Chapter 50

"Milena? Is that you?" His voice confirmed that I was finally back. Our eyes met and I could see Marcus' bewildered yet overjoyed face as he walked towards me.

I couldn't look around as he approached me. He walked slowly as he stared at me, both of us shocked and astounded that we could finally see each other. But as he got closer and closer my heart was also pounding as I was aware that there was still one more final test for the both of us. As I'm in my wolf form, I'm not exactly sure if my wolf will finally warm up to Marcus or not. Even if Darren was already gone, my wolf could still reject Marcus if it chose to.

"I can't believe it. You're really here," said a breathless Marcus. He also couldn't keep his eyes off me. "You have purple eyes. And there's only one person I know that has them."

Marcus finally got near, but he was apprehensive too. I guess he also remembered that my wolf wasn't fond of him, especially now that it growled loudly. But then I saw Marcus take a deep breath and before I knew it, he also transformed.

I was both scared and surprised, but now we were both in our wolf forms. I could feel my wolf getting tensed by Marcus' presence in wolf form, but instead of becoming hostile, it sniffed him. And then Marcus did the same. Suddenly I could feel adrenaline rush all through me. My wolf was in high spirits. Then the two wolves howled to the moon in unison.

My body started feeling hot, and I could feel my wolf becoming restless. My heart almost skipped a beat when I realized what was happening. I thanked the Moon Goddess for the wonderful blessing, as my wolf has finally accepted Marcus. I could feel its happiness swell all over me like a balloon. Marcus' scent was also getting stronger and was affecting both me and my wolf in such a familiar yet unique way. I could cry for this miracle forever. A new mating bond was formed, but this time between me and the man I loved, Marcus.

Our wolves spent the next few hours feeling each other, running in the field. My wolf was in bliss and I let her do her own thing. Marcus' wolf had done a great job at making this 'courtship' work. There were times that my wolf would withdraw to a corner or move away, but Marcus and his wolf were relentless. They did not give up until the bond was finalized and until there was a mark between us.

It was near dawn when we reverted back to our human forms. And the first thing that I did was cry in Marcus' arms. But then he kissed me gently on my forehead, which went down into my lips. We shared a deep, passionate kiss that neither of us wanted to stop until we had to breathe. That made me giggle a little bit.

"That was nice," I told him. Marcus was still looking at me with such intensity that it made me blush like a teen. "Stop looking at me like that, Marcus."

He shook his head. "I'm not going to take my eyes off you again," he breathed. "The last time I did, you disappeared."

"I'm sorry," I told him.

"Don't apologize. You saved our son by sacrificing yourself. You're a great woman, Milena. Great mother. Great werewolf. Great witch."

"Stop that, Marcus. I don't think my body could handle so much happiness right now." He wiped my tears for me. "By the way, how's Zenith? Where is he?"

"He's at home. Probably sleeping. He'll be overjoyed once he sees you."

"Where are we anyway?" I asked, finally looking around. It was still dark to figure out where we were, but we were definitely on some grass field.

"We're at Gloverstone. Here in the field where I first saw you."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. But why are you here at this hour? Did you know that I was coming back?"

"I didn't. But Lady Xinxia told me that she could sense some strong spiritual energy here so I came to check. And I'm so glad that I did."

"Lady Xinxia? She's still here with you?"

"She's now part of our pack. I reckoned that we needed a shaman so I made her stay. And I was right. She sensed that something was about to happen."

I smiled at that. "Yeah. Good thing that she's here."

"Not only that, I also made her break the mating bond between Gil and that Nightshade. Now, Gil's free and is back to normal." It turned out Marcus came back to capture Nightshade from the spot where he left her and imprisoned her to ask her about Diana's eyes. And when Gil fully recovered, he also asked him if he wanted to cut the bond and Gil agreed.

"And Diana's eyes? Did you finally find it?"

Marcus nodded. "Nightshade told us where it was. Apparently, she also told Ava and Hugo who had it and they have been tracking them down ever since. That was the reason they didn't come back after the Blackholes took our son. They found the people who had Diana's eyes and tried to retrieve them. It is now buried with her remains. Dionne and Dex helped me with the burial."

"I see... That’s good. We were so wrong about your sister and her mate, Marcus. I think we need to apologize to them."

"Yeah. We already talked and we're all good. Ava told me she gave up on taking over the pack ever since you came here five years ago. She said she saw that you were a good match for me and was impressed at how we run the pack well."

"That's nice to hear," I told him and looked at him with admiration and love. "Marcus, I think I didn't tell you this enough, but I love you. I did all my best to come back for you and our son. Thank you for waiting for me. Now we can start all over again."

He kissed me again after I said that. "I love you too, Milena. And always will. I don't care how long I have to wait as long as you come back."

"Thank you, Marcus." I kissed him back, but stopped abruptly to ask him another question. "Wait. So you did know that I'll come back. But how did you know?"

"I could smell your scent in the mountains," he told me. "My wolf could sense your presence there. I searched for you for months in the mountains but I couldn't find you. When I asked Lady Xinxia what it meant, she told me that witches could turn themselves into part of nature to heal and come back. She told me to wait and so I waited."

I couldn't contain my emotions after hearing that from him. I still couldn't believe that there is a man that was willing to wait for me forever. He chose me, the miserable unchosen mate and turned my life around. He might be known by others as the Ruthless Alpha, but to me, he's Marcus, my beloved.

***

We went back home to see Zenith. When I opened the door to his room I was taken aback when I saw how big he already was. "Marcus? How long was it since I disappeared?"

"Three years," he simply replied as we just let our son sleep.

"WHAT? THREE YEARS?"

Marcus nodded. "That's right. Now you know much I missed you,” he added with a naughty smile. “Now that I finally marked you, we can already do it, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." I just said. I couldn't say no to him, not when he had to endure three years waiting for me. With his lead, we went to our room and kissed as we undressed each other. We made love for who knows how long, falling asleep right next to each other. Marcus showed me how much time was lost with every touch, kiss, and bite he gave me, and I gave back all of it in return.

Lying next to Marcus, I couldn't wait to start the day with him and Zenith even if we would get up from bed at half past three in the afternoon. I could already picture our son's shocked face when he finally saw me. I was excited to be with my son too. He might have grown a little bit while I was gone, but he was still my baby.

But right now I'd sleep more first, with my husband lying next to me.

THE END.