YIELD

POV: Elaris

Caedmon's wolf falls silent.

There is a pause of several seconds as both men stand suspended in the silence.

Averic looms over him, an arm pressing against his shoulder and one arm preventing the fallen wolf from rising for a second attempt.

Caedmon pulls back.

He slides down onto one knee, panting, streaks of dirt coating his skin and small rivulets of blood marking a side of his torso but he says nothing.

His silence speaks for itself.

Even to the warriors.

Sennik turns to the pack witnesses first.

"Did all see it?"

A murmur of affirmation sounds from across the grounds.

"Yes."

The answer ripples among the gathered warriors.

Sennik turned to Caedmon.

"Do you contest?"

His head is lowered, eyes hidden but his response is simple enough.

"No."

There was a second ripple through the pack, this time murmurs of assent as the pack realized the challenge had truly ended.

Caedmon had thrown down his claim and lost it.

I watch him from the outer edges of the grounds, his decisions for years the thing dictating just how much of myself I could claim to keep.

But he couldn't dictate this any longer.

What was there to be upset about?

I look on silently as Averic releases him and rises.

He makes no move for the council.

Sennik takes his place within the circle once more, the tightness gone from his posture as he watches me.

"By the ancient right of challenge witnessed by the council and by the gathered pack, Caedmon Rhyvek has yielded."

The record keeper set to his work.

"Thus, the council recognizes the outcome of this challenge as binding..."

Sennik turned now to Averic.

"... and formally revokes the judgment of exile from the Alpha position cast upon Averic Thorne."

There was a murmur from the gathered pack but Sennik easily silenced it with a raised voice, turning toward me as he did so.

His wolf had returned, his challenge had been met and he had yielded to his opponent in this duel. The pack had witnessed it all.

"Thus from this day forward," there was only the rustling of leaves as Sennik paused momentarily, "Averic Thorne is acknowledged to be Alpha of this pack."

There was no need to raise his voice any farther, the murmurs had grown into an all encompassing chant echoing from the edges of the training ground.

"Alpha."

"Alpha."

"Alpha."

I watch as Averic makes no grand gesture.

Doesn't throw out his arms for the entire gathering to flock to, nor does he smile for the eager warriors watching.

He turns instead toward me.

His gaze locking onto mine for a fraction of a second before he moves forward.

The whole watching pack knew exactly where he was headed.

Averic came to a halt before me, turning slightly so that I could see him properly.

Then he simply outstretched his hand.

I stare at his offered hand for a moment.

Then at him.

There had once been a time when walking to him like this would have meant surrendering another part of myself.

Not now.

I place my hand in his.

It was a simple enough gesture, the only signifier of intent.

My gaze locks onto his as he gently encloses my fingers with his.

The pack watches as I step forward, I can see their gazes all upon us as I am ushered into the ring circle.

There were warriors, council members and servants there who had seen me dragged from the palace in chains.

Those who had seen me leave the gates with my belongings in tow after Averic had ordered me cast out.

Most incline their heads, a few actually watching me in complete fascination.

I'm not offended.

They've seen something they weren't likely to be able to grasp the full meaning of, I'll grant them that.

Averic turns slightly, keeping my hand trapped within his grip as he locks eyes with the pack.

He says nothing, nor does he need to.

There is a hush that has spread through the gathered folk, a hush that has swallowed everything save his next words.

"This is Elaris Veyne," his voice is steady as he speaks, unhurried even as his next words tumble from his lips.

"Carries my child," A few whispers break away and dissipate quickly as he continues, turning to me once more.

"She is my marked mate." His thumb brushes lightly across my knuckles, his gaze flicking down momentarily to the joining mark before returning to the onlookers.

"The pack will recognize her."

There was no grand speech, no sweeping declaration meant to rewrite the last few years between us.

He didn't claim everything had been easy, he didn't pretend that I'd forgotten what had transpired in those past years.

He simply told the pack what is so painfully obvious, and expected nothing more in return.

I watch his face for a moment, all the other words, titles and accusations fading as the sound of just the man who had once stood outside my door having accepted my refusals slips away.

He had cast out his wolf, fought to reclaim his standing as a man and stood before them all once more.

He had known I likely would never have allowed him to return again if I'd thought his wolf really could harm me.

My throat tightens on a sudden wave of emotion as the next tears sting unbidden at my lashes

I grip his hand tighter, a silent promise to never hurt him as I step forward.

No one dares to object to his speech.

