My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 504

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Kane

Elara pulled in a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. Her fingers stilled, and she fixed me with a firm stare. "Kane, please. I can't go North with you, not after... not now. The cold up there could kill me."

She looked like she might be sick. I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. "You're stronger than that. You'll survive."

"But what about the pack?" She was talking faster now, the words tumbling out. "If we're both gone, Mistwood will just walk right in. No one will be here to stop them. We can't let that happen, Kane. Not now, when we're already so..."

"Callum can hold the pack," I interrupted. "He's young, but he's smart and he's loyal. We have a good chance with him."

Her mouth tightened. "A good chance? But it's not certain. And that's not good enough. We can't risk everything because you want to drag me on some fool's errand."

I raised an eyebrow. "It's not a fool's errand. I'm going to find Jace and get help from Ironmaw." My voice was even, calm. "You know that."

"Help that might not come. And in the meantime, Mistwood takes its tithe whether I'm here or not. But if I stay, I can make sure they don't take a single paw more than we owe." She threw her head back, a short, nervous laugh escaping. "We can't both leave, Kane. It's a mistake."

I uncrossed my arms and braced them on my knees. "I think you're the one making a mistake."

Her eyes narrowed. "What's this really about, Kane? You're only doing this because you're angry with me. Because you still haven't forgiven me about the baby." Her voice was sharp, bitter.

I stood, slowly, and looked down at her. "This has nothing to do with the baby," I said quietly. "It's not your fault and I've never blamed you for it." My heart hammered against my ribs as I met her defiant gaze. I kept my voice even and level, but I could feel something harder rising beneath the surface as I stared back at her unwavering eyes.