Chapter 25 Mila
TWENTY-FIVE
MILA
The royal car’s engine hummed steadily as they wound down the mountain path, leaving the hunting cabin and Zarik’s lifeless body behind.
Mila pressed her cheek against the cool window, watching the purple forests blur past in streaks of lavender and violet.
Her body still trembled from the adrenaline, but it was the emotional aftermath that left her feeling raw and exposed.
I almost died today, she thought, her fingers unconsciously touching her throat where Zarik’s grip had left faint bruises. I almost lost everything before I even had the chance to truly live it.
The memory of being kidnapped sent a fresh wave of nausea through her stomach.
She’d been walking back to the castle after fleeing the council chamber, tears streaming down her face as doubt and humiliation consumed her.
The way those council elders had looked at her—like she was some manipulative human who’d tricked their sacred Moonfire Trial.
And Cade’s doubt, that flicker of uncertainty in his green eyes, had cut deeper than any physical wound.
She’d been so lost in her misery that she hadn’t noticed the shadows moving through the trees until it was too late. Zarik and his two rogue wolves had surrounded her before she could even scream, their hands rough as they dragged her deeper into the forest.
“You know what the difference is between you and me?” Cade’s voice broke through her spiraling thoughts, low and rough with suppressed emotion.
Mila turned to look at him, taking in the dried blood on his temple and the way his shirt hung torn from their battle. Even disheveled and battered, he captured her complete attention.
“I let fear make me doubt,” he continued, his green eyes fixed on the winding road ahead. “But you? When faced with that psychopath’s twisted plans, you fought. You strategized. You trusted in us.”
His raw admiration made her chest tighten. “I was terrified,” she admitted softly. “When he told me about wanting to make me his queen... I wanted to run. But then something inside me just said ‘fight for what you want.’”
Cade’s right hand left the steering wheel to find hers, their fingers intertwining with desperate intensity. “And what did you want?”
“You,” she said without hesitation. “This life. Nova Aurora. Our future together. I wanted to be your queen, not because some council blessed it, but because I choose it. Because I choose you.”
When Zarik had been strangling her, darkness creeping at the edges of her vision, she’d whispered a silent prayer to her ancestor Celeste Aylward.
Help me, she’d pleaded. Help me save what we’re building here. And somehow, miraculously, that scuffle had erupted outside just when they needed it most.
The castle’s familiar spires came into view as they crested the final hill, and Mila felt her shoulders relax. Home. This was truly home now, in a way Earth never had been.
Cade parked in the courtyard and immediately moved to her side of the car, his alpha protectiveness on full display as he helped her out. Before they could even reach the front steps, Lyra burst through the castle doors like a whirlwind of dark hair and frantic energy.
“Mila!” She crashed into her with enough force to make them both stumble backward, her arms wrapping around Mila in a bone-crushing hug. “Thank the Moon goddess you’re alive. When I heard Zarik had taken you—“
“I’m fine,” Mila assured her, though her voice came out shakier than she intended. “Cade found me just in time. He eliminated the threat to his mate once and for all.”
Lyra pulled back to study her face with those piercing green eyes so similar to her brother’s. “That bastard will never hurt anyone again,” she said with fierce satisfaction. “Good riddance.”
“Where have you been?” Cade asked, his arm sliding protectively around Mila’s waist. “Martin said you disappeared right after I spoke with you.”
Lyra’s expression shifted, excitement suddenly blazing across her features. “I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing. So I went to the archives.” She grabbed Mila’s free hand. “And you’re never going to believe what I found.”
She led them through the castle’s familiar corridors to the archives, where ancient books and scrolls were scattered across a low table. But it was the leather-bound diary sitting open in the center that caused Mila to let out a soft gasp.
“Is that—?” she started.
“Celeste Aylward’s personal diary,” Lyra finished triumphantly. “Hidden in the oldest section of the archives. I almost missed it completely.”
Mila sank onto the plush sofa, her legs suddenly weak. Cade settled beside her, his solid presence grounding her as she stared at the faded pages covered in elegant handwriting.
“This is impossible,” Mila whispered. “How is her diary here?”
“She lived here for over thirty years,” Lyra explained, settling cross-legged on the floor with characteristic informality.
“According to what I’ve read so far, she came to Nova Aurora through similar circumstances—drawn by a connection she couldn’t explain, guided by instincts she didn’t fully understand. ”
Mila’s hands trembled as she held the diary. The pages seemed to pulse with warmth beneath her fingertips.
“Day 847 since my arrival,” she read aloud from an entry near the middle.
“The Moonfire Trial approaches, and I find myself both terrified and exhilarated. Marcus assures me that our bond is true, that the ancient magic will recognize what we both feel in our hearts. Yet the council remains skeptical of my human nature, whispering that I lack the strength to stand beside a wolf.”
“Marcus?” Cade leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear.
“Her mate,” Lyra supplied. “Not royal blood, but a respected pack warrior. Keep reading.”
