Fallen Ward (Deepwoods Saga Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

danger you can take on before you’re in over your head. It’s why you reacted the way you did, right? How dare he think that you couldn’t handle this, when you’ve been taking care of yourself and everyone around you long before he came along?”
    Markl had hit the nail on the head. That was exactly what had angered her. “But he’s used to protecting me, and that’s why he thinks I can’t?”
    Shaking his head, Markl corrected, “He’s used to protecting you, and the thought of leaving your safety in the hands of people he doesn’t know scares him down to his marrow. Siobhan, I don’t think you realize just how strong his feelings are. That man’s protective instincts are stronger than any other man’s I’ve met. The first month I was with this guild, it seriously terrified me whenever I went near him, because I was afraid that if I just breathed wrong around you, he’d take me down. Mercilessly.”
    “Surely you’re exaggerating,” she protested weakly.
    “I’m not,” Markl denied firmly. “His desire to protect you is that strong. You are the cornerstone of his sanity. If he ever lost you…well, the aftermath wouldn’t be pretty. I shudder to even imagine it.”
    Siobhan still thought that Markl might be a little off in his observations—but probably not that off. “I know he was like that the first few years he was in the guild, but surely that’s changed…that look on your face said it hasn’t changed.”
    “If anything, it’s probably gotten stronger. He loves you, Siobhan. And the easiest way that a man shows his love for a woman is by protecting her. I think you know that.”
    She did. Or thought she had, until that fight upstairs. Wolf’s love could be overbearing, and frustrating, especially when he was overreacting. Still, she knew him well, and she should have realized why he reacted the way he had. If nothing else, she should have tried to understand what he was trying to say. She ran the fight with Wolf back through her head, taking things in his perspective, and winced when she did so.
    “Ahh, see his point, now?”
    The headache that had been brewing arrived in full force and she rubbed her forehead in a pained way. “Alright. I understand his point. But he can’t always protect me!”
    “He doesn’t see it that way. To Wolf, his priority is you. Always.”
    Yes, that was crystal clear to her now. “How do I resolve this?” she whined.
    Markl held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “That, I can’t help you with. It’s between you and him. All I’m trying to do here is to help you see things from his perspective.”
    “You did that.” Grumbling, she went back to rubbing at her forehead. “Wonderful. I guess I get to figure out how to fix this.”
    “So you’ll take back your offer?”
    “You and I both know I can’t do that. We just don’t have the manpower. No,” she sighed, feeling bone weary. “I’m going to have to come up with some sort of compromise.”

Rune had seen Wolf in a variety of moods over the past several months he had been in the guild, but depressed was a new one. He found the other Wynngaardian sitting on the back stoop of the inn, leading out into the stable yard. Why Wolf had ended up here, well, that he didn’t know. Could be it was simply the first place he’d found that didn’t have people in it.
    If asked, Rune would be the first to admit that he was bad with people. ‘Sympathy’ was totally new to him, and it was Siobhan who had taught him that it even existed. Not that he knew how to feel it himself, most days. Camaraderie, and friendship, and that indefinable sense of belonging had all been new to him as well, but after being in Deepwoods this long, it felt normal now. Most days. Rune still struggled with how to show it properly, but he felt it, and that alone was an improvement over his past self.
    When Wolf had slunked down the stairs after that spectacular fight, Rune had watched him go without trying to stop