Bonus Chapter 8

Two people who once terrified me now stand frozen, caught between hatred and the undeniable truth.
Azzy’s mother’s gaze pins them in place. No anger, no force. Just raw, unwavering expectation.
The Alpha clears his throat first. “Yes,” he mutters, grinding the word out like it costs him blood. Then he let out a long exhale.
Li’s mother hesitates longer, her face crumpled, her arms crossed tight. The tears she fought are finally slipping free. “Yes,” she whispers, nodding.
Azzy’s arms lock tighter around me and Li.
Azzy’s mother turns back to me. She cups my face briefly, her hand warm and full of something so foreign it makes my throat close up. It’s tenderness.
“You are safe here,” she says to me with a smile. “Blackmoon is your home. You are family now, Pumpkin.”
Pumpkin.
*The same thing my own mother used to call me!*
Tears sting my eyes. I clutch Azzy’s hand tighter. Li leans her forehead against my temple for half a second; her contact is rough but full of fierce, messy love.
“I missed you, Mom,” Azzy murmurs, bending down to wrap strong his arms around her small frame. His voice cracks slightly as he breathes in her scent.
“Just her?” The Alpha says, approaching them. 
Azzy tries to suppress his smile, but one corner of his mouth betrays him. As he stares at his father’s dark eyes—sparkling with a teasing smirk—the dam breaks. 
His face splits into a full grin as he pulls his dad into a tight hug. “Welcome home, son.”
“Thanks, Pops.”

