“I know.”
The silence engulfed us once more, loaded with unspoken feelings, but the bond wasn’t silent. It was thrumming between us, stronger than ever.
“I’ve covered the territory,” Rowen suddenly said, and I heard something under her tone, a plea to let her change the subject. “Killian has been teaching me to change my direction without losing speed.”
I smiled as I heard her excitement. “He’s an excellent teacher.”
“He’s very direct.”
I laughed. That was one way to describe him. “He is. What else have you learned?”
Rowen told me about the days she’d spent training and the pain she’d felt the next day. She didn’t sound upset; she sounded like she was enjoying it, and that gave me hope. But as always with Rowen, her attention never strayed too far from her pack.
“How is the Hollow?”
“Axel and Brand are making great progress with the pack and training. They’re…subtler in some ways than Killian or Cody.”
I could almost hear her frowning. “Brand is not subtle.”
“He’s a good teacher,” I reiterated, but I agreed with her; Brand’s delivery could sometimes be better. However, he got results, and that’s all that mattered when speed was a priority.
“How did the druid take to Diesel?” Rowen asked, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“I don’t think I’d want to repeat their first encounter,” I told her honestly. “I didn’t take a full breath until I was sure blood wouldn’t be shed.”
Her peal of laughter made me smile widely. “Did the druid internally combust?” I could hear her glee. “When Diesel left, my first thought was that the druid was going to hate him.”
“Your first thought?” I asked teasingly.
Rowen cleared her throat. “Well, my first thought was good riddance,” she admitted. “Um…did he tell you I punched him?”
“He did.” I knew I was smiling. “But I knew he made the first move and put his hands on you.”
Rowen scoffed. “That’s not why I punched him,” she said firmly. “He said…” She cleared her throat again. “It doesn’t matter.”
I sat forward. “What did he say to you?” I asked her, my voice soft but firm. “Tell me.” I heard her shuffling and could imagine what she looked like. She’d be chewing her lip, her eyes would be narrowed, and she’d be running a hand over her thigh. She constantly fidgeted when she wasn’t comfortable with the conversation. “Rowen?”
Her sigh was loud. “He said something about my ability to please you in bed, and that he hoped I was good enough to distract you from the fact I had a…a whiny voice or something.”
My eyes closed as I listened to her. I could only imagine how crude Diesel would have been. “He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
“Can I ask you something?”
It was the way she asked me that caught my interest. “Mm-hmm?”
“Why does Killian dislike me so much? What is it that they think I did to you?” She hurried on. “Apart from the making youleave the pack when you were younger and the fact that they think I’m a traitor.”
“Apart from that?” I couldn’t help but chuckle, and I heard her soft laugh too.
“Okay,” Rowen conceded. “Maybe that’s enough.” She paused. “But I feel like it’s more.”
“I would prefer to see you face-to-face for this conversation, Rowen.”
“Wow…that bad?”
I heard her move again, and I wondered if she was lying down. “Are you in my bed?”
“Yes.”
