Chapter 188 Back to New York
Chapter 188 Back to New York
Ivy POV
New York came into view as we drove through the familiar streets. Traffic filled the roads, horns sounded from every direction, and people hurried along the sidewalks with coffee cups and phones in their hands.
Students walked past with backpacks hanging from their shoulders while couples moved through the crowds without a care about anything beyond their own day.
The city had not changed. I had. We had just returned from Blackwood. The final council meeting was over, and the pack was in good hands. Sera, Lucas, and Maya knew what they were doing.
The new council was already taking shape, and no one needed me to stay behind. For the first time, leaving did not feel like abandoning anyone.
I looked through the window and let out a slow breath. Peace. No fear sat in my chest. No part of me waited for an attack or another emergency.
I was not listening for footsteps behind us or wondering when the next problem would appear. I was simply in New York.
Caden glanced at me from behind the wheel."Miss it?"
I shook my head. "No." A small smile touched my lips."I think I finally understand why I wanted to come back."
His hand left the steering wheel for a moment and found mine."I think I do too."
The apartment looked exactly as we had left it three days earlier. Dust covered a few surfaces. My psychology books were still stacked on the shelf, and the notes I had left behind remained scattered across my desk.
A half-finished notebook sat beside my laptop as if I had only stepped away for a few hours. I walked from room to room, touching things I had once taken for granted.
The bookshelf. The kitchen counter. The window where I used to stand in the mornings with a cup of coffee. Nothing had changed, yet everything felt different.
This place no longer belonged to the girl who had left it behind. It belonged to me.
Caden carried our bags into the bedroom while I started putting things away. He picked up my psychology textbooks and began arranging them on the shelf.
I looked over."Caden."
He turned. "What?"
"Those are in the wrong order."
He looked at the books, then back at me.
"They're alphabetical."
"That's the author's last name. These are textbooks. I keep them by subject."
His expression shifted as he looked at the shelf again."I see."
"You don't."
A laugh escaped him."I'll stay out of the books."
"You probably should."
He raised both hands and walked toward the kitchen."I'll unpack the things I can't ruin."
Watching him struggle with a bag of groceries made me laugh. For once, nothing needed to be fixed. Nothing needed to be saved.
We were just unpacking after a trip. Later, while I stood by the window, I realized I had been checking the bond without meaning to. Not because I was afraid. I simply wanted to feel Caden there.
"You are doing it again."
I looked over. "Doing what?"
"Checking."
A smile pulled at my mouth. "I like knowing you're there."
He crossed the room and took my hand.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The warmth of the bond settled between us. For the first time, I believed him without fear.That evening, we started talking about the wedding.
Caden brought it up while we were sitting on the couch, and I laughed when he asked how soon I wanted to start planning.
"You've already thought about this?"
"I've had time."
He leaned back against the couch."While you were gone, I kept thinking about what our life would look like when all of this was over."
"What did you picture?"
"Something small." He looked at me."New York. The people we love. No titles. No council. No ceremony meant to impress anyone."
The idea felt right. Maya would complain about something before the wedding even started. Lucas would pretend he did not care while trying to organize everything.
Sera would probably take over the parts no one else could handle. I smiled."I like that."
Then a thought about my mother crossed my mind. She would never see me graduate. She would never watch me walk across a stage with my degree. She would never sit beside me at my wedding or meet the children I hoped to have one day.
The ache came quietly. Caden noticed before I could hide it. He pulled me against him and held me close.
"I wish she could have been here," I whispered.
His arms tightened around me."I know."
I rested my head against his chest. The past still hurt, but I no longer wanted to change it. There was a difference between wishing things had been different and wishing someone you loved could have shared the life you had now.
Later that night, I opened my university portal. The psychology program was still waiting for me. I had already re-enrolled before we left for Blackwood, and my courses were set for the new term.
Seeing them listed on the screen made everything feel real. Caden sat beside me.
"Do you still want it?"
My eyes stayed on the screen."More than ever."
I had spent so much time wondering who I was supposed to become that I had forgotten who I had wanted to be before any of this began.
Psychology had always been mine. Tomorrow, I would return to it. That evening, Caden and I sat together by the window.
The city lights stretched across the buildings, and the sounds of traffic drifted up from the street.The bond rested between us, warm and steady.
"What do you want our first normal weekend to look like?" Caden asked.
I thought about it."No council meetings, that's for sure. No wolves asking for help. No prophecy. No ancient ruins."
His mouth curved into a smile."So breakfast?"
"Definitely."
"A walk?"
"Maybe."
He looked at me."What else?"
I glanced toward the window."You said you wanted a garden."
"I did."
"Then we should start looking at houses."
His eyebrows lifted."Already?"
"You wanted a garden. Gardens need somewhere to grow."
He laughed and pulled me closer. For so long, the future had felt like something waiting for us, something controlled by prophecies, ancient rules, and decisions made long before I was born.
Now it belonged to us. Caden looked around the apartment."So, where do we start?"
I looked at my books, the half-unpacked bags, and the life waiting for us in the city outside.
"Here.”