The Victory

The world didn't stop.

It should have. Kael's hand had gone limp in mine. His eyes were closed. Blood soaked through his clothes and pooled on the ground beneath him.

But the world kept moving.

Wolves were shouting. The council was arguing. Marta was pulling at my shoulders, trying to lift me off him.

"Miss Elara, you have to let Dr. Hayes through!"

I didn't move.

I couldn't.

If I let go of his hand, he would die. I knew it the way I knew my own name. The way I knew the two heartbeats growing inside me.

Hold on, I begged silently. Please hold on.

---

Dr. Hayes pushed through the crowd.

Her face was pale, but her hands were steady. She pressed her fingers to Kael's neck. Waited.

Seconds crawled by.

Then: "He's alive. Weak pulse, but alive. We need to get him to the house. Now."

Dorian appeared out of nowhere — I thought he'd been banished, but there he was, lifting Kael like he weighed nothing.

"Follow me," Dorian said.

I followed.

---

The walk back to the house was a blur.

I remember trees. Mud. The sound of Kael's breathing — shallow, ragged, wrong.

I remember Marta's hand on my back, steadying me.

I remember Lila's face in the window, wide-eyed and scared.

I remember thinking: I can't do this alone.

And then I remember nothing at all.

---

I woke up on a sofa.

The library. Late afternoon light slanting through the windows. Marta was beside me, pressing a cold cloth to my forehead.

"You fainted," she said.

"The baby?"

"Fine. Both heartbeats strong." She smiled, but her eyes were tired. "You're tougher than you look, Miss Elara."

"Kael?"

Marta's smile faded.

"Dr. Hayes is with him now. The knife nicked an artery. He lost a lot of blood."

"But he's alive?"

"For now."

I sat up. The room spun. I ignored it.

"Take me to him."

---

Kael's room had been transformed into a hospital.

Bandages everywhere. Dr. Hayes worked over him, her hands red with his blood. A tray of instruments sat on the nightstand — things I didn't want to look at.

I stood in the doorway.

"How is he?"

Dr. Hayes didn't look up. "I've stopped the bleeding. But he's lost a lot of blood. Too much."

"Can he survive?"

"Wolves heal fast. Two-soul wolves heal faster." She finally looked at me. "But he needs to wake up. And he needs something to fight for."

I crossed the room.

Sat on the edge of the bed.

Took Kael's hand.

"You heard her," I said. "You need to fight."

He didn't move.

"Kael Blackwood, if you die right now, I will never forgive you. Do you hear me? I will find you in the afterlife and yell at you for eternity."

Nothing.

"Your mother saved us. She didn't do that so you could give up. She did it so you could live. So we could live."

His fingers twitched.

I held my breath.

"Lila drew you a picture. She's been carrying it around for three days. It's a stick figure of you holding a baby. She colored your eyes silver."

Another twitch.

"She's eight years old, Kael. She's already lost one family. Don't make her lose another."

His hand squeezed mine.

Weak. But there.

"Elara," he breathed.

"I'm here. I'm right here."

His eyes fluttered open.

Gray. Tired. But alive.

"You're yelling at me," he whispered.

"Because you scared me."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Be alive."

He smiled. That small, fragile, real smile.

"Working on it."

---

Dr. Hayes shooed me out after that.

"Let me work," she said. "Come back in an hour."

I didn't go far. I sat in the hallway, my back against the wall, my hand on my belly.

Lila found me there.

"Ellie? Is the Alpha okay?"

"He's going to be."

She climbed into my lap. Pressed her face into my neck.

"I was scared."

"Me too."

"Is the baby okay?"

"The baby's fine." I kissed her hair. "We're all fine."

She pulled back. Looked at me with eyes too old for her face.

"You love him, don't you?"

I didn't answer.

But she was eight, not stupid.

"That's okay," she said. "I love him too."

---

An hour later, Dr. Hayes opened the door.

"He's asking for you."

I stood up. Lila was already asleep on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket.

"Go," Marta said. "I'll watch her."

I walked into Kael's room.

---

He was propped up against pillows. Pale. Bruised. But awake.

His eyes found mine the moment I walked in.

"You stayed," he said.

"I told you I would."

"You could have run. When I collapsed. You could have taken Lila and the money and disappeared."

"I could have."

"Why didn't you?"

I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Because I made you a promise."

"Which one?"

I took his hand.

"The one where we figure it out together."

---

Kael stared at me.

His gray eyes were wet.

"Elara."

"Kael."

"I need to tell you something."

"You need to rest."

"After I say this."

I waited.

He took a breath.

"I love you."

The words hung in the air.

Simple. Terrifying. True.

"I know it's too soon. I know we signed a contract. I know you didn't ask for any of this." His voice cracked. "But I love you. And I needed you to know. In case —"

"In case what?"

"In case Marcus had killed me. I didn't want to die without saying it."

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

"You're not going to die."

"Then I get to say it again." He squeezed my hand. "I love you, Elara Vance. Omega of Fellshadow. Mother of my child. The most stubborn woman I've ever met."

I laughed. Cried. Both.

"I love you too," I said.

"Say it again."

"I love you."

"Again."

"Later." I leaned down and pressed my forehead to his. "Right now, you need to rest."

"Only if you stay."

"I'm not going anywhere."

---

I lay down beside him.

Careful. Careful not to hurt him. His arm came around me, weak but warm.

"We're a mess," he said.

"A complete disaster."

"Perfect for each other."

I smiled against his chest.

"Go to sleep, Kael."

"Only if you sing to me."

"I don't sing."

"Then tell me a story."

I thought for a moment.

"Once upon a time," I began, "there was a wolf who forgot how to howl. He was cold and lonely and afraid of the dark. But then an omega showed up. Pregnant. Starving. Stubborn. And she taught him that the dark wasn't so scary. Not when you had someone to hold onto."

Kael's breathing slowed.

"What happened next?" he murmured.

"I don't know yet. We're still writing it."

"Good." His voice was barely a whisper. "Because I want to read every chapter."

He fell asleep.

And I held him.

The hallway light was on.

And for the first time in a long time, neither of us was afraid.