FINALLY THE END

FINALLY THE END
The rebuilding starts slow.

No orders barked. No strategy meetings. Just wolves picking up wood, patching holes, sharing whatever’s left. A few rogues linger on the edges, unsure if they’re allowed to stay. Thane talks to them. Not like an alpha. Just like someone who’s been through hell and doesn’t want to do it again.

One of the younger wolves walks past me with a bag of nails and looks at me sideways.

“You’re not gonna float around glowing anymore, huh?” he says.

I laugh. For real.

“Nope.”

He grins. “Cool. That glow was freaky.”

I shake my head, still smiling. “Yeah. I know.”

We’re different now. Not fixed. But different.

No one's claiming a throne. No one's drawing new borders. It took someone dying to bring us here, and I hate that. But I look around and see rogues eating beside pack wolves, kids from rival bloodlines sharing blankets, and no one’s trying to kill each other.

It’s messy. Uncomfortable.

But it’s something.

And maybe that’s enough.

We stand there, side by side, watching the trees sway. The sky is soft with evening light. Pale pinks and lazy gold spilling through the leaves.

“You think it’s really over?” I ask.

Thane doesn’t answer right away. Just crosses his arms and shifts his weight like he’s thinking about it.

“You know better than me,” he says finally.

I tilt my head. “That’s not comforting.”

He cracks a smile. “Didn’t say I was trying to be.”

I look out at the woods again. The breeze brushes my fac

e. Everything smells like dirt and ash and pine.

“I think it is,” I say. “But if it’s not…”

He glances at me.

“…we’ll be ready,” I fin
ish.

He doesn’t say anything.

He just takes my hand.

And this time, I let him.