Chapter 188 Goodbyes

Chapter 188 Goodbyes
The estate felt quieter the morning we left.

Not physically.

There was still movement everywhere.

Blood Guards crossing the snowy courtyard carrying equipment and weapons cases. Engines warming near the armored convoy vehicles. Voices echoing through the halls as final reports and supplies were exchanged between patrol units.

But underneath it all

Something softer lingered in the air.

The kind of silence families carried when people they loved were about to leave again.

Snow drifted lazily from a pale gray sky while the Siberian wilderness stretched endless and frozen beyond the estate walls. The storm from the previous night had finally calmed, leaving everything coated in brilliant untouched white.

Beautiful enough to hurt.

I stood near the massive front windows fastening the straps of my coat while servants moved quietly through the entrance hall around us.

Behind me, Darius argued lowly with Viktor over transport routes and encrypted communication schedules for the hundredth time that morning.

“…if the eastern sectors go dark again, pull the patrols back immediately.”

Viktor looked deeply unimpressed.

“I know how ambushes work.”

“You enjoy getting shot.”

“Occupational hazard.”

Darius pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You’re impossible.”

“Genetics,” Mikhail said helpfully while walking past with coffee.

The twins thundered down the staircase immediately afterward.

Chaos.

Always chaos.

“WAIT!”

Kolya nearly slipped on the polished floor trying to stop fast enough.

Luka crashed directly into my side a second later hard enough to nearly knock me backward.

“You’re leaving too early,” Luka accused immediately.

“It’s literally morning,” I said.

“Exactly.”

Apparently this logic made perfect sense to him.

The twins had spent the entire previous night attempting sabotage.

Hiding gloves.

Misplacing vehicle keys.

Trying to convince one of the helicopter pilots that I’d already agreed to stay another month.

Unfortunately for them, Igor possessed functioning brain cells and ruined most of their plans quickly.

Mostly.

Kolya crossed his arms dramatically.

“You should stay.”

“I can’t.”

“You can,” he argued. “You just won’t.”

Darius walked toward us adjusting black leather gloves over his hands.

“She has responsibilities.”

Luka narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“You’re taking her away.”

“She is my mate.”

“We wantherto stay!.”

I physically watched Darius reconsider fatherhood in real time.

The entrance hall doors opened behind us then, letting freezing wind curl briefly inside as Anya stepped in from the courtyard carrying her sketchbook against her chest.

Snow dusted dark curls around her face while pale winter light followed her into the room.

She stopped the second she saw all the packed equipment.

Not surprised.

Just quieter suddenly.

God.

That expression hurt more than the twins’ dramatics somehow. Anya approached slowly while the boys continued loudly informing Darius he was “ruining everything.”

“You’re actually leaving.”

I looked toward her.

“We have to.”

The teenage girl nodded once.

Controlled.

Too controlled.

Like she already knew getting attached to people usually ended badly.

That realization settled heavily in my chest.

The past week had changed something between all of us.

Not suddenly.

Not dramatically.

Just slowly enough to become real before anyone noticed.

The estate no longer felt temporary to me.

And apparently

I didn’t feel temporary to them anymore either.

Soraya entered behind Anya carrying several travel containers filled with food because apparently every terrifying Siberian woman eventually became emotionally aggressive through cooking.

“You’ll eat properly on the way back,” she informed us.

Darius accepted the containers immediately.

“Yes, terrifying one.”

“Correct.”

Elena appeared next, calm and elegant as always despite the visible exhaustion beneath her eyes from days of strategy meetings and patrol coordination.

She adjusted the scarf around my neck before I could stop her.

“You still don’t dress warmly enough.”

“I’m wearing four layers.”

“And somehow still look underprepared.”

Fair.

Mikhail lounged against one of the stone pillars nearby watching the entire farewell scene with open amusement.

“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “we could simply keep Lyra here.”

Darius looked murderous instantly.

“No.”

“She seems happy.”

“She is leaving.”

“We can hide the jet.”

“Try it.”

The older wolf grinned.

God.

This family genuinely enjoyed provoking each other like a competitive sport.

Alumcoe entered the hall last.

