Chapter 404 404
Sabine’s POV
This was it.
My moment.
I stood before the mirror in a white silk dress that clung to every curve of my body. I had never looked like this before lean, strong, radiant. Happy.
Not like this.
Not for a very long time.
It had been four weeks since Clémence’s attack on the Black Mist pack four weeks since she orchestrated the attempted kidnapping of the twins and Damien. Perhaps she never realized that, as dark as her intentions were, something far more sinister had already been moving in the shadows, patiently waiting.
When I dwell on it too long, my head begins to ache. Did the Moon Goddess intervene? Did she guide events just enough to return Damien to us? Were Clémence’s actions written long before she ever understood what she was doing?
The human side of me the part that burns just as brightly as my wolf struggles with that idea. Because if fate dictated those moments, then my suffering was never accidental. It was planned.
Maybe if I had been born fully into this world, I could understand it. But I am a hybrid. And I refuse to let my humanity fade. That part of me is my mother’s legacy. She lives on through me.
I wrap the matching silk dressing gown around my body and take one last look at my reflection. My eyes glow with my wolf’s light, the familiar cat-like slits sharp and unmistakable.
She has been growing stronger every day. And now with my full acceptance she is finally at peace within me.
But there is one last thing to do.
Many would assume tonight was my Luna ceremony. Or even a wedding, judging by the white silk hugging my skin.
They would be wrong.
Tonight, beneath the full moon, before the entire Ash Valley pack our family, our allies, our friends I would shift for the very first time.
I would finally complete the bond between my wolf and me.
The gathering was already underway in the Alpha house gardens. I could hear them voices mingling, anticipation humming through the air.
I don’t know why I chose makeup. Or this dress. It would be destroyed the moment I shifted. But just for this moment… I wanted to celebrate me.
The alliances were solid. Our family’s connection to the Bloodnight alliance was confirmed, even without formal ties. I was the King’s sister. Maurice was his closest friend, his most trusted advisor.
I was a world away from the caravan at the farm from the girl hiding from a life that terrified her.
And yet here I stood, fully committing myself to the shifter world.
If the Moon Goddess ever blesses Maurice and me with children, they will grow up differently than I did. They will understand every part of this world without fear.
I push thoughts of Gaston aside. I refuse to dwell on whether he played a role in my mother’s death. I have felt the darkness myself. Even though it held me briefly, it tried to consume me entirely.
I don’t know how I would have escaped it without my wolf… and without Gilles.
I owe him my life. And from what I’ve heard, Caroline owes him hers as well. When he spoke of the cave, he was careful with his words reminding us that not everything in existence is meant to coexist within the same worlds.
Maurice is waiting for me.
The one male who never gave up. No matter how difficult things became no matter how much I pushed he kept searching for me. Kept fighting. Refused to walk away, even when I made it nearly impossible.
He was the better person.
He never tried to control me. Never used me. And with his help, I was finally able to reclaim my inheritance and turn it into something meaningful.
I descend the staircase slowly, mindful of my dress, taking care not to trip. His eyes never leave me not for a second. He watches my every step, captivated.
That familiar glint burns in his gaze. The same eyes that so often undress me.
“You look breathtaking,” he murmurs, extending his hand as I reach the final step. “Though I’m not sure how I feel about you shifting for the first time in front of so many males.”
I arch a brow. “I thought nudity wasn’t an issue for werewolves.”
“It isn’t,” he replies smoothly. “Except when you’re mine.”
His mouth claims mine, possessive and certain. His free hand slides around my back, down my thigh, then back up to my waist, gripping firmly as he pulls me into him.
I don’t bother hiding the moan that slips free.
I will never tire of this man.
He is my everything.