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 theterror of that day. "Finally, I decided there was no way we'd both escape. So?—"
"So what?" I asked hoarsely.
