Chapter 432 Home again

Chapter 432: Chapter 432 Home again

Talia’s POV

I dismounted, and I looked for my mother.

I saw her at the edge of the crowd, wearing a simple dress, with her hair braided and her face pale. She was standing still, like she was afraid to move, like she was afraid that if she moved, I would disappear.

She saw me, and she ran.

She ran like she had not run in years, and she ran like she was afraid I would disappear if she did not reach me in time.

I ran too.

We collided in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, and she wrapped hers around me, and I felt her tears on my neck, and I felt my own tears falling, and neither of us let go.

"You are alive," she said, and her voice was muffled against my shoulder. "You are alive."

"I am alive," I said. "I am here, Mother. I am here."

She pulled back, and she looked at me. Her hands flew to my face, touching my cheeks, my hair, my shoulders. She was checking me for wounds, for injuries, for anything that might be wrong.

She found nothing. I was whole.

She kissed my forehead, and she held me tight.

"You did it," she said.

"We did it," I said.

We held each other, and we cried, and we laughed, and we did not let go.

Piper ran to me, and she hugged me, and she was crying. Jax’s family ran to him, and his mother was sobbing, and his father was clapping him on the back. Silas was embraced by his sister, and Cain was greeted by his old commander.

The Alphas were greeted by their packs, and the freed wolves were welcomed by the healers and the elders.

I saw Alpha Stone speaking to a group of freed wolves, and I saw him gesture toward the Stoneclaw Pack’s section of the valley. I saw Alpha Thornwood doing the same, and Alpha Frost, and Alpha Ridge.

The freed wolves were being shared among the packs, and they were being given homes, and they were being given a place.

I saw a young wolf being led toward the Silver Ridge Pack’s section of the valley. I saw a woman being welcomed by the Moonshadow Pack. I saw children being given blankets and food.

They were being shared among the packs, and they were being given a chance at a new life.

They were not alone anymore.

I saw a freed wolf walking beside a Stoneclaw warrior. I saw another walking beside a Thornwood wolf. I saw them talking, and I saw them laughing, and I saw them sharing food.

They had been enemies once, and they had been corrupted once. But now they were walking together, and they were talking together, and they were healing together.

I walked through the courtyard with my mother at my side, and I saw the pack, and I saw their faces, and I saw their tears.

I heard their whispers.

"She did it."

"She killed him."

"She saved us all."

I heard them, and I felt them, and I did not know what to do with them. I had never been praised before, and I had never been celebrated, and I had only ever been ignored.

I did not feel pride, because I felt humble, and I felt grateful.

I saw Aldric and Kaelen talking, and Aldric was laughing, and I felt something loosen in my chest.

I walked into the stronghold, and it was warm, and it was familiar, and it smelled like home.

It smelled like woodsmoke and old books and fresh bread. It smelled like the life I had built here, and it smelled like the life I had almost lost.

I walked to my room with Kaelen beside me, and we stood in the doorway, and we looked at the room. It was the same as we had left it.

I sat on the bed, and Kaelen sat beside me, and we did not speak. We did not need to.

We were home.

I bathed, and the water was warm, and it washed away the blood and the dirt and the ash. I washed my hair, and I washed my body, and I washed away the Ashen Lands.

I watched the water turn gray, then brown, then black. I watched the dirt and the blood and the ash swirl down the drain.

And when I stepped out of the bath, I felt lighter, and I felt cleaner, and I felt like myself again.

I put on clean clothes, and I braided my hair, and I looked in the mirror. I saw a woman who had been to hell and back. I saw a woman who had survived. I saw a Luna.

The pack prepared a feast, and it was not a celebration, it was a homecoming.

The hall was full, and the tables were heavy with food, and the fires were burning bright. It was not a grand celebration with music and dancing, but it was a quiet homecoming, shared by wolves who had survived and wolves who had waited.

I sat at the head table with Kaelen, and Seraphina sat beside me, and Aldric sat beside Kaelen.

The food was warm, and the voices were loud, and the laughter was real.

I ate, and I had not eaten properly in days. I talked to my mother, and I talked to Aldric, and I talked to Piper.

Then Aldric leaned toward me, and his voice was low.

"Your mother," he said. "She has been offering sacrifices to the Moon Goddess since the day you left."

I looked at him. "What?"

"Every day," Aldric said. "She has not missed a single day. She has been praying for your protection, and for Kaelen’s, and for all the warriors who went to fight."

"She lit candles every night," Aldric said. "She left offerings at the Moon Goddess’s altar. She prayed until her voice was hoarse."

I looked at my mother, and I felt something break inside me, because I had not known. I had not known she was doing any of it.

I turned to look at my mother. She was talking to Piper, and she was smiling, and she did not know I was watching.

I felt tears in my eyes, and I did not wipe them away.

After the feast, I walked out onto the balcony, and the stars were out, and they were bright, and they were beautiful.

Kaelen joined me, and he stood behind me, and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I leaned into him.

"We are home," I said.

He nodded. "We are home,"

We looked at the stars, and we looked at the valley, and we looked at each other.

We were at peace.

I turned in his arms and looked at him.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," he said.

We kissed, and the pack howled below us, and the sound was joyful, and the sound was triumphant.

I pulled back and looked at Kaelen, and I smiled.

Then Aldric stepped forward, and he raised his hand, and the hall fell silent.

"Tonight," he said, and his voice carried across the room, "we celebrate. We celebrate the ones who came home, and we celebrate the ones who did not. We celebrate the ones who fought, and the ones who waited, and the ones who prayed."

He looked at me, and his eyes were bright.

"There will be a celebration tonight," he said. "In the courtyard. At sunset."

The hall erupted in cheers.

I looked at Kaelen, and he looked at me, and I smiled.

"A celebration?" I asked.

"A celebration," he confirmed.

The hall was still cheering when Kaelen leaned toward me.

"Tonight," he said. "In the courtyard."

I nodded. "Tonight."

He took my hand, and he led me out of the hall, and we walked to the balcony together.

The stars were out, and they were bright, and they were beautiful.

I leaned into him, and I felt his arms wrap around me.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded. "I am ready."

We stood there, holding each other, and we watched the stars, and we waited for the celebration to begin.

And I knew, in that moment, that everything was going to be okay.