~Chapter 23~
Cedric's POV:
Today is the last day.
The last day when everything is decided on paper.
That sheet.
A damn sheet that says whether I passed or not.
If I stay here.
If I move on.
If… Idris and I are going in the same direction or not.
I clench my jaw slightly.
I try not to think about it too much.
But it’s impossible.
Because today isn’t just about our future.
It’s about us.
Yesterday, after we got back from that mundane party, we went to bed.
Without showering.
Without doing anything.
But I get it. I couldn’t have had good sex if I was mad at that damn Erik who was about to take what was mine.
When I catch him, he doesn’t get away with it.
The thought annoys me, and I try to think of something else.
How I should solve this problem now.
How I can get Idris's father, Fenric, to sign a shitty withdrawal form for me.
Idris ties his pants again, nervously, looking at himself in the mirror.
"If it doesn't sit nicely on my stomach, I swear I'll..."
I don't let him finish.
I approach him from behind, gently grab his wrist and pull him towards me.
He stops instantly.
"Cedric.
.."
I don't let him continue that either.
I kiss him.
Shortly.
But long enough to cut off any thoughts of the morning.
When I pull back, I see him blink twice.
"What was that?" I shrug.
"Insurance.
"
His eyes narrow. "For what?"
"Because I'll always love you"
He rolls his eyes immediately.
"You're impossible, honey"
"I know.
"
I quickly grab a blouse off the floor and throw it on, then check my phone.
Text.
Alpha Ben.
Perfect.
I look up at Idris.
"I have to go."
He stops.
"Now?
" I nod.
"Three hours."
"Three hours what? "
"I'm so gone."
He crosses his arms.
"And what am I doing in three hours?" I look at him for a second.
"Don't destroy the house."
"Very funny." A smile escapes my eyes.
I move closer again, calmer this time.
I lightly touch his wrist.
"It's just something to work out.
"
His gaze changes a little.
More attentive.
"Sure?"
"Yes."
He doesn't insist.
That's what I like about him.
That he knows when not to push.
"Okay." he says simply.
That's it.
But I feel him
That little worry he doesn't say.
I give him a quick glance.
"If I'm not back in three hours and two minutes, you might panic.
"
A smile escapes my eyes.
"Very reassuring.
"
"I know."
I move closer once more.
I lift his chin with two fingers.
“Three hours.”
“Three hours.” he repeats.
I kiss him again.
This time longer, and sticky.
When I pull away, I see him exhale slowly.
“Go,” he says.
“Are you kicking me out?”
“Yes.”
“Bad.”
“Very.”
I grab my sneakers and head out.
The walk to Alpha Ben is too quiet.
Too normal for what I’m about to ask.
When I arrive, the building is exactly as I know it:
too clean, too serious, too “we’re not kidding around here.”
I lightly fix my hair and go inside.
Because a few days ago, I stopped by that omega and then went to his office.
I knock on the door and open the door.
"Cedric." he says as soon as he sees me.
His voice is neutral.
But his eyes.
.. no.
"Alpha Ben." I answer.
"I wasn't expecting you at this time.
"
"Neither was I."
A short silence.
He stands up.
"The sheet?"
I nod.
"I need it."
He exhales.
Not surprised. Just tired.
"You know it doesn't work like that.
"
"I know."
"And you still came.
"
"Logical."
He crosses his arms.
"Why?
"
I look straight at him.
"Because if that sheet decides where I end up... then I don't want it to decide itself."
Ben studies me.
Then he laughs briefly.
“You’ve always been dramatic.”
“I’m trying.”
“Does your wife know you’re here?”
I pause for a second.
“No.”
He smiles slightly.
“Typical.”
He turns back to his desk.
“Three hours, Cedric.”
I narrow my eyes.
“You already know?”
“I know everything that comes into this building and what goes on in my pack.”
“Needlessly scary.”
“And yet you came.”
I sigh.
“Yes.”
Ben picks up a file.
He places it on the table. But he doesn’t hand it to me right away.
“Last chance to change your mind.”
I clench my jaw.
“I’m not here to change my mind.”
He pushes my file towards me.
