Damien’s POV
Two months.
Two months since the war ended. Since Voss died. Since everything changed.
And today marked the final piece falling into place.
I stood at the pack house gates, Sera beside . Her hand was in mine. Warm. Steady. That silver-white wolf of hers humming contentedly through our bond.
Emma stood between two guards. Her face was gaunt. Hollow. The baby—a tiny bundle wrapped in plain cloth—slept in her arms.
She looked nothing like the woman who’d tried to destroy our marriage. That polished exterior was gone. Replaced by soone broken. Soone who’d lost everything.
"It’s ti," Lucas said. His voice held no sympathy.
Emma’s eyes found mine. Then Sera’s. Sothing flickered there. Not defiance. Not anger. Just... acceptance.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For letting keep her."
Her. A daughter. Emma had nad her sothing—I didn’t rember what. Didn’t care.
"The border cabin is stocked," Sera said. Her voice was neutral. Professional. "Enough supplies for three months. After that, you’re on your own."
Emma nodded. Didn’t argue. Didn’t beg.
She walked past us. Toward the transport vehicle waiting at the gates. The guards flanked her. Making sure she got in. Making sure she left.
The door closed. The engine started.
And just like that, Emma was gone.
Forever.
"One down," Lucas muttered. "One to go."
---
Gabriel’s transfer was different.
No transport vehicle. No quiet departure. Just chains and a cage and guards with silver-tipped weapons.
We watched from the dungeon entrance as they dragged him out. He’d deteriorated badly in two months. His hair was matted. His eyes wild. The oga status we’d stripped from him had broken sothing fundantal.
"Sera!" He scread when he saw us. "Sera, please! Don’t do this!"
I stepped forward. Blocking his view of my wife. "Enough."
"Brother!" He switched tactics. Lunging toward . The chains caught him. Yanked him back. "We’re blood! You can’t—"
"Half-blood." My voice was ice. "And that ans nothing now."
The maximum security prison was three states away. The worst criminals in the werewolf world were kept there. Murderers. Traitors. The truly irredeemable.
Gabriel would fit right in.
"This isn’t justice!" He was crying now. Snot running down his face. "This is revenge!"
"It’s both," Sera said from behind . Her voice steady. "And you earned every bit of it."
The guards shoved him into the transport. His screams echoed as the door slamd shut. Muffled. Then silent as the vehicle pulled away.
I exhaled slowly. "It’s done."
Sera’s hand found my shoulder. Squeezed. "Finally."
---
The border reconstruction had consud most of our ti since then.
What Voss and his rogues had destroyed needed rebuilding. Patrol stations. Communication towers. Training facilities. All of it reduced to rubble during the war.
But we weren’t just rebuilding. We were expanding.
The rogues who’d surrendered—all twenty-three of them—had proven surprisingly useful. Most were young. Scared. Following Voss because they had nowhere else to go.
Now they had sowhere. Our pack.
Today’s training session had run late. Marcus pushed them hard. Harder than usual. So new drill involving synchronized shifts and formation attacks.
I’d joined them for the last hour. Couldn’t resist. My wolf—Alex—was restless lately. Needed to run. To fight. To burn off the excess energy that ca with being fully mated.
The bond with Sera had changed everything. I felt stronger. Faster. More connected to my pack than ever before.
And more connected to her.
I could feel her across miles. Knew when she was happy. Worried. Angry. That golden thread between us humd constantly. A permanent reminder that I wasn’t alone anymore.
That I’d never be alone again.
"Good session." Marcus clapped my shoulder as training ended. "The new recruits are shaping up."
"They’re trying." I grabbed a water bottle. Drank deep. "Still sloppy on the left flank though."
"Give them ti." He grinned. "Not everyone’s a natural Alpha."
I snorted. "Clearly."
The sun was setting as I headed ho. Orange and pink streaking the sky. Beautiful. Peaceful.
Everything felt peaceful now.
No more threats. No more enemies. No more looking over my shoulder waiting for the next attack.
Just... life. Normal, everyday life.
I didn’t know how to do normal. Wasn’t sure I’d ever known. But I was learning. One day at a ti.
The pack house ca into view. Lights on. Smoke rising from the chimney. Adrian and Lily were probably inside. Doing howork. Or arguing about who got to pick dinner.
My lips curved. Those kids had adjusted amazingly. The trauma of the war—of almost losing both parents—had faded. Replaced by laughter and noise and the chaos of a normal family.
A normal family.
Still felt strange to think. After so many years of believing I’d never have one. Never deserve one.
But here I was. Walking ho to my wife and children. Like a regular person.
Like soone who’d actually gotten his happy ending.
I pushed through the front door. "Sera? Kids?"
Silence.
Weird. It was never silent. Lily alone made enough noise for ten wolves.
"Hello?" I walked further in. Kitchen empty. Living room empty. No signs of anyone.
Then I spotted it.
A small box on the dining table. White. Simple. A single red ribbon tied in a bow.
My heart stopped.
No.
Not again.
The last ti Sera had left sothing like this—
I couldn’t finish the thought. Couldn’t let myself go there.
She wouldn’t. Not now. Not after everything we’d been through. Not after the mark. The bond. All of it.
But my hands were shaking as I approached the table. My wolf was pacing. Anxious. Uncertain.
Where was she? Where were the kids? Why would she leave a box instead of just talking to ?
A note sat beside it. Her handwriting. Elegant. Familiar.
*Open it.*
That was all. Just two words. No explanation. No reassurance.
My throat felt tight. Too tight.
This was stupid. I was being paranoid. Sera loved . We were solid. Stronger than ever.
But so part of —that broken part that had spent months believing she hated —couldn’t shake the fear.
What if sothing had changed? What if she’d realized she didn’t want this after all? What if—
"Stop it." I said it out loud. Forced myself to breathe.
Whatever was in this box, I could handle it. Whatever she needed to tell , we’d figure it out together.
I reached for the ribbon. Pulled. The bow fell away.
My fingers trembled as I lifted the lid.
Inside, nestled on white tissue paper, was a small plastic stick.
A pregnancy test.
Two lines.
Two clear, unmistakable, definitely-positive lines.
For a long mont, I couldn’t process it. Just stared at those lines like they were written in a foreign language.
Pregnant.
Sera was pregnant.
We were having another baby.
"SERA!"
The word exploded out of . Part shout. Part roar. Pure, overwhelming joy.
Laughter bubbled up from sowhere deep. I grabbed the test. Held it up. Made sure I wasn’t imagining things.
Two lines. Still there. Still real.
"SERA!" I yelled again. Louder this ti. My voice cracking.
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