“He’s not going to do that, because the Pack won’t let that happen.”

“And speaking of which, they’ve returned.” He flicked a hand toward the window.

In the moonlight, the sight of several wolves and one panther emerging from the forest was eerily beautiful. They were pretty much dragging, though, heads and tails drooping. In the middle of the group was a familiar red wolf, and it seemed the others surrounded him almost protectively. Rowan itched to know what had gone down out there.

As the men neared the back door, they shifted one by one and Kalen immediately waved a hand, doing his thing to clothe their buff bodies. Pity.

“I have a feeling you’ll want to talk to Aric,” the prince said. “I’ll see you later.”

“Hey, we’ll talk more about your situation. I’m sure the guys will come up with a way to catch Malik, and solve a whole bunch of problems, including yours.”

He nodded. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

She watched him go with a little tug at her heart. She likely wouldn’t be around for any of the fireworks when the team finally did take out Malik and his operation. Why did that bother her? When Micah was better, he’d keep her updated. So it wasn’t like she’d be losing all of them.

The Pack trooped inside and suddenly she wasn’t sure how to position herself, what to do with her hands. She didn’t want to appear as though she’d been waiting anxiously for Aric’s return, which was ridiculous because she’d never been the type to be overly concerned with what others thought. But then, the men and women she worked with at the station were mostly that—coworkers with whom she felt totally comfortable. Since meeting Aric and his team, she’d been anything but.

The second Aric’s green eyes met hers, she was thrown off balance. She didn’t like feeling out of control, as if something greater than the two of them was hard at work, drawing her like a magnet to a man who would make falling for him such a rough ride. She wasn’t the picket fence type. She had a rewarding job—well, most of the time—and her independence. This redheaded wolf came with too much baggage. He was a lot of trouble.

And she found herself crossing to him, intent on making sure he was all right. She stepped in front of him, gripping his arms, studying his face. The bruises and split lip from the beating Jax had given him were already healing, but there were circles under his eyes. Heat radiated from his skin. Was he hotter than before?

“What happened?”

“We kissed and made up. It’s all good.” He smirked, but the effort at offhandedness didn’t quite ring true. The rest of the Pack filed past them, looking as worn out as Aric.

“Can’t you ever be serious when you’re asked a direct question?”

“I don’t need a mother, sweetheart. Had one, fumbled the ball. Go figure.”

“What I’m feeling right now is anything but motherly—unless you count the number of times she probably wanted to strangle you! Talk to me, damn it.”

The mask slipped away and shattered at his feet. The raw anguish she’d witnessed in the face of Jax’s accusations returned full force. “I was gonna throw myself off a cliff, but they stopped me,” he said harshly. “And I wish like hell they hadn’t. Is that direct enough for you, officer?”

The sneer at her profession, at the fact that she cared, irked her. But that wasn’t what really set her off. “Do you know what I did before I came here? I killed a man. Shot him right through the heart because he drew his gun on me. His choice, and he’s dead because of it, regardless of the fact that if he’d taken one more second to think, if he hadn’t been high, he’d still be alive. But I had to act, and was put on mandatory suspension until I was cleared of wrongdoing.”

“Your point?”

“Do you honestly think that man wanted to leave his wife and kids with no support? That he wanted to be worm food? He had a miserable life, but it was worth something. He threw it and his family away on an impulsive decision he can never undo. Don’t make the same mistake.”

He stared at her for a couple of seconds, then started clapping. The noise was rude in the empty space, the mask in place again. “Bravo. You have a tissue so I can wipe my tears?”

“You are such an asshole!”

She stomped off, left him standing there, his laughter floating at her back. His tactic was so transparent, yet she allowed him to get the best of her anyway. This was exactly what he wanted—to put up a wall she couldn’t breach. His attitude was a shield he erected between him and the world, probably always had, and he wielded it like a warrior.

Well, he wasn’t going to get away with that. He’d won the battle but not the war. She needed some time to cool off and regain her infamous composure, and then the jerk was toast.

Uh-huh. Five minutes ago he was too much trouble. So why do you care so much, girlfriend?

She was sure she didn’t want to know the answer.

Aric sat listlessly on the sofa in his quarters, feet propped on the coffee table, crossed at the ankles. On TV was a rerun of some reality show, the one where young twentysomethings went on dates that were set up by their “friends” to turn out horrible on purpose. Usually, he’d be laughing his ass off and munching on popcorn.

Tonight, he couldn’t dredge up a smile.

Do you know what I did before I came here? I killed a man.

“And another when you arrived,” he whispered.

But that wasn’t fair to Rowan. She had no idea what was happening to him, and never would. He’d instruct Micah and Nick to give her some “official” story that he’d been killed by a Sluagh or something. God, how morose.

Rising, he walked to the living room window and stared into the night. He longed to run again, to just keep going forever, selfish asshole that he was. Rowan had that right. Otherwise, he would’ve made an attempt to actually listen to what she’d been trying to get into his thick skull. And he would’ve shown a lot more empathy for what she’d been forced to do.

Killing was never easy. The truth was, it sickened him to take a life. Any life, even one as dangerous and destructive as a Sluagh. Ironic, for a man who’d joined the SEALs and had been a part of a damned good team. He knew very well how Rowan must’ve felt, doing her job and wishing the outcome had been different.

He owed her an apology.

“Crap,” he muttered and stalked to the door.

Covering the short distance to her room in a matter of moments, he knocked loudly, just in case she’d gone to bed. He checked his watch. Ten? That wasn’t too late, but then again they’d had an eventful day. What with nearly being eaten and all.

He gave her about thirty seconds, which seemed like an eon, and knocked again. Nothing but silence met his summons and he frowned. Where the heck could she be?

Since it was way past dinner, the rec room was his next stop. Unfortunately, it was empty, too. Frustrated, he headed in the general direction of Nick’s office and the conference room. He briefly considered that something urgent might’ve come up and they hadn’t had time to grab him yet, then nixed that idea. If that had happened, Nick would’ve gotten on the newly repaired PA system.

At the end of the hallway, he spotted Ryon and Zan talking to Nick, and he relaxed a bit. At least the building wasn’t as deserted as it appeared.

“Please,” Ryon wheedled, sounding like a teenager. “If you come with us, it’ll make three, and that’s enough.”

Nick shook his head. “I said no groups smaller than four, and I’m not going to break my own rule. Besides, that would leave us with only Hammer, Jax, and A.J. in the building to fight if we had any unwelcome visitors.”

Ryon kept at his boss. “Kalen put that spell on the building, remember? It’ll be fine. Come on, Nicky, we haven’t gone into town in forever, and the others are already there. We’re missing out on the fun.”