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Tristan
As I held Ariana in my arms and watched Samantha sleep restlessly, I wished there was something I could do to ease her suffering. I knew Devin was planning on ending his bond with her, but could he really go through with it? I don’t know what a werewolf bond feels like, but I know what my love for Samantha feels like and if it’s anything like that, I don’t know how he’ll manage to give it up.
Samantha thrashed around a little more and I quickly placed Ariana in her basinet in case I needed to restrain Samantha, who knows what would happen once the bond was ended. After a few more thrashes, she stopped moving, took a deep breath and whispered, “Devin.” I sat next to her on the bed and took her hand in mine, lightly stroking her knuckles with my thumb, and watched her eye lids flutter, then open revealing those beautiful hazel eyes and was shocked by what I saw.
Her eyes no longer held the deep sadness that always lurked behind the love she showed me. They were clear, and bright with all the promises of the future we could happily have. There was no longer something holding a piece of her away from me. She was free from the chains of her bond, and it seemed as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Hey baby, how you feeling?” I whispered, not wanting to ruin the peace that I felt settle around us.
“Tristan? What happened? I feel…different…lighter. I had the weirdest dream and in it Devin was talking to me. He said he was releasing me then I saw him carve out his mark. Why would he do that?” she asked confused.
“Because he finally learned to put you first.” I stated simply.
She looked at me, baffled. Then the brightest smile I’ve ever seen lit her face, “He ended our bond completely? I’m truly free of it?”
“Yeah, honey, I think you are.” I couldn’t help but smile back.
Then her smile turned bitter sweet, and I worried that she was regretting Devin’s actions. “What’s wrong Samantha? I thought this is what you wanted.”
“It is. It’s just that I know what it felt like to carve out the mark and I can imagine what Devin is going through right now. It’s painful to go against nature like that, and even though we are no longer bonded, he is the father of my child and my alpha. I think I need to see him, make sure he’s alright and figure out where we go from here.”
I was a little reluctant to let her go, a part of me still feared I’d lose her to Devin, even without the bond. As if sensing where my thoughts were headed, she sat up and took my face in her hands, “I know what you’re thinking Tristan and you can stop that right now. I love you, have always loved you, and I will keep on loving you but this is something I need to do. If I can be strong enough to get through this, you need to be strong enough to overcome your insecurities when it comes to Devin. Can you do that? For me?” she asked as she looked directly into my eyes.
Didn’t she know I would jump over the moon for her if she asked? “I can definitely do that, I love you so much Samantha Redwood, you know that right?” I said earnestly, allowing all the love I felt for her to pour out thru my words.
A smile lit her face which mirrored the love I felt for her and she kissed me softly on the lips before whispering against them, “I love you more.” Then she got up, kissed Ariana on her fore head and shot me one last lingering look before heading out to hopefully close the door on her past so we could embrace our future.
And what a bright future it was shaping up to be.
Samantha
As I made my way to the main pack house, so many emotions were running through me, happiness, hopefulness, and if I was being completely honest with myself, a little sadness at the loss of a bond we shared for so long. I walked right into the house, it was a pack house after all and the doors were always open to pack members, and noticed a few of those such members sitting in the family room, staring at a blank tv screen.
Hearing my arrival, they turned to face me and I was surprised by the saddened looks on their faces, then I understood. They could feel their alpha’s pain and loss, and though none of them held any anger toward me because they knew the situation, they were a little unsure of how to help him and what lay in store for the pack as a whole now that the union between alpha and luna had been broken. I’ve never dealt with or heard anything like this happening before and I wasn’t even sure what would happen next.
It was in this moment that I realized just how much our pack was affected by the problems between Devin and I and I felt a bit ashamed. We were supposed to be the glue that held this pack together and guided them forward. How were they supposed to have any faith in us when we were falling apart. Though I wasn’t sure just what my role in this pack would be now, I did know that I was still the mother of the future alpha and I needed to assure my pack members that there would be a future for all of us.
“I know you’re all worried right now, and to be honest, I’m really not sure what’s going to happen now either, but I do know that regardless of the things that have been taking place, Devin is the best alpha I know and he won’t let any of you down. No matter what he’s going through, what we’re both going through, you all will always come first.” I tried to ease some of their worries and by the relieved looks on their faces I think it was working.
A noise in the stairwell caught my attention and my breath left my chest at the sight of Devin. He looked so sad and broken, but he tried to smile at me through the pain. It broke my heart to see him like this, not because of any bond we might’ve shared, but as one person to another. It was obvious he was suffering the loss of our bond, and even though he caused me ten times more pain with his cheating, I took no enjoyment in his suffering.
“You really believe that?”
