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For the first time since I left Ashmoon... I woke up and didn't feel like running.

The nightmares still came sometimes-Jace's rejection echoing through my bones, the weight of not being enough pressing against my chest-but they didn't grip me the same way anymore.

Not here.

Not in Crescent Fang.

Kael had kept his distance just like he promised. No pressure. No forced touches. Just patience. Just presence. And somehow, that made me trust him even more.

I didn't know what the bond meant yet, but I was starting to believe I could choose what came next.

And maybe... that choice could start with me.

?

I stood at the edge of the training fields that morning, heart pounding in my chest like a war drum. The Crescent Fang warriors were already moving-sparring in pairs, running drills, moving like a living storm of strength and precision.

I was the only outsider.

The only omega.

But not the only fighter.

"Can I join?" I asked the she-wolf in charge of the session. Her name was Mira-Kael's Beta-and she looked like she could kill a man with a single look.

She raised an eyebrow. "You ever trained before?"

I nodded. "A little. Back home."

She stared at me a moment longer, then tossed a training blade at my feet.

"Pick it up."

?

I trained until my legs shook and my arms felt like jelly. I got knocked down more than once, bruised and breathless, but every time, I got back up.

Not because I was strong.

But because I wanted to be.

By the end of the day, Mira offered me a half-smile and a nod.

"You're a lot tougher than you look."

"Thanks," I muttered, wiping sweat from my brow. "I think."

"You'll fit in here. Eventually."

Eventually.

It was more than anyone at Ashmoon had ever given me.

?

That night, Kael found me again, sitting by the cliffs, watching the stars.

"You trained today."

"Yeah," I said, rubbing a bruise on my shoulder. "Your Beta tried to murder me."

Kael chuckled lowly. "If you're still alive, it means she likes you."

I turned to face him, my body sore but my soul... lighter.

"You meant it, didn't you?" I asked. "When you said I'd have time?"

He nodded. "Every word."

I hesitated, then reached into my pocket and pulled out the old photo I'd been carrying since I left Ashmoon-the one of Jace and me as kids.

I held it over the edge of the cliff.

"I loved him," I whispered. "But he never saw me."

Then I let go.

The wind caught it.

And just like that... I let him go too.

Kael didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

But when he sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched, I didn't move away.

Because this time, I wasn't falling.

I was choosing.