Back on the boat headed to East Port, I sat and stared out at the ocean.
"Rosalie, d*mn, you were good!" Georgia whistled at , "But how did you know for sure Damian had Soren and Soren wasn’t hard?"
It was easier to breathe going ho than it had been going across to the islands.
"When he asked to let him rule the islands. If he didn’t have Soren alive, he wouldn’t dare to make that request," I answered.
"Brilliant!" Georgia complinted, leaning against the railing. "So, this is it? We are all done? No war?" Then she stretched big and declared loudly, "Great! I can’t wait for a long vacation!"
Jace leaned towards her, "Georgia, where do you want to go? Can I go with you?"
"Jace," I asked him, "Have you ever seen Beta Talon get mad?"
Jace was confused, "No, why?"
"If you want to try out the rage from the most well-mannered Beta in the world, go ahead to go on Georgia’s vacation."
He thought about it for a mont and shared his decision with us in a solemn expression. "No, thank you! I like my life too much to end it this early!"
Georgia and I exchanged a look, and we both giggled. "I just can’t believe this is finally over!" she said.
I took a deep breath, and I agreed with Georgia. It felt too good to be true.
This war was finally over. We had defeated Kal and Jas, Behar and Madalynn went missing, and Damian was no longer a threat.
"It just doesn’t feel real," I turned my head to talk to the man sitting next to , "does it, Soren?"
Soren grinned at , "But it’s true. You did it, Rosalie!"
I shook my head. "Not . We did it, Soren."
"If you insist," Soren whispered jokingly, "Your Majesty!"
It had only been a few hours since we’d recovered him from Damian, and he was still weak. Although Damian kept Soren alive, he had not been particularly kind to him. Soren was physically punished severely. Damian had beaten him and kept him without much food or water.
Looking at his thin and pallid face, I croaked, "You didn’t have to do this. Thank you!"
"Hey Ro, don’t cry! See, I am all good, thanks to your blood."
The old na he used to call had pausing for a mont. I sighed, "You haven’t called that for a long ti."
"It truly was a long ti ago. The first ti we ever saw one another was at the port we are headed to," Soren whispered.
"I rember that day vividly," I told Soren. "I looked back at the pier and saw you standing there, and my heart caught in my throat."
"You thought I was Ethan?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face. I nodded. "And you thought I was going to drag you back to Mirage?"
"Pretty much."
He chuckled. "Well, we’ve co a long way since then, huh?"
I smiled at him, but I didn’t have much to say about the mories he was bringing up now. That was not a good ti in my life. Ethan had planned to kill , Madalynn had sched to kill , Damian might have wanted to kill , and Soren... well, he didn’t particularly do anything to kill , but he had been willing to let be beaten so that he could trick .... Yes, I had co a long way since then, and I was glad I never had to go back.
Soren gently placed a hand on top of mine where it sat next to on the bench. "I know that I t you under false pretenses, Rosalie, but I can say... I’m glad I was such a selfish fool back then. Because if I hadn’t been, I might never have t you."
I looked into his eyes and noticed mine clouding over with tears. In that mont, I forgave everything, if anything I’d been storing up in my heart to hold against him, and wrapped my arms around him.
I’d said it once before, and it had hurt him, but this ti, I hoped it was what he needed to hear. "You’re a good friend, Soren."
"Thank you, Ro," he said and patted my back.
The rest of the trip ho was fairly uneventful, and I spent much of my ti sitting outside, watching the ocean waves in solace, rembering the life I’d had before, reliving the adventures I’d had over the last almost-two-years, and longing to be ho.
I longed to see Ethan. I hadn’t been away from him for too long, but it was long enough. I was ready to be back with him forever.
As the boat neared the dock, my eyes were glued to the pier. I wanted more than anything to look at the sa spot where I’d once seen Soren standing and thought I was seeing Ethan to have the sa form revealed to again.
But Ethan wasn’t there.
The port was busy with people coming and going. The war had ended, and they all felt safe to travel again. Many of them likely hadn’t seen their friends and families in other lands for a long ti.
With a deep breath, I began to disembark, Georgia at my side, still hoping Ethan would materialize out of nowhere.
I stepped off onto solid ground, and imdiately, I had a nervous tension in my stomach.
"Is Ethan here?" I muttered, looking around.
