Chapter 78 Beyond the Past

Chapter 78 Beyond the Past

The hill overlooked nearly all of Silverpine.

Forest stretched beyond the territory in dark green waves while warm lights slowly appeared below as evening settled in.

Wolves crossed between homes, patrols changed shifts near the borders, and smoke drifted upward from cookfires near the center square.

Everything moved with an ease the pack once lacked.

Freda rested her hands against the wooden fence at the edge of the overlook, watching the territory below.

Behind her, Liam dropped onto the grass with a groan.

“I still think Thomas made the patrol schedule longer just to annoy me.”

Lucian glanced at him. “You complained less today.”

“That’s because I was too tired to complain properly.”

Evelyn folded her arms. “A tragic hardship.”

Liam pointed toward her. “See? Nobody supports me here.”

“You survived,” Freda said.

“Barely.”

Lucian’s mouth twitched faintly.

Below them, several younger wolves worked together, repairing one of the storage roofs. Betas passed timber to omegas without hesitation while two Deltas argued over measurements near the scaffolding.

Nobody cared about rank anymore.

At least not the way they once had.

Freda watched quietly.

When she had left this territory, she carried little more than fear and a backpack she could barely hold steady because her hands would not stop shaking.

Millbrook had come after.

Long shifts.

Night classes.

A tiny apartment that always smelled faintly like coffee and old heating pipes.

She remembered studying at the kitchen table while Liam slept nearby in a secondhand crib. Remembered learning how to function on almost no sleep after he was born. Remembered watching him too carefully every time his eyes flashed gold.

“You disappeared again.”

Lucian’s voice pulled her back.

Freda glanced toward him. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for thinking.”

Liam rolled onto his back dramatically. “Was it another serious thought?”

“Yes.”

“That’s unfortunate for the rest of us.”

Evelyn smiled under her breath.

Freda looked at Liam for a moment longer than she meant to.

Even now, she still noticed the difference sometimes.

The boy who once learned to stay quiet in public now argued openly with warriors twice his age during training.

He belonged here without forcing himself smaller first.

Liam caught her staring.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“That answer always means something.”

“You inherited that suspicion from your father,” Freda said.

Lucian looked mildly offended. “Only the useful parts.”

“And the ego,” Evelyn added.

Liam sat upright immediately. “That one is still under investigation.”

Freda laughed softly before she could stop herself.

The sound faded into the evening air.

Below them, lanterns began to flicker to life across the territory one after another, until Silverpine glowed softly under the deepening sky.

It felt settled in a way it never had before.

Not perfect, not untouched by memory, but no longer held together by strain or constantly threatening to break apart.

Lucian stepped closer beside her without a word. After a moment, his hand brushed against hers, quiet, careful, almost as if still learning the ease of it.

Freda did not turn to look at him. She simply let her fingers settle around his, steady and certain now, as she kept her gaze on the territory below.

There had been a time when even standing too close together carried risk.

Now there was nothing left to hide.

“It’s quieter these days,” Lucian said.

Evelyn nodded once. “That’s what peace sounds like.”

Liam frowned thoughtfully. “That was surprisingly deep.”

“I regret saying it already,” Evelyn replied.

The first edge of the moon appeared above the trees.

Liam noticed immediately.

His entire expression brightened.

“Can we run?”

Lucian looked toward Freda automatically.

The habit still remained between them after everything.

Freda nodded once.

Liam shifted before anyone answered aloud.

His wolf landed hard against the grass, fur catching silver moonlight as restless energy rolled through him. Powerful. Fast. But controlled now.

Balanced.

He barked once impatiently.

Lucian shifted next, his silver-gray wolf steady beside Freda before Evelyn’s pale form joined them.

Freda shifted last.

Warmth spread through her body before her russet wolf landed lightly against the hilltop.

Liam bolted forward immediately.

The others followed.

Wind rushed through Freda’s fur as they crossed the open hill together. Grass bent beneath pounding paws while moonlight spilled wider across the territory.

Ahead of them, Liam jumped over a fallen log with more confidence than necessary.

Lucian gave a low warning growl.

Liam ignored it completely.

Freda’s ears flicked with amusement.

Near the lower paths, several younger wolves looked up as they passed.

One shifted first, then another, and soon more wolves were moving along the slope below them, falling into stride as if drawn by the same rhythm rather than any command.

Liam slowed slightly, his gaze flicking toward the younger wolves running beside him. A small omega wolf barked in his direction, bright and unguarded, and Liam answered immediately, matching it without hesitation or pause.

Freda watched as they ran. Her chest tightened briefly, a quiet pressure she did not need to name.

Years ago, wolves would have lowered their eyes around an Alpha heir born from an omega. That distance no longer existed in the way it once had, and no one seemed to think twice about it anymore.

Liam suddenly threw his head back and howled, the sound rolling across Silverpine clear and strong.

Lucian answered seconds later, deeper and steadier.

Evelyn’s voice rose after his.

Then Freda joined them.

Their voices carried together over the territory beneath the rising moon.

For one brief moment, Silverpine seemed to pause.

Then the pack answered.

Howls rose from every direction at once , from homes, patrol lines, forest paths, and the center square below.

One voice after another until the sound spread across the entire territory.

United.

Freda slowed near the crest of the hill.

Silverpine stretched below her beneath silver moonlight and warm lantern glow.

Not the place that once drove her away.

Home.

Liam circled back once before racing toward the forest again.

Lucian brushed lightly against Freda’s side as he followed.

Together, beneath the voices of their pack, they ran into the trees with nothing ahead of them now except the future.