I paced the length of the window, my eyes fixed on the empty sky. Kaelen's plane was late. No calls, no messages, nothing to ease the knot in my stomach that had been tightening for the past hour.
"He'll be back, dear," Harrison said, watching me from his wheelchair by the fireplace. "My son has survived far worse than a diplomatic mission."
I pressed my palm against the cool glass. "I know. I just... I hate this. The waiting. The not knowing."
"Welcome to being mated to an Alpha," Iris said, setting down a tray of tea. The kind older she-wolf had become a maternal presence for me since we'd arrived in Silverholm. "The worry never really goes away."
Behind me, my phone buzzed. I nearly tripped over my own feet lunging for it, my heart leaping.
It was Ronan. *Plane's landed. ETA 15 minutes.*
Relief flooded through me so strongly I had to sit down. "He's back," I breathed, showing Harrison the message. "They're on their way from the airfield."
