Promisses

Promisses
The night was clear, the full moon lit the mountains as if it were day. The cold wind ran across the cabin’s balcony, carrying the scent of damp trees and the deep silence of the forest. Kael sat in a sturdy wooden armchair, staring at the horizon. Zarah stepped out of the pool wrapped in a towel, her wet hair dripping, and approached with a teasing smile.
“You’re looking at me as if I were part of the scenery,” she joked, settling onto his lap.
Kael slid his hand along her thigh, pulling her closer.
“You are the scenery, Zarah. You’re what keeps me here.”
The kiss began soft, but soon grew urgent. The towel fell, revealing her damp, goosebumped skin. He laid her down on the plush rug of the balcony, the cold night air contrasting with the heat of their bodies. They moved with intensity, moans muffled by the wind. The sex on the balcony was a wild, intimate rite, as if the moon were the only witness to their love.
Exhausted, they laughed together, lying side by side, covered only by the warmth of their skin.
...
Later, already dressed, they went inside the cabin. The table was set: candles, wine, hot dishes prepared by Kael himself before Zarah’s swim. She was surprised.
“Since when do you cook?” she laughed, seeing the table.
“Since I discovered I don’t want only to hunt. I want to take care of you.”
During dinner, they laughed, toasted, and shared good and painful memories. The atmosphere seemed suspended in time, as if nothing outside existed.
When the meal ended, Kael stood. His eyes held a different intensity. He pulled a small dark velvet box from his pocket and opened it before her.
Inside, a silver ring gleamed under the candlelight.
“Zarah,” he said, kneeling, “you’ve already given me back my life. Now I want you to give me the future. Will you accept being my mate, without war, without vengeance? Just us, building what we deserve?”
Tears streamed down her face. Zarah covered her mouth with her hands, unable to speak for several seconds.
“Are you truly willing to leave the Vorns behind?”
“I am. I’ll expand my businesses far from all of this. Enough of the past. I want only you, and what comes with you.”
She fell into his arms, crying with happiness.
“Yes, Kael. I accept. I want to be yours.”
The kiss that sealed the promise was sweeter than any other.
...
The following days in the cabin were filled with romance and pleasure. They made love in every corner: on the balcony, on the wide wooden bed, even before the extinguished fireplace. Kael seemed like another man. More attentive, more patient, more devoted.
But Zarah began to notice something strange. Her body felt different. Sometimes, upon waking, she felt strong nausea. At other times, she had uncontrollable cravings for improbable flavors: honey mixed with meat, wine with dried fruits, even cold milk in the middle of the night.
She tried to hide it, but Kael was observant.
“You’ve been acting strange,” he remarked one morning, stroking her hair.
“It’s just fatigue,” she deflected.
He didn’t believe her. He discreetly summoned a trusted wolf doctor to the cabin.
After a few simple examinations, the doctor smiled at Kael.
“Congratulations. Your family is about to grow. A lot.”
Zarah’s eyes widened, her heart racing.
“Grow… what do you mean?”
The doctor hesitated, then spoke plainly:
“There are three hearts. Triplets.”
She brought her hand to her mouth, startled. She looked at Kael in fear, dreading rejection.
“Kael… I didn’t plan this. I don’t know if I can handle it. And if you…”
He didn’t let her finish. He held her face firmly.
“Zarah, you’ve given me what no one else ever has. Narelle only used me to conceive. But you… you’ve given me true children. Blood born of love.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, now in relief.
“You’re not angry?”
Kael smiled, kissing her tenderly.
“Angry? I’ve never been so happy. You’ve given me a future, Zarah. Not just you, but a family.”
She clung to him tightly, finally feeling that the cycle of pain had broken.
“Then we’re no longer shadows of the past.”
“No,” he answered. “We are the light that will guide our children.”
On the balcony that night, he placed his hand over her still-flat belly.
“Here lies my true legacy. Not war. Not the Vorns. But the love we made.”
And under the full moon, the wolf who once lived on hatred discovered that the future could be built with tenderness, desire, and three new lives on the way.
...
The mornings in the cabin began to gain a new rhythm. Zarah woke later, nauseous, her face pale. Sometimes she rose from bed and ran to the bathroom, where Kael followed with a towel and a glass of water in his hands.
“It’s only a phase,” he said, trying to soothe her. “The doctor said it’s normal.”
Lying in bed after the episodes, she sighed in frustration.
“Normal? It feels like my body isn’t mine anymore. I’m always tired, always strange.”
Kael caressed her still-flat belly, gazing as if he could already see the children growing there.
“Your body is creating three little wolves at the same time. If you knew how much I admire your strength, you wouldn’t think like that.”
Zarah tried to smile, but tears followed. She remained silent for a few moments before murmuring:
“You know what’s strange? I spent years thinking I was barren. Rhaek threw it in my face… that I was incapable, defective. Then came Narelle, and one heat was enough for her to get pregnant. And me? I was only good as a shield and a decoration.”
Kael held his breath. The old rage the name Rhaek still awoke mingled with his desire to protect her.
“He destroyed you inside. But your body was never the problem. It was the chains they put on you. The pressure, the humiliations. No she-wolf blooms under the weight of contempt.”
Zarah looked at him, eyes brimming with tears.
“And if I had believed it? If I had accepted that I was empty?”
Kael held her face firmly.
“You’re not empty. You’re carrying three lives now. You’re full of future. It was love that unlocked this, not obligation. I never wanted to u
se you to have children. I wanted you. And they are the consequence of that.”
She sobbed, laughing through the tears.