Chapter 148 Chapter 148: Thistle’s Gift

Chapter 148 Chapter 148: Thistle’s Gift
Senna’s POV

The next morning, we woke up at dawn.

I stretched one last time in my bed, the bed that I’d grown up in. I made coffee one last time, in the kitchen where I’d made coffee a thousand times.

I thought I would feel more sad. I didn’t though. Instead, I felt ready. That was the best way to describe it.

I just felt ready to take on whatever came next. Wherever we ended up, I was ready for it.

Kalev had a quick shower. We ate eggs together one last time at the kitchen table. Then we grabbed our bags and headed out the door.

The sun was just rising. The air smelled fresh and sweet.

Junie was already waiting for us outside, a sobbing mess. I took one look at her and my heart clenched. I would miss her most of all, I thought to myself. But she was in good hands. Mira was doing really well, and she had Thistle. Plus she had Korrigan and Isolde, who had promised to look after her as well.

She rushed towards me and flung herself into my arm. I held her, stroking her hair, and inhaling the scent of her perfume one last time. I assured her I’d see her again, one day soon. I wasn’t sure if that was true or not. But it felt like the right thing to say.

She nodded.

“I have something for you,” I said.

Then I removed bow from over my head and passed it to her.

Her eyes opened wide in shock. “Senna, no,” she said. I closed my hand over hers.

I’d made the decision a few days ago. My bow and arrow was near and dear to my heart. I’d been roughly Junie’s age when my father had given it to me. I would miss it, but I wanted her to have it. It had served me well.

But I didn’t need it anymore.

“Yes,” I told her. “Learn how to use it. Be careful with it. Treat it well. And remember me every time you let an arrow fly.”

She held the bow to her chest. “Thank you,” she said. I kissed her on the forehead. Then we grabbed our bags and headed away.

We had one bag each. That was it. We had some food and nothing else. We didn’t have any real plans. But we both wanted the same thing. To find somewhere peaceful and quiet.

Jett had won the alpha fight. Sebastian hadn’t died, but his wolf was so badly wounded, it would never be the same. It was crippled now. Since he’d lost, he’d basically been outcast by everyone else. I think he went to Sector 7. They were accepting of everyone.

I couldn’t watch another fight like that. I’d seen too much fighting and enough violence to last me a life time. Each village was doing well, on the surface. But I couldn’t help but wonder for how long?

That alpha fight had been our wake up call. We needed to leave. We couldn’t be a part of this kind of society anymore.

Maybe the games were far engrained in us. Maybe there was no way to escape them. Maybe, even though we’d freed everyone, there was still something deep inside of people that made them want violence and power and greed.

I didn’t know. All I knew for sure was that I wasn’t like that. I didn’t want power. I didn’t want violence. And I certainly wasn’t greedy. I wanted something pure and honest. A sunrise in the forest. A walk through the woods. A nice squirrel stew.

And Kalev.

I wanted Kalev. As long as I had him, I would always have enough.

We took the left path out of the town just as Thistle had instructed. The path took a sharp turn. And the moment it did, my breath hitched in my throat.

The entire mountainside was covered in yellow flowers. Their petals blew in the breeze, their scent sweet in the air. The morning sun caused them to look like they were illuminating.

“Oh,” I gasped. “There must be hundreds of them. They’re so….I don’t even have the words.”

Thistle had done this for me. For Verity. To honor her. To honor me. These were her funeral flowers. But I was the one who got to see them. And knowing that they would bloom each spring filled me with happiness.

Verity would have loved them. She would have appreciated more than anyone else in the world. Blinking back tears, I sighed heavily. I would never forget this moment. I would never forget the sight of these flowers in the morning sun.

That was Thistle’s gift to me. And I loved him for it.

“They’re beautiful,” Kalev said. “Just like you.”

I turned to face him.

“They really are,” I said. I looked deep into his eyes. Our future was uncertain, but our love was strong.

“I love you, Senna,” he said. He brushed his thumb across my cheek. “And I’m excited to see what awaits for us.”

I grinned. “Yup. Just a couple of wolfless rebel starters, the two of us.”

It was hard to believe. I’d been an omega once, just a wolfless nothing. And Kalev had been the architect of the games. We literally came from two completely different worlds. And now here we were, both of us without wolves, leaving the only homes we’d ever known.

It was supposed to be a joke. But Kalev looked at me with intense eyes.

“I mean it,” he said. “I love you more than anything else in this world. And I want to spend every day for the rest of my life making you happy.”

“You don’t need to,” I told him. “Because as long as I’m with you, I’m already happy.”’

We turned at looked at the mountainside one last time. Then, he took my hand. We turned an started down the path, towards who knew what, but away from the life we’d had.