Chapter 263
Elowen's POV
"Still what?" Kade interrupted, rising from the chair with a fluid grace that belied his earlier appearance of sleepiness. "Still your mate? Because last I checked, he gave up that privilege when he decided Sarah Mitchell was a better option. Still your friend? Because friends don't rip your heart out and stomp on it while you're standing right there watching."
"He's still the father of my children," I said quietly, my hand moving to rest on the slight swell of my belly where the twins slept, oblivious to the chaos of their parents' lives. "Maybe if you had kids of your own, you'd understand why I can't just abandon him, why I have to—"
"Enough," Ronan said sharply, pushing off from the doorframe and taking a step toward me, his expression shifting from mocking to genuinely concerned. "Elowen, that was low, and you know it. Don't weaponize Kade's situation just because you're angry we won't let you do something reckless."
The guilt hit me immediately, sharp and bitter, because Ronan was right—I did know better, knew that Kade's inability to find his mate was a source of deep pain for him, knew that throwing it in his face was cruel and unfair. But before I could apologize, before I could take back the words that had already done their damage, Kade's fist slammed down on the wooden bed frame with enough force to make the whole structure shudder, the sound like a gunshot in the quiet room.
"You are not going," Kade roared, his composure finally cracking, his face flushed with an anger I'd rarely seen directed at me. "I don't give a damn if he's the father of your children, I don't give a damn if he's bleeding out in that bar—you are not putting yourself and those babies at risk for a man who chose someone else, who threw you away like you meant nothing!"
The words hung in the air between us, heavy and brutal and undeniably true, and I felt tears sting my eyes even as my own anger surged to match his. "How dare you," I whispered, my voice shaking with the effort to keep it from breaking entirely. "How dare you tell me what I can and can't do, who I can and can't care about. He may have hurt me, he may have chosen wrong, but he's still—"
"Still nothing," Kade cut me off, his voice dropping to something dangerous and cold. "He's nothing to you anymore, Elowen. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on and build a life that doesn't revolve around men who don't deserve your loyalty."
I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him exactly what I thought of his assessment of my life and my choices, but he was already moving toward the door, his shoulder brushing roughly past Ronan as he strode out of the room. The door slammed behind him with enough force to rattle the frame, and in the sudden silence that followed, I could hear my own ragged breathing, could feel the tears finally spilling over to track down my cheeks.
"He didn't mean it like that," Ronan said quietly, his earlier anger seeming to have drained away, leaving behind something softer and sadder. "He's just worried about you, we both are. You've been through so much, and the thought of you walking back into a situation that could hurt you again—"
"I'm not a child," I interrupted, wiping angrily at my tears with the back of my hand. "I'm not your property, I'm not some delicate flower that needs constant protection. I'm your sister, yes, but I'm also a grown woman who's going to be leading a pack someday, who's carrying children that will need me to be strong and capable and able to make my own decisions."
Ronan sighed, running a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration I recognized from our childhood. "No one's saying you're not strong, Elowen. But strength doesn't mean charging headfirst into every dangerous situation just to prove you can. Sometimes it means knowing when to step back, when to let someone else handle things."
"And if there is no one else?" I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest even though the gesture made me feel childish and defensive. "If Cassian isn't answering and Casper needs help and I'm the only one who—"
"Then you send someone in your place," Ronan said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You send me, you send Kade, hell, you send Alaric if you have to. But you don't go yourself, not when you're pregnant with twins, not when you're still healing from everything they put you through."
I stared at him for a long moment, weighing my options, knowing that he was right in principle even if I hated admitting it. But the image of Casper alone and in trouble, possibly hurt or worse, wouldn't leave my mind, and I knew with bone-deep certainty that I wouldn't be able to sleep, wouldn't be able to rest, until I knew he was safe.
"Fine," I said finally, my voice steady even though my heart was racing. "You can either come with me and make sure I stay safe, or you can stay here and explain to Kade why you let me go alone. But I am going, Ronan. With or without you."
For a moment, I thought he might argue further, might try to physically stop me or call Kade back to help restrain me. But instead, he just shook his head slowly, a rueful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he walked over to the bed and flopped down on it with exaggerated weariness.
"You won't do it," he said, his tone conversational as he laced his fingers behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. "You won't defy Kade, won't risk the fight that would cause. You're too smart for that, too aware of how much you need his support and protection."
The casual confidence in his voice, the absolute certainty that I would back down, sent a fresh wave of anger through me. "You want to bet on that?" I asked sweetly, my tone belying the fury simmering beneath my skin. "Because I'm not some normal, rational person right now, Ronan. I'm a pregnant, hormonal, sleep-deprived woman who's tired of being told what to do by men who think they know better. And if you're smart, you'll remember that the most dangerous thing in any forest isn't the wolf—it's the mother protecting her own."
I turned toward the door, my hand on the knob, when Ronan's voice stopped me. "Elowen, wait."