CHAPTER 215

CHAPTER 215
The kiss lingered between them even after their lips had parted, as though their closeness had taken on a life of its own, no longer dependent on physical contact to exist. Geneva kept her eyes closed, breathing slowly, letting Catalina's warmth wrap itself around every part of her. It was a feeling unlike anything she had ever known; for years she had learned to interpret every form of closeness as a threat, every outstretched hand as the beginning of another punishment, but now her body was beginning to rewrite those memories, replacing fear with a peace she had never believed possible. It was not an immediate transformation, nor a complete one, but it was real, and every moment beside the alpha strengthened that certainty just a little more.

Catalina did not move either. She remained with her forehead resting against Geneva's, savoring the simple privilege of feeling her breathing mingle with her own. That closeness, so intimate and yet so serene, had an unexpected effect on her. Her wolf, always vigilant, always prepared to respond to any threat, remained completely calm, almost drowsy, as though it too had finally found a place to rest after so many years of tension.

"My wolf is strangely quiet," Catalina murmured with the faintest smile.

Geneva slowly opened her eyes.

"Is that a bad thing?"

The alpha gently shook her head.

"Quite the opposite. Normally it never stops watching everything around us. It's always analyzing potential dangers, calculating distances, listening for sounds that even I can't perceive, but now... it's as if it has decided to lie beneath a tree and simply watch you with me."

Geneva let out a soft laugh.

"Then I guess we get along well."

A crooked smile appeared on Catalina's lips.

"Much better than I ever imagined."

"Is he jealous?"

That question drew a genuine laugh from the alpha.

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

Catalina gently brushed Geneva's cheek with her thumb.

"He's... intrigued."

Geneva tilted her head slightly.

"Intrigued by what?"

"Because he doesn't understand how you can calm something that has spent years preparing for war."

The she-wolf watched her quietly for a few moments before replying.

"Maybe because I also spent far too many years preparing to survive."

Catalina felt those words settle inside her instantly.

"I suppose our wolves recognized each other before we did."

Geneva smiled.

"Maybe they did."

A brief silence followed, one of those comfortable silences that had already become part of them. Geneva slowly lowered her gaze to Catalina's chest and rested the palm of her hand there. The alpha's heart beat strongly, but no longer with the frantic pace of tension. Instead, it carried a steady, deep, almost peaceful rhythm.

"Can I confess something?" Geneva asked softly.

Catalina nodded without taking her eyes off her.

"Ever since I woke up in this pack... I was afraid to get too close to you."

The alpha raised an eyebrow slightly.

"To me?"

"Yes."

"I thought you were afraid of me."

Geneva smiled with a hint of embarrassment.

"At first, I was."

"And now?"

The she-wolf slowly shook her head.

"Now it's a different kind of fear."

A flicker of concern crossed Catalina's expression.

"What kind?"

Geneva took several seconds before answering, as though she needed to organize everything that had been growing inside her heart for days.

"I'm afraid of needing you too much."

The words were spoken with such honesty that Catalina became completely still.

Geneva continued before the other woman could respond.

"For years I survived by convincing myself that I didn't need anyone. It was the only way to endure abandonment, loss, and darkness. If you expect nothing from anyone, then no one can break you again."

Her fingers absentmindedly traced the fabric of Catalina's shirt.

"But with you... all of that is changing."

She lifted her gaze again.

"And that part of me still doesn't know how to face it."

With infinite gentleness, Catalina took both of Geneva's hands into her own.

"Do you know what's strange?"

Geneva shook her head.

"I feel exactly the opposite."

She looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean, the opposite?"

Catalina smiled with a mixture of tenderness and vulnerability that only Geneva had ever seen.

"I've spent so many years refusing to let anyone get close enough to need me... that now I'm afraid I won't know how to measure up when someone finally decides to."

A lump tightened in Geneva's throat.

"Catalina..."

The alpha gently shook her head.

"Let me speak for a moment."

She drew in a deep breath before continuing.

"I've always been good at solving conflicts, planning strategies, leading warriors. I know how to negotiate with other alphas, repel attacks, and make decisions that affect hundreds of wolves. But this..."

She slowly raised a hand to caress Geneva's face.

"This is completely new to me."

A shy smile appeared on her lips.

"I don't know if I'm doing this right."

Geneva couldn't help smiling.

"Did you really just say that to me?"

Catalina looked at her in confusion.

"What's so strange about it?"

"That the woman who makes an entire pack feel safe is confessing that she's afraid of making mistakes with me."

The alpha let out a quiet laugh.

"With you, everything feels more important."

Geneva stepped even closer until there was almost no space left between them.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

"Always."

The she-wolf slowly caressed Catalina's jaw.

"Neither of us knows exactly what we're doing."

The alpha smiled.

"That much is obvious."

"But maybe that's the beautiful part."

Catalina studied her attentively.

"Why?"

"Because we're not following a path that someone else laid out for us. We're not acting because a mark forces us to, or because a council of elders decided it, or because a prophecy is pushing us toward the same destiny."

She paused briefly.

"We're learning together."

Catalina remained silent for several moments.

"I've never thought about it that way."

"I know."

Geneva gently slipped her fingers between Catalina's.

"Every step we take is new for both of us."

"And what if we make mistakes?"

Geneva smiled gently.

"Then we'll find our way again."

"And what if obstacles appear?"

"We'll overcome them."

"And what if the war forces us apart?"

That question lingered between them with a different kind of weight.

Geneva did not answer immediately.

She knew that possibility was real.

In the world of the packs, no happiness remained untouched forever.

Yet when she finally spoke, her voice never trembled.

"Then I'll fight to come back to you."

Catalina felt those words pierce every defense she still had left.

"You would?"

Geneva smiled with absolute serenity.

"I've survived too many years fighting just to keep breathing. If I ever have to fight another battle... I'd rather fight to return to the place where my heart belongs."

Catalina's breathing became slower.

Deeper.

For several moments she simply looked at the woman standing before her.

Then she lifted one hand and, with infinite tenderness, tucked a loose strand of hair behind Geneva's ear.

"Do you know what I see when I look at you?"

Geneva gently shook her head.

"I see the bravest she-wolf I've ever known."

She let out a quiet laugh.

"That's debatable."

"No."

Catalina shook her head firmly.

"Courage isn't only about facing enemies with your claws. It's also about allowing someone to enter a heart that has already been shattered once before."

Geneva's eyes began to glisten.

Not because of sadness.

But because those words described exactly the battle she fought every single day.

With a slow movement, she wrapped her arms around Catalina's waist once more and rested her head against her shoulder.

The alpha answered by enclosing her in both arms as she closed her eyes.

Neither of them needed to speak for a long while.

The sound of the wind moving through the trees, the distant murmur of the river flowing across the pack's territory, and the steady rhythm of their heartbeats were enough to fill the silence between them.

Yet far away from there, beyond the mountains that marked the eastern frontier, a deep howl shattered the stillness of the night.

It was not the call of a sentinel.

It was the ancient war cry of an Alpha Pack.

Catalina slowly opened her eyes.

Her wolf awakened instantly.

And though she did not utter a single word, they both understood that the peace they had only just found was about to be tested by an enemy that had already begun to set its first pieces into motion.