Chapter 16 Chapter 16
Ava's POV
Three weeks had passed since the battle, and the pack house had become a diplomatic center. Representatives from five different packs worked in what used to be the formal dining room, drafting treaties and trade agreements. I stood in the doorway, watching the controlled chaos with a mixture of pride and exhaustion.
"You need to rest," Marcus said, appearing behind me with a cup of tea.
"There's too much to do." I accepted the tea gratefully, inhaling the calming lavender scent. "The medical supplies from Silvercrest arrive today, and three more packs want to discuss alliance terms."
"And they can wait an hour while you take care of yourself." His hand found my lower back, the touch sending warmth through our bond. "You've been working eighteen-hour days."
"So have you."
"Yes, but I'm not the one who shifted into a royal Lycan and commanded five hundred wolves to stop fighting." He guided me toward our private wing. "The doctor said you need recovery time."
"The doctor worries too much."
"The doctor is right," a familiar voice said. Rachel stood in the hallway, arms crossed. "You're pushing too hard, Luna. Even Lycan royalty has limits."
Before I could protest, my father appeared from the library. The sight of him still sent mixed emotions through me. We'd been slowly rebuilding our relationship, but twenty-five years of lies weren't easily forgotten.
"The Silvercrest medical team is here," he said carefully. "They're asking for you specifically, Ava."
"I'll handle it," Marcus said.
"No, they requested me." I set down the tea, already moving toward the door. "It must be important."
The medical team waited in the main hall, but my attention went immediately to the woman standing with them. She was older, silver-haired, with eyes that seemed familiar somehow.
"Luna Ava," she said, bowing slightly. "I'm Dr. Elena Winters. I was your mother's physician."
My breath caught. "You knew my mother?"
"I delivered you, actually. And I've been waiting twenty-five years to finally meet you properly." She glanced at my father, something unreadable in her expression. "May we speak privately?"
Marcus tensed beside me, but I touched his arm. "It's okay."
Dr. Winters and I walked to the garden, finding a quiet bench near the rose bushes my mother had supposedly planted years ago.
"Your father asked me to stay away," she began without preamble. "He thought it would be safer if no one from your mother's past remained in your life."
"Another person he pushed away to 'protect' me?"
"In his defense, there were many who would have used me to get to you. I knew about your bloodline, after all." She pulled out a worn leather journal. "This was your mother's. She asked me to give it to you when you were ready."
I took the journal with trembling hands. My mother's scent still clung to it faintly, moonlight and jasmine.
"She knew she was in danger?"
"She suspected. The Silvercrest Pack had been making threats for months. But she refused to run. Said the pack needed her." Dr. Winters smiled sadly. "She was stubborn like that. I see the same strength in you."
I opened the journal carefully. My mother's handwriting filled the pages, elegant and precise.
"My dearest Ava," the first entry began. "If you're reading this, then the worst has happened, and I won't be there to watch you grow..."
"I'll leave you to read," Dr. Winters said gently. "But Luna, there's something else. Your mother was pregnant when she died."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?"
"Two months along. A boy. She was going to name him Gabriel." The doctor's voice was thick with emotion. "The attackers knew. They wanted to eliminate any chance of the bloodline continuing. They didn't know about you because your father had already started hiding your nature."
"I could have had a brother," I whispered, grief for someone I'd never known washing over me.
"You still have family," she said carefully. "Your mother had a younger sister. She's been living in hiding in Canada, waiting for it to be safe to contact you."
An aunt. Living family beyond my father. The revelations were overwhelming.
Dr. Winters left me alone with the journal. I read for an hour, tears streaming down my face as my mother's words painted a picture of a woman who loved deeply and feared greatly. She wrote about my father's devotion, about her hopes for my future, about the legacy she wished she could give me properly.
"My darling daughter," one entry read, "I hope you never have to choose between love and duty the way I have. But if you do, remember that the strongest leaders are those who find a way to honor both."
"Ava?" Marcus found me as the sun began to set, my face puffy from crying.
"She loved me so much," I said, showing him the journal. "She had so many plans for us, for the pack."
He sat beside me, pulling me against his side. "She would be proud of who you've become."
"Would she? I started this journey for revenge. I married you to get back at Garry."
"And look where that led. You've united packs, exposed corruption, brought justice to those who needed it." He kissed my temple. "Sometimes the path we take matters less than where we end up."
"Nathan said something similar during his testimony yesterday."
Marcus tensed. Nathan's formal testimony to the Council had been difficult for everyone, especially when he detailed watching Sarah die.
"He's trying," I said carefully. "I know you can't forgive him yet..."
"Yet? You think I'll ever forgive him for letting Sarah die?"
"I think healing takes time. And I think Sarah wouldn't want you consumed by hatred."
He was quiet for a long moment. "You didn't know her."
"No, but I know you. And the man I love isn't capable of carrying that much darkness without it destroying him."
He turned to look at me fully. "You always see the best in people."
"Not always. But I try to see the possibility of redemption." I touched his face. "The way you saw it in me when I was just a rejected bride seeking revenge."
"That's different. You were never dark, just hurt."
"And maybe Nathan is the same. Hurt so deeply he forgot how to be anything else."
Before Marcus could respond, Beta James appeared, running and out of breath. "Alpha, Luna, we have a problem."
We were on our feet immediately. "What is it?"
"Elder Thorne has been spotted. He's taken hostages at the Northern Pine Pack. And he's demanding you come alone, Luna, or he'll kill them all."