Chapter 18 - Luke
The agony siphoning through the bond hits me first before anything else, and the moment I sense the disturbance by the beach, I’m already running.
By the time I reach the sand, Sera’s on her knees while Eve stands by her, expression twisted with concern. I catch the scent of the retreating wolves, and I look over my shoulder at the guys as they follow.
“Track them.”
Without missing a beat, the three of them nod, and a hint of excitement moves through Dominic, apparently ready for a chase. “You got it.”
The torches are out as I approach, and broken rock fragments scatter the beachfront while the scorched, metallic smell of magic burning too bright lingers in the air.
The others part as I move through them, reaching my mate, who looks like she’s been torn apart and is barely hanging on.
“Sera,” I murmur, crouching as I use one hand to grip her shoulder while the other cradles her cheek.
She’s trembling faintly, and her skin is pale, as if the life has been sucked out of her.
My thumb brushes against a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, and every instinct in me flares at once.
“I’m fine,” she whispers, though her eyes barely meet mine. If anything, that far-off look immediately tells on her. She’s far from it.
The tether between us feels more like a frantic pulse now, depleted and riddled with pain. Not wanting to overwhelm her in this state, I try to keep my end as quiet and calm as possible, regardless of how my mind is reeling.
Then, I register the voices around us, along with the old suspicion and accusations as they rise.
“This is what we said would happen,” someone says, far too sharp for my liking.
“This destruction…this is what you want us to embrace?”
Before I can hold it down, something in me breaks, and I stand. The movement is slow and deliberate as I turn to face the others, eyes glancing between them, partly blocking Sera from view.
The stance is enough to tell the others they’ll have to go through me first.
“Enough,” I utter, not raising my voice, but allowing it to carry with tense calmness. The sight of her barely upright behind me sharpens my authority.
The murmurs falter, with some exchanging hesitant glances. They pull back enough to be noticeable as I allow more of my inner wolf to surface. It rolls across the group in a wave like a shift in pressure, and I know they feel it.
I look toward Eve. “What happened?”
“They surrounded us. The wolves from Wraith Peak…they tried to attack, but Sera stopped them,” she says honestly, expression a mix of concern and subtle fear given the tension coursing through the pack.
They attacked when it was only the elders and children around, and while the rest of us were distracted. This was planned, and I already know what that means.
“She drew them here,” another wolf claims, setting my teeth on edge. “Her magic is a beacon to them. They’ll never stop.”
I whirl on the speaker, gaze severe now. “I will not have my mate blamed for defending our own. Would you prefer it if she had let them take one of your children? She could’ve let them attack, and we could be finding our elders with their spines broken in the sand. Is that what you want?”
The others shift uncomfortably with my step forward, and silence falls over them at once.
I suck in an aggravated breath as I continue. “They saw our weakest point unguarded. They planned this strategically, but those wolves didn’t find it undefended after all. If it weren’t for Sera, we would be counting losses.”
No one answers, and they don’t need to, as the churned earth and broken rock around us speak for just how hard she fought.
In the stillness of hesitation, Jonah steps forward. He looks at the damage, then at the few children being clutched tightly by their parents before glancing at Sera. Finally, his eyes land on me, more grave than usual.
“Sera acted quickly,” he begins, voice steady enough to hold weight. “I have lived long enough to know fear can make fools of us, and tonight, her abilities prevented bloodshed.”
Every word hits harder than the last, and another ripple moves through the pack.
My chest tightens, though, in vindication now. Given Jonah’s age and wisdom, his claim means something.
I watch as some of the wolves’ expressions soften with the realization, while others remain rigid with their jaws set and eyes skeptical. They’ll be the hardest to reach, but right now, I don’t want to hear their opinions.
“She’s still a risk,” someone mutters, unable to drop it.
“So is every wolf on this beach,” I snap, losing more of my restraint now.
“We all carry something that can be used against us one way or another. And right now, I don’t recognize this pack.
You ask the Salt Mother for protection each year on this day, and when she delivers, you blame the very woman she offers you. ”
A mutual wave of surprise hits them at the way I associate Sera with the deity we follow, but they don’t argue. Instead, a hint of shame settles among them.
Scanning the crowd, bolstered by the fact that Sera is weakened behind me, I continue.
“I have let too much slide. I tolerated the doubt and the disrespect aimed at Sera, but that ends now.” My voice rises a little more with conviction.
“She is my mate and your Luna. She defended this pack’s most vulnerable tonight when many of you were already halfway home.
If anyone wants to contest my claim, I invite you to do so, but you will have to go through me directly. Am I clear?”
Nobody speaks up. They hardly even breathe now, almost afraid the wrong move will set me off. They’re probably right.
I take them in again before urging the rage in me to calm. “We’re done here.”
At the dismissal, the others move, corralling their kids away and guiding the elders back. I catch Eve’s supportive glance in our direction before she heads out too, walking with Isaac.
Allowing them all to fade into the background, I lower myself and slide an arm around her waist before she can protest.
“I can walk,” Sera murmurs, still clinging to her stubbornness even now, while she looks barely alive.
“I know,” I say quietly anyway, lifting her with ease. “But you don’t need to.”
If the others watch while I carry her across the beach, I don’t care. Maybe now they’ll figure out exactly where I stand.
***
The water is calmer at the mouth of the cove as small waves gently lap where the ocean meets the glittering pool. It feels more like rhythmic breaths as the ends and underside of Sera’s dress become saturated while at the most shallow point.
