EPISODE 25%
How could I say no to him?}
I nodded slowly, my heart full, and Valor leaned in to kiss me again, this time deeper, more passionate, more certain. His arms wrapped tightly around me, and for the first time in a long while, I felt safe in someone’s embrace.
Not because I needed to be saved, but because I knew I was loved. He pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes with that soft intensity I had come to know well.
“I promise I will love you forever,” he whispered, his voice trembling slightly, as if the weight of those words had settled into his very soul. Things moved quickly after that.
Valor’s father wasted no time once he heard the news. He inspected the moon charts himself, muttering about omens and timing and celestial harmony. Then he gathered all the sacred items needed for the bonding ceremony and assigned roles to everyone involved. Valor, on the other hand, turned into a different person altogether.}
He was nervous, adorably so.”
Every day, he checked on the preparations, inspected the guest list, rechecked the altar design, and triple–checked the bonding garments. He would mutter to himself and rehearse his vows in the mirror when he thought I wasn’t looking.
I never told him I saw. It was sweet watching him care so much.
We waited three months for the full moon that aligned with the stars. Three months of laughter, peaceful mornings, and soft evenings with Samuel nestled between us. It was more than I had ever dreamed I would have.
A week before the ceremony, some news reached us from Ronan’s pack. He had stepped down. Just like that, Ronan had abdicated his title as Alpha and handed the position to the next in line. No dramatic speeches. No final words.}
He simply… let it go.
Flora had also passed. Some kind of illness, they said. It had taken her quickly. I felt no hate, only a strange emptiness. She had caused me pain, but she had been a mother, too, once. Someone’s daughter. Someone’s mate. Even if she had lost her way, I hoped her spirit would find peace.
And Mara…
I shook my head just thinking about her.
Apparently, someone had stepped forward claiming to be her true bonded mate. No one knew where he came from, only that he was powerful and cold–eyed. He took the child from Mara without hesitation.}
The rumors that followed were disturbing, she had traded her own child for gold and vanished into the woods without a backward glance.
I wanted to be shocked, but I wasn’t. Not really. That had always been her nature.
That night, when the house was quiet and Samuel lay sleeping, I found a letter tucked beneath the windowpane. The handwriting was unmistakable.
This was from Ronan.}
There weren’t many words, just a simple apology and a thank–you.
Thank you for loving me. I hope you live well. I hope you find peace.
I stared at it for a long while. My chest ached, but not in a painful way.
It was the ache of something ending, something I had once held close finally releasing its grip. I folded the letter carefully, then tossed it into the hearth. I watched the flames consume it, page by page, until nothing but ashes remained.
“I did love you,” I whispered to the fire. “And I hope you find happiness, too.“}
When Valor heard about the letter the next day, he didn’t ask what it said. He only took my hand gently in his, thumb brushing the top of my knuckles.@
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. I just hope everyone else will be, too.“}]
He gave me a quiet look, the kind that said he understood without needing words.}}
“It’s karma,” he said softly. “We all get what we give, in the end.”
And then, the day came.”
The full moon rose high above the trees, casting its soft silver glow on the entire packhouse. The altar had been built in the sacred clearing beside the Moon Goddess statue, draped in white silk and pale blue petals that glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Guests filled the space with pack members, friends, even elders from nearby clans. Mona stood proudly beside Samuel, who was dressed in a tiny ceremonial robe. He clapped his hands when the music started and tried to grab Mona’s earrings, which made several guests laugh.
I stood at the edge of the path, heart racing.&
My dress shimmered faintly in the light, made of handwoven threads blessed by the priestess herself. My hair had been braided with tiny white flowers, and I held a silver moon pendant between my fingers.
And then I saw him.
Valor waited at the altar, dressed in ceremonial robes that clung to his broad shoulders and golden skin. His hair was tied back, and there was something deeply reverent in the way he stood, as if he knew the meaning of this moment and carried it with pride. His eyes found
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mine instantly, and he smiled.
The music swelled, and I began to walk.
Each step brought memories. And at the end of the path was not just Valor, but the future I chose.”
We met beneath the moonlight, palms pressed together as the priestess began her chants. Her words floated like wind over water, speaking blessings of love, of fate, of strength and unity.
Valor turned to me and took a deep breath. “I vow to love you every sunrise and every storm. To protect you with my life, to raise our son with honor, and to never walk ahead of you or behind but always beside you.”
Tears stung my eyes.
“I vow,” I said, voice steady, “to walk beside you through whatever comes. To love you freely, fiercely, and without fear. To raise our child in peace, and to never forget how far we’ve come.“}]
We pressed our foreheads together as the priestess bound our hands in the blessed thread, and when she declared our bond complete, the entire clearing burst into cheers. Wolves howled into the sky, a chorus of joy and celebration that echoed into the night.”
Valor kissed me then, in front of everyone. It was gentle but full of promise. His lips lingered on mine as if he, too, wanted to stay in that moment forever.
Later, under the stars, we danced.}
Samuel gurgled happily in Mona’s arms while pack members came to offer their blessings. There was laughter, food, music… so much light and warmth that it felt like the darkness we had all come through had never existed at all.”
stood beside my mate, watching the life that we will live from now on.”
Forever.”
THE END
