CHAPTER 212

CHAPTER 212
Geneva's words lingered between them long after they had been spoken, as though the very air refused to let them fade away. I'll keep choosing you... again and again. Catalina had never heard a promise like that before. In the world of werewolves, where bonds were dictated by blood, hierarchy, or the will of the Moon Goddess, almost no one ever spoke of choice. Destined mates were either accepted or rejected; alliances between packs were forged through strategy; marriages existed to strengthen bloodlines. Everything followed a logic imposed from the outside. What Geneva had just offered her was different. It was freely given. And precisely because of that, it was infinitely more precious.

Catalina slowly slipped her fingers between Geneva's, intertwining them with a naturalness that would have seemed impossible only a few weeks earlier. The difference in the size of their hands made Geneva smile as she noticed the small detail with unexpected tenderness.

"What's wrong?" Catalina asked when she caught that expression.

"Nothing important."

"You're a terrible liar."

Geneva let out a quiet laugh.

"I was just thinking that your hands always seemed intimidating to me."

Catalina arched an eyebrow with unmistakable curiosity.

"Intimidating?"

"The first time I saw you, I thought they were the hands of someone incapable of being gentle."

The alpha burst into such spontaneous laughter that the sound echoed softly against the stone walls of the corridor.

"Well, that's quite a first impression."

"It wasn't my fault. You were the most feared alpha in the territory. You walked as though the whole world had to step out of your way, and you looked at everyone with that expression that said, 'Take one more step and you'll end up training with the warriors until you throw up.'"

Catalina feigned offense.

"I have never looked at anyone like that."

Geneva raised an eyebrow.

"Would you like me to ask one of your sentinels?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Do you want to find out?"

They both laughed again, and that lightness surprised Catalina more than anyone. It was strange to realize that she could joke without worrying about maintaining the composure expected of a leader, allowing herself small moments of vulnerability without feeling as though her authority were being threatened.

"You know," she finally said, still holding Geneva's hand, "I think it's been years since I laughed twice in the same night."

Geneva stopped smiling only to look at her with immense tenderness.

"That's sad."

Catalina nodded honestly.

"It is. I didn't realize it until now."

Geneva stepped a little closer, just enough for the tips of her boots to brush against Catalina's.

"What happened to you?"

There was no morbid curiosity in the question.

Only genuine concern.

Catalina remained silent for a few moments. Her eyes drifted away from Geneva's face and settled on the large window overlooking the moonlit forest.

"When I inherited leadership of the pack, I was twenty-two years old. I was far too young to stand in that position, and everyone knew it. The neighboring alphas expected me to fail. Even some of the elders on my own council didn't trust me. Every decision I made was questioned, every mistake became proof that a woman shouldn't lead one of the oldest packs on the continent. I learned very quickly that if I showed exhaustion, fear, or sadness, someone would try to use it to bring me down."

Geneva didn't interrupt her.

She simply stroked the back of Catalina's hand gently with her thumb.

"So I stopped showing any emotion at all. I convinced myself it was the price of leadership. Eventually it stopped being an effort; I simply forgot how to do anything else."

She looked back at Geneva.

"Until you came."

A knot tightened in Geneva's throat.

"It wasn't me."

Catalina slowly shook her head.

"Yes, it was. Not because you tried to change me, but because you never expected me to be anyone other than who I already was. You never competed with me. You never tried to impress me. You never looked at me with fear. The only thing you ever did was treat me as though, beneath this position, there was still an ordinary woman."

Geneva smiled with a mixture of tenderness and quiet melancholy.

"Because that woman was always there."

"I wasn't so sure anymore."

Those words remained suspended between them with such naked honesty that Geneva felt an irresistible urge to hold her again. She did so slowly, wrapping her arms around Catalina's waist before resting her head against her chest. Catalina answered immediately, embracing her with enough strength to make her feel protected, yet never enough to confine her.

For several long minutes, neither of them spoke.

They simply remained there, listening to the wind rustling through the treetops and the distant howls of the sentinels guarding the borders of the territory. Those sounds reminded them that the world was still turning, that the war between the packs still lingered just beyond the horizon, yet for the first time they felt no obligation to run toward it.

"What are you thinking about?" Catalina asked, slowly stroking Geneva's hair.

"That I'm afraid of getting used to this."

The alpha frowned slightly.

"Getting used to what, exactly?"

"To feeling happy."

Catalina stood perfectly still.

That answer hurt far more than she had expected.

Geneva took a slow breath before continuing.

"Every time something good lasted too long in my life... something terrible always happened afterward. It was as though happiness always came with a price that I would eventually have to pay. Sometimes I feel that if I close my eyes for too long, when I open them again, all of this will be gone."

Catalina gently lifted her chin with two fingers, making her meet her eyes.

"Listen to me carefully, Geneva."

The intensity in her voice sent a shiver through the younger wolf.

"I can't promise you that pain will never return. That would be a lie. We live in a world where wars existed long before either of us was born. There will be enemies. There will be losses. There will be difficult days. But I can promise you something else."

Geneva held her gaze.

"What?"

Catalina rested one hand against her cheek.

"That you'll never have to face them alone again."

Geneva's eyes began to glisten.

"Catalina..."

"Let me finish."

Her voice remained firm, but there was a warmth within it that hadn't existed before.

"I don't know what the future has in store for us. I don't know what decisions we'll have to make or what sacrifices this war will demand. The only thing I know is that, as long as I'm breathing, you will always have a place beside me. It doesn't matter if you're frightened, angry, confused, or broken. I'm not going to walk away just because things become difficult."

A tear escaped Geneva's eyes before she could stop it.

Catalina wiped it away with her thumb before it had the chance to roll down her cheek.

"Don't cry."

Geneva smiled through her tears.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad."

"Then why?"

"Because it's been so many years since anyone promised to stay."

The alpha lowered her head and kissed her forehead slowly, lingering there for several seconds before pulling back.

"Then you'll have to get used to it."

Geneva let out a soft laugh.

"Was that an alpha's order?"

Catalina smiled with the playful spark Geneva had learned to recognize.

"No."

She leaned forward until only a few inches separated their lips.

"It was a promise from the woman who intends to keep choosing you every sunrise, even after the moon no longer lights our path."

Geneva closed the remaining distance between them with a slow kiss, filled with affection and the quiet trust that was already taking deep root between them. Outside, the moon continued its silent watch over the forests of the Silver Pack, unaware that while ancient alliances were crumbling and new wars were beginning to take shape, two hearts were building a force far stronger than any bloodline could ever create: a love born from the freedom to choose each other, every single day.