Chapter 23
ELIAS VERNAL
"Elias?" When I didn't respond, Serenity moved closer with concern. I looked at her face, emotions churning inside me. I desperately wanted to tell her what I'd discovered.
"I—"
But the moment I opened my mouth, a branch snapped behind us. Then came a gunshot. I grabbed Serenity and rolled, barely dodging the attack.
"Damn monsters! Even if I die, I'm taking you to hell with me!"
I looked back. Falcon had followed us.
His face was deathly pale. His clothes were soaked in blood, appearing an eerie black-red under the moonlight. His right arm was mangled from Serenity's bite, and Herman and the others had clearly dealt him more damage. He was in no better shape than me.
But his gun hand remained steady. Madness burned in his eyes.
"Don't think you can escape!"
He fired again. I struggled to my feet and pulled Serenity. "Run!"
We supported each other and charged forward while Falcon pursued. Even with both my legs shot through, a werewolf's stamina still far exceeded that of a critically wounded human. We quickly left him behind, hearing only the frustrated crack of his gunfire echoing after us.
I didn't know how long we ran before my legs gave out and I collapsed. Serenity stopped, checked my wounds, then stood and moved away from me.
My vision was going dark in patches. I couldn't see where she went. But if she was escaping alone, I could accept that… Unfortunately, I knew Serenity would never abandon someone who was wounded.
She came back quickly, dragging me forward until we reached a hidden cave. She pushed me inside, pulled vines across the entrance to conceal it, then went back out. She covered the trail of my blood, then deliberately stomped heavy footprints leading in a different direction.
I watched her do all of this before she returned to my side. Her hands searched my pockets.
"Where's your phone? You brought one, right?" she asked.
I nodded weakly. "Left pocket…"
Her hand darted over immediately and pulled out the phone. The screen had some blood on it. She wiped it with her sleeve, triggering the lock screen. She looked at me, silently asking for the passcode. I gave her four numbers.
She froze.
"That's… our wedding anniversary?" she said quietly.
I gave a small nod.
Silence filled the cave. Serenity pressed her lips together but said nothing more. She quickly unlocked it and dialed emergency services.
"This is Serenity. The Alpha needs rescue. Yes, silver bullets. Three shots. Get here as fast as you can. The location is…"
Her voice gradually faded.
My consciousness began to scatter. The wound in my chest felt like it was on fire. Every breath was like dragging knife blades through my lungs. But I forced myself to stay awake, not because I was afraid I'd never wake up, but because I was afraid that when I did, Serenity would be gone.
"Elias." Her voice pulled me back from the edge. I opened my eyes. She had already hung up. Somehow, she had found medicinal herbs and packed them against my wounds, then bandaged them with strips of her clothing. I felt somewhat better.
I watched her work through hazy eyes, surprised. The Serenity I had known before never had these skills. During the years we'd been apart, she had really changed so much. And realizing that none of those changes had included me made my heart ache.
After tending to my wounds, she leaned close and cupped my face in both hands. "The rescue team will be here soon. Hold on."
Her eyes gleamed in the darkness like two stars. I wanted to nod but found I couldn't manage even that.
"Rest against me for a while." She sat beside me and let me lean my head gently against her shoulder.
Her warmth seeped through her thin clothes, carrying a faint trace of her pheromones.
My perpetually tense, exhausted nerves finally relaxed.
I breathed in deeply, greedily filling my lungs with her scent. Even the pain seemed to lessen.
Everything grew quiet.
We sat together in silence, gazing at the moon beyond the cave entrance.
Insects chirped softly in the forest. I suddenly realized I had rarely had moments like this. Just sitting quietly, shoulder to shoulder with my mate, saying nothing, doing nothing, peacefully watching the moon together.
How many beautiful things had I missed?
I thought of everything I'd done to Serenity.
Cold indifference, mockery, distrust—even when I hadn't meant it, my negligence had allowed her to suffer constant humiliation and pain.
I had never truly seen my fated mate. Never spent time with her like this.
Only now, when I might never open my eyes again, did I finally understand how precious this was.
How pathetic.
How ironic.
I suddenly realized that now that I understood how precious this warmth was, I no longer wanted to let Serenity go.
I'd made up my mind to stop being selfish. To let her find happiness. I had prepared the property division documents and the custody transfer for Arian… But now, at the last moment, I regretted it.
I didn't want her to leave. I wanted more moments like this. I wanted to watch the moon with her, listen to the wind together, breathe the same air. I wanted to make up for everything I had failed to give her. I wanted to start over and truly love her, cherish her, protect her!
But what right did I have?
After hurting her so much, how could I dare hope she would forgive me and accept me again?
"What are you thinking about?" Serenity asked softly. She looked down at me. Maybe she pitied me, because her expression was unexpectedly gentle.
I realized I could finally ask what I'd been unable to ask before.
"Serenity," I forced the words out, "when you were little, did you ever save a young werewolf boy?"
"A werewolf boy?" She looked slightly startled. She thought back, then spoke. "I think something like that did happen… but I don't remember clearly. Why do you ask?"
"I want to hear about it." I started coughing. Serenity quickly rubbed my back, but I grabbed her hand to stop her. "Please, tell me… I want to know everything!"
"There's nothing to tell." She pulled her hand away awkwardly and turned aside. "It was a long time ago."
"I want to hear it." I stubbornly repeated, gripping her wrist so she couldn't escape. I pleaded weakly, "Please, Serenity."
She was silent for a long time. I heard her breathing grow heavy, as if she were wrestling with something.
"I don't remember how many years ago it was…
" She gazed at the full moon outside as she spoke in a distant voice.
