Chapter 186

“Oh goddess. What happened?” Wendy covered her mouth.

I closed my eyes, remembering the scene. “He dropped to his knees and howled. It was the most heartbreaking noise I have ever heard. Then, in seconds, his eyes changed from the crystal green they were to blood red. His face half-shifted, and with the last remaining shred of humanity he had, instead of attacking us, he took off into the forest.”

“He went rabid that quickly?” Micca’s mouth dropped open.

“It isn’t a slow process.” Rowan clasped his hands and leaned on his knees. “It’s like the human soul is ripped from the wolves, leaving the beast alone with the pain and having no way to work through it.”

I nodded. “There has been only one rabid wolf in history that has come back from it.” I remembered my father telling me the story of the wolf after I watched the man go rabid. “It was a she-wolf that had been betrayed by her mate. He killed their pup because it was a girl, and he wanted a boy. She went rabid and stayed in the wild for a hundred and sixty-three years.”

“How did she come back?” Hanna gripped the edge of her seat.

“She processed the grief, and she found her second chance mate. They were able to mate, and they had three pups.” I smiled.

“How do you know?”

“She was the mother of my father’s beta,” I answered. It was a secret Ronnie kept close to his chest, but his mother was the only wolf to pull herself back from the wild. “Her wolf was always a little feral afterwards, but her mate was able to calm her.”

Everyone looked at Rowan, and he just nodded. “Shan was always a little terrifying,” he smiled. “My father used her as my boogeyman.” I laughed. The ridiculousness of a Lycan being afraid of a she-wolf was hilarious, but Rowan shook his head. “You laugh now, but when Shan was alive, she was terrifying. My dad was super close to Gavin and Ronnie, to the absolute annoyance of Vince and Carren.” Everyone furrowed their brows. “Amy’s grandfather. He hated the fact that my dad liked Amy’s. My father even hinted, very vocally, that Garren should step down when Gavin had come of age.”

“Did he?” Wendy was invested in the story, I could tell, and I just smiled as I shook my head.

“Nope.” Rowan looked at me. “My dad started the campaign for Gavin to step up when he was still decently young, around his thirties or forties. But Garren refused until thirty years ago. Gavin stepped up when I was young.” He slipped his hand onto mine. “I grew up with your dad being my uncle. And when my father died, and I blamed him, he took it hard.”

I nodded. “He never brought it up, but whenever you were mentioned, I could see his whole demeanor change. He was hurting, and he thought you hated him.”

“I did. I hated him for a long time. But I realized recently that he wasn’t in charge of keeping my father safe. Our guards were. The council my father appointed was. And they failed.” He clasped his hand in mine and looked into my eyes. “He was protecting what was most important to him: you and your mother. And then he was fixing his pack, then losing you and your mother. When I finally found out the truth about what happened, I knew he had his own demons to face, and hating him was wrong. He was just doing his best for his family.”

I nodded. “He has done his best for me in my entire life.”

“As a father should, as my dad did.” Rowan smiled and then dropped my hand. “Now that we have that out of the way, and we brought the entire vibe of the room down, how about we eat?” Just as he said that, his stomach growled loudly.

Everyone laughed. “I’m starving.” Toya stood up and finished the rest of her beer. “And I need a new drink.”

I looked over at the table, but I wasn’t feeling it. “Yes.” I sat up and drank the rest of my drink. I followed Toya into the kitchen, and Rowan stood after her.

“I’ll help.” I smiled at him over my shoulder.

“Sure.” I opened my fridge and handed Toya six beers and shooed her away. She left Rowan and me in the kitchen with a quick wink and a smile. I pulled out all the dinners I had and placed them on the counter. “What do you want?” I turned to face Rowan and realized he was right behind me. I reeled back, but I was pressed against the counter. I could feel my heart pounding as he leaned in, and I thought, for a second, he might kiss me.

He leaned against me, and my breath caught. He was staring at me as he reached around me. I felt my eyes close, and I swore I could feel the slight graze of his lips against mine… and then he grabbed a meal and pulled away.