Page 190 of Moonlit Fate

My throat clenched, a visceral reaction to the deep-seated sorrow I felt coming through our bond. He’d done what he had to—I knew that much about the man I loved. Knowing that, however, didn’t ease the tension that knitted my brow.

“Atticus...” I pressed my palm against his cheek as if I could wipe away the dark shadows of his confession with my touch.

His muscles tensed, coiled like a spring, as if ready to bolt from the truth he’d just unleashed. I swallowed hard, my own confession rising.

“I’m no longer the alpha of the Silver Claw pack.”

He stiffened. For a moment, I thought he might not have heard, but the slight narrowing of his ice-blue eyes told me he had. The implications of what I’d said wrapped around us, another layer in the cocoon of our shared burdens.

“Since when?”

“Since the council decided. They told me today.” My throat felt dry, my words barely more than a whisper. “They didn’t approve of... how I handled things.”

“Because of me?”

“Partly.” I couldn’t tell him it was all because of him, even though it mostly was. I rolled away. Atticus wasn’t just any rogue, he was one with the power to command the very darkness. Right now, we were just two people, stripped of titles and roles.

“Damn them,” he muttered, his mouth tightening.

“Atticus...” I started, but what more was there to say?

“Hey,” he said softly, reaching for me. His fingers brushed against my cheek, sending an electric jolt through my skin. “We’ll figure this out.”

I nodded, but the turbulent thoughts in my head wouldn’t calm. It churned, relentless waves crashing against the shore of my resolution. I had tried to keep him safe by pushing him away, focusing on the pack above everything else. Yet here we were, our destinies entangled once more, the pack a distant gale on the horizon.

I shifted in his arms, turning to face him. The moonlight revealed the worry lines on his face, the scars of battles past. My chest felt heavy with a weight that had nothing to do with the physical.

“Hey,” he said, softer now. “I love you. No matter what happens.”

“I love you too,” I replied. “What happens now?”

He ran a hand through his hair, the silver streak catching the moonlight. “I told you, we face it together. No more running.”

“Can we?” I asked, the doubt clear. The world outside our bubble was unforgiving, cruel even.

“We have to try.” He was resolute, but his eyes betrayed him, showing the same terror that gnawed at me.

I wanted to believe him, to throw caution to the wind and let this moment last forever. A nagging feeling tugged at me, pulling me away from the safety of his arms.

“What if?—”

“Stop,” he cut me off, pressing his forehead to mine. “Don’t say it.”

It was there, between us, unsaid yet loud as a scream. Goodbye. It loomed over us, a specter neither of us could shake. We were two halves of a whole, yet destiny seemed determined to tear us apart.

“Let’s not think about that now,” he murmured, kissing me softly. “For now, we have this.”

I clung to him, to the now. Yet, as much as I tried to hold on to the sweetness of our reunion, the thought of farewell lingered, unbidden and unwelcome.

“Okay. For now.”

We lay in silence, and after a while, the rise and fall of Atticus’s chest told me he was asleep. Sighing, I curled into him and let sleep claim me as well.

When I woke,I was alone. There was a dent in the pillow where he had slept, and the scent of him clung to the air. I ensured my shields were locked down tight. Only then did I allow myself to surrender to the tears that had been building up inside me. Whatever else he’d said last night, it hadn’t been goodbye, but it sure as fuck felt like it.

I rushed to the bathroom and splashed cold water onto my face, hoping to conceal the evidence of my tears. Atticus neededme to be strong, so I would allow myself this moment of weakness, then be strong. I dressed and made my way out of the room, following the voices and the smell of food.

The smell of bacon and fresh bread filled the air, a comforting blanket over the chill of our grim reality as I stepped into the kitchen. My heart leapt with joy when I spotted Atticus. Mia leaned against Ilaric, her smile genuine and warm. It was a rare sight lately, and it filled me with an unexpected joy.

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