I said flatly, my voice carrying a firm Alpha undertone
“You don’t need to worry.”
“Mom, it’s dangerous for you to be out there alone. What if something happens again? Maybe. maybe you should come back to the Packhouse. Dad said-”
“No…”
Marcus’s voice cut sharply through the link before Lucas could finish, his dominance thick even through the bond.
“You can talk to her, Lucas, but leave me out of this.”
Lucas fell silent for a heartbeat, torn between loyalty to his father and his need to protect me. Eventually, he gave up trying to press the subject and instead shifted to lighter things, chattering about his training sessions, his latest shifts, and the new wolf pups born in the pack. It was meaningless chatter, but he poured his heart into it as if he could tether me back to him with
sheer words.
I gave him half–hearted replies, my mind elsewhere, but Lucas didn’t seem to mind. He just kept talking, rambling like a pup desperate to fill the silence. It reminded me of when he was smaller when a cruel elder had once sneered at him, calling him a “bastard whelp without a true mother’s blood.” I had stormed straight to the Alpha Council that night, demanded justice, and then come home to cradle Lucas, reading him ancient werewolf tales until he fell asleep. Funny how the moon turns. Back then, I had given him my all, and he barely understood. Now it was his turn–talking and talking, trying to anchor me without even realizing it.
Marcus stayed silent the entire time. But I could feel him through the pack bond, hovering on the edge of speaking, his emotions a tangled mess of pride and regret. Still, he said nothing. Lucas and I talked until the stars dimmed and the moon began its slow descent.
Finally, exhausted, I promised Lucas I would call again soon and ended the phone call.
The next morning, I decided to get some fresh air beyond the edges of the neutral territory where
I was staying.
But as I rounded a bend in the forest trail, I saw them.
Marcus and Lucas.
Waiting.
Lucas spotted me first and practically howled in joy, sprinting toward me with the speed of a young wolf. He crashed into me, wrapping his arms tight around my waist.
‘Mom! You’re here! We’ve been waiting for your forever!”
I frowned, my gaze slipping past him to Marcus.
“Why did you bring him here?”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“I needed to talk to you,”
93.81
5:03 pm
He said with a weary sigh..
“But he insisted on coming. I didn’t have a choice.”
I didn’t argue.
Instead, I tugged Lucas back toward my rented house to keep him out of whatever this conversation would turn into.
Then, I followed Marcus, and we sat beneath an old spirit tree.
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and unfinished conversations.
I met his gaze and said flatly.
“Okay. Say what you came to say.”
Marcus didn’t hesitate.
‘About what you asked last night…”
His voice was low, strained.
‘I’ve thought about it. And my answer hasn’t changed. I still want you.”
His golden eyes locked onto mine, unflinching.
‘I know I’ve been… proud. I hate being seen as weak. I hated when others judged me, and I held you to impossible standards because of it. I see that now. I can’t undo what’s been done. But I (now this much: I love you. And even if something really did happen when Ava took you…”
His voice wavered for a fraction of a second.
‘I would still choose you.”
He leaned forward slightly, letting his Alpha aura wrap around me like a shield.
If anyone dares to speak against you, I’ll silence them myself.”
looked at him for a long time, feeling the sincerity bleeding off him like raw energy. And yet, all I
could do was exhale softly.
And then what?”
asked my voice almost a whisper carried by the breeze.
He blinked, caught off guard.
What do you mean?”
steadied my gaze.
I mean, what happens after you say you love me? What exactly are you asking of me, Marcus?”
He shifted uncomfortably against the tree trunk, his fingers digging into the earth.
i
I’m saying I want you back. I don’t want a separation. I want us to stand as one again, Alphal
ind Luna.”
He reached out instinctively, trying to take my hand in the old wolf ritual of reconciliation.
pulled back before he could touch me.
His face crumpled, the rejection hitting him harder than a physical blow.
Marcus…”
said, my voice gentle but distant.
5:03 pm
“You already know the truth. I only accepted the Luna mark because of the blood debt owed to Elder Saska. I didn’t love you then… and I don’t love
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
you now.”
“Everything I did, for you, for Lucas, was out of gratitude, not love. And even if you truly don’t care what happened when Ava took me… it doesn’t change what’s missing between us.”
His face went pale, like I’d slapped him, his wolf recoiling inward. He sat frozen, the words. clearly hitting harder than he thought they would. By the time he started to recover, I had already stood up and walked out.
Back at my rented house, I found Lucas curled up on the worn couch, clutching an old wolf plushie I’d gotten him years ago.
I knelt down and handed him a new talisman I’d picked up from the local druids.
“Lucas.”
I said softly, running my fingers through his unruly hair.
“I’m leaving for another country. I need you to stay here with your father, and stop making things harder for him.”
Lucas stiffened instantly, clutching the talisman tight against his chest.
“But Dad said you were gonna stay! Why are you leaving again? Can’t you stay, Mom? I know I messed up before. I’m sorry. I’ll be better, I swear. I’ll protect you this time.”
His words, desperate and broken, tore straight through my heart.
Chapter 26
