like that, it sounded completely insane.

"Yeah, I guess that's what I felt like." Poppy ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the tangled strands. "Like Keiro came into my life and started making everything better but by going about it in all the wrong ways. I mean, he has adjusted and changed along the way, and I thought he was learning to askbefore he did things. I thought we were functioning as a team, and then he does this."

"Maybe he just loves you so much that he can't help himself," Neve said gently. "Maybe he can't stop himself from fixing things so you guys can build something great together."

The realization hit Poppy like lightning striking twice in the same spot. This man might love imperfectly, but he loved her completely. He would do whatever it took to make their future possible—he'd literally said those exact words before she'd kicked him out. And she'd been so hurt and upset by him going behind her back to investigate her father's murder that she'd pushed away the one man who loved her enough to fight for them both. The one man who would stand beside her instead of watching her carry everything alone.

"God, I'm an idiot. I screwed this whole thing up," Poppy whispered.

"You didn't screw up." Neve's voice was firm. "You're just not used to someone standing beside you as a true partner. You guys are just going through some growing pains, that's all."

But Poppy was already standing, her body moving before her mind had fully caught up. The mate bond was pulling at her like a physical force, tugging her toward Keiro with increasing urgency. She could feel his emotions bleeding through their connection—hurt, yes, but underneath it all was love so fierce and unwavering that it made her chest ache.

"I need to go to him now," Poppy said, her voice gaining strength with each word. "I need to tell him I was letting fear get the best of me."

Neve smiled. "Then go. Go fight for your man and your future."

Poppy was already moving toward the door, her heart hammering as purpose flooded through her veins. She'd spent eleven years running from anything that threatened hercarefully constructed independence. But Keiro wasn't a threat to who she was—he was the missing piece that could help her become who she was meant to be.

EIGHTEEN

KEIRO

The grandfather clock in the foyer chimed again as Keiro completed another circuit of his family estate's main floor. His footsteps had worn a literal path between the living room, kitchen, and his father's old study—three hours of relentless pacing that had accomplished nothing except proving Dax right about everything.

She might prefer to handle this herself, or maybe she won't appreciate you overstepping again.

His Beta's warning echoed in his mind with the precision of a blade finding its mark. Keiro had dismissed the concern, convinced that protecting his mate justified everything. Now, the mate bond pulsed with Poppy's raw emotions—hurt, anger, doubt—each wave hitting him like physical blows designed for maximum punishment.

He'd hurt her again. Spectacularly.

The auction had been bad enough. Discovering he'd made her lose sleep fearing her world was crumbling because he'd acted without thinking. That mistake had taught him the devastating cost of good intentions executed poorly. But what he did today? That mistake felt irreparable.

How many times could someone forgive the same mistake dressed in different clothes?

Through their bond, her emotions wouldn't stop bleeding into his consciousness with merciless clarity. Hurt dominated everything else, but underneath the storm, one feeling remained steady and unchanging—love. Despite his catastrophic overreach, despite his apparent inability to love her correctly, she still loved him.

But he didn't know what that meant when she hadn't called. When she'd ordered him out of her estate with the kind of finality that felt like doors slamming shut forever.

Leaving her this afternoon had felt like tearing his own heart out through his chest. Every instinct had screamed at him to stay, to fight for them, to refuse her dismissal until she understood his intentions. But he'd seen her face—devastated, angry, stripped of every defense she'd built. And walking away from that had been the hardest thing he'd ever done.

Maybe he should return to Manhattan. Resume the life he'd lived for sixteen years before she'd turned everything upside down.

The thought lasted exactly three seconds before his wolf rejected it with violent intensity. How could he go back to operating his business and pack like nothing had changed when the only thing that mattered was fixing this? When all he wanted was to wrap his arms around Poppy and promise he'd never overstep again.

He didn't want to erase her or replace her. He wanted to stand beside her and watch her become the woman she was meant to be—someone who could live instead of just survive.

The doorbell's chime cut through his spiraling thoughts like salvation. Dax, probably, with updates on the investigation that had started this whole disaster. Keiro crossed the foyer in longstrides, preparing himself for his Beta's inevitable "I told you so" expression.

Instead, he opened the door to find Poppy.

She looked like she'd been crying for hours—eyes red-rimmed and swollen, hair disheveled. The sight hit him like a gut punch. He'd done this to her. He'd reduced his fierce, unbreakable mate to this raw, wounded state.

"Poppy—"