Chapter 53: Chapter 52 ~ Finally Free

Starr’s POV

My arm was restricted. I couldn’t move.

I mumbled incoherently as I regained consciousness, trying to turn in bed but finding that I couldn’t. Something was restricting my arm.

Was I tied up again?

My eyes shot open at the thought, frantically looking around the room I was in. Plain white walls were what greeted me. The air reeked of herbs. I glanced at my arms and felt my body relax as I glimpsed Stacia’s sleeping face.

She sat at the bedside with her head laying on the bed. My arm was tightly wrapped in hers as if she was afraid of letting me go. When I tried pulling away, she gripped tighter and mumbled in her sleep.

A helpless look crossed my face.

I wanted to get up. To know what happened after I was knocked out. Was my father really dead? Was the war over? How long had I been out? It had to be long since I was fully healed up.

Leon.

I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when I felt Leon’s presence. His emotions and thoughts were sealed off but I knew he was there, lurking. Waiting for me to gain consciousness.

I was right.

Not even a second passed before I felt him moving closer to me.

My eyes gazed at the door expectantly as it opened.

He was a mess.

There was stubble on his face and dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a mess and pointed all over the place.

I asked worriedly, “What happened to you?”

He didn’t say a word. Instead, he simply approached me and tugged me into his tight embrace. I collided with his chest and awkwardly used my free hand to stable myself. He buried his face into my neck and inhaled my scent.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.” He murmured against my neck, causing a light giggle to escape my lips at the ticklish sensation.

I ran my hand along his broad shoulders as I reassured him. “It wasn’t your fault. You weren’t there and I chose to fall into that trap. It was my decision to get captured.”

He pulled away with a frown. “What?”

I shrugged sheepishly. “Didn’t you read my thoughts? It was obvious my father was trying to lure me into that corner. I had to go despite the risks. My father is a slippery man. He had to be dealt with before he could cause any more damage. I chose to fight.”

He sighed and tightened his arms around me. “Please...

Don’t do that again.”

“Do what?”

“Risk your life like that. Starr, that’s selfish. You know what your death means for this kingdom, don’t you?”

I said nothing.

“Do you?”

“... I do.”

“No, I don’t think you do. You wouldn’t be this careless otherwise. Thousands upon thousands of people depend on you, me being one of them. If you were to die, my health suffers and when my health suffers, the pack deteriorates and then the Kingdom will fall into chaos. You are important and you need to realize that.”

He was right. I knew how important a pack was to werewolves. The mental fortitude it takes to create a link between so many people and what would happen if an Alpha’s health affected that link. I couldn’t refute him. I simply allowed him to get his frustrations off his chest. I could sense his agitation as he thought about what could’ve happened.

“I understand that you wanted to put an end to your father but patience goes a long way. We could’ve found a better way to deal with the problem.”

“I know,” I whispered guiltily. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

I looked up at him in confusion. Wasn’t he berating me?

He pulled back and smiled proudly. “Even though I don’t approve of what you did. I won’t dwell on it because you’re here now. You’re alive and you’re healthy and that’s all that matters. I understand why you did that. It was your responsibility to end your father and you followed through with it.”

My heart grew hopeful as I asked. “Does that mean....?”

He nodded. “Yes. Ryan is dead. The first explosion caused one of his severed legs to roll onto another bomb and triggered a series of explosions because of the flying debris. I managed to get to you in time to take you out of the area.”

“What about the war? And Glacial City?”

“The mayor’s dead.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

He looked at my surprised expression and chuckled, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on my lips. “Yes. I killed him after confirming that you had escaped on your own. I’m sorry I couldn’t have gotten to you sooner.”

I shook my head. “No, you did more than enough. I could handle myself. I’m glad you chose to go after the mayor instead of me. So about the war...?”

“It’s over.”

“All of it?”

“All of it.”

I sighed and leaned my head against his chest. Leon sat on the bed with me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I was still in an awkward position due to Stacia holding my arm but I bared it as I embraced the warmth that emitted from his touch.

“So what now?” I asked.

“Pups?”

My mind and body froze. My mouth fell open as I struggled to respond. I could feel my cheeks burning up in embarrassment as my heart raced.

An excited squeal came from beside me, startling the hell out of me as Stacia shot up to look at us excitedly. “Really!? I’m getting grandkids!?”

“I...” I trailed off in disbelief.

How long had she been awake? And why was she still holding onto my hand?

Leon chuckled. “I knew that would get you up, you eavesdropper.”

Stacia shot him a glare. “That’s not true! I just didn’t want to interrupt your little moment. Don’t frame me.”

A knowing smile curved his lips. “Whatever you say.”

Stacia huffed and turned her eyes to me. They immediately softened. She stretched her hand out to cup my cheek. “My poor child. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to protect you.”

I smiled at her in reassurance. “It’s okay. I don’t need protection. Please don’t blame yourself.”

She turned her gaze to Leon. “I really am sorry.” She looked at him guiltily, as if this whole situation was her fault.

Leon shook his head. “You’ve said that a thousand times, Mom. I’ll keep repeating myself. I don’t blame you so please, don’t torture yourself. We’re all fine. We’ve won against Glacial City and the kingdom is at peace. Smile. You raised a good King.”

“And you have a good Queen.” I couldn’t help but pitch in.

Stacia’s lips trembled as she smiled, her eyes turning glossy. She got up from her seat and climbed onto the bed so that she could hug both Leon and me. We gladly welcomed her embrace.