"Then I want it completed by Beta Fenric and the next one, Samuel.
" he says and smiles a little, slyly.
"Why him too?" I ask and lean over, taking the file.
"Because I want it to be more useful to you" he says simply and gets up from his chair.
He straightens his shirt and then looks at me "I invite you to get out of my office.
I have work to do" he continues and I roll my eyes.
I start to walk and he says after me.
"Goodbye" is heard when I have already closed the door and was now starting to head towards another office where Idris' father should be.
"Beta Fenric..." I murmur to myself.
Perfect.
Idris' father.
The man who can tell me "no" without blinking.
The man who can make this whole thing end before it even begins.
I reach the door.
I raise my hand. Knock once.
Then I enter.
Fenric is there.
He sits at his desk, calm, as if there’s nothing in the world to hurry him.
Which instantly annoys me.
He looks up.
“Cedric.”
His voice is neutral.
But his eyes aren’t.
They never are.
“Beta Fenric.” I reply.
He puts down his pen slowly.
“If you came for the file I was scolded for 30 minutes ago, you came to the wrong place.”
A small smile escapes my lips.
“I know.”
He looks at the file.
Then at me.
“And yet you have it in your hand.”
“Logical.”
Fenric stands up slowly.
Not hurried.
Controlled.
Exactly the kind of man who never rushes for anyone.
“Tell me why you’re here, Cedric.
”
I look at him directly.
“For your signature, and your child’s.
”
Silence.
A second.
Then he laughs briefly.
Humorless.
“On your record?”
“On my future.”
He tilts his head slightly.
“And why would I sign something like that?”
I clench my jaw.
“Because it’s not just about me.
” Fenric studies me. Slowly. Too carefully.
As if he’s tearing me apart with his gaze.
“It’s about Idris. About the child she’s carrying.
About the future of your family and mine”
He doesn’t answer right away.
A short breath escapes him.
“Yes.” he murmurs simply.
He crosses his arms.
“Then you’ve already started the conversation wrong.
”
I narrow my eyes.
“What do you mean?”
Fenric turns to his desk and picks up another file.
He places it on top of mine.
Without touching it yet.
“If you’re coming to me for Idris,” he says calmly, “you’re not coming to demand.
You’re coming to prove.”
A short laugh escapes me.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“That sounds real.”
Silence.
I feel the room grow heavier.
This is no longer a joke.
It's not Cedric from this morning.
It's Cedric who needs to win something.
"What do you want?" I ask simply.
Fenric looks at me fixedly.
"To understand if you're enough for him.
"
Pause.
Direct.
No packaging.
Perfect.
I run my tongue over my lower lip.
"And how do I do that?
"
Fenric smiles slightly.
Barely visible.
"Simple." He takes the file from my pocket and the one he had on the table, and puts it aside "Give up your pack.
Stay here. With my child. With your mate.
And the child"
I tense my jaw.
"What?
"
"I don't care how you do this. Brothers, sisters.
..I'm not going to give you my child for you"
I laugh briefly.
"Are you crazy, old man?"
"It seems so, Dear Alpha" he says ironically and starts laughing.
Silence.
I close my eyes for a second.
Then I open them.
“And if I don’t want to?”
Fenric shrugs.
Simple.
Cold.
“Then you won’t get anything.”
I feel something tighten in my chest.
Not fear.
Pressure.
“Cedric,” he says and I turn to him.
“What?” An annoyed murmur.
He doesn’t look at me when he says,
“Let’s see if your love for Idris is stable enough not to destroy you today.
”
Silence.
I clench my fists tighter.
“You’ll see.”
And I walk out of the office.
---
The door closes behind me with a sound that’s too clean.
Too final.
I stand in the hallway for a second.
The file is no longer in my hand.
I can only feel Fenric’s words.
“Give up your pack.”
“You’re not getting anything.”
“Let’s see if your love for Idris is enough.”
I clench my jaw.
No.
That’s not how things work.
I run a hand through my hair and start walking.
Fast.
Too fast.
The hallway is empty.
The silence annoys me.
Because it gives me time to think.
And that’s exactly what I don’t want.
