"I can't expect my wolves to risk their lives for the sake of goblins."
Lily leaned forward in her chair. "This isn't for the goblins, it's for us. You sent me to marry Theo to protect our pack. Protect Kaldron. This isn't what we had in mind, but it's what we've got. Now we know there is a threat, and it's not Theo and his loyalists. It's those who oppose him." She wanted desperately for her pack to trust Theo and understand this new threat that was on their doorstep already. "He needs our support, and I advocate for him because he is the only one holding back the wicked creatures we're so afraid of. We must support him, or else the Goblin War could resume."
She saw the moment the truth hit Ryel. A ripple of concern broke through his enigmatic mask, and finally, he nodded. "I can see how this could be concerning for all of us, and the least we can do is believe you, Lily, when you say there's a significant threat. After all you've given up for us ... I will assemble my council and discuss our next steps. Give me a few hours, and then you will have your answer."
"Of course. Take your time, but please ... not too much time," Theo said as he stood up.
He glanced at Lily, and for the first time since the chasm had grown between them, he offered her a small, hopeful smile. Like rays of the sun peeking through the dark clouds after a storm, reassurance that light was right around the corner.
***
While Ryel assembled his council to come to a decision, Lily and Theo were left to their own devices. Being home brought back so many memories, the narrow streets where she and Daniel used to explore, the small bakery where they would buy sweets, and the forest beyond the city where they would go on adventures. It all felt like a lifetime ago, growing up here ... their attempt to escape.
Lily wandered the streets, lost in thought, the events of the past week weighing heavily on her mind. It was hard enough to balance her duty to her pack with her duty to Theo and the goblins, but now she had to worry about this rebel threat as well. She didn't know how much more she could take.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped. Turning around, she saw that it was only Theo.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said sheepishly. She'd forgotten he was there with her, watching her every move.
"It's okay," Lily replied, barely able to muster a smile. "I was just thinking."
"It's hard being back home, isn't it?"
The gentleness in his voice made her clam up. Her past was her past, her secrets were her secrets. Her instinct was to keep all those stories and truths to herself, but she knew this was an opportunity. An opening shining through a crack in Theo's armor for her to plant a seed of connection between them, one she'd been begging for just hours ago.
Now, she hesitated, no matter how much she knew she needed this.
Looking out at the little houses on Main Street and the forest beyond, Lily forced the words to come. "I wanted to see if anything here had changed," she admitted. "If anyone had noticed I was gone. But I ... I know the answer without having to look too deeply. Few would care. It's not like I had many friends here. Marrying you is probably the first significant thing I've done for this town and my pack."
Theo reached out and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You never told me why you married me."
"Because my pack needed me to."
He snorted. "You can hide behind that answer all you want, and those who don't know you might believe you, but I know it's not the truth. Do you still not trust me enough to open more than your thighs for me?"
Lily's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and her hand flew up of its own accord, slapping Theo across the face. "How dare you say that to me? I do trust you!"
"Then why are you putting all these barriers between us?"
"You put them up first!"
"And yet here I am, barriers down, waiting foryou."
"You ... you can't just expect people to become vulnerable and trusting on cue. That's not how trust works. You need to just let it happen naturally."
Theo's eyes softened, and he looked past her, to the town and forest around them. "You look so sad when you gaze upon the place which was once your home. Is this not a natural time for you to stop holding back?"
Lily's fists clenched and unclenched at her sides. "It's ... painful and difficult for me to think about."
"You don't need to tell me everything. Just one thing, and I'll be happy." Theo offered her an encouraging smile, and he nodded to the old bakery they'd passed twice now. "What were you thinking when you were staring lost in thought over there?"
Lily took a deep breath, steeling herself for the flood of emotions that was sure to come. "I was thinking about my parents," she said quietly. "About how, when my brother and I were little, they would take us to that bakery every Sunday for fresh blueberry muffins, and we'd go for a hike together as a family."
"Why did you stop going?"
She blinked away from the bakery, looking up at Theo instead. "How did you know we stopped?"
"You said 'when we were little,' my dear."