"One day, I went deep into the forest where no one in the pack ever went.
I walked a very, very long way. Then I stumbled upon an abandoned forester's cabin.
The door was open. When I peeked inside, I saw a young werewolf boy locked in a huge iron cage… "
My heart pounded. Every detail matched my memory. I asked her, "Why did you go so far by yourself?"
Her answer caught me off guard.
"Because I was looking for a place where I could cry alone.
" Her tone was perfectly calm, but it made the wound in my chest hurt even more.
"You know I'm an Omega. That's never been a respected status in a werewolf pack.
Everyone could pick on me, but I wasn't allowed to cry because they found it annoying.
So whenever I wanted to be alone, I went to dangerous places other wolves avoided. The more remote, the better."
She paused. I wanted to reach out and put my arm around her shoulders, to hug her or do something to comfort her. But I realized I couldn't. Because I was no longer her mate. No longer someone she could lean on.
We couldn't be close like before.
"That day, I really did go too far, which is how I found that boy. I asked him why he was locked up there. He told me he'd been kidnapped by vampires. So I smashed the lock with a rock and ran away with him."
She continued, unaware of my movements.
"But the vampires caught up. So many of them. We couldn't outrun them." Her voice began to tremble, clearly reliving the terror of that day. "Finally, I decided there was no way we'd both escape. So—"
"So what?" I asked hoarsely.
"So I hid him in a snowdrift. I put on his clothes and ran in the opposite direction. They thought I was him and chased after me."
My heart clenched. Even knowing the outcome, hearing this terrified me. "How did you escape?"
"I fell off a cliff." She gave a bitter laugh. "Maybe I was running too fast. But that fall actually saved me. Pack members found me. The vampires saw things going south and fled. I was rescued."
"Thank goodness." I let out a breath, then asked the question that had puzzled me for years. "Why didn't you go back to find him?"
"Because I was locked up."
"What?" I was stunned. I hadn't expected that answer.
But Serenity acted as if it were obvious.
"I was the one who led the vampires there, so I had to be punished.
They locked me in a room to 'reflect on my actions.
' It was so small. No windows. I couldn't see anything.
They kept me there for so long that I thought they'd forgotten me. "
She hugged her own arms. "Ever since then, I've been terrified of places like that."
My fingers clawed into the dirt. I never imagined that her claustrophobia came from this—because she saved me, she was punished!
I remembered the day of the Moon Ceremony, when I found her collapsed in that storage room, barely conscious. How much terror had she endured before she passed out?
Guilt crashed over me. But Serenity didn't notice. She kept talking.
"By the time they let me out, almost two weeks had passed.
I didn't know what happened to the boy. I was afraid he might have frozen to death because I couldn't tell anyone where he was.
Eventually, I stopped thinking about it.
I was scared of bad news. Scared of learning that everything I'd done was for nothing. "
Her voice caught slightly. "So it's better not to think about it. It's all in the past anyway."
In the past?
No. It wasn't in the past. It was never in the past.
Emotions churned in my chest, making my wound burn worse than the silver bullets. Anger, regret, and other dark feelings twisted together until I could barely breathe.
"Serenity." I called her name.
"Hmm?" She turned to look at me.
"That boy survived. You don't need to blame yourself. You did nothing wrong," I told her, word by word. "You were his savior."
"You don't have to comfort me," she said quietly. "I don't need it."
"It's not comfort!" I told her loudly. "Because that boy was me! The one you saved was me!"
She froze.
I struggled to sit up, ignoring the pain in my legs and chest. Serenity quickly tried to stop me. "Wait, you're hurt! Don't move! What are you doing?"
"Help me up, Serenity, please." I looked straight at her.
"I have to tell you this. I'm so grateful for what you did for me back then!
I've been trying to find you all these years so I could repay you!
But the person I found was Liv! She deceived me.
She claimed she was the girl who saved me… and I believed her."
I couldn’t continue. Pain and frustration stole my breath.
Because of my insistence, Serenity gave up trying to make me lie back down.
She pressed her lips together and helped me shakily rise.
But the moment I was steady, I dropped to one knee.
When my knee hit the cold stone floor, sharp pain shot through both gunshot wounds.
Cold sweat poured down my face, and I nearly collapsed. But I held on.
"Elias, have you lost your mind?" she cried out. "Your legs—"
"It doesn't matter!" I cut her off, grabbing her hand and refusing to let her pull me up.
"I'm an idiot," I gasped. "I searched for you for years. The Moon Goddess herself delivered you to my side, hoping I'd treasure you. But I was blind. I did nothing. Instead, I chased after a liar for years. Because of her, you suffered endless pain. You faced everything alone. You…"
I couldn't go on.
I couldn't imagine how much she had endured because of me. I owed her far more than just one life.
"Serenity Keller."
I called her full name softly. My voice was weak from blood loss, but it carried everything I felt.
"I know I have no right to say this anymore. I promised to let you go. But I've changed my mind. I'm a despicable coward. A selfish bastard. I can't bear to run away like a coward after failing you so badly. And I can't accept a future without you in it."
My hand trembled in hers. This hand had once held mine. It had always belonged to me. But I'd let it slip away.
Now, to win her back, I would do anything.
"So I want to ask you one last time. Will you give me another chance?"
"What are you doing?" she demanded in shock.
I raised my voice. "I know! So I'm doing this! This time, I won't let anyone hurt you. This time, I'll stand by your side, protect you, cherish you, hold you in my hand. This time, I'll spend the rest of my life making up for everything I owe you!"
"So, Serenity—"
I looked up into her eyes, moonlight shimmering within them like starlight.
"Will you marry me again?"