Chapter 141
Lucien POV
I stirred awake to a sharp ache in my head and behind my eyes. And to the familiar scent of home… Auren. “Auren?” I murmured, sure I was dreaming. My body was heavy. It felt like I had been dragged through fire and ice all at once. I felt so numb that for a moment I couldn’t move. I blinked at the dark clouds above, and turned my face to see the broken walls and pillars on Eldermere ruins around me. And then I saw her. My Auren.
She was sitting beside me, eyes red as tears streamed down her cheeks, face riddled with exhaustion, sobbing and happy all at once. Her hair was tangled. Her dress was wrinkled and stained by my blood. And yet, I had never seen anything more divine.
My mate. My Luna. My salvation.
I
got up slowly, gasping as I ignored the pain in my back and the burn behind my eyes. “Auren?”
Her lips curled up into a grin. “You’re awake!” she rasped. “Thank the goddess.”
I looked around and saw the Shaman standing a few feet away. There was some activity going on in the background, and I tried to make sense of it. “Where are the pups?” I asked. We were at home only a few moments ago. I remembered the sharp pain in my chest, and then collapsing.
“Oh, Lucien!” she said and hugged me tightly.
When she pulled away, I reached for her and cupped her face with both hands. My thumbs brushed the tears on her cheeks. “What did you do?” I asked, my voice rough. I didn’t want to come to Eldermere. “What happened to the pups? How did we get here?” Anger and fear warred inside me.
She gave a shaky laugh. “The pups are fine. I dragged your stubborn ass through the forest to the ruins. With the babies.” My eyes widened. “What?” I almost shrieked. “What did you do? Do you know how dangerous it is to come here?”
“I know,” she replied. “And I also know that you wanted to take the beat of the curse to protect us.”
I swallowed. “Auren…”
She pointed at the altar. “Look over there.”
When I looked at the altar, I was in for a surprise. The crack in the stone had disappeared. Like it was never there. “H–how?” Even the thorny vines had dried and shriveled up. It seemed like the place was never affected by the curse. The thick magic in the air was no more. The unusual, oppressive feel of magic was not there. My throat tightened. “I just don’t know how-“I didn’t know what to say.
She chuckled. “The shadow wolves have left for good. The curse-” She pointed at my chest. “It’s gone.”
I looked down at my chest. The tattoos out there had gone. Not even the faint lines or the scars remained. I blinked in surprise as I stared at my chest. Other than my Alpha tattoo, there was nothing. The tattoos which were crawling over there had vanished. Like they were never there. Goosebumps lined my skin. Those tattoos were a part of my bloodline from centuries ago. My father and forefathers bore it always until the last day of their life. And they were gone? No longer alive?
“The curse is broken?” I asked as I brushed my finger over my tattoo incredulously.
“Yes!” she chirped. “We’ve done it!”
My eyes lifted to meet hers. The curse was gone because of her. I was so stupid to not believe in it. I was blinded by my fierce love for my family. “It’s gone because of you,” I said as I pulled her into my chest. “You… you defied the shadow wolves. You risked your life. And you carried me here.”
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12:25 Fri, 18 Apr
Chapter 141
She nodded against me as she buried her face in my chest. “I had to. I couldn’t lose you.”
I held her tighter, pressing my lips to her hair. In a rough voice I said, “You saved me, Auren.” A tear escaped my eye. My mate had done it again. She had proven that she was more than what the eye met. She was a powerful wolf with so much courage. “I love you!”
في العال
“I love you, too,” she cried softly. “How could you think of sacrificing yourself for us, silly?”
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I just wrapped her in her arms and both of us remained there until we were assured that it was all over. After a while, when I stood, I was shaky on my feet. I looked at the Eldermere ruins around me, the altar that once had cursed our bloodline. And now, my mate had turned it into the place where she saved me.
“Come, let’s go home,” I said to her. I lifted her face and kissed her on her lips. “And when we return, we will celebrate.”
The Shaman who was standing a few feet away, said, “From now, you will be known as Auren, the curse breaker of the Shadowfang”
The warriors standing around us cheered. “Long live the Luna!”
“Long live the curse breaker!”
They all seemed so excited as they looked at Auren with reverence that my chest filled with pride. I took Auren’s hand in mine and proudly walked out of the ruins, wondering if I wanted to step inside them again. When we came out, I saw Vivi and Tarian holding one pup each. Tarian nodded at me, his eyes filled with loyalty and love. Vivi was crying as she looked at me, murmuring something about Alphas, moon and curse.
I still couldn’t believe that the ancient curse was broken, that the shadow wolves had left us forever.
As I sat inside the car, Tarian and Vivi gave us our pups. They were both sleeping like there was no tomorrow. Did they even get affected by the shadow wolves? I was angry that Auren got them here. It was too risky. But then I stopped myself from going in that direction because all was well that ended well.
Tamara opened her eyes briefly, smiled, and then again went off to sleep in my arms. With one hand, I cradled her as with the other, I circled Auren’s shoulder, pulling her closer to me. She had Bradley in her arms. She placed her head on my chest with a beautiful and satisfied smile. We were all going back home. With no fear, no threats and a promise of beautiful life ahead.
I silently sent a prayer to the moon goddess for being so benevolent to me. I didn’t deserve Auren, or a family so beautiful, but she still blessed me with it. Her plans were so mysterious…
After reaching home, I announced to the pack that we would celebrate the birth of my pups in two days.
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