Rhea looked at Adam, her heart hammering against her ribs like a caged beast.
Adam’s expression softened as their eyes met. The harsh Alpha edge melted from his face, leaving only a quiet hope in his amber eyes, a desperate silent plea for her to say yes.
Rhea pulled a sharp breath through her nose, the scent of his pine and crushed cedar invading her senses, making her head spin. She tore her eyes away from his, grounding her gaze back down on Eli.
"No, sweet boy," Rhea finally whispered, her voice tight. "We cannot do that."
"But why?" The words burst out of Adam and Eli at the exact same time.
Both males, one tiny and tear-streaked, the other towering and broad-shouldered, stared at her with identical, earnest frowns.
Inside her skull, River threw her paws over her eyes and let out a dramatic whine. "Are they seriously ganging up on us now? Typical males."
Rhea ignored her wolf’s commentary, exhaling a shuddering breath. "I do not have the time to explain right now," she said, stepping forward to clasp Eli’s small hand in hers. "We will find our own way. Adam, please step out of the door."
Adam did not move an inch. He stood planted like an ancient oak tree, staring down at her while Eli began to sob again, the wet sound cutting straight through Rhea’s soul.
"Please, Rhea. Think about this," Adam urged. His deep voice rolled over her, calm and steady amidst the chaos.
"Mama, please!" Eli pulled hard on her sleeve, his small face flushed as tears tracked through the dirt on his cheeks. "Let’s go with Uncle Adam! If I cannot stay with my friends, I want to go with him! Please, Mama!"
Rhea shook her head, her jaw setting into hard iron as she glared up at Adam. "It is not happening," she said, the words meant far more for the stubborn Alpha than for the crying child.
Adam exhaled a frustrated breath, his chest expanding beneath his tunic. "Stop being stubborn, Rhea," he growled softly, stepping into her space until she had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. "You need protection. You need a safe territory to hide until the dust settles. You need to keep Eli safe. Let me shield you."
Rhea’s chest heaved. Her fists clenched at her sides until her knuckles turned ghostly white, the raw tension snapping inside her. "That is the problem I have with every single one of you!" she threw back at him, her voice cracking as her anger spilled over the wall she had built around her heart.
Adam’s brows furrowed in genuine confusion, his Alpha command faltering.
"Everyone wants to tell me what I need!" Rhea’s voice echoed off the stone walls, thick with the heavy weight of her exhaustion. "Where I should go, what I should do, who I should bow to! Not one of you has ever stopped for a single second to ask me how I feel in all of this!"
She paused, hot tears finally cutting tracks through the dust on her cheeks.
"I just got my son back," she choked out, her throat tight and raw. "It has not even been three days, and I am already running again, trying to figure out how to keep him alive because I am his mother! That is my duty!"
She wiped furiously at her eyes, but the tears kept coming. "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is? Knowing he loves you so much when I could not even be there for him? Knowing that all you Alphas will never just let me breathe and enjoy the simple quiet of being with my child?"
Adam swallowed hard. The sharp, commanding line of his shoulders slumped. The fierce Alpha King suddenly looked entirely undone, his mouth parting slightly as he stared at her grief. Beside them, Eli’s crying quieted to small, hiccuping sniffles as he felt the sheer weight of his mother’s pain.
"I am tired, Adam," Rhea whispered, her shoulders sagging as the fight drained out of her. "I am so tired. But I cannot rest. Not until I build a place my son and I can actually call home."
Adam nodded slowly, his eyes dark with remorse. "Let me give you a home—"
"I do not want to be claimed, Adam!" Rhea cut him off, the raw truth bleeding out of her chest. "I want to survive! I want to breathe without waiting for another war horn! I want to sleep at night with both eyes closed!"
Adam’s jaw flexed, his face twisting with sharp concern. He took one step and stopped. His hands flexed. He knew she hated being cornered. But watching her fall apart hurt more than the thought of her pushing him away.
He closed the distance between them. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her hard against his chest. He wrapped his strong arms around her, burying her small frame in his warmth before she could even think to push him away.
"I am sorry," he murmured into her hair, his voice vibrating deep against her cheek. "I am so sorry, Rhea."
Rhea froze for a split second, every defensive instinct screaming at her to pull back. But the scent of smoked pine, cedarwood, and rain-soaked earth swept over her, wrapping around her bruised spirit like a heavy blanket.
For one impossible heartbeat, Rhea forgot to fight. Her forehead dropped against his broad chest, her fingers clutching at the rough leather of his tunic as her body shook with heavy, silent tears. She let herself lean into his strength, just for a moment, letting him carry the crushing weight she had been lugging alone.
Eli rushed forward, wrapping his tiny arms around Adam’s leg and burying his face into Rhea’s skirt, holding them both tight.
After a long minute, Rhea pulled back gently from his chest. She wiped her damp cheeks with the back of her sleeve, her breath still coming in shaky exhales. She looked up, locking her silver eyes directly into his warm amber ones.
"I want to find my own path, Adam," she said quietly, her voice steady now. "I will not be owned by any pack."
Adam’s gaze remained soft as he looked down at her, his thumbs twitching as if he wanted to reach out and catch the last stray tear on her cheek. "I do not want to own you, Rhea," he said, his deep voice carrying a truth that settled heavy in the space between them. "I want you to rule beside me."
Rhea searched his face, hunting for any trace of deceit, but found only pure sincerity burning in his eyes.
"Then let me go," she murmured, her gaze dipping unconsciously to his lips before snapping back to his eyes. "I do not want to be just another Luna taking shelter in a male’s shadow. I want to build my own, Adam. Only then can I ever give you what you are truly asking for."
His amber eyes darkened, his gaze dropping to her mouth as the magnetic pull between their wolves hummed beneath their skin. For a breath, neither of them moved.
Then Rhea stepped back, putting space between their bodies to let the cool mountain air break the spell. "Besides," she said, clearing her throat, "I already denounced Bloodveil."
Adam reached out, his fingers catching her wrist before she could turn away completely. He didn’t squeeze, but his grip was firm, refusing to let her drift into the cold. "You denounced my pack when you thought I had lied to you," he said, his voice dropping into a rough growl.
Rhea looked down at his hand on her skin, then back up to his eyes. She didn’t pull away this time.
"I know," she admitted softly. "But I need to walk my own road right now. I need to secure a true home for my child." She looked down at Eli, who was watching them with wide, curious eyes, then looked back up at Adam. "Except, I know I cannot fight the strongest Alphas and build a sanctuary at the same time."
Adam’s brows pinched in confusion. "What are you saying, Rhea?"
Rhea lifted her free hand and placed it over his, her palm warm against the back of his knuckles. Adam’s breath hitched at the gentle contact, his eyes tracking the movement.
"I want to entrust Eli into your care once more," Rhea declared, her voice ringing clear.
Adam’s eyebrows shot up in complete shock. "What—"
"You are the only person in these lands I can truly trust to keep him safe," Rhea said, her eyes burning with fierce maternal love. "So, what do you say?"
Adam looked down at the small boy holding his tunic, then brought his gaze back to Rhea’s hopeful face. Slowly, his jaw hardened, and he shook his head.
"No, Rhea," Adam said flatly. "I will not do it."
Rhea’s brows pulled together in instant shock. Inside her head, River let out a stunned, confused bark.
"Why would you say no?" Rhea demanded, her pulse spiking as she stared at him.
Adam held her gaze, his expression locked into stone, refusing to offer a single word of explanation.
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