Chapter 47 The New Normal

Chapter 47 The New Normal
Life at the Valkor estate slowly returned to something that looked like normal.
Selene woke every morning without the weight of the binding, without the slow drain of her life force, without the certainty that each day might be her last. She didn’t know what to do with herself. For eighteen years, she’d been dying. Now she had to learn how to live.
Damon found her on the balcony the first morning, watching the sun rise. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressed his lips to her hair.
“What are you thinking?”
She leaned into him. “That I don’t know who I am anymore. I’ve been the Luna of Prophecy for so long. The woman who bound Victor. The mother who was dying to save her daughter.” She turned in his arms. “Who am I without all of that?”
Damon cupped her face. “You’re Selene. The woman I fell in love with. The woman who walked into my office with fire in her eyes and lies on her lips and changed everything.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re my mate. My partner. The mother of my child. That’s who you are. That’s who you’ve always been.”
She smiled. “When did you get so wise?”
“Eighteen years of watching you fight for us. For her.” He looked toward the house, toward Aurora’s room. “She’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay.”
Selene hoped he was right.
Aurora trained with Kael every morning.
The ancient wolf pushed her harder than anyone ever had, forcing her to touch the darkness, to control it, to make it hers. It wasn’t Victor’s power anymore. It was hers. But every time she used it, she felt him stir. Felt his hunger. Felt his presence.
“You’re afraid,” Kael observed one morning. “Of what you carry.”
She didn’t deny it. “He’s always there. Waiting. Watching. What if one day I’m not strong enough to keep him sealed?”
Kael studied her for a long moment. “You sealed him with love. Not power. Not blood. Love. That’s not something that breaks. That’s not something that fades.” He touched her chest, where the darkness lived. “He’s not your weakness, Aurora. He’s your strength. Because you carry him and you don’t let him win. Every day. Every moment. That’s not a curse. That’s a choice. And you make it, over and over, because you’re stronger than he’ll ever be.”
Aurora looked at her hands. The shadows were there, always waiting. But so was the light.
“I’m not afraid of him,” she realized. “I’m afraid of myself. Of what I might become if I let go.”
Kael smiled. “Then don’t let go. Hold on to what matters. Hold on to the people who love you. And when the darkness rises” He tapped her chest. “Remember why you’re fighting.”
Cassian found her that evening by the river, where they’d played as children. He sat beside her, close enough to touch, far enough to breathe.
“I meant what I said,” he said quietly. “In the shadow realm. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Aurora looked at him. “I know.”
“And you” He hesitated. “You love me too. I know you do. But you’re afraid. Of hurting me. Of becoming something I can’t love.”
She couldn’t deny it. “What if I lose control? What if the darkness”
“It won’t.” He took her hands. “You’re not the darkness, Aurora. You’re the person who faced a god to save her mother. You’re the person who carried the weight of the world and didn’t break. You’re the person I’ve loved since I was old enough to know what love meant.” He lifted her hands to his lips. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid of losing you.”
She kissed him then, soft and slow, letting herself feel what she’d been too afraid to feel for eighteen years.
When they broke apart, she was smiling. “I love you too.”
Lyra found her the next morning, looking lost.
“I couldn’t save anyone,” her cousin said, her voice hollow. “In the battle, in the shadow realm. I was useless. I’m a healer who can’t heal.”
Aurora took her hands. “You kept everyone alive after. You held us together. You made sure we didn’t fall apart.” She squeezed. “That’s not nothing, Lyra. That’s everything.”
Lyra’s eyes filled with tears. “You really think so?”
“I know so. You’re the reason we’re still standing. You’re the reason we have something to come back to.” Aurora pulled her into a hug. “You’re not useless. You’re the strongest person I know.”
Lyra held her tight. “So are you.”
The messenger arrived at dusk.
He was young, barely more than a pup, his face pale, his eyes wide with terror. He fell to his knees before Damon, gasping for breath.
“The north. Something’s happening in the north.”
Damon helped him up. “What kind of something?”
The boy’s eyes found Aurora. “Wolves are changing. Their eyes are turning red. Their power is growing. Their hunger.” He swallowed. “They’re killing each other. Turning on their packs. And nothing, nothing stops them.”
Aurora’s blood ran cold.
This wasn’t Victor. This was something else. Something older. Something that had been sleeping while Victor was awake.
And now it was waking up.