154- One Day at a Time
POV Lunara Grimwald:
He said nothing about the pup, about the news that I was carrying his child.
“You already knew…” I accused, narrowing my eyes at him.
Something flickered in his eyes.
“Yes, I knew,” he confirmed. “I spent the past few days focused, listening to his heart, making sure he would be all right, just like you.”
I could not control the sharp sob that shook my body. Edric stepped closer and pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head.
“He… he’s okay?” I sobbed.
“Yes, he is. His heart beats like a bird’s wings, strong and relentless.”
I clutched his shirt, burying my face against his chest, letting the crying wash over my soul.
“I tried so hard to fight for him, to tell you the truth, so you would at least know he existed.”
He held me a little tighter.
“Anton suspected that we might be destined mates, and Andrei that you could be pregnant. He noticed by the way we were acting, me hunting and trying to please you, and you tending the nest, sensing smells and being skittish.”
“I found out why a male tried to attack me.” He growled, furious at the information I had given him. “My wolf reacted on her own, taking control and protecting the abdomen. That’s when I realized.”
He stroked my back.
“I feel like resurrecting Alessio just to kill him all over again.”
I pulled away to look at him.
“You didn’t say anything about us being destined mates.”
He touched the curve of my face with his rough fingers.
“I should have noticed the details the instant we met. I had never lost control before, even after living around many she-wolves in heat, but I was so blind, so unbelieving that my mate would ever appear, that I didn’t consider it a possibility.”
“Why?”
“The last destined mate of one of the Tharnak alphas who appeared was Sullivan’s, and he ordered her killed when she was just a pup. We never heard of another among us after that. It was easier to believe I was going mad than to think I had finally found my other half.”
I brought my fingertips up to his beard, playing with the grown hairs.
“I did suspect it when my heat ended quickly, but I dismissed it because I thought Catalina was your mate. And you spoke so convincingly about not being able to have pups…”
He ran a hand through his hair, throwing the curls over his forehead.
“Not because she was my destined mate, as I told you, but because I believed I would never find mine.” He laughed, but there was no humor on his face. “I should have noticed the signs. Our beasts felt it long before we did, they realized it. That’s why my wolf acted strangely around you, just as yours did around me.”
“She also knew about the pup.”
“So did mine. He grew more feral over the last few days, and I had to control myself to keep him from taking over and unleashing real chaos out there.”
We fell silent for a few seconds, absorbing all the truths that had fallen upon us. I brought my hand to my abdomen once more, thanking God for my pup’s life, for being so small yet so strong.
A true warrior. A true Eldoria.
...
He sighed.
“I’m sorry. I regret that I didn’t notice our bond sooner—that I was so blind with rage over the mating, so easily manipulated, that I couldn’t see the truth that had always been right in front of my eyes.”
I swallowed.
“We were both hurt when we met, Edric. The truth could be absolute and, even so, we wouldn’t have been able to see it.” I drew a deep breath. “I was hurt by Alessio, trying to find myself, to rewrite my path. I never imagined a future where he wasn’t in it when we met, because I’d been raised and shaped my whole life to belong to him. When I found myself connected to you, without a choice again, I was consumed with hatred. You lived in bitterness, drifting through life without expecting anything while I was only trying to survive. Neither of us searched for the truth, even when it was right there in plain sight.”
He pressed his lips together, staring at me intently.
“I was wrong with you. I promised Alessio wouldn’t lay hands on you, and I couldn’t keep my promise.”
“There was no way you could have imagined what would happen, Edric. You can’t control everything.”
He growled.
“I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
“That’s your problem! I don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t blame yourself either.” He fell silent, and then I continued, changing the subject. “And now—what are we going to do?”
He slid his thumb over my lips, fixing his eyes on mine so deeply I felt my breath catch in my lungs.
“You are mine, little she-wolf. Mine, always. You were born for me. Here, by my side, is where you belong. You are the queen of the Eldoria, and our pup, one day, will be their leader—just as I am.” He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. “My heart is entirely yours.”
“And mine is yours,” I sniffled, overwhelmed.
“I know I failed once, but this time it isn’t an empty word—it is my most sacred commitment,” he said, resolute. “I promise I will never again let anything happen to you. You will have love, peace, and safety at my side, just as you have always wished. And, above all, a family.”
I dried my tears with my fingertips.
“Thank you for coming for me, for being there when I thought no one else would.”
“I will always be there for you, Lunara. Always!” he promised.
I stayed for a few seconds in his arms, silent, savoring the warmth, the protection, the peace he made me feel simply by being close.
“Did you really kill all the Eclipse wolves?” I whispered after a few seconds.
“All of them,” he confirmed. “Except for half a dozen females and pups who showed fear—and relief—at the death of the whole pack.”
“Where did they go?”
“To the elders’ castle. There, they’ll decide where to send them and what the right thing to do with them is.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and drew a deep breath.
“I hope that one day we can forget the traumas Thalira and Alessio put us through.”
“One day at a time, little she-wolf,” he murmured, kissing my temple. “One day at a time,” he repeated, lost in memories.
I tried to slip out of his arms, but he stopped me.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need a long bath, Edric. A very long one.”
“Let me prepare the tub for you. I’ll be back in an instant.”
He got up and walked into the attached bathroom, leaving me alone in his bedroom. The loneliness hit me, suffocating me hard.
The fear that someone could come through that door and attack me, snuff out our happiness, kill my pup.
I shook my head and stood, following him to the bathroom on unsteady steps, steadying myself with one hand braced against the wall.