I heard every part of her conversation.

What she wanted The Council to become. How she wanted to protect the world from monsters like Thiago. Why she needed to be sure that nobody else faced the same horrors as those in The Council.

Everything.

She stood in the middle of the warriors who all had their heads bowed to my mate as she spoke stronger than I had ever seen her. Since she waltzed into my class, she had been shy and timid, but not anymore.

My mate was growing into a strong and independent woman who didn't take shit.

Moonlight glimmering off her hair, she turned and looked over at me. Fear flashed into her eyes, her cheeks paling. She stopped talking and stared at me for the longest time. I held my side and smiled at her, hoping that she'd calm down.

I could feel how anxious she was through the mate bond.

Suddenly, she hurried toward me and wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me close and resting her head on my chest. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. I thought what I was doing was for the best. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

After scooping her into my arms, I winced at the pain from my wound, then spun her around and around, my nose buried deep in her hair, breathing in her scent and relaxing with her body pressed against mine. I ignored my wolf thinking that we weren't enough for her.

Because maybe we weren't as strong as One Alpha, but that didn't mean we wouldn't try to be like her for as long as we could.

"It's okay, Bria," I whispered, kissing her forehead and placing her down. "I know you wanted to do what was right. Any good luna would sacrifice their life for the pack, even though you will never"—I grasped her chin in my hand and forced her to look up at me—"do something like that again."

Bria's eyes wavered.

I kissed her on the mouth. "Because I love you."

"You still love me?" she whispered.

And it broke my fucking heart. I grasped the sides of her face and drew her closer to me, pressing my body against hers so she knew that the only man who would ever touch her again was me. After placing another kiss on her lips, I rested my forehead against hers.

"Of course, I still fucking love you." I kissed her again. "You're my mate."

"But I nearly killed you..." She glanced down at the large scar on my abdomen that would never heal fully, then she brushed her fingers against it and shivered. "I did this to you. I hurt you and endangered everyone."

"You were brainwashed."

"But still..." Guilt built in her eyes. "I did this."

I stayed quiet, not wanting to say something wrong and make her feel worse. I could deal with the scar and the pain, but I wouldn't be able to deal with never seeing Bria again, especially if Thiago still had her.

"How did you know that you had One Alpha?" I asked, curious.

"Those books that you gave me. I didn't know what it was before I started reading them, but I remembered that when my parents would bring me to see Thiago—and I would go in and out of consciousness—that they were mentioning One Alpha. I thought it was... a gene or something. Not a real wolf, not this strength nor this power."

She glanced around at the warriors in The Council. "They want me to lead them, but how will I be good enough? I don't know anything about werewolves. I don't know how to lead them or how to... to do what alphas do."

My lips curled into a grin, butterflies in my stomach for her. "You'll figure it out."

Still, I could see the hesitation in her eyes, so I decided to lighten the mood and ask her a question that had been nagging me since I stopped at the edge of the woods and listened to her little speech to The Council.

"So, you're pregnant?" I asked softly.

Her cheeks paled. "You heard?"

I drew my hand over her stomach and kissed her on the lips again, resting my forehead against hers. "I heard everything."

She gnawed on the inside of her cheek. "I don't know for certain yet, but Thiago's doctor had found something on one of the many tests he ran on me while he had me captured. I wanted to die there, Callum. I thought I deserved it, but when I found out that I might have a pup inside of me... I couldn't stand the thought of not fighting for my life. I fought so hard for us."

"Maybe a little us"—he curled his fingers against my belly—"will show up soon."

And maybe, after forty-three years of waiting, I would finally get the life that every wolf strived for. I had a mate, and maybe a pup too. The Moon Goddess had granted almost all of my wishes.

Only time will tell.