🐺 🐺 🐺
***Azrael***

I lean back on my elbows in the grass, watching them the next day.
The sun is high overhead, spilling warmth over the garden behind the packhouse. A calm afternoon, I’d say. The air smells faintly of earth, and everything feels... right.
Across the wide stretch of the garden, just beyond a patch of stubborn, half-bloomed flowers, Poppy is crouched beside Mom, both of them absorbed in something.
My father sits a few feet away from me. He’s got Emma sprawled out across his lap, the little pup fast asleep, drooling on his arm. He strokes her tiny back with a gentleness that is only reserved for his children and fated mate.
‘You did good, son.’ I hear his gruff voice suddenly say it through mindlink. But I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t want to wake up Emma. Then, he tells me, but not through mindlink, “First time we fought in years... Last time, you were just a mouthy little brat who thought he knew better.” He snorts low in his throat. “Turns out you finally do.”
I grin sideways at him. This situation hasn’t been easy for Pops. He has endured more than any Werewolf should bear. That venomous witch wrung decades of agony from him before she finally broke her curse—I just wish the price hadn’t been my sunshine’s trauma. I fear the cost may haunt my fated mate’s eyes forever. 
Yet, despite everything, he never treated me as anything less than his true son. Not when I tested his patience as a mouthy little brat, as he so fondly recalls. Since I was a kid, Pops has always reminded me how proud he is of me and how much I can count on him for everything. Always. And loud. 
That’s why I cut him some slack in this situation.
That’s why I accept his rough-edged praise like this because, in his own crooked way and his own trauma, it’s the highest praise I’ll ever get.
We sit in silence for a few beats, just watching. I wish Lil was here, but she hasn’t woken up yet. 
Poppy claps her hands excitedly as my mother, the same size as her, leans in close, bright-eyed and eager. My sunshine is explaining something in that sweet, soft voice of hers, her gestures big and animated, like she’s sharing a precious secret.
“They’re up to something,” I say under my breath, amused.
Pops grunts. “No good ever comes from tiny women that excited.”
Despite himself, I see the smallest tug at the corner of his mouth.
Poppy kneels down in front of a patch of stubborn daisies, her small hands skimming over the leaves like she’s petting a litter of kittens. She whispers something in my mother’s ear, and she gasps, pressing both hands over her mouth, her whole body buzzing like she might just float away.
My sunshine keeps talking, I can’t catch every word because I’m too busy looking at her beautiful face, but I hear her sweet voice explaining something, patient and bright.
Mom leans in closer, wide-eyed, hanging on to every word. When Poppy finishes, she asks, voice almost trembling with excitement, “You mean we don’t need magic words, fancy objects, or something like that, Pumpkin?”
Poppy giggles, nodding eagerly. The sound makes me so fucking happy. “Nope! You just feel it!” She raises her index finger. “Mommy always said real witches only need their blood!” She beams like she’s sharing the most wonderful family-wise words.
Immediately, I hear Pops growl low, a deep, warning rumble when he hears the *blood* part. I almost choke on my laugh, barely holding it back. 
Poor Alpha. I bet that not even in his deepest nightmares would he have thought of this twist of fate.
He leans forward slightly, his protective instincts lighting up like a bonfire. 
But the second his dark, feral eyes fall on my mother—her delighted face, practically bouncing as she claps her hands again—he grunts and settles back, the growl dying off in his chest.
Pops mutters something darkly, shifting Emma gently against his chest.
I settle back as well, still grinning as I watch my sunshine’s teaching Mom how to do something she’s wanted to know for so long.
Pops watches them for a long moment like me. Poppy leans in to whisper something to my mother, who lets out a giggle. A real, full giggle that makes her look years younger.
My chest tightens with something fierce and warm.
“She’s going to be good for my Little Dove,” my father says after sighing like he’s admitting it under torture. 
Emma snuffles and curls tighter into him. He doesn’t even glance down, just shifts so she’s more comfortable, like it’s instinct now. I swear, I’ve never seen a kid sleep so much.
“I don’t know if it’s the little pup that can’t sleep without you,” I tease, “or you who can’t stay a second without her.”
He snorts. “Both. Wait until you have yours.”
I look back at Poppy, at the way she lights up when my mother manages to make a tiny purple bloom unfold under her fingertips. Mom’s face is pure wonder, like a kid seeing magic for the first time. She deserves all the happiness in this world.
I swallow down the sudden lump in my throat. ‘I can’t wait to have my own,’ I mindlink Pops because I can’t say it out loud right now.
His eyes cut to me. Sharp. Heavy. Then they soften just a fraction.
“You’ll be a good father, son,” he says instead of mindlinking me. Another long sigh. “You did the right thing bringing her here. Bringing Lily back.”
We both watch as Poppy and my mother laugh again, the sound dancing in the warm air.
“She’ll be safe here,” Pops continues. “But more than that... she’ll *heal* here. And she’ll heal your mother, too. Whether I like it or not, I can’t stop my Little Dove from being curious about her powers.”
He shifts, stroking Emma’s soft hair absently. His eyes narrow, watching Poppy with something almost like awe.
“Your mate’s not what I thought she was,” he says roughly. “Not the evil witch her mother was. Truth be told, she reminds me a lot of your mother when I first met her.”
I glance at him, surprised. He shrugs, uncomfortable with the emotion in the air.
‘I’ll help you, Az.’ This time, he is the one talking through mindlink. His jaw is tight. ‘Help you get rid of that haunting look in Poppy’s eyes.’ 
I nod, my jaw also tight as I feel my eyes sting.
Goddess... My shoulders slump a little, relieved by my father’s support. As always, Pops doesn’t just offer support based on half-promises, he offers solutions. I didn’t have to explain how traumatized my mate was. He always sees beyond. I hope to be an Alpha for this pack as great as he is.
In the distance, Mom throws her arms around Poppy in a giddy hug, and Poppy squeaks with laughter, her face lighting up so brightly it almost hurts to look at her. Their aura so bright… Good Goddess!
The sight sears itself into my mind.
She’s safe. She’s already loved.
And I’ll make sure it stays that way. No matter what.
Because no mate of mine will walk around looking like she’s waiting to be hunted.

