"Let him..."
I sighed.
"Let him be free. Just once."
Marcus hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, Alpha."
I carried Kai, held Layla's hand, and we walked toward the estate.
Behind us, the warriors worked the scene—carrying wounded, clearing bodies, putting out fires still burning.
The sky began to lighten. Dawn was coming. This long nightmare...
Finally ended.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Layla
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of the ceremony hall, casting colorful patterns on the marble floor.
I stood in the backstage prep room, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
The white gown was in classic werewolf style—off-the-shoulder, cinched at the waist, with the skirt cascading like a waterfall and the Silver Moon Pack emblem embroidered on the chest.
"Mommy looks so pretty!" Kai circled around me, dressed in his tiny tuxedo that Kayden had custom-made. "Like a princess!"
"Thanks, sweetie." I knelt down to fix his bow tie. "You look handsome too."
"I'm the flower boy!" Kai beamed, holding up his basket. "I'm gonna scatter petals everywhere!"
"Remember to do it gracefully," Anna reminded him from the side. She was my bridesmaid today. "Not just toss them."
"I know!" Kai stuck out his tongue.
Three months had passed since that bloody night.
In those three months, so much had changed.
The day after the battle, Kayden called a full pack meeting.
The sun was shining brightly that day. Every pack member gathered in the central square. I stood below the stage, cradling Kai who was still recovering, my heart pounding with anxiety.
Kayden stood tall on the platform, clad in his formal Alpha robe, commanding and solemn.
"I've called you all here to reveal something," his voice boomed through the amplification array across the square. "The truth about what happened seven years ago."
The crowd stirred.
"Seven years ago, Finn Blackwood died suddenly at his engagement ceremony," Kayden said. "Everyone thought his fiancée, Layla Gray, was the killer."
"She was framed, accused, and driven to despair, jumping into the sea."
"We all thought she was dead."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before settling on me.
"But the truth is..."
