My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 167: Patrol Wolves

Violet

My thoughts churned uncomfortably as we walked.

"What information do you have about Lycans?" My voice was firmer now as I asked him.

He glanced at me, surprised.

"And please, don’t lie to me," I added. "You said you knew more than Kael. I want to know what you know."

Rowan was quiet for a moment. He looked as if he was contemplating whether to tell me or not.

I frowned.

"I promise I will tell you," he finally said. "But when we have more time and privacy."

I stopped walking, turning to face him fully.

"Why not now? What—"

I stopped mid-sentence, my entire body going still as I sensed the wolves in the far distance.

There were four of them, and they were moving through the forest with practised stealth. Even from this distance, I could sense how powerful they were. They moved too coordinated for them to be rogue wolves.

It seemed Rowan had already also noticed them. His hand moved to my arm, gentle but firm, and he slightly nudged me.

"Patrol," Rowan murmured, his voice dropping lower. "Let me handle it. Just keep walking normally as we were doing."

I nodded, forcing my feet to move even as my heart picked up speed.

This wasn’t the time to bring up Lycans. Not with wolves from the capital approaching us.

Soon enough, the four wolves appeared before us. They were massive and imposing as they blocked our path. One of them shifted into human form.

A woman stood before us. She was imposing, muscular, and nearly as tall as Rowan himself. Her eyes were sharp and assessing as they moved between us.

"Travellers?" she asked, and strangely enough, her voice was soft and soothing.

"Yes."

Words could not express how the sudden change in his voice unsettled me.

It was different. Gruff and rough like he had aged decades in the span of a heartbeat. When I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, my pulse quickened, but I fought to stifle it.

His posture had shifted. His shoulders were slightly hunched and his back was curved in a way that suggested how weary he was. His face had also hardened into something stern and weathered. Even his eyes looked different. It was still that same soft green, but it now looked tired and almost lifeless as if he had seen too much and cared about too little.

His eyes had faint lines around them that made his face seem older.

He looked older.

Even though it wasn’t severely dramatic, but the change was so different and sudden that if I hadn’t been standing right beside him, I might have initially thought he was a different person entirely.

I managed to keep my shock from showing on my face even as my mind reeled.

What was happening?

Rowan shifted his bag, taking it off one shoulder and digging into one of the inner pockets with a certain unhurried manner. He pulled out a silver card different from the one he had showed me before and handed it to the woman.

She took it, turning it over in her hands as she scrutinised it. Then she raised it toward the sky to properly study the engravings against the light. Her eyes snapped back to Rowan as she handed the card to him.

"On whose orders?" she asked.

"Supreme Alpha Ozias of Ecli," Rowan said, his new unfamiliar voice sending another jolt of surprise through me. "We arrived at Fresna for the regional summit with our delegation. We are being sent ahead to deliver a new development back to our Supreme Alpha who didn’t attend."

The woman’s eyes widened slightly and her posture shifted. "What development?"

"It is confidential," Rowan said flatly. "You may ask your Supreme Alpha and his delegation when they return to your Capital. Though I am sure he would notify you all as to what transpired during the summit."

She seemed to accept his explanation, but her gaze lingered on us, especially on him for a moment longer than comfortable.

I was stunned she hadn’t even asked to check our bags.

Was she going to do that now?

Her expression shifted and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"You look familiar," she suddenly said.

My heart lurched but I forced my heartbeat to remain steady and my breathing to stay even.

Rowan remained perfectly calm, his tired eyes meeting hers without a flicker of concern.

"I have never seen you before," he simply said it like he was stating a fact.

The woman shook her head slowly, stepping back to get a better look at him.

"No..." she murmured. "You look like one of the Supreme Alphas I saw at a previous summit. I was part of the delegation then."

Panic flared in my chest, but I forced it down.

Rowan’s brow furrowed slightly, and he looked like he was genuinely puzzled. "You are mistaken." His tone was flat. "Though I am flattered you’d liken me to a Supreme Alpha."

The woman continued to stare at him for another long moment before shaking her head.

"No," she muttered, her voice carrying a note of certainty now. "Now that I look closer, I don’t think so. That Supreme Alpha was carefree and kind. You’re..." She trailed off, her eyes flicking over his severe, weathered expression. "Nothing like him."

Rowan’s brows furrowed slightly and a few strands of his hair fell over his forehead with the subtle shift of his head. He seemed like he was curious despite himself. "Is it Supreme Alpha—"

"Please, don’t worry about it." She waved him off. "You can move on."

Relief started to flood through me only for her to call out to us just as we had taken a step forward.

"Wait."

Her sharp eyes shifted to me, and my entire body tensed.

"What kind of wolf are you?" Her nose wrinkled slightly. "Your energy is... strange."

My mouth went dry.

Rowan sighed heavily beside me. The sigh was so exaggerated like he was dealing with an irritating but inevitable question.

"Our Supreme Alpha marks his concubines differently." His gruff voice carried a note of resignation. "It’s part of her scent too."

Heat flooded my face so fast I nearly felt dizzy.

Did I just hear him correctly?

My eyes snapped to Rowan, wide and horrified, and unable to control my reaction.

Concubine?!