"Ethan’s not here, but I am...." I heard a familiar voice behind and turned around to see a woman in a floppy beach hat pulling it off as she snarled at .
"Madalynn!" I shouted.
All around us, the crowd of "tourists" erupted into warriors, shifting into their wolf forms and showing my small detail that we had been ambushed!
Madalynn’s cackle displayed her white teeth as she tossed her head back. Her fangs elongated in front of , her wolf erging from within her.
"Protect Her Majesty!" Jace shouted, trying to get between and the threat, but the threat was everywhere.
With a guttural growl deep in my throat, I launched myself off of the sidewalk near the water’s edge, and flew at Madalynn, shifting in the air as I ca down, my wolf colliding with hers.
I clawed at her face with my front paws as she skirted backward, trying to get her feet beneath her after our collision. Keeping her off balance, I lowered my shoulder and ramd into her again. This ti, she went flying into the air. I left the ground, too, intending to pounce on her.
Madalynn rolled to the side, and I ca at her once more, pinning her down. My claws ripped into the flesh of her shoulders as she screeched and yelped.
All around us, I heard the sounds of battle as my few wolves took on the dozen or so more she had brought with her, but from the sounds of things, it was a pretty even fight.
I didn’t know how that was possible. How was my small force able to handle one so much larger?
I turned my head for a mont to find my answer. A large male wolf was tearing through Madalynn’s warriors as if they were nothing more than pups.
A smile ca to my wolf’s mouth.
Ethan!
He looked at for only a second before he went back to his killing spree.
I returned my attention to Madalynn. The digging I’d done with my razor-sharp nails had taken its toll, and she was bleeding profusely. But as I was lowering my head, she put all of her energy into kicking off of her, and I went flying into the air, landing a few feet away.
Pain radiated through my back, but I wasn’t staying down. I rolled over and pushed back up onto my feet, but when I saw Madalynn standing there, I froze.
She had shifted again and stood before , a naked, dirty, red-eyed monster of a woman with wild hair and bruises and cuts all over her body.
"Do it!" she shouted.
I growled at her, but I didn’t continue with my attack.
"All of my guys are dead!" she said, "Father...Behar...they are all dead!!!"
Tears welled up in her eyes; her bright red orbs made the liquid look like blood. "You’re happy now? You win...ha ha ha..."
Soone gently placed a cape covering my wolf, it was Ethan in his human form. He said dotingly, "You didn’t really think I’d let you co ho without eting you at the dock, did you?"
I should’ve guessed he had been missing just as much as I missed him. I shifted back and smiled teasingly, "No, I knew you’d be here, but you’re late."
We turned to walk away. I didn’t want to waste more ti on Madalynn. She had caused enough pain and suffering, and I couldn’t bear to spend one more second in her presence.
However, it was obvious she wasn’t done with . "Why are you walking away? You filthy c*nt?! Just do it, just kill ! I know you always wanted to. You tricked everyone with that innocent face of yours, and they’re all stupid enough to fall for that! How ridiculous! Who would have guessed we would all lose to a filthy, lowly, deceiving breeder!"
"Madalynn," I said. I turned to look at her as the warriors covered her with a piece of cloth and chained her up, "I won’t kill you."
"Ha ha ha..." Madalynn burst into laughter, "I knew it! I knew you’re just a f*cking coward!"
I shook my head. "I’m not afraid to kill, Madalynn. However, you’re not worth it." I looked her in the eye and said coldly, "Death would be too easy of a sentence for you. I want you to live to make up for the lives lost due to your selfish acts, and I want you to see the prosperity I bring under my reign and regret the choices you made!"
Her eyes widened, and I walked away. She cursed even more, but her voice trailed off as the guards took her away.
Ethan looped his arms around and gently whispered in my ear, "Why?" His deep voice sent a shiver down my spine.
"Why what?" I played dumb.
"Why did you spare Madalynn and say all those words?"
I tilted my head to look at him, "Because I’m just a cruel queen?"
He tightened his arms and frowned, "Rosalie...tell the truth."
I buried my face in his chest and complained, "Ethan, how co you are always able to guess what’s on my mind? Not fair..."
He used his index finger to lift my chin. "Tell ."
I sighed. "I don’t know how I know, but I just had a feeling that she’s pregnant. Madalynn deserves to die, but not the innocent life in her."
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