Not even Sennik, though the elders all looked upon me with thinly veiled displeasure at what he had done.

But there was little they could do when what he had done was undeniable, when it could not be helped.

The joining mark peeked peeked out over the top of my dress, the proof of what had happened easily seen by all who wished to look upon me and judge me.

The evidence of the pregnancy impossible to miss and the beast who had been banished all returned to stand beside Elaris.

One of the older warriors was the first to come forward, lowering his head.

"Luna."

Another followed, then another, the title passing from mouth to mouth until it reached me.

It didn't sound like much when said quietly enough to simply be heard but I still found myself smiling.

I look down for a second, the small swells of my belly catching my peripheral vision.

Averic had taken notice as well, his expression softening as he listened to my next words.

"They actually said it."

He leans closer, his expression amused.

"You heard it."

"I did."

"Then let them continue to say it."

I look up at him, my eyes narrowed playfully.

"That sounds like an order."

He smiles lightly. "No"

He squeezes my hand gently.

"It sounds like hope."

Caedmon was brought to his feet, two warriors standing at his side.

Sennik stepped forward, offering the challenged man a sealed scroll bearing the council insignia.

"Caedmon Rhyvek, your challenge has denied you claim to the Alpha position."

He didn't refuse as he took the scroll, offering no opinion on the matter at all before simply reading the contents over.

"There will be no further challenge from today," A second scroll follows, the one in his hands bearing no further orders.

Caedmon folds the paper and lets it slip from his fingers as he locks eyes with the gathering pack for a second.

I think he might have looked at me, but I look away before he can see my face.

The guards lead him away from the circle, I watch them for a long moment before turning away as well.

No dramatic goodbyes took place, no last words were offered or refused.

Perhaps things have come to an end as they should, that the chapter in our lives has closed without him seeking to change its outcome once more.

I let out a slow breath I hadn't realized I was holding in as Averic was once again offered his place as Alpha.

He took it, not in the way expected but in the way he had always taken things in life.

With no need for grand ceremonies or titles cast upon him.

The formal restoration faded off into the great hall, the pack dispersing toward it as the council took their places once more.

Averic stood before them, not because they had given it to him, but because the challenge had ensured it could not be denied him, no matter the votes that had been cast.

Sennik reads the last of the restoration decree, Averic receiving the insignia of the Alpha position without protest.

Once he has accepted the token, Sennik looks once more toward me.

"Elaris Veyne."

I step forward, my fingers brushing against the binding stone before pausing to listen.

"For the protection of the Alpha's family and recognition of the completed mate bond, the council formally recognizes you as Luna of this pack."

The words settled down over me like some invisible weight, for reasons I couldn't put my finger on.

Luna.

I had heard the title used already, but this was different.

This had made it official, it seemed.

Sennik presents me with the Luna circlet and I take it, fingers tightening slightly around the metal as I do so.

It wasn't as heavy as one might have expected, perhaps because it hadn't seemed to matter at the end of the day.

Averic smiles slightly as he watches me from beside the council table.

His eyes speak of thoughts just the same as mine, though we had both reached the place we could go no further forward by taking the straight roads.

When the last formalities were dismissed, the hall slowly emptied out behind me.

The servants flowing from the various wings, the warriors disappearing back toward their posts as the council remained to handle the politics the challenge had stirred up.

Averic waited until there was a smaller gathering around us before finally looking up at me.

"Come with me."

I follow him, stepping through the halls as we pass from one familiar wing to another.

Each room growing more and more private, as if the world was folding in around me again the longer I walk.

Until I reach the private wing.

My feet slow to a stop before the door, Averic noting it at once.

"You don't have to go inside if you don't want to."

I look ahead at the familiar door, at the familiar rooms behind them.

Only with different things inside, with a different woman standing waiting.

"I want to."

He pushes the door open, revealing to me a room exactly as I had expected to see.

Only, it was me who had been standing there not months ago with my belongings packed up, the last things I was to own in the palace being taken away.

Averic pushes the door shut behind us, locking it for the first time since the morning began.

There are no witnesses this time.

No warriors, no council, no arguments or accusations.

Just us.

Me facing him and him... facing me.

Neither one of us speaking for several moments, I am the one to break the silence.

"I don't refuse you anymore."

Averic's gaze does not waver, watching me carefully.

I don't hurry to finish my sentence.

"The refusal ended before today."

"When?"

"The night your wolf returned."

He looks down at me briefly before stepping forward.

