The forest of Ravencrest had healed. Where flames and blood once scarred the earth, wildflowers now bloomed, swaying gently under the warm touch of summer wind. The pack thrived, its howls no longer battle cries but songs of life that carried through the valleys.
Aria walked slowly along the garden path behind the Alpha's house, one hand brushing over her swollen belly. Three years had passed since the war, and though scars remained on the land, on the heart this was the life they had fought for. A future. A beginning.
"Careful, little flame," Damien's voice rumbled from behind her.
She turned, smiling as he came into view. Time had not dulled him; if anything, it had sharpened the Alpha edge in his stance. But his eyes, those golden eyes were softer now, always soft for her.
"I'm not fragile, Damien," she teased, resting both hands protectively over her belly. "You should know that better than anyone."
"Fragile?" His lips curved into a smirk as he reached her side, one large hand sliding over hers where their child stirred. "No. You're carrying half a pack in there. I'm just making sure you don't try running a marathon before dinner."
Aria laughed, leaning against him. His warmth wrapped around her, grounding as ever. "I only walked to the garden. Besides, the baby likes it when I'm out here. Do you feel that?"
As if on cue, a small kick pressed against her ribs. Damien's expression softened into awe something she never grew tired of seeing. The great Alpha, fierce enough to lead armies, undone by the flutter of life beneath his hand.
"They already have your fire," he whispered.
"And your stubbornness," she replied, earning his chuckle.
From the distance came the sound of playful howls. Pups ran through the meadow, tumbling over each other, while older wolves watched with fond eyes. The pack had grown, strong and united. Even those once fractured by war had found their place in the peace that Damien and Aria had built together.
"They'll never know the world we fought through," Aria said softly, watching the pups. "They'll never see it burned or broken."
Damien kissed her temple. "Because you gave them a new one. Because we did."
She tilted her head, gazing at him with the same fierce devotion she'd carried since the night they'd first stood together against fate. "I couldn't have done any of it without you."
"You could have," he murmured, brushing his thumb over her cheek. "But I'm grateful you didn't have to."
The pack's howls rose again, not in mourning, not in battle, but in celebration, a call to the moon that promised tomorrow would always come.
Aria leaned into Damien's embrace, her heart full, her body alive with the pulse of two souls; her own and the one growing within her.
For the first time in her life, she felt entirely whole.
The Alpha and his Luna. Their love. Their pack. Their child.
And under the silver gaze of the eternal moon, Aria knew their story was far from over.
It had only just begun.