Cronan is angry. Angry that after years of waiting, he's mated to the one wolf he never wanted.
Fen is stuck. Stuck in a state of purgatory that he doesn't know how to escape from.
After learning of his mate's crimes, Cronan never expected to see h...
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"How's he doing?" Ambrose questioned and I didn't have to bother asking to know who he was talking about.
"Surprisingly well," I admitted. "Better than I expected."
Ambrose raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Really? I thought he'd be more... resistant."
"So did I. But he's trying, in his own way. Stubborn as always, but... different."
Ambrose leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "Do you think it'll last?"
I hesitated, unsure how to answer that. "I don't know," I admitted. "It's too early to say. But at least he's here, and that's more than I expected."
"So, he's going to be here for adoption day then?"
Adoption day. I'd completely forgotten about its approaching date.
"It's right around the corner isn't it?" I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the weight of that realization settled in. "Yeah, I guess he will be."
Ambrose studied my expression. "How do you feel about that?"
"About him being here? It's f—"
"About adopting day approaching," Ambrose corrected. "I know you've gotten pretty close to some of the kids here and..." Ambrose paused, giving me a knowing look. "I imagine it's not easy thinking about letting them go."
I took a deep breath, feeling the knot tighten in my chest. "Yeah... it's tough. Some of them have been here so long, they feel like family. And knowing that after adoption day, they might not be here anymore... it hits hard."
Ambrose nodded, his gaze softening. "You've done a lot for them, Fen. You've given them stability, a home, even if it's temporary. That's more than most could offer."
"I know," I replied quietly, glancing down at the floor. "But it's hard not to get attached. And it's even harder when they start getting attached to you."
I was excited for adoption day of course because it meant these kids wouldn't be alone anymore, but the feeling was bittersweet. Abel and Lola's tiny faces appeared in my mind and I bit my lip. It was selfish, but the thought of waking up without Abel at my side or not hearing Lola's giggles and millions of questions made my chest tighten uncomfortably.
I wanted them to find a family, of course, I did, but knowing that they wouldn't be by my side anymore was a tough pill to swallow, to say the least.
"I thought the older kids would be more excited, but they aren't," Ambrose sighed. "I think they're scared."
"Scared?" I repeated with a frown.
"Scared to get their hopes up and then realize nobody wants to adopt them," he clarified. "Scared that they're going to be left behind and have to go back to the den."
"That would never happen." I shook my head. "Even if they don't get adopted, we'd never send them back to the den."
The thought alone was cruel. These kids had already seen more than they should've been exposed to and to put them back in such an environment after taking them out and experiencing it firsthand was evil. Eviler than anything I could imagine.
