My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 235: Four Months

Violet

Rowan set me down and I just remained still.

He had just rushed from the courtyard, past corridors, staircases, and other hallways before getting to this point within seconds.

His speed wasn’t necessarily the shocking part. It had been the blur of servants who pressed themselves against the walls without even looking surprised, as if their Supreme Alpha routinely sprinted through the castle frequently.

I glanced at Rowan and he just offered a small sheepish smile.

Now that I actually thought of it, he was strange.

The hallway we stood in was long, panelled in dark wood with strange swirling patterns all over it. The floor was polished pale stone, and there were small dainty light fixtures lining the upper part of the walls.

They were off, especially with the large window at the end of the hallway bringing in light.

Rowan turned to face the double doors he had stopped in front of, and I sensed a faint disturbance behind us.

I looked at the wall across the hallway. The air against it folded as if it was taking on a physical form.

I stiffened. "Rowan, what is that?"

"Don’t worry." He didn’t even turn around. "It’s just Telsid."

The rippling air turned into a shadow that stretched and thickened, and Telsid stepped out of it.

A faint prickle ran down the back of my neck.

Kael had an ability like this.

The thought surfaced before I could stop it, and with it came a hollow ache I wasn’t prepared for.

I wondered where he was and what he was doing.

"Three months," Telsid said in disbelief, his eyes wide as he stepped towards Rowan. "It is nearly four months, Rowan."

My pulse spiked.

We had been gone for that long?!

I did the mental count quickly and felt the floor shift slightly beneath me. I had known time had passed, but four months stated plainly like that made it suddenly very real in a way it hadn’t been before.

Rowan looked unbothered and his eyes just shot up in surprise. "I guess we were gone for that long."

Telsid slapped his hands to his face, the look of sure panic and horror mixed with anger.

"Oh, heavens! What is this?" Telsid took a step forward, and despite being Rowan’s beta, there was nothing submissive about his posture. "Do you have any idea what I have been dealing with? Do you have any idea how much work has piled up? The council has been here nearly every single week! Twenty seven council meetings! The eastern border dispute, the grain allocation between—"

"I will look into it, Telsid." Rowan nervously scratched his cheek, concern building on his face as I stared at him, eyes wide.

He had really neglected his work to just run after me like that?!

"Hasn’t Ezra been helping you?" Rowan sighed, pushing the doors open with his shoulder and grabbing me by my wrist to pull me into the room.

"That is the least of my concern! We can’t do everything!"

Telsid rushed in right beside Rowan and I was beginning to wonder if I should even be here in the first place.

The room was large. Bookshelves climbed two walls from floor to ceiling, stuffed with volumes of varying sizes. A long table dominated the center, neatly arranged with small cushioned pillows serving as seats. Beyond that was a wide desk positioned in front of massive windows with no curtains.

The capital sprawled across the horizon outside, the river glittering in the afternoon light, the white-barked trees dotting the landscape like pale sentinels.

Telsid continued behind me, and I half listened, my mind snagging on something I hadn’t let myself think about properly until now.

If Rowan had died out there...

I glanced back to see his arms planted on his waist as Telsid spoke to him heatedly.

Things would have been very bleak if Rowan had died, particularly for his territory. And it had nearly happened. The thought settled heavily in my chest and I pushed it aside before it became something I couldn’t manage.

"And then!" Telsid’s voice rose sharply. "Three wolves from another Supreme Alpha’s territory show up at my gates claiming you sent them! Do you understand what that looks like? Do you understand the position you have put us in?"

"I know, Telsid." Rowan’s voice was surprisingly gentle.

"You brainwashed wolves from Fresna and sent them here!" Telsid laughed, but there was no humour in it. "That is enough to warrant a war!"

My heart jumped in my chest and my syzygy flared intensely for a moment. I stared at Rowan, my mouth hanging open in sheer horror.

A war?!

I knew what Rowan had done and why he had done it, and I had never fully allowed myself to sit with what it meant beyond the immediate relief of knowing they were safe.

But this...

As if expecting my look, Rowan shifted his body slightly to face me. "I promise, it won’t turn out like that."

I took a step towards him. "Rowan, this is serious. Did you understand this when you did that?"

"There are different clauses to that rule. No harm was brought to his wolves, and he would not go that far." His expression became serious as his gaze trailed to the floor, lost in thought. "The worst that can happen would be a brawl, and I would let him inflict the necessary harm for tampering with his wolves. It is only right for me to suffer the consequence for that." His words were low as he said that.

And something about the way he said it stopped me.

He had done it knowing this risk and he was prepared to stand in front of whatever came back. But I don’t know how I would be able to stomach watching Rowan and Kael fight to kill each other.

What sort of nonsense was this?!

Telsid’s face softened, but his forehead was wrinkled with annoyance and worry at the same time.

Rowan placed a hand on Telsid’s shoulder. "I am sorry for worrying you."

Telsid’s jaw worked. Then he just closed his eyes and sighed.

His attention shifted to me as if just fully realising I was there.

He stepped away from Rowan and straightened, composure sliding back into place like a mask.

"I apologise for the unsightly display." His voice was calm now.

I looked away, feeling a bit awkward. "It’s fine."

"You must be the Lycan—"

"Mate."