Too Late Alpha The Mate He Never Wanted (Iris and Eric) novel Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Iris’s POV

Rowan exhaled slowly through his nose. “The moment I realized you were gone,” he said, “I knew exactly who to blame.”

I blinked. “Blame?”

“Yes, Jasmine.”

My lips parted in surprise. “Jasmine?”

“Yes,” he said flatly, “Don’t try to play dumb, Iris. You think I don’t know she helped you slip out? You wouldn’t have managed to sneak past everyone without help. That was definitely Jasmine’s doing.”

I bit down on my lip, because he was right. Jasmine had helped me. But I wasn’t about to throw her under the

bus.

His eyes darkened, and he clenched his jaw. “She thinks she’s clever by helping you to sneak out. She thought I wouldn’t notice. I should’ve expected it. She keeps saying that-” He cut himself off, as though he had almost said something he wasn’t supposed to.

I was tense, I didn’t know what to say because I had asked Jasmine for help, and she had agreed, so it wasn’t her fault at all.

“She only wanted to help me,” I muttered softly, trying to defend her.

He released a humourless and bitter laugh. “Help you? By sending you off alone into the woods, at night, without your wolf? That’s not help, she was assisting you to commit suicide.” His voice was hard. “If you wanted to leave, fine. She should have come to me first, and told me. I would have at least made sure you were safe when you were leaving, and not running out into the woods like fresh meat for the rogues.”

His words made my stomach twist. I sat up straighter. “I’m not fresh meat.”

He gave me a look. “You nearly were.”

Heat crept to my face because he was right. “She was just trying to give me what I wanted.” I mumbled.

Rowan released a frustrated growl, then he ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. “The second I realized you were gone, I went straight to Jasmine. She didn’t say a word, but I could see it in her face. She had helped you. I was furious.” He frowned. “If she wasn’t my sister, I would have had her killed for making reckless decisions like that.”

I swallowed hard. “You would have… killed her?”

He shrugged, but his eyes blazed. “For endangering your life. Yes.”

Warmth flooded my chest at those twisted words.

He continued. “So after that, I didn’t waste a second. I followed your scent immediately.”

“I caught up faster than I expected,” he said. “You hadn’t gotten very far. So I was right behind, following and watching you.”

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I swallowed as the memory of that night flashed through my mind. “I felt it,” I said slowly. “I felt eyes on me, like someone was watching me.”

His eyebrows rose slightly, then he nodded. “Because I was watching you.”

“I knew it,” I murmured. When I thought someone was watching me, it didn’t feel the same. It hadn’t felt. threatening. It had just felt intense.

Rowan studied me with a look in his eye. “It surprised me that you noticed. I stayed close enough to make sure I could intervene, but far enough that you wouldn’t see me. Still, you sensed me. You shouldn’t have been able to, Iris. Not with your wolf inactive. That’s… not normal.

My stomach twisted at his words and I frowned. “Then how did I?”

A strange unreadable expression crossed his face. Finally, he said, “I don’t know. But you sensed. And the moment you did, you increased your pace.”

I remembered very clearly, the way my heartbeat had increased, and how I had started walking faster.

“When I felt eyes on me the first time, it was different from when the rogues were watching me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t think I felt threatened or hunted.” I admitted quietly.

Something flickered in Rowan’s eyes. He didn’t speak for a moment, but I saw the way his jaw tightened, like he was trying to process what I had just said.

Then he continued. “That’s why they went after you, Iris. Because they didn’t know I was following. If I had stayed behind you like earlier, you wouldn’t have been in danger. But the second you noticed me, you picked up your pace, so I had to fall back. Otherwise, you would’ve seen me and thrown a tantrum.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but… he wasn’t wrong. I would have.

“So yes,” Rowan finished, “You noticed me. You sped up. And because of that, I had to hang back, and that’s when the rogues came.”

He leaned slightly closer, his voice softening. “I won’t apologize for following you, Iris. You’re alive because I was there. If I hadn’t been there, following you, you wouldn’t be alive to be angry at me now.”

His words sat heavy in my stomach.

I swallowed hard, nodding. “You’re right. Thank you.”

There was silence for a moment or two, then he straightened up with a small grunt.

“Alright, I have to leave. Your breakfast will be delivered by a trusted person.” He said, turning towards the door.

“Rowan,” I called quietly before he reached the door. My voice came out softer than I wanted it to.

He paused, raising one eyebrow questioningly.

My throat tightened. I licked my lips nervously, fidgeting. “Thank you,” I said softly.

He tilted his head slowly. “For what?”

I smiled. “For saving my life. For following me, even when I was stupid enough to reject help. For… reminding

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Chapter 61

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