Page 47

47

EVE

T he clearing was unnaturally quiet, the kind of silence that vibrated with its own energy.

Grayson was dead.

Logan stood in the center, his human form towering and proud despite the exhaustion that clung to him like a second skin. Around us, Heraclid wolves lingered, the pack bond alight with tangled emotions that pressed against the edges of my mind.

Logan’s chest rose and fell with deep, controlled breaths, but his eyes—those piercing, turbulent eyes—were locked on me. Vulnerable and unguarded, sending a tremor through my entire body, they revealed something visceral and endless. Yet even in his vulnerability, I saw his strength.

His victory.

My wolf’s energy sparked inside me like a star flaring to life. I didn’t think—I couldn’t—but my body knew what to do. My feet carried me forward, faster and faster until I was running. The only thing that mattered was him .

“Logan,” I breathed as I threw myself into his arms. His hands were rough but eager as they wrapped around me, lifting me off the ground like I weighed nothing. The moment our bodies met, the bond between us filled the air around us.

The pulse of it shot outward, a ripple that cracked through the silence like a thunderclap. It tore through the pack, lighting up every connection, every thread of energy that tied them together. Wolves around us froze, their heads lowering instinctively as the weight of it pressed over them. Reverence, submission, and recognition.

Logan was now their leader. And I was his mate.

I pressed my face into the curve of Logan’s neck, breathing him in. The scent of him, earthy and electric, filled my senses, grounding me in this impossible moment.

“You will never have to fear that beast again. It’s over.” His breath sent shivers down my spine, hot and tinted with the smell of Grayson’s blood. “It’s finally over.”

I pulled back enough to look at him, my hands trembling as they settled against his face. His skin was warm under my fingers.

“No,” I whispered, a new energy having taken hold of my heart. “It’s the beginning.”

The truth of it resonated through me, through us, as the Heraclid wolves began to shift back to their human forms, some stepping forward tentatively, others still bowing their heads. Their unspoken questions were hanging in the fragile moment Logan and I had created.

Logan’s hands tightened on my waist. “They’re ours now,” he said softly. “They can feel it.”

“Ours?” I couldn’t formulate my question, the whirlwind of the past days, hours, and minutes making it impossible to think, let alone process what this turn of events meant for the Heraclid pack—or for us.

But I could feel it. The way their emotions brushed against my mind, hesitant but curious, fractured but hopeful. It wasn’t just Logan’s victory. It was about the energy we’d shared as a pack, the power we’d unleashed together. It had touched them too, changed them.

The world felt like it was rebuilding itself piece by piece around us. Logan loosened his hold on me as he looked over the clearing. Hundreds of wolves, unmoving, the atmosphere thick with the collective emotions of a pack that had lost everything they knew.

Ours.

Rhys approached us first, his steps measured but unhurried, a calm that belied the sharpness in his eyes. He clapped Logan on the shoulder.

“You’re glowing, my brother,” Rhys said, raising his eyebrows. “Not figuratively. Look.”

Logan frowned, lifting his arm. His Orion mark shimmered faintly in the dim light, the glow subtle but unmistakable. The silvery lines seemed alive, shifting with his movements, the energy radiating from the mark mirroring the renewed strength in him. He flexed his fingers experimentally, his expression unreadable.

“Eve,” he said, turning to me with a sudden intensity. “Let me see your arm.”

I hesitated, then slowly extended my arm. Logan caught my wrist gently, turning it so the light fell over my skin. Sure enough, a faint glow emanated from the mark, and it grew brighter as he held me. My breath caught as new lines began to form over my existing Heraclid mark. A shape, intricate and beautiful, like nothing I’d ever seen.

It was more than a mark. It was a fusion. Orion and Heraclid intertwined into a seamless, mesmerizing design that pulsed with its own life.

“That’s…” My voice faltered.

Kenza stepped forward and lowered herself onto one knee in front of me. Her head dipped low as she said, “The alphas of Heraclid.”

The words hit me like a thunderclap, ringing in my ears. I snapped my head to Logan. He stood silently beside me.

“No,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “It’s not me. It’s Logan. He’s the alpha. I’m?—”

“We’re writing history.” Logan cut through my protests with quiet authority. “And history doesn’t always follow the rules.”

“But—” I started. The words died in my throat as I looked around. The Heraclid wolves, the pack I had known most of my life, their faces were filled with wariness and hope. The faces I expected to see—the elites, the enforcers, Alaric—were nowhere to be found.

“They’re gone,” Logan said. His jaw tightened, and the air around him shifted, his alpha rolling out like a wave. “The ones who held the most power under Grayson… They’re either hiding or planning their next move.”

Kenza looked at me with a new reverence. My friend, my confidante, my most staunch supporter, was laying the path for me. “The pack is waiting. Together, you are our alphas, and we need you.”

My wolf stirred, her energy poised and certain, but my heart was filled with doubt. I glanced at Logan again, seeking an answer, an anchor.

