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"You should've been the one to do it," I said through gritted teeth, feeling the need to punch something now. Maybe I could ask Roxanne if there was a way to bring him back long enough for me to beat the shit out of him and kill him again. Hey, it was a nice idea.
"Killing him myself wouldn't undo what he’d done. I learned that a long time ago. It wouldn't bring her and our child back. All it would serve to do was hurt me more. I figured the best way to honor Carly's memory is to keep living life."
Byron was a good man. A far better person than I was, because I would've wanted revenge if I were in his shoes. Hell, I still wanted Pierce to suffer for what he's done to Joaquin, Grandma, Kai, and... well, everyone. Then again, Pierce was more evil than Alex, and deserved to be executed. For Byron, it seemed as if he made peace with his demons and was doing well for himself given all he'd been through.
"For what it's worth, I think Carly would be very proud of you right now. For living, for being here with us, for helping us defend our home. You're an amazing man, Byron Fitz, and I'm so glad you're here."
As Byron took a step closer, getting into my personal space. I noticed a shift in his gaze when he looked at me. It had my insides feeling warm and had me hoping for many things. I was already attracted to the rugged, handsome lumberjack of a man, but after hearing his story—his devotion to his wife, and how he kept living in honor of her—my affection for him grew. I'd be proud to have someone like him at my side, if he was ready and willing to try again at having a mate. Which, judging from the heat and love in his eyes, he seemed to be wanting.
"I'm glad to be here too, Rosalinda Mendoza. I poorly misjudged you when we first met. I blindly encouraged you to be with the wrong man because I wanted to follow the rules of Fate. But now"—he reached up and pressed a hand to my face as he leaned closer—"it's a rule I'll happily break with you, if you'll have me."
"Oh, I'll have you," I whispered right before our lips met, and we shared our first kiss. The first of many, I hoped.
Mine,I heard my wolf growling in my head.
Yes,I responded. Yes, he is ours. And we'll make sure he stays ours forever more.
23
ROWAN
I leaned against the porch as the sun began to set, waiting for Rosie and Byron to return. If they were gone this long, and I sensed no immediate danger, it was a good sign. Maybe Rosie finally confessed to Byron and had asked him to be her rightful fourth mate. I barely knew the man, but from the little interactions I had with him, and from the way he carried himself when it came to the betas under his control, I could tell he was a good man. He'd be someone worthy of the Wolf Moon's gift. Worthy of protecting Rosie. Worthy to love her, which was something I was incapable of doing.
I knew Rosie was disappointed that I couldn't be her fourth mate, and if I were honest with myself, so was I. In the weeks I'd spent with the current Queen of Wolves, and her newly formed pack, I felt more alive and freer than I had in a long time. This place was beginning to feel like home, and I'd give anything to consider it so. But my time as the Queen's chosen mate had long passed. I'd lived that life with Marissa and my mated brothers. I was supposed to have retired, but Mother Moon was in need of my services again. What I didn't expect was the yearning I had for the current Queen of Wolves.
A woman twice my junior yet had more guts and heart than most men I knew at my age. I knew I was much older, and the fact that someone as young and beautiful as Rosie Mendoza found me attractive and desirable had me feeling good about myself. But as much as I would love to take her to bed and show her the benefits of making love with someone of my age, with all the wisdom and experience I possessed that would have her eyes rolled to the back of her head and screaming with ecstasy, she wasn't mine to claim.
"I thought I'd find you out here." I turned around to see Sabina stepping out of the lodge to join me. "Rosie and Byron are still out on their walk?"
I nodded. "With any luck, Rosie will finally have her fourth mate, and be at full strength for when the war comes."
"And you're okay with it?" Sabina asked. "With Byron being with Rosie, I mean."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Sabina gave me a sardonic smile. "Yeah, why wouldn't you be okay with Byron being with the woman you also have feelings for? What was I thinking?"
"Are you finished?" I asked with a narrowed glare.
"Depends. Are you done pretending like you don't want her?"
"Were you this irritating to your pack mates before discovering you were a demigod? Or am I the only one you're choosing to provoke?"
"No," she said simply. "I was also this way with Byron when I tried getting him to be with Rosie too."
"Oh, so you're pushing the two of us to go after her, knowing that I'm not qualified to be her mate."
"Rowan, it's a mating, not a job application," Sabina deadpanned.
I groaned, wondering what I did in a past life to warrant having someone like her meddling in my personal life. It was true, I didn't have a lot of friends to go to for advice, or to shoot the breeze with, but I wouldn't have picked Sabina as my first choice for a confidant. I slapped the wooden porch rail and stood up. "Maybe in all your meddling, you've forgotten a keynote in Rosie's destiny, so let me refresh your memory. Your mother, Mother Moon, made it clear that she was destined to choose four mates to connect with. Four mates who don't already have the Wolf Moon's gift. In case you forgot, I still bear mine."
"Of course, I didn't forget. I was the one who reawakened the Wolf Moon's gift inside you so you could help Rosie." Sabina rolled her eyes. "And as for her destiny to find four mates to tether the Wolf Moon's gift, yes, she needs four mates for that. But who said those had to be heronlymates?"
I said nothing as I tried to process what she meant.
"Ah, you thought those four would be the only mates she was allowed to have, didn't you?"
"Uh, I mean... wasn't that the point?"
