Chapter 25
887words
In a daze, memories unspooled in my mind like an old film reel on fast forward.
At 10, two wolf pups tumbled in the grass, and he swore he would always protect me, the girl abandoned by her parents.
At 18, on the night of our coming-of-age ceremony, he had blushed and clumsily kissed my forehead for the first time.
At 22, he knelt on one knee, proposing with the most precious gem of the Black Moon pack, telling me I was his life.
At 25, the power of his pack clouded his eyes and black magic corroded his heart. He began staying out all night, his clothes stained with another she-wolf's cheap perfume.
At 26, before my Luna ceremony, I was "poisoned" by wolfsbane and fell into the rapids. From that day on, he was dead to me.
At 27, we "reunited." He was a handful of cold ashes beneath a tombstone, and I was on the arm of another Alpha, reborn.
There had been love, a love that was once deep and real. And perhaps there had been hatred, too.
But now, looking at the photo of the young man who had not yet been devoured by desire, the hatred in my heart dissipated like morning mist.
It wasn't forgiveness. It was indifference.
To me, he was just a piece of dead, gangrenous flesh carved from the long course of my life.
Less than half a month after we left the cemetery, another piece of news reached Silver Creek.
Cassia was dead.
The moment she learned of Aiden's death in prison, her last mental support crumbled. She went insane, screaming at nothing all night and clawing her own face to shreds.
In the end, she used a sharpened toothbrush she had hidden to pierce her own carotid artery.
There was no funeral, no headstone.
Aiden's family refused to let her into the cemetery, refused to even let her be buried near him.
Like the lowest of Rogues, she was unceremoniously buried in a potter's field hundreds of kilometers away, without even a name to mark her grave.
In life, they had fought desperately to be entangled. In death, they were separated by mountains and seas, never to meet again.
When I heard the news, I was curled up in Kael's arms, reading a book. I simply turned a page, a faint, ironic smile on my lips.
Good.
The wicked get what they deserve. The Moon Goddess's judgment may be slow, but it is always just.
With the dust of that old era settled, Kael took me away from the pack lands.
He saw the lingering shadows in my eyes and put aside all his Alpha duties to travel the world with me.
We watched the waves crash against the black sand beaches of Iceland, listened to the wind howl on the snowy peaks of Switzerland, and held each other under the curtain of the aurora.
Soothed by his presence, my wolf slowly rediscovered its original pride and vitality.
In the twilight glow of a Santorini sunset, I watched the golden light catch Kael's profile, and my heart suddenly skipped a beat.
This man had accepted my broken pieces and healed my soul.
I took his hand, our fingers lacing together.
"Kael."
He turned to me, his gaze as gentle as a deep spring.
I stood on my toes, kissed his lips, and whispered in the sea breeze.
"Let's have our Luna ceremony. I want to be your Luna, the real, official kind."
One year later.
At the summit of Silver Creek pack's sacred mountain.
The sound of ancient horns echoed through the clouds as tens of thousands of pack members bowed their heads in submission.
Dressed in an intricate gown embroidered with silver thread, I walked up the altar, step by step, toward the man waiting for me at its peak.
Kael looked at me, his eyes slightly red. This Alpha, who made his enemies tremble on the battlefield, now had hands that were shaking faintly.
He placed the crown of Luna authority in my hair, then bent down and piously kissed the back of my hand.
"Serena, thank you for being willing to let me be your mate."
I squeezed his hand, feeling the warmth pass between our palms, and the new, strong, pure mate bond deep within our souls.
"Kael, thank you for bringing me home."
Amid the thunderous, howling blessings of the entire pack, we kissed under the watchful eye of the Moon Goddess.
The Elara of the past died in that cold, rushing river.
The one who lives now is Serena, finally surrounded by love.
Our married life was both peaceful and passionate.
I would wake up each day in my Alpha's warm embrace, look at his sleeping face, and feel a deep sense of peace.
We would patrol the territory together, run together on the full moon nights, and see all the sights this world had to offer.
I touched the sapphire river-of-stars necklace at my throat. It was his promise to me, and the symbol of my rebirth.
The past is but a prologue.
From now on, for the rest of my life, my Alpha, my love, it will only ever be you.
