Why Now?

Violet:

The words ‘He’s looking for you,’ didn’t echo in my head. They settled there as heavy as a stone thrown into water, like a blade placed carefully on a table between us.

For half a second, I let myself feel it, the pull, the inevitability. Neal had never been subtle. If he was attacking Darkwater and making my name part of the message, then this wasn’t just war. It was bait.

I stood slowly from the riverbank, water dripping from my fingers. “Then I have to go back,” I said.

Alec’s head snapped toward me so fast the motion almost blurred. “No.”

It wasn’t loud. It was just absolute, concrete in his certainty. 

“Yes,” I countered, matching his calm. “He’s escalating because he thinks I’m here. If I remove myself from the equation—”

“He wants you to remove yourself,” Alec cut in, stepping closer. His presence pressed into mine, heat and power rolling off him in controlled waves. “That’s the trap.”

My jaw tightened. “If I’m the reason Darkwater is being targeted, then I don’t get to sit out here while your people fight for me.”

“My people?” His eyes flashed gold. “You said they were your people five minutes ago.”

The words hit harder than I expected.

I didn’t look away. “That doesn’t change the fact that he’s targeting me.”

“Yes,” Alec said, voice lowering into something more dangerous than anger. “He is. Which is why you are not walking into his hands alone.”

I stepped toward him instead of back. “I won’t hide behind your pack while they pay for something that belongs to me.”

“And I won’t let you martyr yourself because you think you owe me something,” he shot back.

The forest felt tighter by the second. Behind us, the camp had fully stirred. I could feel the ripple of tension as the others picked up fragments of the conversation through the link. No one interrupted. They were waiting.

“I can move faster alone,” I argued. “I know the Badlands terrain better than anyone here. If Neal wants me, I can draw him away from Darkwater.”

Alec’s expression shifted from fury to something colder. Calculating. “And walk straight into a perimeter he’s prepared specifically for you? You think he doesn’t know how you fight? You think he won’t account for your speed? Your weapons?”

“He won’t expect me to surrender,” I said quietly.

His hand closed around my upper arm before I could step back. Not rough. Not painful. But firm enough to make his point.

“You are not surrendering anything,” he growled.

“I’m not afraid of him.”

“I am,” Alec said.

That stopped me.

Not because of the words. Because of how steady they were.

“I’m not afraid he’ll kill you,” he continued, eyes locked to mine. “I’m afraid he’ll take you. And that’s worse.”

The honesty in that split something open in my chest.

“I can’t let Darkwater burn,” I said, softer now.

“And I won’t let you walk into a slaughter.” His thumb flexed once against my arm before he released me. “We go together.”

I shook my head. “If this is a diversion—”

“Then we handle the diversion together,” he said. “If it’s a split force, we break it together. If he’s waiting somewhere between here and Darkwater, we hit him together.” His gaze sharpened. “You are not a lone blade anymore, Violet.”

The statement landed like a challenge.

Behind him, Asher stepped forward slightly, eyes flicking between us. “Alpha’s right,” he said carefully. “If Neal wants her separated, that tells us something.”

“That he thinks I’m easier alone,” I muttered.

“That he thinks we’re stupid enough to send you alone,” Asher corrected.

A low rumble of agreement rippled through the others.

I scanned their faces. None of them looked hesitant. None of them looked resentful. They looked ready.

“This is my fight,” I said quietly.

Alec stepped into my space again, close enough that the heat of him stole the edge from the night air. “It stopped being just yours the second he crossed into my territory.”

His voice lowered, meant only for me now. “You are not going back to Darkwater by yourself. Not tonight. Not ever.”

The force behind the words wasn’t possessive.

It was protective.

“And if I run?” I asked because I needed to hear it.

His mouth curved—not in amusement, but in certainty. “Then I chase you.”

The faintest thread of something hot sparked through the link between us at that.

“You can’t outrun a lycan,” he added quietly.

A breath escaped me that wasn’t quite a laugh.

He straightened to his full height, Alpha fully settling over him like armor. The hesitation was gone. The decision had been made.

“We break camp in five,” he called out, voice carrying across the clearing. “We move for Darkwater at full speed. Defensive formation. Rotate scouts every half mile. If Neal wants to draw us out, we make him regret it.”

The pack moved instantly.

I watched them for a moment—the efficiency, the trust, the absolute unity in motion.

Then I looked back at Alec.

“You’re risking your entire force for me,” I said quietly.

“I’m mobilizing my force because someone attacked my home,” he corrected. His eyes softened just slightly. “You’re part of that equation whether you like it or not.”

