Chapter 226

AURORA

The chill of the night before was still clinging to my skin when I woke, the vision of the glowing pieces of the pendant fresh. Morning light pouring through the packhouse windows, though, managed to chase some of the leftover unease away.

Outside, what met my gaze was a balm of sweet solace to my soul. Brilliant blue met the horizon again, bathing the village in golden warmth from the sun. Wolves moved purposefully as they rebuilt, the sound of their laughter and chatter mingled with hammering and sawing.

Dane was at the treeline, facing off with some number of scouts. Relaxed shoulders still; he stands strong, holding command without command.

He’s happy when he’s watching me, and his easy smiling tugged a deep inner piece of myself in his direction.

“Morning,” he offered, the sound of warmth steady as I stepped up and stopped beside him, taking in his own scan around the little action scene happening.

“It is, really,” I said, smiling, just now doing it my way, too.

He nodded, his gaze following mine. “We fought hard for this. This time we allow ourselves to enjoy it.”

We spent the morning wandering the village and making sure things were progressing as well as they appeared. Wolves were smiling at us, giving us progress reports.

“The roof on the storehouse is all but complete,” one wolf told us, jerking a chin toward the huge structure. “Should be done by next week.”

“And cleaned the rubble out of the eastern fields,” one of them added. “The crops ought to grow healthy once more.”

The pups were further off at play; their giggles were wafted forward by the breeze. The puppies tore through the grass at each other, a never-ending sphere of energy.

One came to me: a little girl, large, round eyes with that sense of curiosity, holding onto something.

“For you, Luna,” she said in almost a whisper, with great pride in her voice.

I crouched down and took the gift, lifting it to really look at the wildflower with a grin. “Thank you,” I said softly.

She beamed before bounding away to join friends.

Dane watched the whole exchange with a small smile on his lips.

“You are good with them.”

They remind me why we do all this, I asked him. “Why does it matter?”

By morning, the whole pack had assembled themselves around the fire pit. I stood before them; my chest heaving with pride as determination was reborn within me.

“We’ve been through so much as a pack,” I told them, and my voice carried across the clearing. “We have been through adversity that should have snapped us, broken us. But it served only to make us more resilient.”

Their eyes flashed, the echo of mine, deep running with that same resolution.

“Let us institute some new traditions now, to keep us this strong,” I said. “Weekly storytelling circles, where our elders can share in their experiences and our history. Training curriculums for our younger wolves to develop them into leaders. Community projects that encourage bonding.”

A murmur of assent rippled across the tide of faces and broke over me like a wave of relief.

Dane moved closer, his presence anchoring me. “And we’ll be expanding our borders to give ourselves room to grow,” he said. “Trajan and a select few will head out to range new territory, while Piper puts on combative training sessions for anyone who wants to brush up their skills.”

“Great,” Piper groaned from the side, sarcasm dripping off the words. “Because teaching Warrick how to hold a sword was exactly what I wanted to do with my week.”

Warrick flashed a grin over his shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’ll enjoy it. I’m a fast learner.”

The pack laughed at that, light teasing lightening up the mood.

Days passed in one big blur. Werewolves fixed training in groups and eating out beneath the open sky.

Late that evening, the two of us finally took some time away from the trees. The sun had gone down, but oranges and pinks streaked across the sky.

He took my hand, his thumb tracing over my knuckles. “You’ve done something amazing here,” he said softly.

“We did something brilliant,” I corrected, catching in on him.

We stood in comfortable silence and watched the stars come out one at a time, then Dane turned to me, searching, for the very first time, nervous.

“I’ve been meaning to do this for some time,” he started, his hand reaching into his pocket. Before I could fathom what he was referring to, much less what the thought implied, he pulled out an exquisitely crafted diamond bracelet from his pocket.

“Aurora,” he said, firmness in his voice but a slight quake in his hand. “I have always thought of you as my Luna. But now I want you to be my wife.”

I caught my breath, and for a moment, uttering a word was beyond my capacity. The sincerity of his eyes, the way in which, with that one word, his voice gentle, the emotion overwhelmed me.

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice shaking just a little. “Yes, Dane. Of course.”

He slipped the bracelet onto my wrist, and I flung my arms around him, drawing him close.

Word must’ve gotten out fast because within a heartbeat or two, there was a celebratory party tossed together by the pack.

There was food and drink out of nowhere, and music danced on the air.

Dane and I danced under the moon, his firm hands on my hips, swaying into rhythm. The pack cheered and jeered; the laughter was contagious.

Piper and Warrick joined in, though Warrick’s dancing left a little to be desired. “Is that supposed to be a spin?” Piper giggled, barely suppressing the urge to burst into laughter.

“I’m improvising,” he shot back, grinning despite himself.

Even Trajan relaxed, his rich laughter booming across the clearing as he watched the pups reenacting events of the past weeks in melodrama style.

It was during this final quieting of the party that somehow I found myself on the ridge, staring down at the village.

The firelight from below cast a gold glow over treetops; the long darkness capered over the ground.

Dane joined me, his hand slipping into mine. “What are you thinking about?”

“For the first time in a long time I’m thinking about the future,” I said, “About what we can build here.”

He nodded, his eyes soft. “We’ve come a long way.”

I leaned into him, feeling the strength and comfort of his presence. “We have. But I looked down to the still village below and saw something in my vision, a smooth, almost not there shake of the forest.”