But I didn’t ask. The question felt too heavy, too complicated for this moment.
Because I felt like something was missing from my heart, making me unable to love anyone anymore.
Kane didn’t continue either. He seemed to understand that I needed time to process everything.
We soon reached the airport and took a private jet to Dark Moon pack. The journey passed in comfortable silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
When we arrived, Kane held a grand mating ceremony for me, also filled with cosmos flowers, even more magnificent than the one at Red Stone pack.
He must have arranged it in advance. The sight of those familiar flowers made something stir in my chest, though I couldn’t name what it was.
All Dark Moon pack members treated me with great respect, not just because of my status as their Alpha’s mate. There was genuine warmth in their eyes when they looked at me.
Kane never forced me to do anything. Though we had held the ceremony, he still respected my wishes completely.
He gave me my own rooms, never pressuring me to share his bed. He asked for nothing beyond my presence.
Worried I might not adjust well here, he even found Omegas born in Red Stone pack to serve me.
“I thought familiar faces might help you feel more at home,” he explained when I asked about it.
His thoughtfulness touched me in ways I couldn’t explain.
Days passed peacefully. I asked someone to plant crystal cotton trees in the courtyard, wanting to make crystal cakes once they matured.
This was a snack my mother used to make for me when I was little. The memory of her hands kneading the dough was one of the few clear recollections I had.
But no matter how I tried, the taste always came out different.
Perhaps it was the environment – the materials that grew here weren’t the same.
I spent hours in the kitchen, trying different combinations, adjusting the sweetness, changing the texture. Nothing worked.
Kane watched everything but didn’t say much. He would sometimes appear in the doorway, observing my frustrated attempts with patient eyes.
One evening, after another failed batch, I threw my apron down in defeat.
“It’s no use. I can’t get it right.”
Kane approached slowly. “Tell me about it. What should it taste like?”
I described the delicate sweetness, the way the crystals should melt on the tongue, the texture my mother had achieved so effortlessly.
He listened intently, asking questions, memorizing every detail I shared.
Until one day, he came back carrying a thick crystal cotton tree.
“Aria, Aria.”
He had grown accustomed to calling me this way, and I found I liked the sound of my name on his lips.
“I had people drive this back from Red Stone pack.”
My eyes widened. “You went all the way back there?”
“Try it again and see if it works.”
Kane helped me at my side. His presence was calming, reassuring in a way that made my hands steady.
We picked the fruit from the tree one by one, selecting the usable ones. He wouldn’t let me do the washing and screening myself, saying it would tire me too much, but he did it all personally.
“You don’t have to do this,” I protested.
“I want to,” he replied simply.
His fingers were gentle as he sorted through the fruit, discarding any that weren’t perfect.
After a full day of work, we finished making the crystal cakes.
“Quick, try it. Is it sweet?”
For some reason, my heart felt like something was sprouting within it. Maybe it was hope.
I smiled and took a bite. The familiar taste exploded on my tongue – exactly like my mother’s.
It was that familiar taste, even better than before.
Tears sprang to my eyes. “It’s perfect. It’s exactly right.”
Kane’s face lit up with genuine joy. “Really?”
“You let me taste my mother’s cooking again. I’ll grant you one wish in return. Tell me, what do you wish for?”
Kane thought for a long time, and my expression grew somewhat wary. What could an Alpha possibly want from me?
“Nothing too excessive.”
The slanting evening light fell across his handsome face. Bathed in light and shadow, his entire being seemed to glow.
He smiled and walked toward me, his eyes rippling like clear water.
Finally, he only placed a small moonlight gem in my hand.
“My wish is that Aria lives free from illness and disaster, with a lifetime of joy.”