The wind shifted, carrying the distant metallic tang of blood even from here. Time was slipping.

I adjusted the straps of my pack and met his gaze one last time. “Fine,” I said. “We go together.”

His answering look was fierce and satisfied all at once.

“Good,” he murmured.

And this time, when he shifted into his lycan form, he didn’t ask if I was riding.

He simply lowered himself slightly—an unspoken command.

I stepped forward without hesitation.

If Neal wanted me, he was going to have to fight through all of us to get there.

I stepped forward and placed my hand against his shoulder first, grounding myself in the solid heat of him. His fur was warm despite the cold air, dense and alive beneath my palm. Then I swung up smoothly, settling along his back with practiced balance. My thighs tightened at his sides, one hand gripping the thick ruff at his neck while the other anchored at his shoulder.

For half a second, neither of us moved.

Then his voice brushed my mind.

“Hold on,” He launched forward. The world became motion. The Badlands blurred beneath us as he tore across the broken terrain, paws striking rock and earth with crushing force. The impact traveled up through my body, but I absorbed it easily, adjusting with his rhythm. Wind tore through my hair, cold and sharp, stealing my breath in the best way. The rest of the pack thundered behind and beside us, a coordinated wave of muscle and instinct, but Alec was faster.

He wasn’t pacing himself.

He was hunting.

I leaned lower along his spine as we crested a jagged ridge, my body aligning with his movement as naturally as if we’d done this a hundred times. His muscles flexed powerfully beneath me, every shift of direction precise and deliberate. When he leapt a fractured ravine, I felt the coiled strength release in one explosive surge, my stomach dipping as we cleared it easily.

Through the faint thread between us, I could feel his focus, hot, controlled fury.

“How far?” I asked quietly through the link.

“If we maintain this speed we will be there by morning,” It would be just hours until we reached a battlefield.

I tightened my grip unconsciously as the wind howled louder in my ears. Alec’s response was immediate—one ear flicking back slightly, his mind brushing mine in silent reassurance.

“I won’t let anything touch you,” he said. The possessiveness in it should have irritated me. But, It didn’t.

“I’m not fragile,” I muttered aloud against the wind.

His answering rumble vibrated through his entire body beneath me. “I know,”

We cut through a stretch of dead forest, splintered trunks whipping past us in streaks of gray. The pack fanned slightly wider, scouts pushing ahead while others guarded our flanks. Alec adjusted without breaking stride, issuing commands through the link with crisp efficiency.

But beneath the Alpha directives, there was something else.

Heat.

Awareness.

He was very conscious of me on his back.

Every time my grip shifted. Every time my chest pressed closer to his spine when he accelerated. Every time my breath brushed the base of his ear when I leaned in to speak.

“You’re distracted,” I teased lightly through the link.

A low, dangerous pulse answered me. “You’re on me,” I felt the meaning in that far more than the words.

We hit open ground, and he pushed harder.

The pace became brutal—fast enough that any normal rider would have lost balance. I didn’t. I moved with him instead of against him, anticipating each turn, each leap, each sudden burst of acceleration. When he banked sharply to avoid a collapsed sinkhole, I leaned instinctively with the motion, keeping us perfectly aligned.

His approval brushed my mind like heat against bare skin.

“You trust me,” he noted.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” The admission slipped out before I could reconsider it.

His stride didn’t falter, but the energy between us shifted—deepened. His speed increased again, as if the words fueled him.

In the distance, faint smoke began to smear the horizon.

Darkwater.

I felt Alec register it the same second I did. His focus sharpened into something razor-thin. The pack tightened formation automatically as tension spiked through the link.

I leaned closer, pressing low along his back so I wouldn’t slow him.

“We hit hard,” I said quietly.

“We hit together,” he corrected.

His body gathered beneath me, preparing for the final stretch.

If Neal wanted me, he was about to learn exactly what that meant, and this time, I wasn’t running.

The wind tore at my face as Alec ran, but my thoughts were louder than the storm in my ears. Neal’s name sat heavy in my chest, heavier than the speed, heavier than the coming battle.

It didn’t make sense.

I leaned forward slightly, keeping my balance as Alec leapt a shallow ravine. 

“Why now?” I sent through the link, my voice tight with frustration.

His response came instantly. “About Neal?”

“Yes.” I tightened my grip in his fur. He never wanted me. He made that clear. He chose my sister. He rejected me in front of everyone. We didn’t even like each other. I swallowed. So why is he suddenly looking for me?

Alec didn’t answer right away. His stride remained brutal and steady, but I felt the shift in his focus. He was thinking.

“Start from the beginning,” he said finally. “When he rejected you, what did that do politically?”

