Victoria
I found myself walking through the sterile corridors of Howlthorne Pack’s dical facility alongside Lilith. The scent of antiseptic couldn’t quite mask the underlying slls of healing herbs and wolf musk that perated any pack hospital.
"He’s been asking for you," Lilith said quietly as we approached Enzo’s room. "Ever since he regained full consciousness. The doctors say his physical injuries are healing well, but..."
"But the emotional trauma will take longer," I finished. I understood all too well. My own sleep had been plagued by nightmares of Marcus’s artificial eye and Aurora’s final monts.
Lilith nodded, her hand briefly touching my arm. "Victoria, I want you to know—whatever he says, whatever his reaction is to the news about Aurora—he’s not the sa man who hurt you. The Enzo I fell in love with is still in there, buried under all that pain and manipulation."
I squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I know. And Lilith? Thank you. For staying with him through all of this. For believing he could be better."
She gave a watery smile before pushing open the door to Enzo’s room.
My brother sat propped up against a mountain of pillows, looking thinner and more fragile than I’d ever seen him. The arrogant, cruel Alpha who had terrorized for years was gone, replaced by a man who seed almost afraid of his own shadow. When he saw , his eyes—so similar to our father’s—filled with an emotion I’d never seen there before: genuine remorse.
"Victoria," he said, his voice hoarse from the breathing tube they’d only recently removed. "You ca."
I pulled a chair close to his bed, noting how he instinctively flinched when I moved too quickly. Marcus had done a thorough job breaking him down.
"Of course I ca," I said gently.
Enzo’s eyes welled up at those words. "After everything I did to you... I don’t deserve—"
"Stop," I interrupted. "We’re not going to do this, Enzo. What I said before about not being able to forgive you was true, but now I want to try to restore our brotherly relationship as well. We should both look forward."
He stared at for a long mont, searching my face for any sign of the hatred he clearly expected to find. When he didn’t find it, fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.
"She’s dead, isn’t she?" he whispered. "Aurora. I can feel it sohow."
I nodded slowly. "She died at the temple."
Enzo closed his eyes, his jaw working as he processed this information. When he opened them again, his expression was a complex mixture of grief, anger, and sothing that might have been relief.
"I don’t know how to feel about that," he admitted. "Part of still hates her for what she did to us, to our family. The lies she told about Dad, about you..." His voice broke. "She poisoned everything good in , Victoria. She made believe that love was weakness, that power was the only thing that mattered."
"But she was still your mother," I said quietly. "It’s okay to mourn her, even while you’re angry with her."
"How can you be so understanding?" Enzo demanded, his old fire flickering briefly. "How can you sit here and comfort when I—when I sold you, Victoria. I literally sold my own sister to pay my debts. I let that monster put his hands on you, convince you that you were worthless—"
"Because you’re not the only one who was manipulated," I said firmly. "Aurora spent years filling your head with poison, and Marcus spent months torturing you until you couldn’t think straight. That doesn’t excuse what you did, but it explains it."
Enzo was quiet for a long mont, staring at his hands where they lay folded on the hospital blanket. "Lilith told about your powers," he said finally. "About what you did at the temple. You could have killed Marcus—hell, you could have killed months ago. But you didn’t. Even when you had every right to."
"Because that’s not who I am," I said. "And it’s not who you really are either. I rember the brother who used to read stories when I had nightmares. The one who taught to climb trees and catch fireflies. That person is still in there, Enzo."
He looked up at then, and for a mont I saw a glimpse of the boy he’d once been—uncertain, hopeful, desperate to do the right thing.
"I don’t know how to be that person anymore," he whispered. "I’ve done so many terrible things. I’ve hurt so many people. The pack mbers who trusted , you, even Lilith—God, the things I put her through because I was too proud to admit I was in over my head..."
"Then learn," I said simply. "We all have to learn how to be better than what our pain made us. I had to learn that being half-fairy didn’t make weak. Leo had to learn that love doesn’t have to be control. You have to learn that being Alpha doesn’t an ruling through fear."
"Victoria..." Enzo’s voice was barely audible. "I don’t think I can be Alpha anymore. The things I’ve done, the choices I’ve made—how can I lead people when I can’t even trust myself?"
This was the opening I’d been hoping for. "What if you didn’t have to carry that burden alone?"
He frowned, confused.
"I’m going to be spending a lot of ti with Shadow Pack now," I explained. "Leo and I are planning our official mating ceremony, and there are political alliances to maintain after everything that happened with Marcus. Howlthorne Pack needs strong leadership, but it doesn’t necessarily need to provide it every single day."
Understanding began to dawn in Enzo’s eyes. "You want to stay on as Alpha?"
"I want you to be the Alpha you were ant to be before Aurora’s poison got into your head," I said. "But not alone. Lilith has proven herself to be an incredible Luna—organized, compassionate, strong. And I’ll be your backup. When you need support or advice, when the weight gets too heavy, you can lean on . We can share the responsibility."
"You would do that?" Enzo asked, his voice thick with emotion. "After everything?"
"You’re my brother," I said again, and this ti I reached out to take his hand. He gripped it like a lifeline. "You’re the only family I have left, and I refuse to lose you to guilt and self-hatred. We’re going to figure this out together."
Lilith, who had been quietly crying in the corner, moved to Enzo’s other side and took his free hand. "You don’t have to decide right now," she said gently. "Just focus on getting better. The pack will wait."
"No," Enzo said, his voice growing stronger. "No more waiting. No more hiding from what I’ve done or what I need to do." He looked directly at . "Victoria, I accept your offer. I want to be better. I want to be the Alpha our father would have been proud of."
I smiled, feeling a weight lift from my own shoulders. "Then that’s what you’ll be."
"But first," Enzo said, his grip on my hand tightening, "I need to say this properly. Victoria, I am sorry. I’m sorry for every cruel word, every raised hand, every mont I made you feel small or worthless or afraid. I’m sorry for not protecting you the way a big brother should. I’m sorry for letting Aurora turn into soone who could hurt the people I should have loved most."
Tears were streaming down my face now, washing away years of hurt and resentnt. "I forgive you," I whispered. "I forgive you, Enzo. We’re going to start over."
He nodded, crying openly now himself. "I love you, little sister. I should have said that years ago."
"I love you too," I said, and ant it completely.
Lilith was sobbing happily beside us, and for the first ti since our father’s death, the three of us felt like a real family. Not perfect, not without scars, but real and whole and committed to doing better.
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