All Chapters of What Survived The Burn: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Simon and I walked side by side through the ballroom, weaving between tables as Alphas and Lunas alike greeted us with bows, firm handshakes, and measured smiles. The room was alive with the hum of conversation and the clink of silverware against porcelain. Platters of food lined the buffet, steam rising in elegant curls. The savory scents mingled in the air—roast beef, seasoned vegetables, warm rolls, and sweet citrus-glazed chicken.The sight of so many packs gathered in one place should have made me nervous, but instead, I felt grounded. Simon's fingers brushed against the small of my back every so often, a quiet reminder that he was here, that I wasn’t facing any of this alone.I gave warm greetings, asked about long travels, listened to snippets of politics and territorial gossip. Every conversation was brief but charged with intent. Everyone here was watching us. Judging. Measuring.Solene caught my eye again from across the room. She had already made a second trip to the buffet

Simon’s POVThree weeks had passed since the night Pollux screamed for the first time.The house was different now—quiet in a new way. The rhythmic beep of monitors, the hiss of oxygen, the tense silence between breaths—they were all gone. The last of the medical equipment had been removed a few days ago. Our babies, all four of them, were healthy.Thistle, Selene, Castor, and Pollux.Even now, I repeated their names in my head like a prayer. A promise.Doc Hathaway only stopped by once a week now, just to check vitals and weights. The nursery next to our room had transformed into something sacred—cribs tucked against the walls, pastel light spilling through gauzy curtains, and shelves stocked with blankets and bottles. And on the rare chance the quads were all sleeping at the same time, you could hear the peace. It was real.Loria and I had moved back into our bedroom last week, after spending so long in that temporary space. It felt like stepping back into a version of our life we h

Loria’s POVThe house was quiet, but my thoughts were anything but.The moment I closed the nursery door behind me, I could feel the tension climbing up my spine again. The quads were fed, changed, and peacefully asleep. For now. I didn’t have long before someone woke up again, but this couldn’t wait anymore.We had to talk to Amy and Andy.I crossed the hall slowly, my bare feet silent against the polished wood. Each step was heavy with uncertainty, despite the certainty of our decision. Simon and I knew what we needed to do. We knew the moment we handed the pack over to Caleb and Maren, it would be time to leave—to begin searching for our forever home.But none of it would be possible without Amy and Andy.They were more than family now. Amy had become my soul’s sister, our children's second mother. And Andy… my very first friend, the first to truly believe me when I said I didn’t belong where I was born.They were the only ones I trusted with the care of the six children that had b

Andy’s POVThe morning light filtered through the windows, warm and golden, carrying the scent of fresh herbs from the gardens outside. It was quiet—too quiet, considering there were seven babies in the house. That could only mean one thing: Mamaw Audrey was here.Sure enough, when I padded barefoot into the living room with a cup of coffee in hand, I found Mamaw perched in the middle of the floor like a benevolent witch queen. Venus, Moon, and Anthony were spread around her, babbling and reaching for glowing orbs of light she kept conjuring and juggling in the air like magic bubbles. The quads, for once, were all napping in the twin cribs that had been pushed together into one mega-nursery across the space. A couple of young witches from the coven—teenagers, by the look of them—were hovering nearby, folding baby laundry and giggling at something Moon was saying.It was strange and beautiful, the peace of it. The warmth.But that wasn’t why I was here.Amy and I had plans to meet with

Loria’s POVThe soft earth beneath my feet felt alive. Buzzing. Sacred. Estelle and I walked slowly through the field of wolves, the grass whispering around our ankles. They moved like mist through moonlight, all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some brushed against me, curious. Others lay sprawled in the sun, their ears flicking lazily, content."They’re beautiful," I whispered."They are free," Estelle said beside me.That word echoed inside me.We walked in silence for a time, the wind threading through the trees, birdsong carried on the breeze. Eventually, my thoughts pulled back to the second fountain. The one I still didn’t fully understand."You never finished explaining the second fountain," I said, glancing over at her. "The one where you said the wolves are placed when they want to return to Earth. What does that mean exactly?"Estelle nodded, her expression serene. "When a vessel—a werewolf—passes away, the wolf spirit inside them does not simply vanish. It returns here. This rea