The forest swallowed the path behind us.
Within minutes the clearing where the fight had happened disappeared completely, hidden by thick trunks and tangled undergrowth. The deeper we walked into the woods, the darker everything became. Moonlight still filtered through the branches above, but the trees here grew closer together, their shadows stretching across the ground like long fingers.
Rowan walked ahead of me with steady confidence.
Not once did he hesitate.
Not once did he slow down to figure out which direction to take.
That alone told me something important.
He knew this forest.
Like someone who had walked these paths many times before.
My wolf noticed it too.
She remained restless, alert to every sound around us, but her attention kept drifting back to the man walking a few steps ahead of me.
Rowan moved quietly.
Too quietly for someone his size.
Most wolves made small mistakes when they traveled through forests at night. A branch snapping underfoot. Leaves shifting too loudly. A moment of hesitation before choosing a path.
Rowan made none.
If I hadn't been watching him carefully, I might not have heard him moving at all.
That thought alone was enough to keep me cautious.
After several minutes of silence, Rowan spoke without turning around.
"How does the wound feel?"
I glanced down at the cloth tied around my forearm.
"Still attached," I said.
"That wasn't the question."
"It's fine."
Rowan slowed slightly, glancing back at me.
"You're limping."
I immediately straightened my posture.
"I am not."
His gaze drifted briefly toward my leg before returning to my face.
"You are."
I sighed quietly.
"It's nothing. One of the rogues caught my thigh during the fight. It didn't break the skin."
Rowan studied me for a moment longer.
Then he nodded once.
"Good."
That was all he said.
He turned back toward the path and continued walking.
I frowned slightly. That was it? No lecture. No argument. No unnecessary concern.
Just good. Strange.
Most wolves I had known either ignored injuries completely or treated them like a reason to question someone's strength. Rowan did neither.
Another few minutes passed.
The forest here had grown quieter. The sounds of night birds and small animals had faded, replaced by a deeper silence that made the woods feel older somehow.
Ancient.
Eventually Rowan slowed.
"We're close."
"To what?" I asked.
"The shelter."
He stepped off the narrow path and moved between two thick oak trees.
At first I didn't see anything.
Then, as my eyes adjusted, the shape appeared.
A rock formation.
Two large stone walls leaned together naturally, forming a narrow opening between them. Thick vines hung across the entrance, partially hiding the space beyond. Moss covered most of the stone, making it blend easily with the surrounding forest.
If Rowan hadn't led me straight toward it, I would have walked past without noticing it.
He pushed aside the vines and stepped inside.
I hesitated for only a second before following.
The space within was larger than I expected.
The two leaning rocks formed a small natural cave, wide enough for two or three people to sit comfortably. The ground inside was dry, protected from the wind by the stone walls.
More importantly— It was hidden.
Completely hidden from anyone walking through the forest.
I looked around slowly.
"You found this by accident?"
"No."
Rowan knelt near the back wall and brushed aside a few loose branches that had been stacked against the stone.
Underneath them, a small pile of firewood appeared.
My eyebrows lifted.
"You prepared this place."
"Several months ago."
"For what?"
Rowan shrugged slightly.
"Sometimes it's useful to have a place to disappear."
That answer raised more questions than it solved.
But before I could ask any of them, Rowan reached into a small leather pouch attached to his belt and pulled out a flint striker.
Within seconds a small fire flickered to life in the center of the cave.
Warm light filled the space, pushing the shadows back against the stone walls.
For the first time since leaving the pack house, the cold inside my chest eased slightly.
I sat down against one of the rock walls, stretching my legs carefully.
My body immediately began reminding me of everything that had happened tonight.
The fight. The long walk. The broken bond.
Exhaustion crept slowly into my muscles.
Rowan sat across from me, his back resting against the opposite wall. For a while, neither of us spoke. The fire crackled softly between us.
Finally, I broke the silence.
"You're not surprised."
Rowan looked up.
"About what?"
"About the rejection."
His expression didn't change.
"Should I be?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because rejected mates are not heard."
"They're not impossible."
I studied him carefully.
"You said that like you've seen it before."
Rowan's gaze shifted briefly toward the fire.
