Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 245

Chapter 245 A Protector

TESSA

“I missed you,” Arden murmured, her arm looping through mine.

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I looked down at her rounded belly, still stunned by how much time had passed since we had last been together. Has it been a month already? I couldn’t help it; my hand drifted to her stomach, resting there gently.

“How’s the little bean?” I asked softly.

Her lips curved into a smile. “We don’t know the gender yet,” she admitted. “But whatever it is, little bean is very fussy.” She sighed dramatically, then chuckled. “Sometimes I feel sorry for Cade.”

I followed her gaze ahead. Cade walked with Rowan, the two of them shoulder to shoulder, though the atmosphere between them was more rigid than relaxed. Cade’s dark features contrasted heavily against Rowan’s lighter ones. They were both leaders in their own way, but seeing them together only reminded me how much history lingered between them.

“You think Cade’s suffering?” I teased.

“Not suffering,” Arden corrected, though her eyes softened. “But little bean kicks most at night, and he’s the one who insists on staying up with me. I tell him to rest, but he refuses.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I swear he’s more protective of me than the baby itself.”

I smiled faintly at her words. Cade had always been that way, but I could see now how deep his devotion ran. “I’m sure he’s willing to do everything for you,” I said.

Arden tilted her head, giving me a knowing look. “You came here together, I see.” Her tone was playful, her eyes glancing toward Rowan before landing back on me. “Is it finally getting better?”

I didn’t answer right away. Arden nudged my shoulder impatiently.

“Well?” she pressed.

I exhaled slowly. “It’s… good,” I admitted. “It’s definitely getting better.”

Arden’s grin was mischievous. “If Rowan hurts you again,” she said, “I’ll be the one he has to face. Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t.”

I snorted, unable to stop the chuckle that rose from my chest. “You? Against him?”

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Chapter 245 A Protector

“I’ll have Cade remove him from office,” she countered with a sly smile.

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That actually made me laugh, but the laughter faded as quickly as it came. My voice softened. “He’s already running through issues with that,” I muttered under my breath.

Arden’s brows knit slightly, but before she could press further, the path opened before us. We had arrived.

The conference hall stood tall against the wreckage, miraculously untouched by the devastation that marred the rest of the South. Its dark wooden doors bore scratches and burns, but the structure itself was resilient. Rowan pushed the door open, and the heavy hinges groaned. Together, we stepped inside.

The atmosphere changed immediately. Voices that had been buzzing inside the hall fell into silence. At the center of the room, several familiar faces turned toward us.

Wilder stood at the head of the gathering with Karl, Cade’s father, whose expression was drawn tight with frustration. His silvering hair looked more disheveled than I remembered, and his sharp eyes were lined with exasperation. A handful of other leaders and elders were seated or standing around him, their faces weary but alert.

But the moment their gazes landed on Rowan, it was as though the air froze. Their expressions hardened in unison, transforming into masks–cold like blocks of ice.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, suddenly very aware of Rowan at my side.

Karl’s voice was sharp, his words designed not to question but to humiliate.

“What is he doing here,” he barked, his voice echoing off the conference hall’s ceiling, “when he has already abandoned his duties once? What do

you think

you can possibly contribute now?”

Rowan stood still beside me, lips pressed into a firm line, shoulders stiff but composed. He never rushed to defend himself when it came to his father–an ingrained habit, I realized bitterly, from years of being treated like a mistake rather than a son.

Francis, however, stepped forward. His face looked strained. “I was the one who called him, Alpha,” Francis said firmly. “Rowan might be able to help-”

“Help with what?” Karl cut him off, voice rising, his hand slamming against the table. “He chose another path! He abandoned this pack! I don’t even know why he’s here, slinking back like some stray dog. He might as well be a rogue.”

My chest burned at his words, my nails biting into my palms as I clenched my fists.

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Chapter 245 A Protector

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“What does he know of this pack anymore?” Karl pressed. “What does he know of protecting his people? He is no leader. He’s nothing.”

Francis‘ face darkened. “If Wilder wasn’t negligent, the damage wouldn’t have been as extensive-”

The room froze. Francis had dared to say it out loud, the truth everyone was thinking but no one wanted to voice.

Karl’s expression turned thunderous, but before he could explode, my eyes caught movement in the corner. Rowan’s mother, Mila, sat quietly, her figure shielded by the chair’s armrest. She looked… sickly. Her shoulders sagged like even sitting upright cost her energy. I frowned, concern prickling me. Was she okay? Why did no one else seem to notice how frail she looked?

But Karl didn’t care about her. His tirade hadn’t ended.

“And what would Rowan have done?” Karl demanded. His face turned toward his son with disdain. “Run away from his duties again? Leave us to clean up his mess? That’s what he’s good at, isn’t he?”

That was it. I snapped.

“It seems,” I said before I could stop myself, “you don’t know your son very well.”

Karl’s head whipped toward me. His eyes narrowed into slits. “Tessa Fen,” he said slowly. “You. You’re one of the people who influenced my son to leave, aren’t you? Whispering into his ear so he could stay with you? After you killed your-”

“You’re out of line,” Rowan’s voice interrupted him. “You do not speak like that to my mate.”

Silence crashed over the room.

Mate.

He had said it. He had said it in front of everyone, in front of the most important people of our pack. A declaration that could never be taken back.

Gasps rippled across the hall. All eyes turned to us. Some were shocked, others curious, but most were brimming with judgment.

I pressed my lips together tightly to keep myself from smiling. My heart soared with his words, but this wasn’t the time to bask in it. Not when his father looked like he’d been slapped across the face.

Karl recovered quickly, but before he could hurl another insult, I stepped forward. If Rowan

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