“I’m very proud of the both of you. The goddess has blessed me with amazing children... and hopefully some grandkids soon.”

We chuckled.

After she pulled away, she looked at her watch and said, “Since it’s still a bit early and you’re awake now, would you mind having some visitors? They’ve been waiting to see you for a few days now.”

I tilted my head curiously. “Visitors? How long had I been out?”

“You’ve been out for two weeks, Peach.”

I snapped my head up to look at him as I exclaimed, “Two weeks!?”

He nodded, adjusting our position comfortably so that he sat with his back braced against the headboard and I curled into his side.

“That’s how severe your injuries were. The doctor said that you’d regain consciousness once your body fully healed itself from all the trauma it experienced throughout the last week... Precious... I need to know what happened in that chamber... what they did to you...” he hesitated.

I could feel the fear and anxiety seeping into his voice and I placed a reassuring hand over the fingers that were trailing circles into my side.

“Don’t worry. They didn’t do anything but give a few beatings and inject me with wolfsbane.”

His tensed shoulders immediately relaxed as he sighed in relief. I knew he understood my real meaning. My father didn’t touch me. No one touched me inappropriately. He didn’t need to worry.

Stacia coughed. “So should I bring in the visitors or...?”

I nodded and got comfortable in Leon’s arms. I knew he wasn’t going to leave my side anytime soon.

Stacia left the room and ten minutes later came back with a few people that had my eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

“Michael? Alex?”

Why were they here? I looked at the woman and child standing next to Michael curiously then felt my heart shudder when my eyes trail towards the female that stood a little behind Alex.

“You...” I trailed off hesitantly. I couldn’t for the life of me remember her name. Ever since the day we first ran into each other.

The woman smiled, looking much happier and healthier since the last time I’d seen her.

“Hi, Queen Luna. I’m Tia.” She bowed respectfully.

It was the girl who I had left behind on the mating hunt. The same one who I failed to defend that one time when her choice mate was abusing her.

Guilt immediately tugged at my heartstrings as I apologized. “I’m so sorry.”

She smiled and shook her head. “No don’t apologize. I’m here to thank you. My former mate. I heard that you were the one who captured him and ordered the guards to give me the killing blow. I’m very grateful for your kindness.”

“But I couldn’t defend you,” I admitted in shame. “I knew you were suffering and I told you to just bear with it. You shouldn’t thank me. I didn’t help.”

She shrugged helplessly. “You didn’t help because you couldn’t but the second you could, you did. That is more than enough. So again, thank you.” She bowed again.

“You’ve saved a lot of people, Starr. You should’ve seen the number of wolves who came from the smaller packs volunteer to fight along with the Kingdom, all for your sake. You dismantled the Shadow Rogue pack and gave them their freedom. They all look up to you as a leader and wish to join the kingdom under your rule.”Leon explained over our link.

I looked out at Michael and the others with tears in my eyes and brought a hand up to cover my mouth. My emotions were in turmoil.

Michael and Alex bowed. “We’re glad to see that you’re safe, Queen Luna. I almost ran onto that bomb field when I saw you fall off the wall.” Michael chuckled.

I smiled. “I did good, didn’t I?”

Alex nodded. “We didn’t get to properly express our thanks before. Because of you, we were able to live a better life than the one we’d have lived if we had stayed in the rogue pack. So really, thank you. May the goddess guide and protect you.”

The tears finally came. The smile on my face couldn’t be hidden as I strained my cheeks and tried to contain this overwhelming feeling of happiness.

Michael introduced me to his wife and daughter and stayed with me for a while to talk before they all eventually left. Before he left though, he told me that Niah, who was still serving her five years in prison sent me her kind regards. Her original sentence was supposed to be death but I had begged Leon to be a bit more lenient. I never really had much of a bad opinion on Niah and I knew that she was smart enough to understand where she went wrong and how she could fix the damage she caused.

I was happy.

All of that pain, all of that suffering, it was all worth it if this was the result that it had given me.

~~~

“Where are we going?” I asked Leon as he tugged me past the guards and outside the castle.

“We’re going for a run.”

He led us to the back of the castle and towards the forest line.

I glanced at the dark sky above us and yawned. “This early in the morning? The sun isn’t even out yet.”

It was five am in the morning. Leon spontaneously decided to wake me up and drag me out of bed, to my dismay.

“The doctor said that you need to be a bit active to regain your full strength. Your limbs are weak and stiff. The run will help you.”

I sighed. “I understand that... but this early!?”

He chuckled and glanced back at me smugly. “You didn’t seem to mind when you thought I was waking you up for round five.”

That shut me up. I pursed my lips and followed behind him. Once we touched the forest line, we took off our clothes and stuffed them in the stump of a tree for safekeeping.

Then we both shifted into our wolves. I shook out my fur and stretched.

“You ready?”Leon asked over our link.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Try and keep up.”

I snorted.“You’re not that fast.”

“Delusional.”Then he took off.

I followed immediately. My paws kicked up dirt as we ran aimlessly throughout the forest, feeling the caress of the wind ruffling through our fur. My glowing eyes took in our surroundings as we ran, my heart pumping with excitement.

This was what I loved. This feeling of bliss.

Of freedom.

After years of living in fear, cowering, and doing everything I could to please everyone around me, I could finally live for myself. I could do whatever I wanted to. Without fear, without cowering, and without having to please anyone. No more of my father, no more Zion.

I was free.

Finally.

I lifted my head to the sky and howled my happiness, Leon following immediately after me.