"Once."
My curiosity sharpened immediately.
"When? What happened?"
The flames reflected faintly in his eyes as he watched them.
"The wolf survived."
"That's not much of an answer."
"It's the only part that matters."
Something in his tone told me the conversation had reached its limit.
So I changed direction.
"You recognized the scent immediately," I said. "Most wolves wouldn't have noticed it that quickly."
Rowan shrugged slightly.
"I have a good sense of smell."
I snorted quietly.
"That's not the reason."
He looked up again.
"Then what is?"
"You've spent time around broken bonds before."
For a moment he didn't answer.
Then he gave a small, almost amused exhale.
"You're observant."
"That's not a denial."
"No."
Silence stretched between us again. The fire popped softly. My wolf stirred faintly inside me, calmer now that the immediate danger had passed. But something still bothered me. I leaned forward slightly.
"You never told me what you were doing near Blackthorn territory tonight."
Rowan met my gaze calmly.
"I was walking."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the truth."
"People don't just walk near another pack's border in the middle of the night."
"Some do."
Frustration flickered through me.
"You're avoiding the question."
Rowan tilted his head slightly.
"Perhaps."
I stared at him.
"You're very difficult to talk to."
"I've been told that before."
"That doesn't surprise me."
A faint hint of amusement crossed his expression. But the moment passed quickly. After a while Rowan stood.
"Let me see your arm."
"It's fine."
"Let me see it anyway."
I rolled my eyes but untied the cloth around my forearm.
Rowan stepped closer, crouching slightly as he examined the wound.
Up close, the cut looked worse than I had realized. The rogue's claw had torn deeper than it had first appeared.
Rowan frowned slightly.
"You're lucky."
"That's what you said earlier."
"Rogue claws can carry infection."
"That's what you said earlier too."
He reached into his pouch again and removed a small glass vial filled with dark green liquid.
"What's that?"
"Herb mixture."
"For healing?"
"Yes."
"And you just carry that around?"
"I travel."
"That's still suspicious."
Rowan ignored the comment. He poured a small amount of the liquid onto the cut. It burned immediately. I sucked in a sharp breath.
"That hurts."
"That means it's working."
I glared at him.
"You enjoy this part, don't you?"
"No."
He finished wrapping the wound with a clean strip of cloth before sitting back again.
"There."
I flexed my arm slightly.
The pain had already faded to a dull ache.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
Rowan nodded once. For a while, we simply watched the fire. Eventually my thoughts drifted somewhere I hadn't expected.
Back to Kael. The memory of his voice. The cold certainty in his words. "I reject you." My chest tightened faintly. Rowan noticed immediately.
"You're thinking about him."
I didn't deny it.
"Of course I am."
"Do you regret leaving?"
The question surprised me. I considered it carefully.
"No," I said finally.
"Good."
"Why?"
Rowan leaned back slightly.
"Because if you had stayed, the wolves who watched that rejection would have remembered it every day."
His voice was calm. But the truth in his words struck deeper than I expected.
"They still will," I said quietly.
"Yes."
The firelight flickered across his face.
"But you won't have to watch them do it."
That was true. And for the first time since leaving the pack house, the weight of what I had done felt slightly lighter.
After a while Rowan stood again.
"You should sleep."
"Sleep?"
"You're exhausted and wounded."
"I'm not going to fall asleep next to someone I met an hour ago."
Rowan's mouth curved slightly.
"That's probably wise."
He moved toward the entrance of the cave.
"Where are you going?"
"To keep watch."
"You don't trust the rogues to stay away."
"No."
He settled against the rock near the entrance, where he could see the forest outside.
The firelight barely reached him there, leaving his face half-shadowed. For a moment I simply watched him. The stranger who had appeared out of nowhere. The wolf who fought four rogues without shifting. The man who had refused to explain almost anything about himself.
My wolf stirred again with curiosity.
Eventually I lay back against the stone wall, closing my eyes.
Sleep came slowly.
But just before it finally pulled me under, one last thought crossed my mind.
Rowan might not have told me who he really was.
But something about him made one thing very clear.
Meeting him tonight…
Had not been an accident.