Chapter 66 Chapter Sixty six

Chapter 66 Chapter Sixty six

WALTER’S POV

The door clicked shut behind Lila and Mirabel, and suddenly the weight of the room crashed down on me, it was heavy and suffocating.

My legs gave out, and I sank heavily into the large chair behind my desk, with my cane clattering to the floor as I gripped the edge of the table with both hands, my knuckles were white, and my breath was coming in short, sharp gasps as the pain in my leg flared up, burning relentlessly.

For two years… I had hated her.

For two years, I had carried the bitterness of the pain, and the belief that she had betrayed me, abandoned me, chosen my cousin over me, and left me broken while she lived a life of ease and luxury, even after she came to me suffering, I still hated her.

I had let that hatred consume me, define me, and turn me from the strong, proud Alpha I had been into a bitter, broken man who hid away in his estate, trusting the wrong people and letting my pack slowly crumble around me.

And all of it… every bit of it… had been a lie.

I closed my eyes, and the memory of the vision replayed behind my eyelids, the rain, the thunderstorm, Lila running, me throwing myself at the truck, the fall, the pain, and then that golden light pouring from her hands, wrapping around me, filling me, keeping me alive. I remembered the warmth of it, the strength, the way it had felt like being touched by the moon and stars themselves.

I remembered thinking, even then, as I slipped into darkness, that she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and that I would die protecting her.

And then I woke up, broken, in pain, and because I didn't see her I concluded that she abandoned me and everyone told me she had left me there, that she had laughed and walked away and that she had chosen Caelum.

I opened my eyes, staring at the vial of the silver powder that's resting on the table.

Nora.

The woman I had trusted with my life, with my meals, my medicine, and with my most vulnerable hours.

The woman I had thought of as family, every day, she had fed me this poison, she had made sure my wounds never healed, that my wolf stayed trapped inside me, and that I remained weak and helpless.

And Adrian, my Beta, my right hand, my brother in all but blood had helped her. Had passed information, had lied and had done everything in his power to make sure Draven’s plan succeeded.

Betrayal ran deeper than the silver in my blood.

And Lila… sweet, confused, kind Lila… she had been the only innocent one in all of it.

She had lost her memory, had forgotten who she was, and don't even know what she was.

She had been thrown into a world that hated her, blamed her, and used her.

She had been gaslighted, manipulated, abandoned by her family, betrayed by her fiancé, hated by me and yet, she had come here to ask for my help and she had tried to help.

She had tried to be kind and had stood by me when everyone else turned away.

Regret was a physical pain, worse than any injury and it clawed at my chest, while tearing me apart.

I had treated her like dirt and had spoken to her with cold disdain, I had made her feel so small, worthless, unwanted, had punished her for the crimes she never committed, and for sins that were never hers.

And all the while… she was my mate, my fated mate.

The Star Born.

The one person in this world that's created for me, and blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, rare, powerful, precious.

"She is ours," my wolf spoke again, clearer than he had ever spoken in two years, his voice was deep, fierce, and full of love.

"We would protect her, we would heal,  and we would fight.

I ran a hand over my face, I was tired and worn down, but for the first time in two years, I was not hopeless nor do I feel broken.

The truth was out, the lies were exposed and I knew now exactly what I had to do.

Caelum stood across the room, he was silently looking at me with a mixture of shame and respect.

He looked ashamed, as he should be, because he had played his part too, he had resented her, mocked her, cheated on her, and humiliated her, all because he was too proud, too stubborn, and too angry to see the truth right in front of him.

“She saved you,” Caelum said quietly, breaking the heavy silence.

“Two years ago, she saved you and we all treated her like trash.”

I nodded slowly, my jaw tight.

“We were fools. Blind, stupid fools and Draven played us perfectly, he knew exactly how to make us hate her, how to keep us apart and even how to destroy me without lifting a finger up himself.”

I looked at the window, toward the dark grounds of the estate, and the walls that were supposed to keep us safe.

Four days left now, Draven was already here, or close enough to touch us.

He still has spies inside, of that I was certain.

Nora and Adrian were only two and there were more, there always were.

“We have work to do,” I said, pushing myself up from the chair, ignoring the scream of pain from my leg, and gripping my cane until my hand ached.

“Mirabel will teach Lila, but Mirabel does not know everything."

"There are things... old things that are written in the pack archives, texts about the Star Born, about the gifts of the Moon Goddess. I need to read them. I need to understand exactly what we are dealing with, and what she can do, and know how Draven plans to use her.”

Caelum straightened up, his expression serious.

“I’ll get them. I’ll bring every scroll, every book, every old record we have and whatever you need.”

“Good,” I said. “And Caelum… you will stay close to her and Mirabel."

If anything happens, anyone comes near her or if anything feels even slightly wrong you protect her even if it means giving your life. Do you understand?”

He nodded, his eyes fierce. “I understand, I won’t let anything happen to her, not again.”

He turned to leave, but before he reached the door, I spoke again.

“Caelum… thank you. For staying, for helping and for finally seeing the truth.”

He paused, looking back at me, and for a moment I taught I saw a guilty look passed his face but it's immediately got replaced by the face of the boy I had grown up with, the brother I had loved before everything went wrong.

“We’re family, Walter,” he said quietly.

“Even when we’re fools and were wrong, we’re family and finally… it seems like we’re on the same side.”

When he was gone, I was alone again, I turned back to my desk, and saw the vial of silver powder, it somehow brought back the memory of Lila’s face glowing with golden light, and the knowledge that everything I had believed was all wrong.

I reached into the hidden compartment of my desk and pulled out a small, worn leather-book, it an ancient, handwritten notes that's filled with the history of our pack, and legends and myths that are long forgotten.

I opened it to the page that was marked with a dried leaf, and my eyes fell on the words I had read a hundred times before, but never understanding them until now.

The Star Born comes once in a thousand years, she's born of moon and star, and of wolf and man.

She carries the light of the Goddess within her, because she is the greatest gift and at the same time the greatest danger.

For whoever controls her, controls the power to rule all packs, to bend magic to their will, and to become something more than wolf, more than man because she is born to heal, to protect, and to love, but she can also be born to destroy.

Draven wanted her, not just because he hated me, or because he wanted to rule the Fairmoon.

He wanted her power... the power that comes with the Star Born.

He wanted to take what made her special, and what made her mine, so he can use it to become unstoppable.

And he had four days left to do it.

I closed the book with my mind made up.

I had spent two years hating her, hurting her, and pushing her away. But no more.

I would spend the rest of my life making it right, I would protect her, teach her, help her wake the power inside of her and I would help her understand who she really was.

And when she finally chose and  realized the bond between us… I would be there