Chapter 175: Familiarity Bond

"Long live Alpha Lucretius!"

"Long live Luna Euphyllia!"

The voices rose together until they became one.

The cry echoed across the entirety of the Golden Eclipse Pack, rolling over the castle walls and spilling into the surrounding forests where even the birds startled into flight. It wasn't merely applause or celebration. It was a vow, spoken by hundreds of wolves who had gathered within the castle grounds to witness the completion of the Luna Ceremony.

The ceremony itself had passed in a blur. The ceremonial vows. The blessing beneath the Moon Goddess' altar. The ancient rites that had welcomed every Luna before me.

Then, the final blood pact.

I had barely recovered from the warmth that spread through my chest when our blood touched the sacred stone before the entire merupted into celebration.

Now, standing beside Lucretius upon the grand terrace overlooking the assembled pack, I found myself momentarily speechless.

Below us stretched a sea of familiar faces where warriors wearing the crest of the Golden Eclipse Pack upon their uniforms, servants who had once quietly cared for me when I was still alive in my previous life, and children sitting atop their fathers' shoulders so they could catch a glimpse of their new Luna.

Every single one of them had lowered their heads. It was not because they were ordered to, but because they wanted to.

My fingers unconsciously tightened around Lucretius's hand. His thumb brushed gently across my knuckles. It was a silent reassurance as if he understood that this moment felt far larger than I had ever imagined.

"You alright, wifey?" he asked quietly.

I nodded before I realized tears had begun gathering inside my eyes. "I am." I heaved out a sigh. "I just..." I chuckled softly. "...I didn't think it would feel like this."

His gaze lingered upon me with that familiar tenderness that had somehow remained unchanged across lifetimes.

"It feels like home." The words left my lips before I had the chance to think about them.

Home.

Perhaps that was the only way to describe it. Not because I had lived here before. Not because these castle walls had once witnessed another lifetime. But because standing beside him somehow made every unfamiliar place feel as though I had already belonged there all along.

The cheers below gradually softened into scattered applause. One by one, members of the pack slowly raised their heads.

At first, nothing seemed unusual. Then, something changed. I felt it before I saw it.

The blood pact that had connected me to the Golden Eclipse Pack only moments earlier pulsed warmly beneath my skin. It wasn't painful nor overwhelming.

It was... gentle like hundreds of tiny threads quietly weaving themselves together until they became something whole.

My wolf stirred. It wasn't because of Lucretius. She was looking elsewhere. Toward the pack. I frowned ever so slightly. "Do you feel that...?" I hadn't realized I'd spoken aloud until Lucretius looked down at me.

His brows drew together. "I do."

Before either of us could say anything more, a murmur slowly spread throughout the courtyard. It began near the front. One elderly warrior blinked several times before looking at me again.

Beside him, a middle-aged she-wolf pressed trembling fingers against her lips.

Then another.

And another.

Like ripples spreading across still water, expressions gradually changed throughout the gathered crowd.

There were confusion, disbelief, and recognition. None of them seemed capable of explaining what they were feeling. Yet their wolves clearly could.

"My wolf..." Someone whispered.

"...why..." A young warrior frowned deeply.

"It feels..." His voice faltered. "...familiar."

The whispers slowly multiplied.

"I've never experienced anything like this."

"What is happening?"

"I don't understand..."

"I feel as though..."

An elderly woman suddenly wiped hurriedly at the tears gathering in her eyes. "I've found someone..."

My heart skipped, not because I understood. It was because I felt exactly the same.

The pack bond surrounding us had changed. It no longer felt as though I had merely been accepted into it. It felt complete as though a missing piece had quietly found its place again.

The realization settled over the courtyard without anyone speaking it aloud. Not even the elders seemed capable of explaining what they were sensing. Their wolves simply knew. The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. It was reverent.

A silence born from instinct rather than understanding.

Then movement caught my eye. Two familiar figures slowly stepped forward from among the gathered warriors.

It was Lorenzo and Romino, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Time had touched them gently.

Lorenzo's shoulders remained as broad as ever. Beside him, Romina looked every bit as lively as I remembered, her expression forever incapable of hiding whatever emotion crossed her heart.

Only today...

She wasn't smiling. She simply looked at me.

No.

She stared. Her eyes searched my face with growing disbelief, as though trying desperately to solve a puzzle that refused to make sense.

Seconds had passed, her lower lip trembled. "Why..." Her voice barely carried beyond the first row of warriors. She laughed weakly, though tears had already begun slipping down her cheeks. "...why does my wolf..." Another shaky laugh released from her. "...keep telling me it's you?"

The words settled heavily inside my chest. She didn't understand them. Neither did anyone else. Yet no one questioned her.

Because judging from the expressions surrounding us, they had all felt it.

I swallowed hard as Romina took another hesitant step forward until she finally stood before me. She lifted a trembling hand, not quite touching my face, almost afraid that if she did... whatever impossible thing her wolf believed would disappear.

"Welcome home..." she uttered, the words breaking somewhere in the middle. Not because she had planned to cry, but because she simply couldn't stop.

I felt my own vision blur. Without thinking, I reached forward first and wrapped my arms around her. The moment I did, her composure shattered completely.

She hugged me back with surprising strength, laughing and crying at the same time. "Oh, Moon Goddess..." She buried her face against my shoulder. "I knew..." Another laugh. "...I knew Lucretius wasn't completely insane."

That caught me entirely off guard.

I blinked. "What...?"

Romina pulled back just enough to look at me, still crying and laughing. She pointed dramatically toward Lucretius. "This man..." She sniffled. "He spent years telling us the same thing since you died."

My gaze instinctively shifted toward my husband. He suddenly looked remarkably interested in the gardens.

