Chapter 4

Ronan's POV

I told her to follow me, and she did. I could feel Kade's glare burning my back as we left. He didn't speak, but hissed a threat like a coward.

"You leave that door with him, Ixora, and you're dead to me."

She still followed behind.

I didn't look at her until we were outside. Her eyes were wide and cautious. She whispered, "Thank you."

I kept my face stone. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for myself."

That was the truth. Blunt and harsh. The moment I saw her, something inside me changed. My wolf stirred like it'd been asleep for ten years. My heart rate doubled, beat like a war drum. Her scent struck me—soft, sweet, and somehow familiar, like something I knew before. That was the moment I knew.

She was mine.

And that scared the hell out of me.

If she hadn't been my mate, I would have let Kade have what was coming to him. He was cruel—that was who he was. And she would have been just another name on the long list of people that he broke. But she wasn't just another name.

She was mine.

So I stepped in. Because if I hadn't, I would have been eaten alive by guilt. And because I couldn't stand to watch my mate bleed at the hands of anyone else, even my brother.

I glanced over at her. She was wrapping her arms around herself, as if she was holding herself together by sheer willpower.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" I asked.

She shook her head slowly. "No."

"Then come with me.".

We entered the car. She entered as a ghost, silent, small. She placed her hands on her lap folded together and stared out the window, not a single word. I didn't say anything either. There was silence between us that was drawn tight like a wire.

When we reached the mansion, I saw her reaction. Her eyes widened, lips slightly open. Most of the people were taken aback. The new sharp edges, the high glass windows, the rock walkways lined with spotlessly trimmed roses—it was expensive. Cold. It did not look like a place for someone like me. But it was mine.

I called a maid inside the mansion.

Lock her in a room. Not mine. Not the west wing. She's not to wander."

The maid nodded and led her up the stairs. Ixora followed, no hesitation, no question. That meant something. She didn't trust me, but she was afraid of Kade.

I stood there watching her go. I could still catch the smell of her in the air—sweet but permanent. Like vanilla and rain.

I took a drink. Something strong. I needed to clear my head. But my wolf was restless, restless under my skin, growling at my control.

Then I heard it.

The front door creaked.

I shifted swiftly, keeping quiet. Decades of training made me silent as a ghost. Standing in the shadow of the hall's arch, I saw her.

She was heading to the car. My heart beat against my ribcage. I thought she was trying to leave for a second. But she only opened the door and pulled out something—a phone.

She treated it like it belonged to another world. Then, instead of returning inside, she turned.

In the direction of the garden.

My gut churned.

No. Not there.

She stepped into the fairy light light. The garden was softly lit, still and untroubled. She glided as though in a dream, as though something was pulling her on. I trailed behind, back on the edge, my breath clutched tight inside me.

Then she knelt down.

Beside the blue rose.

"Don't do it," I breathed, too distant for her to hear.

Her hand reached out, touched the petals. The stem snapped.

I was at her side in seconds.

"What do you think you're doing?" I shouted.

She flinched, surprised. Guilt flashed in her eyes. "I didn't mean to—I just wanted to smell it."

"You picked it."

"It was an accident. I swear."

I tightened my grip on her wrist. Hard. "You don't get to swear. You don't get to touch what doesn't belong to you."

She tried to jerk away. "You're hurting me.".

"When I brought you here, I never promised that I wouldn't hurt you if you crossed me."

My control shattered. My wolf burst up. I clasped my hand around her throat.

"You don't understand what you just did. That rose is sacred. It's not for anyone to touch. Not even you."

She scratched at my arm, gasping. Her eyes went fearful.

"Let me go! Please!"

Her words—something in them pierced the anger. I blinked. My grip loosened. I let her go. She dropped to her knees, coughing harshly.

I stepped back, shame churning in my stomach. I hadn't just snapped. I'd scared her.

She looked up, her voice torn. "What is wrong with you?"

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to say it all. I wanted to say nothing. I said instead, coldly, "You were told not to leave your room."

She wiped her eyes. "You didn't tell me why."

"Because I owe you no explanations. Because that garden is mine. That rose is mine. And it only blooms for my mate."

She stared at me. "What?"

I met her gaze. "You heard me. My wolf knows you. He knew you the moment we met. That rose? It bloomed the moment you stepped inside this home. It's a sign."

"That I'm your mate?"

"Yes.".

She glared down at the crushed flower in her palm, then at me. "You choked me because you're scared of how you feel? Are you going to reject me because I'm wolfless and an omega?"

"I choked you because you reached for something sacred," I said to her tightly. "And yes. Yes, I am afraid. I have no idea what to do with any of this. And no, I wasn't going to accept or reject you. I hadn't decided yet."

She stood up, unsteadily, eyes still full. "You don't get to hurt me and then excuse yourself to me. I didn't ask for any of this."

I turned my face away, teeth clenched. "Go to your room and stay there until you're released. Or else I'll kill you."

She still didn't move. I could feel her shaking from behind me. And I sneered.

Be afraid. Fear me.

I turned once more. "Now. And don't test my patience again. The next time, I may not show restraint."

She gazed at me like a stranger with fear. And then she turned and moved away slowly and steadily.

I stood there for a long time alone with the crushed blue rose in the ground.

I'd saved her.

But what did that even mean, when I'd shattered something in her too?

And maybe in me too.