His question caught me off guard, I was so concerned about his appearance that I was confused by what he was asking.
“That I’m the best alpha you know, and that I can get through this and be the alpha my pack needs me to be?” he asked.
My features softened at the uncertainty in his voice, “Of course I believe that Devin.” I said as I stepped towards him. As if in silent agreement he turned to go up the stairs and I followed knowing we needed some privacy for the conversation we were about to have.
He entered his study and took a seat behind his desk and I took one of the two seats in front of it. I always liked his office, with it’s bookshelves lining both walls, a balcony off to the side so he could take a break from his work to enjoy the fresh air, and my favorite part of the whole room was his big mahogany desk that I helped him pick out. I smiled at the memory of just how much fun we had on that desk when we first brought it home when we first mated. At that moment I saw the Same wistful expression cross his face.
“That’s how I want to remember our bond. The happy times we shared together before all the pain. I meant what I said about you being a great alpha, you are, you just made some bad choices in your personal life and lost yourself for awhile, but you came back and took the reigns like you were meant to and the pack is thriving because of it. Our daughter will have big shoes to fill when it’s her turn to take over, but I know with your guidance she’ll be able to handle it.” I said honestly.
He looked at me surprised, “With my guidance? Does that mean you’re staying?”
I could understand his assumption that I would leave, after all that’s what I did the first time, but now that he’s given me a chance to be happy again, I wasn’t going to run away, nor was I going to take my daughter away from him.
“Of course I’m going to stay, it was wrong of me to keep Ariana a secret from you, no matter how good my intentions were, and I would never rip her away from you now that you have bonded with each other. She needs her father, and I think you need her just as much now that you completed the severing of our bond.” he soaked up my words like a sponge, relief evident in his features.
“Thank you Devin. I know it wasn’t easy to do what you did, but it means the world to me that you did it.” I said while staring straight into the gray eyes I loved so much and let my gratitude show through mine.
As he stared back into my eyes, I saw a shimmer there as the tears began to build causing his gray eyes to take on a silvery hue, and it brought fresh tears to my eyes as well, then rivers began to pour from mine at his words, “Regardless of the things I did in the past, and the hurt I caused you, I always loved you. You were my world and my reason for being, the air I breathed, and the blood that ran through my veins. Why I ruined that with my stupidity I’ll never know and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life because I lost you. I thought I could get you back, and the way I went about doing it was just more stupidity, but seeing the pain you showed me earlier finally snapped me into reality and I realized that if I truly loved you, the only thing I could do was set you free.”
He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he stood up and came around the desk to crouch in front of me, taking my hands in one of his as he wiped the tears from my eyes with the other, “I know we are no longer bonded, and the need I had for you is no longer there, but my love for you is still as strong as ever. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you, but I’m okay with that. I only want yours and Ariana’s happiness now and I plan on doing everything in my power to make sure you both have that, even if it means letting you go.”
I sat there in awe of the man before me. He really did grow up and into the man I always knew he could be. If only he had done this sooner we would’ve both been saved all this heartache and pain, but there’s no sense living with if only’s, because it stops us from moving forward. That’s what we needed to do now, close the door on our past pain and open the door to our happy futures. I pulled my hands from his so that I could wipe the tears from his eyes as I said, “I think a part of me will always love you too Devin, even more so now for what you did for me.” Then I leaned forward and wrapped him in my arms. He returned my hug, inhaling my scent one last time, whispering in my ear, “No matter what, I’ll never stop loving you.” In my heart I knew I felt the same about him, but I had a good man that I loved waiting for me at home and it was time I returned to him.
Breaking out of our embrace, I knew we had one last order of business to take care of, “So, what happens now? I’m no longer luna so does that mean you need to find a replacement?”
He looked at me as if I were crazy and said, “There won’t be another luna. I will run the pack on my own.”
“The pack needs a luna.” I tried again but knew there would be no convincing him once he set his mind on something.
“No it doesn’t, my beta and I can handle it, but if ever I need it, could I still call on you for your help?” he asked uncertain.
“Of course you can, I love this pack as much as you do and I’ll help wherever I’m needed. I’m just happy you’d still want my help.” I smiled.
He returned my smile and said, “I’ll always want you Samantha, always.”
Though his words were similar to the lines he’s been spewing since I returned, the difference in them this time was that they didn’t come from a scheming place. It was just his honest feelings being put out there for me to see and do with what I wanted. With that settled, I knew it was time for me to leave and head back home to my family.
I stood up, and he followed suit, walking me to the door. “Thank you again Devin.”
He caressed my cheek and said, “Anything for you Samantha.”
I kissed his cheek and headed home, ready to face the future ahead of me with a lightness in my step and hopefulness in my heart.