Mila turned several pages, her eyes scanning the familiar struggles and doubts until she found what she was looking for.
“The Trial was unlike anything I could have imagined. The ancient magic seemed to see straight through to my soul, testing every fear and insecurity I possessed. For a terrifying moment, I thought we would fail—that my human limitations would prove insufficient. But then I remembered my grandmother’s words: ‘We are not shifters, child, but we are their guardians. It is in our blood to understand them, to bridge the gap between our worlds.’ The magic responded not to spells or tricks, but to truth.
To love. To the recognition that some bonds transcend species. ”
Tears blurred Mila’s vision as the words sank in. “She faced the same accusations,” she breathed. “The same doubts.”
“And look what she accomplished,” Lyra said softly, gesturing to another section of the diary. “She spent decades working with the wolf packs, strengthening the alliances between humans and shifters. She was exactly what this world needed.”
Cade’s arm tightened around Mila’s shoulders. “Just like you are exactly what we need now.”
Mila looked at him, seeing nothing but absolute conviction in his green eyes. No more doubt. No more hesitation. Just pure, unwavering faith in their bond.
“The council will have to accept this evidence,” Mila said, her voice growing stronger. “Celeste proves that what happened in our trial was real. That I didn’t cheat or cast spells—I just trusted in what my bloodline has always known. That true love transcends logic and species.”
“Let them try to argue with a firsthand account,” Lyra said with satisfaction. “Zarik’s accusations just became worthless.”
Suddenly, the ancient diary slipped from Mila’s fingers as Cade’s powerful frame shifted beside her. In one fluid motion, he dropped to one knee on the stone floor, his green eyes blazing with an intensity that caused her heart to race.
Oh my god, she thought. He’s actually—
“Mila,” his deep voice rumbled through the archives like distant thunder, commanding every ounce of her attention. “I had this all perfectly planned out for this morning. Before Zarik twisted everything with his lies.”
Lyra scrambled backward on the floor, her hands flying to cover her mouth as tears already began gathering in her green eyes.
But he only had eyes for Mila, his alpha presence filling the space between them until the rest of the world seemed to fade away. “I was going to take you to the aurora gardens,” he continued, his large hands reaching for hers. “Make some grand romantic gesture worthy of a future queen.”
The way he said future queen sent heat through her core, possessive and protective and absolutely certain.
“But I can’t wait another moment,” he said, his voice thickening with emotion. “Not after almost losing you today. Not after watching you face down that psychopath with more courage than most warriors I’ve known.”
Mila’s vision blurred as tears spilled over her cheeks.
“You’re extraordinary, Mila,” Cade said, his thumbs brushing away her tears with infinite gentleness that contrasted beautifully with the raw power radiating from him.
“You walked into my world and made it better just by existing in it. You faced the Moonfire Trial and proved what I’ve known since the moment I met you—you belong with me. ”
I can’t breathe, she thought wildly. This is really happening.
“You challenged a psychopathic wolf king to protect our bond,” he continued, his alpha dominance bleeding into every word. “You trusted me to save you when everything looked hopeless. You fought for us, for our future, with everything you had.”
Lyra let out a soft sob from her position on the floor, but Mila couldn’t look away from Cade’s face, from the vulnerability and fierce determination burning in his expression.
“I love you,” he said simply, and those three words hit her with the force of an avalanche. “I love your strength and your compassion. I love how you make me want to be better than duty demands. I love that you see past the crown to the man underneath.”
His hands tightened on hers, grounding her in this moment that felt suspended between heartbeats.
“Mila Eldridge,” he said, his voice dropping to that commanding tone that made her knees weak, “will you marry me? Will you be my queen and rule beside me? Will you help me build the future our ancestors dreamed of?”
The archives fell silent except for Lyra’s muffled sniffles and the distant sound of aurora winds outside the castle walls. Mila stared down at this incredible man—this Alpha wolf king who could command armies but knelt before her with his heart in his hands.
This is my destiny. This moment, this choice, this love—it’s what every instinct has been leading me toward.
“Yes,” she whispered, then louder and stronger, “Yes, Cade. Yes to all of it.”
His relief was palpable as he surged to his feet, lifting her with him and spinning her around the archives while Lyra cheered and sobbed simultaneously from the floor.
“You’re going to be the most incredible queen,” he murmured against her ear as he set her down, his arms still wrapped around her waist. “My queen.”
The possessive satisfaction in his voice sent delicious shivers through her entire body.
“I need to call Riley and my father,” Mila said breathlessly, reality starting to creep back in around the edges of her euphoria. “Tell them I quit. That I’m not coming back to Earth.”
But even as she said it, she felt no anxiety about their reactions. Somewhere deep in her soul, she knew they would understand. They would see that this was always meant to happen.
“Let them try to argue with destiny,” Lyra declared, climbing to her feet and wiping her tear-streaked face. “You two were written in the stars.”