Chapter Forty-Seven: After the Ashes
The forest breathed again.
The ground, once scorched and cracked, was soft with morning dew. The mountain skies, clear and silvered by dawn, stretched above a land that had survived darkness.
Rina sat at the edge of the ridge, wrapped in Kael's cloak, the fire in her chest now quiet — no longer a weapon, but a companion.
Kael approached from behind, a small bundle in his arms. "Elara says this herb helps with pain," he said, setting it down beside her. "She's also brewing something awful-smelling she swears will restore your strength."
Rina laughed softly. "If it tastes like dirt, it must be working."
Kael knelt beside her, his gaze soft. "You could have died."
"I did," she said honestly. "In a way. The flame burned through every part of me. What's left... is new."
Kael took her hand, pressing it to his chest. "Then let's build something new with it."
Behind them, the pack worked in quiet rhythm — rebuilding shelters, tending to the wounded, sharing meals. Elara moved among them like a quiet sentinel, her eyes watching the horizon.
"Blackridge will never be the same," Kael said.
"It shouldn't be," Rina whispered. "We've earned something better."
He leaned closer. "Will you lead it with me? Not just as Alpha. As my mate. My future."
She turned, kissed him softly. "I already am."
And as the sun rose higher, casting golden light across the hills, Rina stood — flame-kissed, unbroken, loved — and led her people into a future not written in blood or fire… but in hope.