Inside, it feels warm still after being warmed by the sun all day as I sit behind her, holding her in between my legs as I hold her against me. Her breaths are slow and still too shaky for my liking, but I feel how she takes it in anyway.
Water heals, and it always has.
“You pushed too hard,” I say gently, thumb mindlessly brushing against her waist while I try to keep myself together as I weather this with her.
Sera huffs, but it sounds weaker than usual. “You noticed.”
“I felt it in the bond. It was agony.”
“I had to,” she murmurs, surprisingly still and not fighting my presence.
Her eyes close as she takes a deeper breath.
“I was trying to keep the others shielded while fighting, and I wasn’t as careful as I should’ve been.
I was taking from too many sources without coaxing it.
I was demanding, and it demanded more from me in return. ”
The thought alone is enough to make my heart clench, and I take a moment to steady myself.
“You don’t need to explain yourself.”
“I do,” she counters quietly with a harsh swallow. “The others were right about it leaving a mark and acting as a beacon. They’ll be able to track my magic use.”
Catching the part she doesn’t say, I glance down at her. “The Wraith Peak wolves weren’t just here for you. They were pushing our borders even before you showed up.”
At that, Sera pauses as the news catches her off guard, and she needs to sit with it. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I know,” I admit. Truthfully, I didn’t want to admit how precarious things have been ever since I took over as Alpha. “But I’m telling you now because I don’t want you thinking this is all on you.”
She doesn’t say anything to that at first, and instead, looks out at the ocean while her eyes betray just how hard she’s thinking now.
Then her voice comes out even softer. “What if another attack happens?”
“Then we’ll deal with it.”
After a beat, Sera carefully pushes herself up into a sitting position, still unsteady but with a little more strength than before. She studies me. “You’re not worried?”
I loosen my grip on her, letting her move as she needs, but my hand remains against her waist just in case.
“I’m furious…just not at you.”
Sera glances down at the small ripples brushing against her legs, then back to me, and her jaw clenches before her shoulders drop a little more. She says just above a whisper, “I’m tired of feeling like I’m on trial.”
The almost defeated confession makes me soften without hesitation. “I know.”
I’ve felt the same weight of expectations pressing in from all sides, left feeling like nothing I do will ever be enough. Though what she carries is different.
“But they won’t decide your worth, or if you’re doing enough,” I tell her quietly, taking in her features. “I won’t let them.”
Sera’s eyes return to mine, and for a long moment, neither of us speaks. It’s just the ocean around us, and the steady presence of the bond reminding us both that it exists.
Slowly but surely, more color returns to her cheeks, and I adjust my position to face her better. Bringing a hand up, I gently wash away the stained smear of blood at the corner of her lip.
“You’re shaking less,” I murmur, letting that touch linger against her jaw.
I watch as every thought and emotion moves through her face, a little surprised by the gentle contact, but she makes no effort to move either.
Still, she exhales slowly. “The others will probably want to hear from you after everything.”
“They can wait.”
Right now, all that matters is the woman in front of me who risked serious damage to herself just to protect the others. To protect the wolves who still haven’t fully come around to her.
“You defended me,” Sera says, eyes searching mine as more vulnerability creeps into her features. “You didn’t hesitate.”
I huff out a quiet breath and shake my head. “I hesitated before, and I won’t again.”
Even if she doesn’t mean to, she softens. “But they still doubt me, and they probably always will.”
“They might…or maybe tonight will mark the change we’ve been needing.”
She considers that, then asks with a softness that speaks of her finally conceding that she needs reassurance. “You believe that?”
“I believe you belong here,” I respond, keenly aware of how close I am to her now without forcing it.
The wavering in her defenses continues, and the sound she makes sounds both disbelieving and undeniably tired.
“I’m still angry, and I don’t fully forgive them.”
“You don’t have to,” I offer, taking every chance I have to gaze at her.
“And I haven’t fully forgiven you either,” she adds, as if that has ever swayed me.
A small smile pulls at my lips. “I can’t blame you.”
Even if she still holds some of that resistance, Sera continues to watch me as her energy slowly rebuilds, as if this moment is exactly what she needs.
Then, like finally cracking open and allowing herself to admit what she wants, she says softly, “Touch me.”
Lacking the challenge I’ve come to expect from her, I hear it only as the invitation it is. The request throws me at first, but the instincts screaming at me to keep her close and care for her in any way I can urge me forward.
My hands slide back to her waist, as grounding and gentle as I can be while I pull her closer, leaving her every chance to change her mind.
When she doesn’t, she gently grabs my shirt once she’s in my lap, and with great relief, the tether doesn’t feel as frantic anymore. It’s calm and warm while it resonates between us.
“You’re sure?” I ask her, letting a palm drift back to her jaw, cupping her cheek lightly while I drink her in.
Sera swallows and nods, leaning into the touch. “I am.”
With no hesitation left, I lean in and kiss her as gently as I can, even when my inner wolf wants to take over. I force it down, savoring the proximity and the magnetic pull of having her like this.
She breathes with it, allowing the tension to ebb away from her shoulders as her fingers brush against my neck.
Gradually, I deepen the kiss and tangle my hand in her hair while the other rests at her back, keeping her pressed against me.
She’s here with me, alive and choosing this. She’s choosing me, even if some of her previous doubts linger.
While the trust is fragile, it’s enough to be real as it tangles with undeniable need and want, and for now, it’s enough.
The last tremors leave her body as Sera shifts closer like she can’t stand even a sliver of space between us, and for a while, there is no pack, no accusations, and no Wraith Peak.
It’s just us and the tide’s nurturing rhythm guiding us through something we’re both trying to understand together.