The room shifted subtly the second he appeared.

Not fear.

Presence.

The old Alpha moved steadily now with one crutch instead of depending fully on it, pale eyes sharp beneath silver hair while Yelena walked quietly beside him like winter itself.

The twins immediately straightened.

Slightly.

Alumcoe studied the packed convoy through the open doors briefly before looking toward me.

“You return when this ends.”

Not a question.

Something warm tightened unexpectedly in my chest.

I nodded once.

“Yes.”

The old Alpha grunted softly.

Satisfied.

High praise apparently.

Yelena stepped closer next.

The older woman pressed something small into my hand.

I looked down.

One of the carved game cards from Alumcoe’s ancient deck.

Wolf etched into black wood.

My throat tightened instantly.

“You are family now,” Yelena said quietly.

God.

Emotion rose so suddenly it almost hurt.

I closed my fingers carefully around the card.

“Thank you.”

The twins immediately attached themselves to my sides again before I could emotionally recover.

“You can visit soon,” Kolya demanded.

“Yes,” Luka added quickly. “Very soon.”

I smiled softly despite the ache building in my chest.

“As soon as we deal with the hybrids and the V-Canis situation.”

Both boys groaned dramatically.

“That sounds long.”

“It probably will be,” Darius admitted.

Luka looked personally betrayed by reality.

Anya remained quieter near the staircase.

Watching.

Thinking.

I crossed toward her slowly while the others continued arguing logistics behind us.

The teenager held the sketchbook tightly against her chest and I wrapped my arms around her.

“I can't believe in saying this but I will miss you,” she.

“So will I,” I smiled at her.

Snow fell softly beyond the windows behind her while pale gray light caught across thoughtful dark eyes far too old for fifteen.

“You’ll come back though?”

The question hit harder because she tried making it sound casual.

I looked at her carefully.

Then answered honestly.

“Yes.”

Not promise.

Decision.

Something in her expression loosened slightly.

Good.

I reached toward the sketchbook tucked beneath her arm.

“You better keep drawing.”

Anya rolled her eyes automatically.

“You sound old.”

“And you sound grumpy.”

“That’s because I know all of you now.”

I laughed quietly.

Then unexpectedly

Anya stepped forward and hugged me.

Quick.

Awkward.

Teenager-fast.

Like she might combust from emotional vulnerability if she held on too long.

But still

A hug which was good.

I wrapped my arms around her immediately.

“You can call,” I murmured quietly.

She pulled back fast enough to preserve dignity.

“I know.”

The twins saw the hug and immediately launched themselves at both of us simultaneously.

Chaos returned instantly.

“I WANT ONE TOO.”

“WE WERE HERE FIRST.”

Darius sighed deeply somewhere behind me.

“I’m losing my family.”

“No,” Mikhail corrected cheerfully. “You’re multiplying.”

Eventually the convoy engines roared fully alive outside. Time ran out too quickly after that. Final embraces. Warnings. Threats disguised as affection.Irina hugged me tightly before muttering against my ear:

“If he gets himself killed, I blame both of you.”

“Fair.”

Varya kissed my cheek dramatically while informing me she expected updates and “at least one interesting disaster.”

Igor clasped Darius’s forearm hard before pulling me briefly into one-armed crushing affection immediately afterward.

“Come back alive.”

And then finally

The moment actually arrived.

I stepped toward the convoy doors with Darius beside me while snow drifted endlessly through the estate courtyard.

The twins stood wrapped in heavy coats beside Soraya and Mikhail waving dramatically like abandoned Victorian children.

Anya leaned against the staircase railing watching quietly.

Alumcoe and Yelena stood together beneath the estate entrance.

Ancient wolves.

Family.

Mine somehow.

Emotion lodged painfully beneath my ribs as I looked back at them one final time.

The Siberian estate no longer felt like a temporary refuge. It felt like somewhere I belonged. And leaving it suddenly hurt far more than I expected.

Darius noticed immediately.

His hand found mine silently.

“We’ll come back,” he said quietly beside me.

I looked up at him.

Then back toward the family watching us leave through falling snow.

And softly

“I know.”