Weeks passed.
The pack healed slowly—bodies first, then hearts. The freed wolves began to trust. The fallen were mourned and remembered. Life found a way to continue.
I spent my days helping wherever I could.
Training with Jax. Working with Marnie in the healer's hut. Sitting with Lia, helping her find words for the horrors she'd seen. She rarely spoke, but she didn't have to. I understood.
Kael was busy too—rebuilding borders, strengthening alliances, leading a pack that had nearly doubled in size. He came home exhausted every night, but he always came home.
And every night, I was waiting.
---
"You're staring again," he said one evening, catching me watching him across the dinner table.
"Just appreciating."
"Appreciating what?"
"Having you here. Alive. Mine." I reached across the table, took his hand. "After the battle, I wasn't sure—"
"I know." He squeezed. "Me neither."
We sat in comfortable silence, eating, touching, being together.
Later, in bed, he showed me just how much he appreciated being alive.
---
He started slow.
Kisses down my neck. Hands tracing my curves. Mouth following where hands had been.
"I love you," he murmured against my skin.
"I love you too."
"I love every part of you. Every scar. Every bruise. Every inch."
I shivered as his lips found a sensitive spot.
"Kael—"
"Shh." He kissed lower. "Let me worship you."
He did.
By the time he finally entered me, I was trembling, desperate, completely his.
"Look at me."
I did.
Gold eyes burning with love and desire.
"This," he breathed. "This is what I fought for. This is what I'll always fight for. You. Us. This."
"Kael—"
He moved. Slow and deep, the bond blazing.
I came with his name on my lips. He followed seconds later, holding me tight.
---
Afterward, we lay tangled together.
"Do you think it's over?" I asked. "The danger?"
"For now." He kissed my hair. "But there will always be danger. That's the nature of our world."
"How do you live with that?"
"By cherishing the peaceful moments. By loving as hard as we can, while we can." He pulled me closer. "By never taking a single day for granted."
I thought about that. About all the days I'd taken for granted before. Before Kael. Before the pack. Before I knew what love really meant.
"I won't," I whispered. "Take days for granted. Not anymore."
"Good." He kissed me. "Neither will I."
---
The next morning, Lia found me on the porch.
She sat beside me without speaking—her usual way. But this time, after a long silence, she spoke.
"You're different."
I looked at her. "Different how?"
"From before. From the battle." Her eyes, still shadowed, met mine. "Stronger. Calmer."
"I almost lost him," I said quietly. "Kael. During the battle. I thought he was going to die."
"But he didn't."
"No. He didn't."
Lia nodded slowly. "I lost everyone. My pack. My family. Everyone." She looked at the forest. "But here—with you—I feel like maybe I can have a family again."
I reached out, took her hand.
"You can. You will. We're your family now."
She leaned against me. Just slightly. But it was enough.
---
I told Kael about the conversation that night.
He listened quietly, his face soft.
"She's healing," he said. "Because of you."
"I didn't do anything."
"You did everything." He pulled me close. "You showed her kindness. Patience. Love. That's more than she's had in a long time."
"I just—"
"You just being you." He kissed me. "That's enough."
---
That night, we made love with Lia in my thoughts.
Not in a strange way—just... aware. Aware of how precious life was. How fragile. How beautiful.
Kael felt it through the bond.
"You're thinking of her."
"Yes."
"Good." He kissed me. "She needs you. The pack needs you. I need you."
"You have me."
"Always?"
"Always."
We moved together, slow and perfect, the bond singing with love.