Luna Everleigh's POV
***
The castle was a fractured shell of what it had once been.
Walls crumbled. Windows shattered. The scent of fire and magic still lingered in the air. But inside, people gathered—wolves who had fought, who had lost, who had survived.
Kael found me in the great hall.
For the first time in what felt like years, there was no anger in his eyes. No suspicion. Just exhaustion. Acceptance.
He studied me for a long moment before speaking. "You're different."
I held his gaze. "I know."
"You feel different." His lips pressed into a thin line. "But you're still you, right?"
I hesitated.
The truth was—I wasn't sure.
But I nodded.
Kael sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know what this means for the kingdom. For us."
Neither did I.
But then his voice softened. "You're still the only one who can keep us from falling apart."
The weight of those words settled in my chest.
I had spent so long fighting fate, fighting what I was meant to be. And now, standing here, with an entire kingdom looking to me for balance, for hope—I realized I had never truly stopped being afraid of what came next.
"Then I'll do my best," I murmured.
Kael nodded, as if that was enough.
As if I was enough.
—
Later that night, I found Rhydian on the castle's north tower, staring up at the bloodstained moon.
He didn't speak as I approached. He just reached for my hand, linking our fingers together. His warmth bled into my skin, grounding me when everything else felt uncertain.
"Tell me you'll stay," he whispered.
I closed my eyes. "I don't know if I can."
Rhydian turned to me then, his gaze searching, pleading. "We fought for this, Luna. For us. And I know things are different now, but—" His voice caught. "I can't lose you."
My chest ached. "You won't."
But even as I said it, something inside me shifted.
Something deep and new.
A warmth unfurling, not just through my veins but somewhere else—lower, deeper.
I pressed a hand to my stomach.
Rhydian's grip on my fingers tightened. "Luna?"
I met his gaze.
And in that moment, I knew.
Something had changed.
Not just within me.
But for me.
Because deep inside, beneath the layers of magic and battle scars—
A new life had begun.
***
To be continued...