When the tears finally stopped, I felt lighter. Cleaner. Like I'd purged something toxic that had been poisoning me from the inside.
"What happens now?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"Now," Kael said, standing and offering me his hand, "you heal. You remember who you are. You build a life that makes you happy. And you never, ever let anyone make you feel invisible again."
I took his hand, letting him pull me to my feet. "And if Dominic doesn't sign the papers? If he changes his mind?"
Kael's smile was sharp, dangerous, full of promise. "Then we remind him why you don't corner a wolf. Especially not one who's finally remembered she has teeth."
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
UNKNOWN: The papers will be signed and filed by end of business today. My lawyer will send over the finalized documents. You can keep the house on the eastern border. Consider it payment for three years of your life I wasted. Dominic
I showed it to Kael, and he read it with an expression I couldn't decipher.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
I thought about it. Really thought about it.
"Free," I said finally. "Terrified. Relieved. Angry. Sad. But mostly?" I looked up at him, at this man who'd stood beside me without being asked, who'd protected me without trying to control me, who'd seen me when I'd been invisible for so long. "Mostly I feel like I can finally breathe."
"Good," Kael said softly. "Because the hardest part is over. Everything else is just figuring out who you want to be now that you're not his Luna anymore."
Who did I want to be?
I didn't know yet. But for the first time in three years, I had the freedom to find out.
And that, I thought as Kael's hand found mine and Maya squeezed my shoulder, was worth every moment of pain it had taken to get here.
Three weeks.
That's how long it had been since Dominic signed the divorce papers. Three weeks since I'd stopped being Elara Steele and reclaimed my identity as Elara Thorne. Three weeks since I'd felt the mate bond finally, blissfully snap.
It had hurt like hell like someone had reached into my chest and ripped out a piece of my soul. I'd spent two days in bed, fevered and delirious, while my wolf howled in agony at the severing of the bond.
Kael had stayed with me through all of it.
He'd brought me water when my throat was raw from screaming. He'd changed the sweat-soaked sheets when the fever spiked. He'd held my hand through the worst of it, his presence the only thing anchoring me to reality when the pain tried to drag me under.
He'd never once tried to take advantage.
Never pushed for more than I was ready to give. He'd just… been there.
Now, standing in front of the mirror in my guest suite, I barely recognized the woman looking back at me.
My dark hair had been cut into long layers that framed my face, making my amber eyes stand out. My cheeks had color again, no longer hollow with stress and starvation-level appetite. I'd gained back the ten pounds I'd lost in the final months of my marriage, and my body finally looked healthy instead of fragile.
But the biggest change wasn't physical.
It was the way I held myself. Shoulders back, chin up, eyes clear and focused. I looked like someone who knew her worth. Someone who wouldn't settle for scraps ever again.
Someone who looked like an Alpha's daughter.
"You ready?" Maya called from outside my door. "Training starts in ten minutes, and Kael gets cranky when people are late."
I smiled, pulling on the sports bra and leggings I'd bought last week. "Since when does Kael get cranky about anything?"
"Since you agreed to start combat training and he's been obsessing over not going too hard on you." Maya pushed open the door, her own training gear showcasing her toned figure. "Seriously, he's been like a nervous wreck. It's adorable."
My stomach did that annoying flip it had been doing every time someone mentioned Kael.
Over the past three weeks, we'd fallen into an easy routine. Morning coffee in the kitchen, where we'd talk about everything and nothing. Pack dinners where he'd save me the seat beside him. Late-night conversations on the back porch, sharing stories and dreams and secrets.
He'd kissed me once. Just once, five days ago, when I'd made him laugh so hard he'd spit out his coffee. It had been soft, brief, testing. And when he'd pulled back, his blue eyes had been full of questions.
Is this okay? Am I moving too fast? Tell me to stop and I will.
I hadn't told him to stop. I'd kissed him back, and it had been…
Different.
Not the explosive, overwhelming chemistry of the mate bond. But something warmer. Steadier. Like coming home after a long journey.
"Earth to Elara." Maya waved a hand in front of my face. "You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." I grabbed a hair tie, pulling my hair into a high ponytail.
"Uh-huh. Sure. That's why you've been staring into space with that dopey smile for the past five minutes."
"I do not have a dopey smile."
"You absolutely do. And for the record?"
Maya's expression softened. "I'm really happy for you. Both of you. Kael's been alone for too long, and you deserve someone who actually sees you."
"It's too soon," I said, voicing the fear that had been gnawing at me for days. "I just got divorced. I shouldn't be feeling this way about someone else already. People are going to think".
"People are going to think whatever they want regardless of what you do." Maya squeezed my shoulder. "You could wait five years and they'd still judge you. So why not just be happy? Why not explore something that feels good instead of punishing yourself for arbitrary timelines?"