Chapter 204 Release Him


    TESSA


    Alright, I was back much earlier than I had anticipated. However, seeing Sol Kneeling now in front of so many warriors, I knew I had the responsibility toe back here. If Noelle, Winston, or Edith came, they would be branded as rogues, too, and the situation would escte even further. Only I could do it.


    I red at Rowan, who appeared stunned, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was about to do to Sol. His expression was unreadable, caught between shock and something else I didn’t want to name. He had always been difficult to decipher, but right now, I didn’t need to read him. All I needed was for him to stay away from Sol.


    Sol was trembling on his knees, bound and defenseless, yet holding onto what little dignity he had left. His blind eyes stared past everything and everyone, but I could feel the quiet desperation radiating off him. He had no one else to stand for him. That left me.


    Rowan’s cheek still bore the faint mark of my p, and it made my hand sting just to look at it. My chest rose and fell sharply, anger rattling every bone in me.


    Before I could unleash every word burning in my chest, footsteps approached from behind.


    “What’s the situation here?” Francis‘ voice cut through the tension until he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyesnded on me. Recognition flickered in them, and then amusement followed quickly after.


    “Well, well,” he said with a smirk that appeared just as teasing as Noelle’s.


    I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t know if he knew me before this moment, but judging from the spark in his eyes, he probably did. He looked at me like I was a puzzle he had just solved, and that smirk only deepened.


    He let his gaze drift over the scene, Rowan still stiff with shock, Wilder visibly seething, and Sol trembling at my feet. Francis gave a shortugh, then spread his armszily.


    “Let’s wrap this up and continue with the other parts of the border, shall we?” he


    <


    Chapter 204 Release Him


    casually suggested.


    “What?” Wilder’s voice was sharp, disbelief cutting through the air. His jaw ticked. “What about”


    I cut him off with my re. “You are not hurting him.”


    Wilder faltered, appearing stunned for a moment. He looked at me like I’d just spat sphemy into his face. His lips parted, but no sound came out.


    I felt Rowan’s growl rumble beside me, snapping Wilder’s attention away from me.


    “We’re leaving!” Francis eximed, trying to ease the situation.


    “Have a good talk,” he added with a crooked grin, already moving and directing the other wolves out of the clearing.


    He held onto Sol’s shoulder, so I quickly eximed. “What are you going to do with him?” I eximed.


    Rowan’s lips pressed into a hard line. He turned away from me, focusing on Francis instead, then he finally spoke.


    “Let him stay at your house,” he said.


    “Got it,” Francis answered without any hesitation.


    I felt a whisper of relief, but it deepened when Francis smiled at me. “I’ll drop him off at my house, Tessa. My mate is there baking cookies. So, don’t worry. You can fetch him after everything is decided.”


    I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I felt that Sol would be safe in Francis’s mate’s presence.


    Meanwhile, Wilder’s scowl deepened. He opened his mouth, but Francis cut him off with a tug, pulling him away before he could spit another word.


    “Come on,” Francis said, his tone mocking and light. “There’s no use picking fights that aren’t worth it.”


    Wilder resisted, but Francis‘ pull was insistent, dragging him along like a stubborn child.


    Chapter 204 Release Him


    And just like that, they were gone.


    s


    The clearing grew unbearably quiet. Rowan stood beside me, silent and unmoving.


    We were left all alone.


    The moment they were out of earshot, I didn’t waste any time.


    “Release him,” I demanded.


    Rowan smirked, and immediately, I noticed the teasing look in his eyes. My stomach dropped. Fuck. I already knew this wasn’t going to be good.


    “We have algorithms for this,” he said smoothly. “I need to know who he is, why he is hère, and we need to have some kind of agreement right after.”


    I exhaled hard and ran my fingers through my hair, tugging lightly at the strands. He wasn’t wrong. As much as I wanted to tear the ropes off Sol and take him with me, I knew there were certain conditions for the release of intruders.


    “His name is Sol,” I said firmly. “We’re from the same pack.”


    Rowan’s brows furrowed, but only slightly. His eyes stayed locked on me, pulling me into a game I had no desire to y.


    “Which pack?” he asked.


    I let out another sigh. “Eternal Woods.”


    The way his gaze sharpened made my skin prickle, but I pressed on anyway. “Happy? Now, give him.”


    His lips curved into that infuriating smirk. “No.”


    The word was soft, but it hit me harder than if he’d shouted.


    the


    He shook his head, and then–he started walking toward me. Each step ate away at


    space I had fought so hard to keep between us. My pulse kicked up immediately.


    “Rowan,” I warned, but my voice didn’t sound nearly <b>as </b>steady as I wanted it to.


    11:22 Wed, 3 Sept A


    Chapter 204 Release Him


    He didn’t stop.


    8.33%


    s


    Instead, his eyes flickered with amusement, like he was savoring every second of this. He was ying with me. Testing me.


    I took a step back, my spine stiff, my fists clenched at my sides. He matched me, step for step, forcing me backward without saying a word.


    “Stop,” I tried again, but it came out breathier this time.


    Rowan’s smirk deepened. “You haven’t told me the reason why he’s here,” he said slowly.


    I kept moving until my back hit the rough bark of a tree. The jolt made me freeze. Damn it. He had me cornered, caged between his arms, before I even realized it.


    He leaned in slightly, just enough that I could feel his breath ghost against my cheek, warm and teasing. His scent coiled around me, familiar and suffocating, wing up memories of the night we shared in bed together. My chest moved too quickly, my body betraying me in the worst way.


    Rowan’s gaze flicked to my lips, then back to my eyes, lingering there like he was daring me to look away first. His voice came low, every word dragging heat across my skin.


    “And why,” he murmured, tilting his head just enough to make the space between us electric, “he should leave. Hmm?”


    His eyes gleamed, triumphant. The amusement in them made me want to p the smirk clean off his face.


    “So,” he whispered, the single word grazing the edge of a challenge.


    “Tell me all of these, Tessa.”


    “And tell me what you can give in return if I were to release him.”