But I’ve got my pack again.
Let them come.
Chelsea is curledup against my chest, a small furnace of defiance and warmth. Her breath puffs against my skin in little huffs, her fingers twitching like she’s still fighting in her dreams. Even asleep, she’s all instinct and strength—just like her mother. Just like me.
Ayla lies on the other side of her, fingers laced in mine. We lie there in silence, staring out the porthole as the stars tear past in blinding streaks. The ship hums around us, a low thrum like a giant cat purring after a long, bloody hunt.
“She growled in her sleep again,” Ayla murmurs.
I smile faintly. “She always does. Like she’s daring the universe to try her.”
“She gets that from you.”
I glance at Ayla, tracing the lines of her face with my eyes. “She gets her fire from you.”
Ayla chuckles, low and bitter. “I hid. I let them take her. I don’t feel like fire.”
“You survived. You fought. You came back for her. That’s more than fire. That’s fury tempered into steel.”
She squeezes my hand. “Still… I’m not sure I would’ve made it without the thought of you out there. Somewhere.”
I lean over, press my lips to her knuckles. “I clawed my way out of the void for you. For her. You kept us both alive, Ayla.”
The silence returns, heavy with meaning. Outside, the stars stream faster—superluminal speed kicking in harder now, the ship’s drives whining with effort. We’re close. Almost there.
“I don’t want to go back to Earth,” she says softly.
“You won’t have to,” I growl. “No more hiding. No more chains. No more pretending.”
She turns to face me fully, her eyes glowing in the dim cabin lights. “I’d rather stay with my real family.”
I nod, heart aching in the best way. “And you’re mine. Both of you. Clan-sworn, blood-bound.”
The ship AI chirps. “Tyrannus orbit reached. Holding pattern initiated. Incoming transmissions from Reaper High Clave.”
My spine straightens. I lift Chelsea carefully and set her between us, wrapping her in my cloak.
I open the channel.
“This is Kallus of the Storm Clave. I return from death with my mate, Ayla of House Verne, and my daughter—my heir, Chelsea. We return under blood-right and war-claim. Let the clans bear witness.”
Silence.
Then—
A howl. Then another. A rising tide of roars and cheers and Reaper chants echoing across comms.
Ayla laughs, eyes shimmering with disbelief. “They still remember you.”
“They never forgot. I’m the Storm Clave’s alpha. And now I return not alone—but with legacy.”
Chelsea stirs, blinking sleepily. She growls. I grin wide.
“She’s going to rule them all someday.”
Ayla smiles. “She already does.”
The ship dips into the atmosphere. Through the porthole, Tyrannus rises to meet us. Black cliffs. Crimson skies. Blazing bonfires along the ridges. The bonespire is alight, casting fire against the clouds.
