Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 76

Sage’s POVWe spent nearly three weeks planning the memorial, my mother insisting on getting every detail right despite my repeated assurances that simplicity would honor Vanessa far better than elaborate ceremony ever had. We settled eventually on something small and intimate, held in our own garden rather than the pack’s central square where the old, false anniversary ceremony had always taken place. That square still carried too much weight, too many years of white roses and silver ribbons wrapped around a story that had never been true.“Just family,” my mother said, reviewing her list one evening, pen tapping against the notebook page. “And whoever genuinely knew her, genuinely loved her, rather than the whole pack showing up out of obligation the way they always used to.”That narrowed things considerably. Aunt Ruth, obviously, the woman who’d first cracked the story open in that clinic supply closet all those months ago. Marcus and Reyes, since Marcus had become close enough to

Sage’s POVThe vow renewal ceremony was set for a crisp November afternoon, considerably smaller in scale than either my own wedding or the elaborate memorial ceremonies the pack had once favored. My mother wanted it simple, held in the same garden where we had honored Vanessa’s memory months earlier, the same stone marker visible from where they’d stand to exchange their renewed promises.“Is it strange, choosing that particular spot?” I asked her, helping arrange chairs the morning before the ceremony, the November air sharp enough that our breath came in visible puffs.“I don’t think so,” my mother said, considering the question thoughtfully, pausing with a folding chair in her hands. “I think it feels right, actually. Building something new and hopeful in the same place we finally properly honored her memory. It feels like continuity rather than contradiction. Like one kind of healing making room for another.”I helped with preparations throughout that week, genuinely enjoying thi

Sage’s POV Summer arrived warm and full over Redhollow, and with it, the final weeks of my pregnancy stretched long and increasingly uncomfortable. The house felt smaller somehow, every room slightly too warm, every chair slightly too firm against my aching back. Dr. Petra, who had taken over most of the clinic’s responsibilities from the previous healer while still balancing her guardian network duties, monitored my progress carefully throughout these final months, her steady presence becoming a genuine comfort during a season that otherwise felt endless.“Everything looks perfectly healthy,” she assured me during one particular checkup, just two weeks before my expected delivery date, pressing gently against my rounded belly with practiced hands. “Strong heartbeat, proper positioning. You’re doing wonderfully.”“I feel like a boat that’s been left out in the sun too long,” I said, easing myself back into a sitting position with more effort than the movement should have required.Pe