Chapter Forty-One: Starlight Confessions
Hazel's Pov
The night was quiet in a way that felt foreign—almost sacred.
There was no rustle of leaves, no distant, mournful wolf howl, and no lingering, oily hint of Helena's presence. There was only the stars—a canvas so vast and brilliant it seemed to swallow the sky whole, reflecting in the dark pools of the valley below.
I sat on the jagged ridge overlooking that valley, my legs dangling over the edge, hands resting loosely on my knees. Caleb's presence was behind me, near but not intrusive. He was close enough for me to feel the heat radiating from his skin, yet distant enough to allow me the space to simply breathe.
The Red Wolf pulse, now fully awakened, hummed softly between us. It was steady. It was familiar. It was the rhythm of a shared soul.
"Hazel," he said finally. His voice was low, carrying across the cool mountain air like a secret. "Are you… ever afraid that we'll never get a normal life? That we're just built for the breaking?"
I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed on a cluster of stars that burned with a fierce, lonely light against the black.
"Normal?" I echoed, the word tasting strange on my tongue. "After everything we've survived? After the blood we've spilled and the crowns we've crushed?" My lips curled faintly—a gesture that was part bitter memory and part soft realization. "I've spent most of my lives fighting, Caleb. Every single day has been claw and tooth, strategy and pain. Normal… sounds like a fairy tale told to children who don't know what monsters look like."
He shifted, moving closer until the warmth of his arm brushed against my shoulder. The contact was deliberate and patient.
"Maybe not 'normal' by the world's standards," he admitted, his voice dropping an octave. "But a life that belongs to us. We don't have to be running from every shadow forever. We don't have to be the weapons everyone else wants us to be. Not if we choose differently."
I glanced at him, and for a fleeting moment, the war, the betrayals, and the suffocating weight of our destinies felt miles away. "And what would that look like?" I asked softly, my heart skipping a beat. "Because I'm not sure I even know how to imagine a day without a blade in my hand."
Caleb smiled—a faint, genuine expression that reached his eyes. "A cabin somewhere. Deep in the woods, by a lake that stays still at dawn. We wake up together every morning without checking the perimeter for assassins. We train because we want to stay sharp, not because we're being hunted. We argue over stupid, mundane things—like which wolf gets the best spot on the rug by the fire. We laugh at those cheesy movies humans make, and we grow old… together."
I let out a short, soft laugh—a sound of pure, unexpected lightness. "You make it sound… almost too easy."
He shook his head, his gaze holding mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "Not easy, Hazel. Never easy. But worth every drop of blood it took to get here." He paused, his expression turning solemn. "I've survived centuries. I've fought battles that would've ground anyone else into dust. But nothing—absolutely nothing—has mattered as much as this. As you."
A heat coiled in my chest, a mixture of the feral Red Wolf and the raw, vulnerable human woman I was trying to become. I looked down at my hands, tracing the faint scars that told the story of our endurance.
"I've never known peace," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. "Not truly. I don't even know if I know how to live without the adrenaline of the fight anymore. What if the silence is too loud?"
"You don't have to unlearn a thousand years of instincts all at once," Caleb said, his hand reaching out to cover mine. His touch was grounding, a solid anchor in a shifting world. "We'll find our rhythm. One day at a time. Together."
I let out a shaky breath, my walls crumbling just a little further. "And if I fail? If the Red Wolf is too loud, or if I… if I just can't be that version of myself?"
"You won't fail," he said firmly, his fingers entwining with mine. "Because you won't be doing it alone. Not ever again. You have me. You have Adam and Flora. You have everyone who has chosen to stand with us. We'll face whatever comes—side by side."
Something in my chest finally cracked open—the accumulated weight of years, lives, and losses pressing against the sudden rawness of the present. I looked at him—really looked at the man, the wolf, and the soul I had wandered through time to find—and I let myself be seen.
"I don't want to just survive anymore," I whispered, the admission feeling like a prayer. "I want… something more. A life where I can choose what matters, and who matters, without the shadow of betrayal over every sunrise."
Caleb's hand squeezed mine, his strength flowing into me. "Then we'll make it happen," he said. "Step by step. Night by night. Whatever Helena tries, whatever the world throws at us… we face it together."
I leaned in, pressing my forehead against his. I could feel the steady thrum of his pulse, the Red Wolf's power melding into a singular, golden vibration.
"I don't know if I've ever said this… fully. Without the fear of it being used against me," I said, my voice trembling. "But I love you, Caleb. All of you. The past, the present, and whatever future we manage to carve out of this mess. I've waited lifetimes to feel safe enough to say that."
Caleb didn't answer with words at first. His lips brushed mine in a soft, lingering kiss—a promise made in the starlight. It wasn't the desperate, consuming heat of the battlefield; it was something enduring.
"I love you too," he murmured against my skin. "I've waited for you in every life. I always will."
We stayed there for a long time as the stars wheeled overhead. The silence wrapped around us like a protective shroud, and the world seemed to hold its breath.
I rested my head on his shoulder, finally letting the exhaustion of the centuries settle. "Do you think… we could ever have a family? Something that isn't defined by bloodlines or ancient curses?"
He chuckled softly, the vibration warming my spirit. "I think our kids would be the most formidable, stubborn terrors the world has ever seen," he teased. "And yes… someday, when we've cleared the path, I want that with you."
"Someday," I repeated, a small, hopeful smile tugging at my lips.
Caleb brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb lingering on my cheek. "We've fought for lifetimes to reach this ridge, Hazel. We've survived monsters, gods, and our own mistakes. I'd like to think we've earned this moment of quiet."
I nodded, closing my eyes and listening to the synchronized rhythm of our hearts. "We've earned each other," I whispered. "No matter what happens when the sun comes up, I want this. I want us."
"Then you have it," he promised. "And I'll burn the world down before I let anyone take it away."
The night stretched on, the vast canvas of the universe watching over the two halves of a soul finally finding their rest. For the first time, I allowed myself to believe in a life beyond the blade.
A life that was ours.
And for the first time, I wasn't afraid of the peace.