"You could have left on your own from the hall."

"I know,"

"You could have accepted the title and left me out of the deciding vote entirely."

"I wouldn't have done that."

"I know that now."

This admission was far harder to make, somehow, than I ever thought it would be.

I touch the mark at my neck idly.

"You came back for us before you even knew that I would have let you stay."

His eyes darken, his expression unreadable for a second.

"I would have kept coming back to you."

"I know."

I place a hand over his chest.

"I accept the bond."

His breathing slows, his fingers tightening over my arm lightly.

"I accept the title."

My hand moves downward, hovering a mere heartbeat above his stomach before I lay it flush with the curve of my own belly.

"And I accept the future."

His eyes close for the briefest of moments, when they open again he did not look triumphant or anything else I had expected him to but something far more simple.

Relief.

Averic moves closer and this time, I do not retreat as he reaches forward and presses his hands against my neck one and my stomach the next.

The child stirs beneath his touching hands and we both feel the small flutter of movement inside me.

Averic's forehead presses lightly against mine and we both stay quite for a long moment.

Things do not need to be said, there was nothing to be explained.

The bond settled within me, just as gentle as it could be.

It was not the rage and hunger of the first time when my essence had spilled across his, it was the gentle warmth of completion and fulfillment within me.

A sort of finality settling there as I accepted the thing I had struggled for so long to take.

His thumb brushed across my neck lightly as he spoke quietly against my forehead.

"I don't want you to forget anything."

"I won't."

"I don't want you to pretend I never hurt you."

"I won't do that either."

His forehead still rested against mine.

"What do you want?"

I opened my eyes.

"You."

The words slip out before I can stop myself, only for his hand to tighten slightly over mine.

"And I want you to continue choosing me," I added afterwards.

"I will."

Nothing more is needed, as far as I'm concerned.

The rest of the day passes with little crisis, for once.

The pack received only the formal announcement that the Alpha and Luna were to make an appearance at the next gathering when the next full moons watched over the pack.

Until that day came, the household was to grant us privacy.

Neryss sent word that she would remain available but would not permit anyone to disturb us unless absolutely necessary.

I laugh at this message when I hear it.

"She has become rather possessive."

Averic sits beside me, watching my reaction with a small smile playing at his lips.

"She always has been."

"She simply had less opportunity before."

We sit and watch the world through the windows, it was different than I always seem to see from these rooms.

Perhaps it was I who was different.

I glance down at the Luna circlet lying in wait on the table before looking at the mark beneath my fingers and then up at Averic.

For once, I have not felt as if I have been waiting something dreadful to occur.

I let my mind wander, imagining life moving on with a tomorrow I actually wanted to greet.

A home, a child, a pack and a life no more built around surviving the decision making of someone else.

Averic takes my hand in his fingers.

I lean against him.

The future finally seems safe enough to move into.

That night I lie beside Averic, the room lit only by the lights that had escaped the curtains.

His hand was settled over my belly as the child had been fairly active for the most part of the evening.

I smile when the next press of movement caused it to kick, Averic also feeling it.

"There," he murmured as he felt it move again, I know.

The child eases itself onto a pause and for some minutes nothing more was heard from within my abdomen.

I begin to relax, then my body moves itself to another tightening, less severe than the last one had been but enough to halt my breathing.

My fingers curl around Averic's wrist to let him know something was amiss.

He looks up at me immediately, concern evident on his features as to what was happening.

"What is it?"

I hesitate for a moment.

"Nothing."

He watches me with an odd expression, not sure whether what I said was the entire truth.

"You're sure of that?"

"Yes."

I begin to relax once more, but soon enough something else tightens in my lower abdomen.

It is different in its feel to what the other ones had been like, not quite the same sensation but still easily identified.

I press both of my hands beneath where my stomach balloons out, Averic sitting upright and watching me intently.

"Elaris?"

"It's too early," I tell him as his fingers reach for the bell of the healer. I catch his wrist, waiting.

The sensation passes again, and I look upwards, watching at the ceiling.

All the healers have assured me in their own ways that weeks remained.

My eyes meet Averic's in an expression of sheer understanding, the peace I had possessed for most of the day vanishing in favor of something else.

"There was something coming from the child..."

Averic placed his hand over mine, watching me with a look of concern.

"Something is happening?" His gaze turned from worry to unease as he took in what I said.

"According to the healers, I should have several weeks more, but somehow this seems as it could be the time now."