Lorenzo finally reached us, unable to suppress the laughter tugging at the corners of his mouth. "He never stopped believing." His voice carried the quiet fondness of an older brother remembering something absurd. "No matter how many years passed..." He smiled toward Lucretius. "...he kept saying you'd return."

"'Maybe not in the same body.'"

"'Maybe not in the same lifetime.'"

"'But I'll find my way back to her.'"

A lump formed unexpectedly inside my throat. I slowly turned. Lucretius finally met my eyes. There wasn't the slightest embarrassment in his expression. Only quiet certainty. As though he'd never once doubted the promise he'd made to himself.

Romina folded both arms and dramatically pouted. "Do you know what happened after you were gone?"

I slowly arched an eyebrow.

Before I could answer, she continued. "He became terrifying."

My head slowly turned toward Lucretius. Very slowly. He blinked once, looking entirely innocent. "Hubby..." I called.

"Hm?"

"Were you tormenting everyone while I was..." I smiled sweetly. "...away?"

His brows lifted. "I would never." He even gasped in disbelief.

Romina gasped so dramatically that several nearby warriors laughed. "He's lying!" She jabbed an accusing finger toward him. "You have no idea what we've been through!"

Even Lorenzo laughed this time. "I can confirm that."

Lucretius looked genuinely betrayed. "Brother..."

Lorenzo smiled. "Yes?"

"Aren't you supposed to defend me?"

"No." The answer came without hesitation. He slipped an arm naturally around Romina's waist.

"I'm always on my wife's side."

For a heartbeat, I simply stared at him and laughed. I turned slowly toward my own husband, whose expression already suggested he knew exactly where this conversation was heading. "That sounds familiar."

He sighed. "It does."

My smile widened. "Didn't you tell Enoch exactly the same thing hours ago?"

"I did."

"You said you were always on your wife's side." I wriggled my eyebrows at him.

"I am." Then, he slightly frowned.

Romina burst into delighted laughter. Lorenzo joined her almost immediately. Even several warriors nearby struggled to keep straight faces.

Lucretius looked around at every traitor surrounding him before finally letting out the long, patient sigh of a man who had somehow lost an argument without ever truly participating in it.

The laughter lingered for a little while longer.

Several nearby warriors quietly resumed their conversations while others smiled to themselves, relieved to see their Alpha looking more like the man they had once known.

Even Lucretius' shoulders seemed noticeably lighter despite the long-suffering sigh he had just released.

Then, the warmth slowly faded. It wasn't sudden. It simply happened like the sun slipping behind a passing cloud.

Romina's smile gradually softened until it disappeared altogether. Her hands, which had been resting loosely at her sides, slowly reached for mine instead.

The moment our fingers touched, I felt them tremble. When I looked up, I found tears quietly gathering inside her eyes once more.

The playful woman from moments ago was gone. In her place stood only a mother carrying a burden she had never been able to put down. "Luna..." Her voice came softly, almost cautiously. "I..." She stopped and swallowed. "I'm sorry."

My brows knitted slightly as I waited.

Romina's grip tightened around my hands. "I already know." Another tear slipped down her cheek. "I know everything Redmund did.".

The courtyard around us seemed to fade into the background. I could no longer hear the warriors, the wind, or even my own breathing. "I know..." Her voice broke. "...about the rejection." She lowered her gaze. "...the wedding." Her shoulders trembled. "...and..." She couldn't finish her words and didn't need to.

I already knew which memory refused to leave her.

The assault.

The violation he had attempted.

The wounds no apology could ever erase.

Beside her, Lorenzo quietly slipped one arm around his mate's shoulders. His own expression remained composed. Yet beneath that composure, I saw it.

The disappointment.

The grief.

The unbearable weight carried by parents who had watched their own son become someone they no longer recognized.

"He has been punished." Lorenzo's voice was calm. Not defensive and pleading. Merely truthful. "We did not excuse what he did."

Romina shook her head immediately. "Never." Her eyes lifted back toward mine. "We love our son..." Another tear escaped her. "...but we do not condone his sins."

I remained silent. It wasn't because I didn't know what to say, but because I was looking at them.

Really looking.

For the first time, I wasn't seeing Redmund's parents. I was seeing two people mourning someone who was still alive.

There was no hatred inside their eyes. Only heartbreak.

I understood that feeling more than most.

Loving someone and grieving the person they chose to become.

Slowly and almost instinctively, my gaze drifted toward Lucretius.

He had remained silent throughout their apology. His hand still rested quietly around mine, grounding me without ever attempting to influence my answer.

Just as he always did.

The corners of his lips softened ever so slightly. Not urging me, but simply reminding me...

The choice was mine.

Always mine.

I lowered my gaze briefly and looked back at Lorenzo and Romina. "I don't blame either of you." Romina stared at me. I offered her a small smile. "What Redmund chose..." I shook my head gently. "...was his decision."

No one else's.

But silence followed, and it was a long one. Romina suddenly covered her mouth as fresh tears escaped despite her efforts to stop them. Lorenzo quietly closed his eyes. Only for a while.

Relief, pain, and gratitude... They all crossed his face so quickly that they almost became indistinguishable from one another.

I drew a slow breath.

There was one question... One that had quietly lingered in the back of my mind ever since I learned what had become of him.

"Can I see him?"

Everything stopped. Romina's tears froze. Lorenzo slowly looked up. Even Lucretius turned toward me.

The courtyard, so lively only moments before, fell into complete silence. "I know..." My voice remained calm. "...he has been imprisoned." I looked toward Lorenzo. "And exiled from the Golden Eclipse Pack."

Neither of them answered immediately. They simply looked at me as if trying to understand why and wondering what could possibly remain unsaid between me and the man who had once been my mate.