I frowned. “It done nothing for me. I suppose it strengthened him. Aligning with my sister’s line gave him more influence. More support. She was pregnant with the alpha heir; they announced it that night.”

“And you?” he pressed.

“I became irrelevant,” I said flatly. “That was the point.”

Alec’s growl was low, thoughtful. “You were never irrelevant. But he believed you were.”

The words landed differently than I expected.

“He dismissed you,” Alec continued. “Publicly. That means he stopped seeing you as a threat, or an asset.”

“Exactly,” I said. “So why change that now?”

We cut through a stretch of broken rock, the pack spreading wider behind us. Alec’s mind brushed mine again, steadier this time.

“What’s changed since then?” he asked.

I hesitated. “A lot.”

I exhaled slowly. “I survived without him. I left. I trained. I built alliances. I didn’t crawl back after the rejection.”

“And now?” Alec pushed.

“Now I’m riding into battle with another Alpha,” I finished quietly.

Silence stretched between us for several pounding strides.

“That’s your answer,” Alec said.

I blinked. “You think this is about you?”

“I think it’s about power,” he corrected. “Neal rejected a girl he thought was politically useless. Now that same girl is tied to Darkwater’s Alpha and fighting in the Badlands. That changes the board.”

My stomach tightened.

“He doesn’t want me,” I said slowly. “He wants what I represent.”

“Possibly.” Alec’s tone darkened. “Or he wants to correct a mistake.”

That made me stiffen. “You think he regrets it?”

“Men like Neal don’t regret their mistakes,” Alec said. “They gaslight them.”

“If he sees you as something he discarded too soon,” Alec continued, “then taking you now would serve two purposes. He strengthens himself—and proves he was always in control of you.”

Anger flared hot in my chest. “He was never in control of me.”

“I know,” Alec replied instantly. “But control is about perception. If he can drag you back into his territory—by force or by choice—he rewrites the narrative.”

The idea made my jaw tighten. “Neal had always cared about optics. About dominance. About being seen as the one who dictated outcomes.”

“There’s something else,” Alec added.

“What?”

“You embarrassed him.”

I almost laughed, but there was no humor in it. “By existing?”

“By surviving his rejection,” he corrected. “Rejections are meant to weaken your kind. They break confidence, lower standing, and can’t they make your wolf feral? None of that happened to you. Instead, you got stronger. If the packs see that, if they start questioning whether he misjudged you…”

“It makes him look foolish,” I finished.

“Yes.”

We crested another ridge, and I caught the faint smear of smoke on the horizon. Darkwater was closer now.

“So this is pride,” I said. “Damage control.”

“And leverage,” Alec added. “If he takes you, he destabilizes me. If he kills you, he removes a symbol of his miscalculation. If he forces you to kneel…”

“He proves he was right all along,” I said quietly.

Alec’s fury pulsed through the link, sharp and protective. “He was never right about you, Violet.”

I closed my eyes briefly against the wind. “We didn’t even like each other,” I repeated softly. “There was nothing there.”

“That might be the problem,” Alec replied.

I frowned. “Explain.”

“You weren’t predictable,” he said. “Your sister likely played the role he expected. You didn’t. Men like Neal prefer what they can forecast. Control. Script. You were… uncooperative.”

A reluctant breath escaped me. “That’s one way to put it.”

“If he thinks you’re powerful now,” Alec continued, “and harder to control, that might make him want you more—not less.”

The logic was twisted. But it tracked.

“So this isn’t a sudden desire,” I murmured. “It’s a strategy.”

“It’s ego,” Alec corrected. “And strategy. A dangerous combination.”

Silence fell between us again, heavy but clearer now.

“There’s one more possibility,” I said slowly.

“Tell me.”

“What if he believes I’m his by right?” I asked. “Even after rejecting me. What if he thinks he can simply… reclaim what he discarded?”

Alec’s entire body tensed beneath me.

“You were never his property,” he said, voice deadly calm.

“I know that,” I replied. “But does he?”

That was the real question.

Alec didn’t answer for several strides. When he did, his voice was iron.

“It doesn’t matter what he believes. He made his choice. And now he has to live with it.” Smoke thickened ahead of us, the scent of battle growing stronger.

“So we agree,” I said quietly. “This isn’t about affection. It’s about power, pride, and perception.”

“Yes.” I leaned closer, lowering my body along his back as the pack tightened its formation behind us.

“Then he’s already made his second mistake,” I murmured.

Alec’s growl vibrated through his entire frame.

“What was the first?” he asked as we watched Darkwater rise on the horizon.

“Underestimating me.”