0015

Asher’s Pov

The sound of the door clicking shut behind Mason didn't even register because Rowan’s voice was already echoing off the walls, sharp with pure, raw panic.

"You don't understand, Asher! If people find out, everything I’ve worked for is over!"

I stood right in the middle of the kitchen, my jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might crack. I was sick of it. I was sick of the shadows, the lying, the way she flinched every time someone looked at her too long, and most of all, I was sick of watching her carry a target on her back while refusing to let me help her.

"Then make me understand!" I snapped back, taking a hard step toward her. "I'm tired of guessing, Rowan! I'm tired of watching Bianca corner you, and I'm tired of watching you look like you're about to collapse every single day! What is she holding over you?"

Rowan backed up a step, her chest heaving as tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. She looked trapped, cornered by a monster of her own making.

"It's Bianca," she choked out, her voice breaking under the immense weight of the secret. "She found something. Something she shouldn't have."

"What? Your past? Your family?" I pressed, closing the distance between us. "Rowan, tell me. Let me go talk to her. Let me handle Bianca."

"No!" Rowan screamed, slamming her hands against my chest.

The impact stopped me dead in my tracks. She wasn't pushing me away because she hated me; she was pushing me away because she was terrified.

"You can't just fix this by threatening people, Asher!" she shouted, her voice cracking as hot tears finally spilled over her lashes. "If you go after Bianca, if you make a scene, it's going to draw attention! It'll connect you to me, and people will start asking questions neither of us can answer! You don't know what she knows, and you don't know what will happen if it gets out!"

"I don't care about the pack rules!" I yelled back, running a hand through my hair in pure frustration. "I care about you! Why won't you let me protect you?"

"Because I don't need a savior!" Rowan fired back, her dark eyes blazing with a fierce, independent fire that caught me completely off guard. "Do you think I survived this long by waiting for someone to rescue me? Every single thing I have, I fought for with my bare hands! If I let you fight my battles, it means I'm weak, and I am not weak!"

Her words hit me like a physical blow to the face.

I stared down at her, seeing the absolute terror hiding behind her anger. And suddenly, the room went quiet.

I looked at myself. I looked at the way I was looming over her, demanding answers, trying to take control of her life just because I had the Alpha authority to do it. I was acting exactly like every arrogant, overbearing Alpha she had spent her entire life trying to escape. I was trying to protect her by stripping away her control, and to someone like Rowan, that wasn't protection at all. That was captivity.

My shoulders dropped, all the anger instantly draining out of me, leaving only a heavy, hollow ache.

"You're right," I whispered, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

Rowan blinked, startled by the sudden shift. She stared at me as if she expected me to yell back.

"I'm sorry," I said, stepping back to give her space. I kept my voice low, forcing myself to be steady. "I'm sorry, Rowan. I was trying to help, but... I was doing it my way. I was acting like an Alpha who thinks he owns the room instead of a partner."

She swallowed hard, her lower lip trembling slightly. "You... you aren't mad?"

"I'm not mad," I said quietly, shaking my head. I walked over and leaned against the kitchen counter, looking right into her eyes. "Protecting you shouldn't mean taking your choices away. If you want to handle Bianca your way, I won't step in. But you need to know something, Rowan."

I pushed off the counter and stepped closer, stopping just a few inches away.

"You don't have to fight the whole world by yourself anymore," I told her, my voice thick with a promise I intended to keep. "I'm not going to take control of your life. But if you want me to... I will stand right beside you. Whatever comes, you won't be alone."

Rowan stood completely frozen. The emotional distance that had built up between us over the last week melted away in an instant, replaced by a raw, fragile honesty.

She looked up at me, her dark eyes shining in the dim light of the suite. A soft, breathy sigh escaped her lips.

"Having someone stand beside me..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the refrigerator. "It's... it's really unfamiliar, Asher."

"Get used to it," I murmured, a faint, reassuring smile touching my lips.

I reached out slowly, giving her all the time in the world to pull away if she wanted to. When she didn't move, I slid my fingers gently over hers, wrapping my hand around her warm palm. For a second, everything felt right. The stress of the academy, the pressure of the upcoming game, and the threat of Bianca all faded into the background.

Then, right as I took a half-step closer, the sharp, annoying buzz of a phone notification broke the silence.

Rowan flinched as if she'd been burned. She pulled her hand out of mine instantly, stumbling backward and pulling her phone out of her hoodie pocket.

"Sorry," she muttered, her eyes darting down to the screen. "I just... let me check this real quick."

I watched, a sudden knot tightening in my stomach, as she unlocked the phone and read a text message from her aunt, Ivy.

The color didn't just drain from Rowan's face this time; it vanished entirely. Her eyes went wide with absolute, unadulterated horror, and her fingers began to shake so badly she nearly dropped the phone onto the floor.

"Rowan?" I asked, a cold wave of dread washing over me. "What is it? What did she say?"

Rowan didn't answer right away. She stared at the small glass screen, her breath hitching in her throat as the terrifying reality of the message set in.

Her aunt's words echoed in her head, spelling out a disaster she couldn't outrun: The next supply of medication is delayed. It won't arrive for another week.

She looked up at me, absolute terror written in her eyes, as the math hit us both at the same time.

She didn't have weeks. She didn't even have days.