Chapter 270 You are safe now
_Alaric’s POV_
I was in the middle of ordering a raid over the entire forest when a familiar scent wafted into my nostrils.
My favorite scent of all time, one that grounded me and made my body and soul happy.
It hit me the second the wind shifted, that scent I would know anywhere, but it was mixed with blood and dirt and something else, something terrible.
I broke into a run before Kasper could even finish saying her name, my feet tearing through the bush like the forest wasn’t even there.
I only wanted to confirm, to see her.
And I saw her.
She was standing beside Pierre in a small clearing, barefoot, her clothes torn, her arms scratched from branches, dried blood on her forearm. But she was standing so calmly, that the aura around her remained intact. No matter how disheveled she looked now, Rowena maintained that air of royalty and confidence she always carried.
This woman..... it was hard to break her spirit.
She stood there breathing, alive, and for one full second the entire world narrowed down to that single fact and nothing else mattered.
I didn’t think, my body just moved, closing the distance between us, every part of me desperate to pull her into my arms and never let go again.
But she did something shocking, she actually stepped back.
It wasn’t a small step, It was fast, her whole body flinching away from me like I was something to fear, and I stopped so abruptly I nearly stumbled.
Her eyes, which weren’t quite the eyes I remembered, wide and different somehow, were fixed on me with something that looked disturbingly close to panic.
I froze where I stood.
For a moment I didn’t understand, my mind was screaming at me to close the gap, to hold her, to check every inch of her for injuries with my own hands so I could believe she was really here. But I made myself stand still, made myself really look at her instead of just reacting.
Her shoulders were pulled in tight, like she was trying to make herself smaller. Her hands were trembling at her sides, and her eyes kept flicking toward my hands, toward the space between us, like she was measuring how fast I could close it if I decided to.
She wasn’t looking at me like I was her man coming to save her.
She was looking at me like I was another threat.
Something cracked open in my chest at that, worse than any wound I’d taken in my life. Whatever Kyle had done to her out there, whatever she’d survived alone in these woods, had left something behind that made her flinch from the one person who would tear the world apart before he let anything hurt her.
I made myself breath and stand exactly where I was, my hands loose and open at my sides, nothing about me reaching for her or about me closing that distance she’d put between us.
"Rowena," I finally found my voice to say her name, although keeping it as steady and quiet as I could manage. "It’s me."
"I know," she said, her voice small in a way I’d never heard from her before. "I know it’s you."
"I’m not going to touch you," I said. "Not unless you want me to. I just need you to know that."
Her eyes searched my face like she was trying to figure out if I meant it, and it hurt more than I expected, that she had to search for that at all, that some part of tonight had taught her not to trust the space between herself and someone reaching for her.
"You’re safe now," I said again in a reassuring tone. "Whatever happened out there, whatever he did to you, it’s over. He’s not getting anywhere near you again. I promise you that. But right now, all I need you to know is that you’re safe."
Her breathing hitched, I watched something move across her expression, the control she’d been holding onto since the moment I appeared, and her eyes filled with tears she didn’t seem able to stop.
"Alaric," she said, and my name broke apart in her mouth.
"I’m right here," I said. "I’m not going anywhere. Whenever you’re ready."
I didn’t move toward her, I just stood there and waited, letting her decide, letting her be the one who chose to close the distance instead of having it closed for her.
It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, standing still while every instinct in me screamed to pull her close.
Thankfully, she moved.
She crossed the space between us in a rush, and I caught her the second she reached me, wrapping my arms around her carefully, like she might break if I held on too tight.
She collapsed against my chest, and the sound that came out of her wasn’t just crying. It was something deeper than that, something that had been held back for hours, maybe longer, finally breaking free all at once.
This was the first time Rowena broke down in front of me and teared up this much. It warmed my heart in ways I couldn’t explain.
"I’ve got you," I said into her hair, my own voice unsteady now. "I’ve got you. You’re safe. I promise, you’re safe."
"I almost died today," she said between sobs, her hands fisting into my shirt like she needed something solid to hold onto. "Our child almost died even before coming into this world. He tried to kill our baby, Alaric."
My whole body went still at that, rage and fear colliding somewhere in my chest so violently I had to force myself to keep breathing evenly for her sake. "Our baby?" I repeated in shock.
"I was going to tell you," she said, crying harder now. "I was scared, and then he found out, and he.....”
"Shh," I said, holding her tighter and carefully. "You don’t have to explain anything right now. All that matters right now is that you’re both safe, and I am never letting either of you out of my sight again."
She cried into my chest for a long time, and I just held her, my hand moving slowly over her hair, my whole body a wall between her and the guards I came with.
The only person who mattered was the woman in my arms, alive, breathing, and safe, carrying a piece of both of us that I hadn’t even known existed until thirty seconds ago.
"I’m here," I said again, because it felt like the only thing I could come up with at a time like this. "I’m here, and I’m not letting go."
But again, it sank in deeper, Rowena Ashthorne was pregnant for me.