Page 72 of The Wolf Moon

I reached to clasp my hands over his grip on my neck, lifting my chin with a whimper in his grasp. Another look of pain crossed Roman’s face, but he tried hard to conceal it.

“There’s something that would save your life and you don’t want to say it. How great it must be to be a Goddess. You die and you’ll still be a Goddess. I’m done with your games. I’ll admit it, you made me love you. Congratulations, Artemis,” As he spoke, Roman’s words became more and more emotionless. An air of danger was rising above him.

I gasped for air, closing my eyes with a wince, and then opened the wall between us. I put all my love for Roman into the bond, allowing it to tear over him. His grip tightened, but he staggered where he stood as though stunned.

“You can kill me if you want,” I whimpered fearfully with tears falling down my cheeks, “But I won’t kill you. I love you. If I’m Artemis, I’ve loved you since the beginning. And when I die, I’ll love you still.”

The sound of metal hitting rock echoed at our feet. Before I could try to see what the source of the sound was, Roman released his grip on my neck. Instead, he grasped at my lower back, pulling me to him, and pressed hot lips to my own. My heart sang at his kiss and my body throbbed in his grasp eagerly.

Just when I was running out of air, Roman released his lips and said, “You win.”

Then he claimed my lips as his once again.

Twenty Nine

Epilogue

The wind rushed around me as I flew through the air as an albino white hawk. From the sky, I could see the land of Moirai spanning under me with a wealth of beautiful forests. In the distance, I could see my home village. Members of the Trinity pack were stationed there, helping with building more profitable farms and furthering new relationships between humans and werewolves. Similar things were happening at all human and pack villages across the lands.

After the small battle of Moirai, rumors had spread to all the packs; that the Goddesses had appeared in person to fight among the wolves. Rumors of a blessed Queen Luna who could command obedience from all the wolves in the entire land wherever she was also made their rounds. And so, when I was announced as Queen Luna, there were next to no challenges to greet me. Roman had been pleased.

One of the first things I demanded after being officially announced as Queen Luna was the reinstatement of Oracles into their designated packs, along with rebuilding all temples that had been torn down. Despite prior concerns, this was actually accepted rather easily.

As I flew over Alpha with the sun at my back, I saw my family working diligently towards making a better home for themselves and future humans. I was now able to freely visit them or have them visit me, if I wished. They weren’t brave enough to travel outside the village as of yet, but I knew the day would come when they would.

Cynthia and Cate had left after the war had been stopped.

“Couldn’t kill him, could you? Typical,” Cate had said with her own amusement.

“We’ll be watching over you,” Cynthia had left her parting words fondly.

I missed having them around, but this was a world of mortals and they didn’t feel comfortable staying here. After they promised me that Roman’s curse of immortality was surely broken, they disappeared into the wind. Roman had tested the fact with a rather alarming cut on his arm, but his joy when seeing it not heal immediately was something wonderful to see.

Besides Roman’s curse being broken, with Hecate returning to the realm of Gods, Oracles would be able to receive visions from her once more.

I flew towards the Trinity pack village and saw Roman standing before the clinic, his hand raised towards me as though calling for me. I didn’t hesitate. I folded my wings against myself, falling towards him determinedly. When I was close enough, I shifted back into human form, and he caught me in his arms with a small laugh.

“You shouldn’t do that in the middle of the village like that. Someone could see,” He teased, spinning me around slowly.

“I don’t care,” I responded stubbornly. Roman placed a sweet kiss on my pouted lip, making me forget any negative feelings I might’ve had. I smiled against him delightfully.

“Well, I care about keeping you safe,” He told me firmly before releasing me from his grasp. I bounced from one foot to the other and then looked at the clinic before becoming more serious.

“I think it’s time,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “I think I can do it.”

“Just try your best. If it doesn’t work, we can try again later,” Roman answered, crossing his arms in an equally serious manner. I took a deep breath, but then stepped forward to enter the clinic. Roman stayed with me, just as I’d asked him to do before, and silently followed me as I walked to a specific room.

I opened the door carefully. There were no other wolves except for the one lying on the clinic bed and the one sitting next to the bed. Beta Caleb looked up as we entered the room, his features that of confusion and fatigue.

“Beta Caleb, I need you to leave us for just a little while. The Queen Luna would like to speak to Diana,” Roman requested, much gentler than he would be typically due to the sensitivity of the situation. Beta Caleb looked like he might argue against it, but then only nodded mutely. He reached forward to touch Diana softly, who didn’t respond, and left the room without glancing at me. I could understand. My brother had been the one to do this to Diana, accident or not.

Once it was just Diana, Roman, and me in the room, I began to step around the bed carefully. Diana’s once lively curls were flatten on the bed sheets around her head. She had woken up some time ago, but spent her time just staring in the distance silently after finding out that not only had she lost her miracle baby; she would be unable to have any children in the future.

I sat down next to the bed where Beta Caleb had just been. Diana’s eyes didn’t look at me, as though she couldn’t see me. She lied on her side facing me. I pulled my chair close to the bed so that I could reach out to grasp her hand in mine.

“Diana,” I called to her. She didn’t respond. It was as though she was no longer there. I paused, but then reached for her with my power to call to her. “Diana, come back now. Just for a little bit.”

At my words, Diana stirred. She blinked her eyes as though she were waking up; turning them to look at me with a look of sadness so sincere that it made my soul ache.

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