Alpha.
The pack.
Idris.
The child.
Everything is crashing into each other in my head like pieces that refuse to fit.
I stop abruptly by a window.
I rest my palm on the wall.
I exhale.
Slowly.
But it doesn’t help.
“I can’t give it all up,” I mutter to myself.
Then I laugh briefly.
Humorless.
“But I can’t lose them either.”
I close my eyes for a second.
I see Idris.
The way he looks at me in the morning.
The way he rolls his eyes when I overdo it.
How he won’t let me sleep late at night, without even touching me once, as if to check if I’m real.
I open my eyes.
Harder now.
“Perfect.” I mutter. “So I really have to choose.”
I push my body against the wall and start walking again.
But this time I’m not walking towards the exit.
I’m walking without direction.
Until I reach a side area of the building.
Empty.
No people.
Just a small maintenance room.
I open the door.
I go in.
I close it behind me.
And only then do I feel how tight my chest feels.
I pull out my phone.
I look at him.
Contacts.
Dad.
My finger trembles for a split second.
Then I dial.
It rings once.
Twice.
“Cedric.” His voice is calm.
Too calm.
I close my eyes.
“I want to talk to you about something.”
Pause.
“That sounds serious.”
I laugh briefly.
“Yes.”
Silence.
I lick my lips.
“I don’t want to be the Alpha of the Moonridge pack anymore.
”
Quiet.
He doesn’t answer right away.
And that’s exactly what annoys me the most.
“Repeat,” he finally says, loudly.
I grip my phone tighter.
“Did you hear that.”
“asshole…” his voice becomes lower and harsher “What the hell do you think you’re doing? ”
I run my hand through my hair.
I laugh again.
This time more sharply.
"It so happens that my future is on a sheet of paper signed by werewolves who decide whether I deserve to be happy or not.
"
Pause.
"And you want to give up everything for this, Stupid child? " he says in an irascible tone.
I close my eyes.
And I see him again.
Idris.
The child.
"We."
"No." I say quietly. "Not for this."
My father is silent.
Then:
"Then for what?"
I open my eyes.
I stare at the wall in front of me as if he could answer for me.
“Because if I stay Alpha…” I swallow hard, “I can’t have him properly.”
Pause.
Longer.
“And if you give up?”
A shaky breath escapes me.
“Then I have him.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
My father inhales slowly.
“Child… Alpha isn’t something you take off like a coat.
”
“I know.”
“And it’s not something you give up for an emotional decision.
”
I clench my jaw.
“It’s not emotional.
”
Short laugh on the other end.
“Yes.”
I lean my back against the wall.
I throw my head back.
“You don’t understand.
”
“Then explain it to me.”
I close my eyes.
“I can’t lose my mate,” I say softly.
“And I can’t raise my child from afar like I’m just a name on a title.
” Pause. My breath hitches a little.
“And if I have to choose between my pack and my family…”
My voice trembles for a split second.
I hate her for it.
“Then I choose family.”
Silence.
Long.
Then my father exhales.
Heavy.
“Are you sure?”
I open my eyes.
“Yes.” I don’t hesitate.
Not this time.
“Okay,” he says simply.
I stop.
“…Okay?”
“If this is what you’ve chosen, then there’s no turning back.
”
I clutch my phone.
“I know.”
His voice drops.
“Cedric… are you sure you won’t regret it?
”
I think of Idris.
The way he pulls me closer without saying anything.
The way he looks at me when he thinks I can’t see him.
“No,” I say quietly. “The only thing I’d regret is not doing this. ”
Silence.
Then my father speaks:
“Then you’re no longer Alpha. Your brother, Theodore, will do your job for you.”
It doesn’t hurt as much as I expected.
Or maybe it hurts too much for me to feel the difference anymore.
“I understand.”
I hang up the call.
And I stay there.
In that small room.
With my phone in my hand.
No title.
No pack.
Just me.
And I don’t feel lost.
I feel chosen.
---
The way back is different.
It’s not “too quiet” anymore.
It's empty.
As if the whole world is waiting to see if I've made the biggest mistake of my life.
Or the first right decision. I don't know yet.
