Chapter 199
The journey to the Crescent pack felt different this time. When I left the Eternal Pack six months ago, I was heartbroken.
I had lost a baby and that would destroy anybody and also I was leaving behind the love of my life.
But today, I wasn’t running. I was sitting in a comfortable car, and my hand was tucked firmly inside
Astor’s.
We were driving away from the deep, dark forests of the Eternal Pack and climbing higher into the mountains. The air was getting thinner and colder, but it smelled like home. It smelled like pine needles and fresh snow. It smelled like the place where I made a home for myself.
“Are you okay?” Astor asked. He squeezed my hand. He looked a little bit nervous. It was strange to see him look nervous, but I knew why. I think us coming back here just reminded him of everything and maybe a part of him believes that I would want to stay here forever.
“I’m more than okay,” I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. “I’m excited. I want you to see everything. Not just the mountains, but the people there because they are the best part of everything.”
In the back seat, Marco and Isabella were pressing their faces against the glass.
“Look! There’s the big rock with the hole in it” Marco shouted. “I remember that rock. That’s where we found the blue lizard”
“And there’s the bridge” Isabella added, her voice full of excitement. “The one that leads to the bakery! Do you think they still have the honey cakes, Mommy?”
I laughed. “I’m sure they do, Isabella. They probably have a whole batch waiting just for you.”
Because of our separation, the kids had spent a lot of time here with me. They knew the Crescent Pack just as well as they knew the Eternal Pack.
They had friends here. They had favorite trees to climb. To them, this wasn’t a “visit.” It was coming home to their second house.
As we pulled through the main gates of the Crescent Pack, the warriors on guard let out a loud, welcoming howl. It wasn’t the scary howl of a warning. It was a howl of respect.
“It’s so open here,” Astor whispered. “At the Eternal Pack, the trees are so thick you can’t see the sky. Here, the sky is everywhere.”
“That’s the beauty of the Crescent,” I said.
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Chapter 100
Chase and some of the Elders came out to meet us.
I already told him about Chase and he wasn’t happy about his presence here but he understood that I trusted Him and I’m glad that he trusts my judgment as well because he didn’t question chase or make my acting Alpha look stupid in front of everybody instead there was a lot of hugging and laughing.
I was honestly happy to see Kimberly and she is glowing which is proof of how far Chase has
come.
The kids immediately ran off to find their friends while I was eager to show Astor around.
“Come on” I said, grabbing his arm. “I want to show you the pack grounds.”
I led him away because I didn’t want to show him the fancy things first. I wanted to show him the heart of the pack.
We walked down a stone path toward a large, there was a bright building near the center of the village. It had big windows and a colorful garden in front of it.
“What is this place?” Astor asked.
“This is the New Hope Center,” I said. “When I first got here six months ago, the Omegas and the older wolves didn’t have a place of their own. They just worked and slept. I worked with the Elders to build this.
It’s a place for learning, for healing, and for the children who don’t have parents.”
We walked inside. It was warm and smelled like cinnamon and woodsmoke. A group of older women were sitting in a circle, knitting and laughing. When they saw me, they all stood up, their faces lighting up with joy.
“Alpha Faith! You’re back!” one of them cried.
They didn’t bow like I was a scary leader. They ran over and hugged me. They treated me like a daughter. I introduced them to Astor, and they giggled, telling him how lucky he was to have such a “smart and hardworking girl.”
As we left the building, Astor was quiet. He was looking at the ground, thinking.
“What is it?” I asked. “Do you not like it?”
“No, Faith,” he said, stopping in his tracks. He turned to me and took both of my hands. “I’m just… I’m amazed. When you left me, you were so sad. You were hurting so much. But instead of just crying, you did all of this. You took your pain and you turned it into something that helped hundreds of people.”
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“I had to stay busy, Astor,” I said softly. “If I didn’t work, I would have just sat in my room and missed you until I went crazy.”
“It’s more than just staying busy,” he said. His voice was thick with emotion. “You changed the fate of this pack. If it weren’t for you then a bunch of stupid ass alphas like me would have destroyed this pack and everybody in it because of one person’s fault but you changed their lives. They are happy and they’re proud of you. You did in six months what most Alphas can’t do in ten years.”
I felt a blush creep up my neck. Hearing him say that meant more to me than any crown.
Next, I took him to the training grounds. But it wasn’t the usual training grounds for the warriors. It
was a smaller area near the forest edge.
“This is where I trained the women,” I said. “I taught them how to use their wolf senses to protect
the village while the men were away hunting or on patrol. I taught them that even if they aren’t
‘warriors, they are still strong.”
We watched as a group of young women practiced defensive moves. They were fast and coordinated. When they saw us, they stopped and gave a sharp, proud salute.
“They look ready for anything,” Astor said, his eyes full of respect. “Faith, you didn’t just build buildings. You built an army of hearts.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the village. I showed him the bakery where Isabella wanted her cakes. I showed him the library I helped organize. I showed him the bridge I
helped repair.
Everywhere we went, people stopped to thank me. They told Astor stories about how I helped fix thingd, or how I sat with a sick child all night, or how I helped the pack plan for the winter.
Astor listened to every single story. He didn’t interrupt. He just looked at me with so much pride that I felt like I was glowing brighter than my White Wolf light.
As the sun began to set, we walked up to a high cliff that overlooked the entire valley. We could see the whole Crescent Pack village below us. It looked beautiful with the little lights of the houses starting to flicker on.
Marco and Isabella ran up to us. “Mommy! Daddy! We caught a mountain rabbit! But we let him go because he was too cute,” Marco said, panting.
“And we found another secret cave!” Isabella added. “Can we sleep there tonight? Please?”
“Maybe another time, sweetie,” Astor said, picking her up and kissing her nose. “Tonight we sleep
home.”
The kids ran off again, chasing each other back towards the pack house.
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Astor pulled me close, wrapping his large coat around both of us to keep out the mountain chill. We stood there in the silence of the peaks, looking at the world I had helped create.
“Lused to think that the Eternal Pack was the most important thing in the world,” Astor said quietly. “I thought my only job was to protect my own borders. But being here… seeing what you’ve done… it makes me realize how small I was thinking.”
“We’re a family now, Astor,” I said. “Two packs, one heart. That’s what I want for our kids.”
“And that’s what they’ll have,” he said. He turned me around to face him. He leaned down and kissed me. It was a slow, deep kiss that tasted like the cold mountain air and the warmth of his love. I felt the White Wolf inside me purring.
“I’m so proud of you, Faith,” he whispered against my lips. “So incredibly proud.”
cphakathi28
#vote# I decided to give you guys a few more chapters of the happy couple together. so please reread chapter 198 because it was modified.
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