ALEX POV
Darkness was everywhere — thick, soft, endless. Like velvet. Heavy velvet.
Then light.
Not the cold moon outside. Warmer. Softer. Like a candle flame behind fog. I was standing on cracked stones in a Crossroads. Four paths going out, all disappearing into mist. The air tasted like night jasmine and dirt — old dirt. Cool. Still. No wind. Just my breathing, loud in my ears.
Someone stepped out of the haze.
Tall. Cloaked in shadows that moved like starlight on water. Her face changed from time to time— young woman, fierce eyes. Then mother, quiet sadness. Then old crone, knowing. HECATE.
But the mother's face stayed the longest. Soft. Steady. Eyes that looked at me like… like she knew me. Like a mom seeing her kid come home hurt and bloody. I hadn't felt that in years.
My throat closed. Tears came fast — hot, sudden. I didn't even understand why. I just felt small.Safe. Seen. Finally seen.
Hecate tilted her head.
"You called me," she said. Voice mixed — young, old, gentle, stern. But mostly the mother's voice. Warm. Low. Like a lullaby I used to know but forgot. "Not Selene. Not the Moon Goddess. Me."
I swallowed. Tears kept falling anyway. Like they'd been waiting.
"I didn't know who else," I whispered. "Selene gave him his mate. She didn't give me anything. But you… you protect the forgotten. The betrayed. Women who walk alone."
Her mother's face softened even more. She came closer. One hand lifted. Fingers brushed my cheek — cool, electric she wiped a tear away. The touch hurt my chest in a good way.
"And yet you carry his child," she said quietly. "A thread still tying you to the one who threw you away."
That stung.But I didn't pull back. I just cried harder — quiet sobs, shoulders shaking I couldn't stop.
"I carry my child," I choked. "Not his. Mine."
Her arms opened.
I didn't think. I just went to her.
She was warm. Smelled like rain on earth, hearth smoke, every safe place I ever lost. Her cloak wrapped me like wings. One hand held my head, fingers in my hair — gentle. The other rested on my stomach. Protecting.
I cried like I hadn't in forever — raw, ugly, everything coming out against her shoulder. The Grief. The Betrayal. The Loneliness. All of it.
She held me. No words. Just humming — low, soft, like a heartbeat I forgot I had. Rocked me slow, the way moms do when talking won't help.
When the sobs slowed — shaky breaths now — she spoke. Soft. Against my hair.
"You are not forgotten," she said. "Never were. You just walked a path others couldn't follow."
She pulled back enough to hold my face. Thumbs wiped the last tears away
"I don't give gifts lightly," she said. "But I answer when the reason is right. Your child lives. Your wolf heals. And you… you will carry my touch."
Warmth started under her hands — slow and it went from cheeks to chest, arms, stomach.My wolf woke up inside — weak before, now alert, ears up, tail moving. Renewed.
Her crone face flashed for a second. Voice like dry leaves.
"There's a War coming," she said. "Not tomorrow. Not next moon. But soon there will be blood,shadows and choices to be made. Trust no one easily — not even those who give shelter. Crossroads never close. You'll stand at many. Choose wisely."
The young face smiled — small, fierce, proud almost.
"You already started walking your own path," she said. "Keep going."
She stepped back.
"If you stay longer," mother face warned gently, "and the veil thins. You won't wake up."
Soft kiss on my forehead.
"Go, child."
Light flared, the Crossroads was gone .
I gasped awake.
Pain slammed back — sharp, hot, all over. My Shoulder torn, ribs bruised and my side stitched. My throat was raw. But… not as bad as before.
My breathing was easier and my wolf felt… different. Stronger. Steadier. Alert. Like she'd rested when I couldn't.
I blinked. Low torchlight. Stone walls. Timber beams. Furs under me. Hearth crackling. Herbs, smoke, pine… and a man in the chair beside the bed.
Tall. Broad. Dark hair falling into storm-cloud eyes. Scars on forearms, neck — old battles. Watching me. Quiet. Unreadable.
I tried to sit. Pain stabbed my side. Hissed.
"Don't," he said. Low. Rough. "You'll tear the stitches."
I froze. I looked at him properly.
He didn't move closer. Just sat. Arms crossed. Waiting.
"Who…?" My voice cracked.
"Cassian," he said before I finished. "You are in my territory. My palace.This is the healer's wing."
I swallowed. Memories flooded — hunters chasing me, their claws on my skin, blood, prayer and that roar. It was Him.
"You saved me," I said. Not a question.
He nodded once.
My hand went to my stomach. My Pup is still there,my wolf curled around the spark — protective. Calm.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He didn't answer right away. Just watched.
Then, quietly he asked : "What's your name?"
I hesitated. The Bond is gone. My Title is gone. But the name… still mine.
"Alex," I said.
He repeated it — soft, as if testing. "Alex."
Something flashed in his eyes.But it was gone fast.
He leaned forward a little. "You renounced your pack. I felt it snap across the border. Most wolves don't survive that. Why?"
I looked away. Firelight dancing on stone.
"Because staying meant dying," I said. "Slowly. And I wasn't going to let that happen to my child."
Silence stretched.
He nodded once. Like that was enough.
"You're safe here," he said. "No one crosses my borders without consequence. Not the Blue Moon pack. Not anyone."
I met his eyes again. Storm-gray. Steady.
"I don't know you," I said.
"You don't need to," he said. "Atleast Not yet."
He stood. Went to the hearth. Added a log.
The flames jumped brighter.
"Rest," he said, back to me. "Elara would check on you at dawn. You're not moving until she says so"
I wanted to argue. I wanted to ask more. But exhaustion dragged me down like deep water.
I sank back into furs.
Cassian stayed by the hearth a second longer — his shoulders tense.
Then he walked to the door.
"Sleep," he said quietly.
The door clicked shut.
I stared at the ceiling. Stone. Timber. Somehow… it felt safe.
My wolf settled inside — calmer than in weeks.
Hecate's words echoed.
Choose wisely.I placed my hand on my stomach.
I already had.