When I get to their house, I don't knock.
I go straight in.
The house is the same.
The same smells, the same light, the same little chaos that Idris leaves behind wherever he goes.
And he's there.
I see him immediately.
He’s sitting on the couch, probably focused on something on his phone, his feet slightly raised, relaxed.
Too relaxed for me.
I pause for a second in the doorway.
I look at him.
And I realize I’ve never been so sure of anything…
and yet so anxious.
“Idris.” I say.
He looks up.
“You came three hours early.”
A brief smile escapes my eyes.
“I finished faster, Love”
He stands up slowly.
“And?”
I look at him.
For a second I don’t say anything.
And then… it comes naturally to me.
Too naturally.
“We’re going to have a family.” I say.
Silence.
He blinks.
Once.
Twice.
“…What?”
I approach him.
Not hurriedly.
Not nervously.
Sure.
“We’re going to have a family, Idris.
” I repeat more slowly. “We.”
He crosses his arms immediately.
“Okay, wait.”
I see him trying to process. “What does ‘family’ mean?”
A small smile escapes my lips.
“Does it mean we’re going to build a house. Ours?”
He stops completely.
“A house...?”
“Yes.” I say and swallow a little. “For us. For the baby.”
“Cedric…” his voice changes a little. Lower. More careful. “What does ‘for us’ mean?”
I move even closer.
“It means I’m not leaving.
”
Silence.
He stares at me.
And then…
something breaks in his gaze.
Not emotion.
Not calm.
Alarm.
“Cedric…” he repeats more slowly.
“What did you do?”
I stop.
I look at him directly, I don’t avoid the words.
“I gave up something important to me.” Pause.
“For something that will change my future.”
He takes a step towards me.
“What did you give up?” he says, his voice shaking, and he raises a hand to his forehead but then lowers it.
I run a hand through my hair.
I exhale.
Heavy.
"To my pack.
"
Quiet.
Total.
As if even the air has stopped.
Idris remains still.
Then he blinks.
"...You what?" He raises a hand to his mouth, then immediately drops it.
"Cedric, you're Alpha!"
I shrug.
"I'm not anymore."
He laughs briefly.
A humorless laugh. "No... no, that's not how it's done.
"
I look at him calmly.
"Yes.
"
He suddenly approaches.
"You don't have the right to decide that yourself.
"
I tense my jaw.
"Yes, I do."
"Not for me!" his voice raises a little now.
And that... hits me harder than anything Fenric says.
I take a step closer to him.
Slower.
Below.
“Idris…” I say calmly. “It wasn’t an easy choice.”
He’s breathing fast now.
“Then why did you do it?”
I stop.
I look at him. And the answer is simple. Too simple.
“For you.”
Silence.
He blinks again.
“…For me?”
I nod.
“And for the child.”
I see him lose his emotional balance a little.
“Cedric… you can’t…”
I interrupt.
“I can.”
I move closer and gently grab his hands.
Not forcefully.
Just holding him.
“I chose.” I say quietly.
“And this is my choice.”
He tries to pull his hands away, but not hard.
More confused than angry.
“You can’t destroy my world and then tell me that calmly.”
I smile slightly.
Sad.
"I didn't ruin it for you. "
"Yes, I did."
I stare at him.
And my voice drops.
“I built you another one.”
He’s silent.
For the first time, he doesn’t have an immediate response.
I let go of his hands and move a little closer.
“A house.” I repeat. “Just ours.”
I see him swallow hard.
“And what if I don’t want this?”
I raise an eyebrow.
“You’re lying.”
He rolls his eyes.
But he doesn’t completely contradict me.
Silence.
Hard.
Then I see his voice break a little.
“You really gave up everything…”
I nod.
“Yes.”
“For me…”
“Yes.”
I see him look down.
And then look up again.
Softer now.
More scared.
"Cedric..."
I move closer and touch his cheek lightly.
"I'm here."
Pause.
"But.
.. are you sure?" he asks more quietly.
I look at him without blinking.
"Yes.
"
And I smile. I move closer to him and kiss him.
And in my mind there's only him.
And the house I just started building with my voice.