“She’s right,” he said. “They need us.” He stepped forward, the crowd parting instinctively as his presence filled the clearing. His voice rolled over the gathered wolves like a salve.

“I know what you’re feeling,” he began, his gaze sweeping over the faces in front of him. “Grayson ruled through control, through intimidation. He kept you in line by making you believe there was no other way. That you had to bow or be broken.”

The tension in the air seemed to ripple at his words, the burden of collective memories pressing down on the pack. Logan stood strong.

“That ends now,” he said. “You are not broken. You are not powerless. You are wolves—strong, proud, and capable of so much more than what you’ve been allowed to believe.”

The murmurs started softly, hesitant. He paused and the connection between us pulsed, his belief reaching through the bond and grounding me in a way nothing else could. But I felt he didn’t know what to say next. I gently pressed words toward him.

Logan lifted his head higher, his next words carrying a promise the Heraclids needed.

“I’m not here to dominate you. Orion isn’t here to take over. We’re here to build something better. For too long, the Shadow Moon packs have been splintered, driven by fear and greed. It doesn’t have to stay that way.”

The atmosphere in the crowd changed, ever so subtly. A few wolves stepped forward, tentative but intentional, their heads dipping slightly in acknowledgment .

Logan turned to me, his expression open and vulnerable in a way only I could see. “To fulfill our fate, we must abandon the notion that we alone can control our destiny. Instead, we need to give up that false sense of control and become so much more through our connection to each other.” The truth he spoke was for the Heraclids, but it resounded through our connection, the eternal truth of our fated-mate bond.

I found freedom through him. He found victory through me. There was no other way.

My chest tightened as the eyes of the pack turned to me. My wolf surged within me, composed and sure, urging me on.

His hand found mine, enveloping me as the pack watched.

Address them, my love , he said through the bond, gesturing me for me to move in front of him.

I thought I’d be petrified. These were the shifters who had ostracized me, hated me, feared me, used me.

Standing in front of them, I realized how deeply they had also been used. And many of them had been forced into a situation they’d never wanted in the first place.

“Heraclid pack,” I called out, with so much assurance it surprised even me, “I forgive you.”

A wash of relief overtook the pack, and I heard a sob in the crowd.

I didn’t have to say another word.

I looked at Logan, pride evident in his eyes, and I stepped back to his side. My heart pounded, my breath catching as he leaned in, his lips brushing against mine .

Logan’s breath mingled with mine, the bond between us beating like a pulse that wasn’t just ours. I turned toward the wolves, their faces expectant.

That was when the first wolf dropped to one knee, his head bowing low. Another followed, then another, until the clearing was filled with wolves kneeling. The first crack of dawn was breaking over a long, dark night.

My wolf stirred, brushing against theirs in a way I had never known was possible. Heraclid would indeed rise again, piece by piece, from the ruins of everything Grayson had crushed.

This was rebirth.

Logan’s eyes bored into me, and my entire being responded. It was also the true beginning of us .

Logan stood tall, the lines of his body sharp in the light of dawn, his hand extended toward me. His eyes burned with something more than strength, more than resolve—they burned for me . For us . And I felt it, every part of me answering that silent call.

He intertwined our fingers, pulling me close.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His hand tightened around mine, his silent command as clear as if he’d shouted it to the skies. And I followed him, my heart racing as he led me away from the murmurs of the pack, away from the crowd. Away from everything but him.

Rhys, Kenza, and Anwen whispered their support that we should take a moment for ourselves.

And we were too happy to oblige.

The world narrowed to the feel of his hand. Around us, the Heraclid lands, which had once loomed like a nightmare, shifted. Trees that had been suffocating now felt protective, their canopy arching over us like a blessing.

The first drops of rain fell, cool against my flushed skin. Renewal. That was what it felt like, every droplet washing away the darkness that had clung to this place.

Logan glanced back at me, his lips curving into the faintest of smiles before he picked up the pace. I matched his stride, the adrenaline coursing through me almost too much to contain. Faster. Faster still. And then we were running, our steps matching, our laughter breaking free into the night as the rain fell harder.

He pulled me closer, his arm sweeping around my waist as he lifted me effortlessly, and I gasped, clutching his shoulders as he carried me deeper into the forest. I could feel his wolf beneath the surface, his need for me as primal as my own. The bond pulsed between us, a living, breathing thing that felt ready to consume us both.

The trees opened up, revealing a small clearing blanketed in soft leaves. Logan stopped abruptly, his chest heaving. My heart thundered as he lowered me to the ground, the leaves cushioning my back as the rain soaked through my hair, draping it around me like a curtain.

He hovered above me, his face inches from mine, his breath warm against my skin. I reached up, threading my fingers into his hair, and pulled him closer, answering without words.

Our lips met, the kiss deep and searing, a merging of everything we were—broken, whole, cursed, blessed. His hand cradled my face, his thumb brushing along my cheek as the rain continued to fall, mingling with the heat between us .

This was us.

The chaos, the ruin, the rebirth.

This was the moment the world began again.