Chapter 30 - Luke
The waves are calm today as the tide stretches away from the shore while the sun breaks through the clouds on its way to disappearing for the night. The usual sea birds fly overhead in greeting, drifting along the breeze carrying the very scents I grew up with. Now, my daughter will too.
In my arms, she seems so impossibly small, yet fearsome in the way she squirms, as if she’s already counting down the days until she can wreak havoc on the rest of us.
Before, I thought I understood true strength and what it meant to protect something precious. I didn’t until the day she was born.
Her fingers curl around mine, small yet determined as she peers up at me with all the trust in the world. Even if she doesn’t understand pack dynamics or exactly who I am yet, she looks at me like I’m someone important, as if she already knows me.
The blessing ceremony is small and intimate along the shoreline at dusk. Streaks of pink and orange meld together across the sky as if the Salt Mother herself is here to welcome our girl, too.
Our tradition has stood the test of time. When new life arrives, they are presented to the sea in thanks. A blessing for a blessing, as we see it.
Sera stands beside me, gazing at our daughter in awe, wearing a soft white dress to match the cloth wrapped around the little one. As the wind lightly pulls at her hair, she looks more beautiful than I could ever describe.
I stand close enough that our arms brush while Elder Jonah and the others begin to speak, with some waving their incense.
The rest of the pack forms a semi-circle around us, all trying to get a better look at the baby while still keeping their distance.
Some aren’t quite as eager, given how they’re still working through their old prejudices, but the fact that they’re here means they’re trying, and that counts for something.
Even if a handful of others aren’t sure what to make of having a witch so closely tied to our pack, they still look at her with respect anyway. They know now that I chose her for a reason, and that Sera was brought into my life not by chance.
Isaac and Eve stand the closest to us, watching with warm, gleeful expressions. Neither of them has gone a day without coming to see her, and of course, they don’t waste any time spoiling their first-ever niece.
“As Alpha, please step forward and present your daughter to the sea so our Salt Mother may gaze freely,” Jonah says, gesturing to me.
With my chin up, I step forward until the shallow waves lap against my feet, and I carefully raise the baby up while the last rays of sunlight illuminate her soft skin.
“Who are you presenting on this day?”
A new, more tender emotion courses through me as I hold her in my protective grasp. “Fern Rourke.”
Instantly, a soft, positive murmur passes through the crowd behind me as I turn slowly to show the others her face next.
“Fern Rourke, born of strength, resilience, and unity,” Jonah continues, voice unwavering despite his age. “Has been witnessed by our Mother. May she always feel her guiding hand.”
The others clap softly as they smile, taking the time to look at her while they can. Eve beams, unable to contain herself, and I catch as the guys grin too. Even they can’t resist.
Carefully, I cradle Fern again, moving back to Sera, who gladly takes her now.
“Our little darling,” she says softly, eyes damp with happiness as she smiles.
“She will always have a place here,” I murmur, gently placing my hands on her shoulders before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. I say quietly just for her, “She will always be wanted.”
As the gentle congratulations are handed out, and the others tend to a bonfire on the beach in celebration, my father approaches the three of us.
Even after the fight with Dawson, he hasn’t said much, and he hasn’t needed to. Though it seems today is a bit different.
His gaze drifts to Fern as Sera gently rocks her, then he looks at me. “She has your eyes.”
“I hope she has Sera’s patience too,” I find myself saying, surprisingly lighthearted.
An almost imperceptible smile tugs at his lips. “She’ll need it.”
Silence hangs between us for just a moment, then Dad sighs quietly, and it feels like the closest thing to a concession as I’ve ever heard from him.
“I never gave you enough credit, Luke,” he says, allowing vulnerability to slip between the cracks of his stoicism. “But you handled Dawson correctly. You chose your mate, your pack, and you didn’t need to separate the two. I’m proud of the man and Alpha you’ve become.”
The words come sweeping in so suddenly that I’m more stunned than I should be, and some part of me that had long given up on hoping to hear those exact words tightens now.
After chasing that praise for so long, I’m not desperate for more. Instead, I feel steady.
“I’m glad to hear it,” I say quietly, holding his gaze. “Thank you.”
Dad reaches out to clap a hand against my shoulder. It feels like a casual gesture at first, but as it lingers, I catch the depth within it, and all the words he can’t quite bring himself to say.
But from him, it’s more impactful than any long-winded speech could ever hope to be.
“Your mother would be proud, too.”
That almost knocks something completely loose in me, but I manage to keep it together somehow.
Then, he gives me a nod before stepping aside and allowing the others to approach.
It’s more than I ever expected to hear from him, and while one small exchange doesn’t fix years of resentment, it’s something, and I don’t plan to waste it.
***
Later, after the moon comes up and Fern starts to grow fussy, we gather back at the house, and it doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep against my chest.
Isaac lounges on one of the sofas nearby while he talks with the guys about something that happened recently on patrol. Eve watches the baby sleep while leaning against the arm like she might start cooing at any moment, and Sera stays tucked in against my side.
“She likes me best, I can already tell,” Eve muses.
“What, because she threw up on you earlier?” Isaac returns, grinning. “She already knows her uncle is the coolest.”
“She’s a few days old,” I say dryly, cocking a brow at them both. “She doesn’t know you from anyone else yet.”
“You’re wrong. She definitely knows us. She remembers all the smoothies I brought Sera in the last trimester,” Eve insists, though her tone is playfully teasing.
“Because that’s the standard for earning a baby’s loyalty,” Dominic pipes up as he appears behind Eve. “You know, as the pack’s precious gem, this might be your future soon. If you ever want to practice—”
Eve throws a glare at him over her shoulder, then she scoffs and pushes him back. “Shut up, or I’ll cast you into the ocean where nobody has to hear you.”
Dominic just grins, unrepentant. “You wound me, Evelyn.”
Her gaze only sharpens at the use of her full name. “I intend to.”
“If I weren’t holding the baby, I’d throw you in the ocean myself,” I say to Dominic, giving him a pointed look that very much says stop flirting with my sister.
Isaac snorts from the other side of the couch. “Can you two not do this in front of the child?”
Dominic shrugs. “Ferny should learn early that this is what her aunt’s helpless pining looks like.”
Cheeks pink now, Eve growls under her breath as she gets up from her seat and charges after him, only making him laugh harder as he dodges her.
“You’re such an idiot!”
Hunter and Isaac laugh at the scene while Zane exhales like Dominic’s antics exhaust him, but he’s definitely used to it by now.
Sera shakes her head with a warm smile, and the sight of her at ease while surrounded by everyone makes my heart stir.
Regardless of the noise and chaos, this is the kind of normalcy I crave now. After everything, it almost feels surreal now.
With my pack, my family, and the woman who has helped me change the overall opinion of magic little by little, I have everything I could ever want and need.
Settled in beside me, Sera gently slips an arm through mine while her other hand comes up to lightly brush Fern’s fine hair back in a soothing motion. Through the bond, I feel her contentment as it mirrors my own.
I always thought she was beautiful, but now, as she experiences motherhood and a new kind of peaceful existence, I can’t help but find her even more captivating with each passing day.
With our sleeping daughter between us, I lean down and press a light kiss to Sera’s temple.
For so long, I felt like I had to prove myself to everyone. I was afraid of leading wrong or doing things differently to the pack’s detriment. But after everything, I know my most important job now is protecting this.
That feels like more than enough.
*****
THE END