The moon hung high above Ravencrest, round and luminous, casting silver light across the forests that had once been scarred by fire and blood. Tonight, though, the land was quiet. The war was over.
Aria stood at the edge of the cliffs, her hair dancing in the breeze, the mark Damien left on her neck glowing faintly in the moonlight. It still tingled sometimes, a reminder of the night she had chosen him not just as her mate, but as her destiny.
Behind her, laughter rose from the clearing where the pack had gathered. The air smelled of roasted meat and pine smoke, of life and celebration. Wolves young and old danced under the moon, their joy unrestrained. No longer afraid. No longer fractured.
"Always running off to stare at the moon," Damien's voice came low and warm behind her.
She smiled without turning. "Someone has to make sure it hasn't fallen."
He chuckled, his arms slipping around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. His heat was grounding, his heartbeat steady beneath her ear. "If it ever does, I'll drag it back into the sky for you."
Aria tilted her head to look up at him, her storm-gray eyes meeting his golden ones. "You'd try, wouldn't you?"
"Try?" His smirk curved, fierce and tender at once. "I'd succeed."
They stood like that for a long moment, silent, watching the forest breathe again. For the first time in months, there was no shadow lurking at the edges of her vision, no whisper of wolves in chains. Only peace.
And yet Aria knew their story wasn't over. There would always be dangers, hunters lingering in the dark corners of the world, rival packs with grudges too deep to bury. But there was no fear in her heart anymore. Not with Damien beside her, not with the bond that tied them body and soul.
"You've given them hope," Damien said softly, his lips brushing her hair. "They would follow you to the ends of the earth, Aria."
"I didn't give them anything they didn't already have," she whispered back. "I just reminded them it was there."
He smiled against her temple, pride radiating from him. "You're not just my Luna. You're their future."
She turned in his arms, cupping his face with her hands. "Our future. Don't forget that."
The pack's howls rose then, echoing across the valley. Not a cry of mourning, but a song of life, of unity. Aria and Damien joined in, their voices entwining, carried high into the heavens.
The moon glowed brighter, as if blessing them.
And in that moment, under the silver light with her mate at her side and her pack at her back, Aria knew this was only the beginning.
Not the end. The beginning.