CHAPTER 217

CHAPTER 217


The deep sound of the horn still echoed through the trees when Catalina remained motionless for a few more seconds, unwilling to break the embrace that held her to Geneva. It was a contradiction she had never experienced before. Her entire life, she had answered the Pack's first call without allowing herself even a moment of hesitation, yet that night her body seemed reluctant to leave the only place where the weight of the crown disappeared completely. Geneva sensed that silent struggle without the Alpha needing to utter a single word; the slight tightening of her muscles, the deeper rhythm of her breathing, the way her fingers, instead of letting go, seemed to cling just a little more firmly to her waist, spoke with a clarity that could not be hidden.

"Go," Geneva whispered with a serene smile that concealed her own desire to keep Catalina beside her for just a few minutes longer. "An entire Pack is waiting for its Alpha."

Catalina did not answer immediately. She lowered her gaze until she met those pale eyes looking back at her with a mixture of love and understanding, then slowly shook her head.

"That's what I should do."

"And what do you want to do?"

The question was so simple that it completely disarmed Catalina. No one ever asked her what she wanted. The elders came to her with problems, the warriors with reports, the scouts with news from the borders, and the pups seeking protection. Everyone needed something from their Alpha, yet very few remembered that beneath that title there was still a woman with desires of her own.

"I want to stay here with you a few minutes longer," she finally admitted, allowing sincerity to replace authority. "It's selfish... I know."

Geneva smiled with endless tenderness and lifted a hand to gently trace the strong line of her jaw.

"No. It would have been selfish to abandon your Pack just to avoid leaving me. What you just did was simply admit that you have a heart too."

Catalina let out a quiet laugh.

"Lately, you seem to have an answer for everything."

"No."

Geneva shook her head softly.

"Only for you."

Those words drew an entirely different expression across the Alpha's face. It was not the confident smile she offered her warriors, nor the resolute look she wore when confronting the councils of other Packs. It was something far more intimate, a quiet happiness that seemed to illuminate her features from within.

"Do you know what worries me?" Catalina asked as she absently twirled a strand of Geneva's hair between her fingers.

"Tell me."

"I'm starting to get far too used to this."

"To what exactly?"

"To finding you when the day is over."

Her voice faded into a murmur.

"For years, nightfall always meant reviewing reports, walking the walls, training until exhaustion, or planning the next strategy. Now... when the sun goes down, the first thing I want is to find you."

Geneva felt her chest fill with a warmth impossible to describe.

"That shouldn't worry you."

"No?"

"No."

She gently took both of Catalina's hands and slowly guided them to her chest so the Alpha could feel the rapid beating of her heart.

"Because the exact same thing happens to me."

Catalina felt that living rhythm beneath her palms, and an unexpected emotion swept through her chest.

"When I wake up in the morning," Geneva continued, "I catch myself wondering if I'll have the chance to see you, even if it's only for a few minutes. Whenever I hear footsteps in the hallway, part of me hopes they're yours. When I'm learning to walk again or when Noa insists that I need to rest, I always end up wondering where you are or whether you've had anything to eat. I never imagined someone could take root in my thoughts like this."

Catalina looked at her as though every word were a precious gift.

"Geneva..."

"Let me finish."

She smiled gently.

"For many years, I believed loving someone meant losing yourself. I watched too many people destroy themselves for someone who never chose them, so I promised myself I would never give my heart away again. But with you... I don't feel like I'm losing myself."

Slowly, she raised a hand and caressed the Alpha's cheek.

"I feel like, for the very first time, I'm finally finding myself."

Catalina closed her eyes for a brief moment, instinctively leaning into that touch.

"You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that."

Geneva studied her quietly.

"Then now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Anything you want."

"Who takes care of you when you're sick?"

Catalina opened her eyes in surprise.

"I haven't been sick in years."

"That wasn't what I asked."

The Alpha fell silent in thought.

"I suppose... no one."

"Who makes sure you get enough rest?"

Catalina smiled with quiet resignation.

"No one either."

"Who notices you're exhausted before you admit it yourself?"

The leader remained silent.

Geneva did not press her. She simply waited.

After a few seconds, Catalina answered with a level of honesty she would never have shown anyone else.

"I've never had anyone who did those things for me."

A deep ache settled inside Geneva at that confession.

"That's going to change."

Catalina raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

There was a quiet determination in Geneva's voice.

"I'm not going to interfere with your Beta's responsibilities or tell you how to lead a Pack, but I can make sure you don't forget to eat after spending hours in council meetings, I can force you to rest if you've gone too many nights without sleeping, and I can remind you that even the strongest Alpha needs to close her eyes once in a while."

Catalina let out a soft laugh.

"Force me?"

"Don't underestimate how stubborn I can be."

"I'm beginning to discover that."

"You're a little late."

They both laughed at the same time, and the sound filled the corridor with a warmth those walls had not known in a very long time.

Catalina took a small step forward until almost no space remained between them.

"Do you know what the problem is?"

"What?"

"The more I listen to you... the less I want to walk through that door."

Geneva lifted one hand and, with infinite care, straightened the collar of Catalina's shirt, an ordinary gesture that, for some reason, felt far more intimate than any caress.

"Then let me help you."

"How?"

Geneva finished smoothing the fabric and smiled, pleased with the tiny gesture.

"Go without worrying."

Catalina looked at her in confusion.

"Because when you come back..."

She rose slightly onto her toes and placed a slow kiss at the corner of Catalina's lips.

"...I'll still be here."

The Alpha felt something warm slowly spread throughout her chest.

"Do you promise?"

Geneva held her gaze without hesitation.

"I promise you something even better."

"What is it?"

"No matter how long that meeting lasts, how many problems that messenger brings, or how many difficult decisions you have to make tonight... when you come back, you'll stop being the Alpha for a little while."

Catalina drew in a deep breath.

"And what will I be then?"

Geneva smiled with the tenderness that had already become her safe haven.

"The woman who has someone waiting for her."

For several long moments, neither of them spoke. Catalina slowly lifted both hands and cupped Geneva's face between her palms, studying her with quiet intensity, as though she wanted to engrave every feature into her memory before stepping once more beneath the weight of reality. Then she lowered her head and kissed her with infinite slowness, without haste, allowing time itself to dissolve around them. There was no desperation in that kiss, only a silent promise to return, the certainty that this was not a farewell, but the beginning of a shared waiting.

When they finally parted, Catalina rested her forehead against Geneva's one last time.

"Wait for me."

Geneva smiled without looking away.

"Always."

The Alpha took two steps toward the exit, but before crossing the threshold, she turned back to look at her once more. Geneva was still standing there, bathed in the moonlight pouring through the tall windows, carrying a serenity that transformed everything around her. In that moment, Catalina understood that no matter what wars lay ahead or what enemies sought to break the Silver Pack, she now had a far greater reason to return alive.

And that certainty was, at the same time, her greatest strength... and the most vulnerable place in her heart.