🐺 🐺 🐺
***Poppy***

I press my hand softly against the stubborn daisies, feeling the warmth of the sun on my back and the tickle of grass and earth under my knees. The earth hums beneath my fingertips, and I smile, closing my eyes for a second. It’s easy to forget the weight in my chest when I’m here—with her.  
Azzy’s mother kneels beside me, her blonde hair catching the light like strands of spun gold. She’s so sweet, almost the same size as me, and just being next to her makes my heart feel lighter, like I belong here somehow. 
She watches everything I do with wide, excited eyes, like a child unwrapping a gift, and I can’t help but giggle. I show her how just a tiny drop of blood can wake the flowers, how we don’t need chants or wands like she thought.  
She gasps, covering her mouth with both hands. “Wow! That’s *amazing*, Pumpkin!”  
I nod, feeling a flutter of happiness inside me. She reminds me of my mother for a moment because, before Li, only my mother had been this excited about something I could do. 
Alpha Ethan growls from across the garden—a sound so low it rumbles through the ground—but when I peek, I see him watching his mate, not me. His whole face softens as he watches her, and the growl just... vanishes.  
I hold back a nervous giggle and go back to work.  
Allie pricks her finger just like I showed her, wincing a little, and lets a single drop fall onto the dry soil. I guide her with a whispered word only the earth needs to hear. She presses her hand to the ground—and for a breathless second, nothing happens.  
Then, all at once, the garden explodes into color.  
The flowers unfurl like they’ve been kissed awake, blooms stretching and brightening until the once-dull garden looks like something from a dream.  
Allie lets out a delighted squeal and claps her hands. “Oh my God! I did it!” she laughs, spinning a little, her face lit up with wonder.  
I laugh, too, unable to hold it in. In my patch, a dozen different lilies spring up in all shades—white, gold, deep purple, and the softest pink. 
I run my hands over them gently, amazed at how perfect they are. My mother always said lilies were sacred. But that’s not why they’re the only ones I grow without meaning to, it’s because of my other gorgeous fated mate. I smile at the lilies. I hope my Lily likes them!
Then, all around us, people start gathering, drawn by the sudden burst of life.  
Azzy’s father swoops in and lifts Azzy’s mother clean off her feet, spinning her around as she laughs. “You’re incredible, my Little Dove,” he growls against her hair, holding her close to him.
Azzy stands nearby, a sleeping little girl cradled in his arms like the most precious thing in the world. His baby sister, Emma. Even with all the noise, the child barely stirs, snuggling deeper into Azzy’s chest.  
I smile, my heart swelling so much it almost hurts. Azrael catches my eye and grins, proud and bright.  
“You both did amazing,” he calls out. “The garden always looks good, but never like this. Good job, sunshine!”  
I smile back, feeling my cheeks heat.
Beside him, a new figure I hadn’t even noticed claps his hands together and laughs warmly. Allie’s brother by the color of his one good eye, I realize with a small jolt. He’s tall and broad-shouldered, but there’s something gentle about the way he smiles at all of us like he carries no bitterness inside him.  
The joy around me is so big, so loud, that for a second, I don’t know what to do with it. I’ve never had this before—so many people smiling because of something *I* helped with. Not running. Not yelling. Just... smiling.  
My throat tightens, but before I can drown in it, I catch Alpha Ethan staring at me. My body stiffens, instinct flashing like lightning under my skin. I look away fast, hands trembling in my lap. No matter how sweet this place is, some fears have deep roots.  
I remember the way that man at my old job grabbed my arm—too tight and too rough—and how I’d frozen like a little girl again. Like the day Alpha Ethan had gripped me when I was small with his sister help, when I’d tried to help Mom and only caused trouble. That moment has stayed inside me, waiting to come alive again when another hand closed too hard.  
It was part of why I arrived earlier and so suddenly that day I met Azzy. I told Li I came home early because I felt a pang in my heart. And that was true. But the other truth, the one I didn’t want to say, was that I was scared. Terrified that if I stayed until the end of my shift, I might not get away at all.  
I take a deep breath and try to remind myself of one good thing so my anxiety can go away.
I don’t have to spray myself with anti-scent sprays anymore. I don’t have to hide. My heart aches at the thought but in a good way.  
I’m safe now.  
I take another deep breath.
And when I glance at Azzy, holding his sleeping sister, smiling at me like I’m his most precious thing, I do breathe easier.  
Allie, still buzzing with happiness, turns to me and grins. “We’re making preparations for the Black Moon Festival tomorrow,” she says, squeezing my hand excitedly. Her bright big eyes, a lighter shade than Azzy’s lights up. “You’re going to love it, Pumpkin. It’s magical! You can’t see the Moon, but you’ll feel it!”  
My chest feels warmer at the fact that she’s including me in something. Plans. As if I can actually believe that I won’t have to leave here. My eyes burn. I’ve been alone for so long...
Before I can answer, someone approaches us—the man who had clapped earlier. He leans in toward Allie and kisses the top of her head. Immediately, Alpha Ethan let out a deep growl, making the man chuckle and Allie shaking her head with a smile she’s trying really hard to suppress.
But unfazed, the blond man says, before turning to me with a gentle smile. “May I have a word with you, little witch?”  
I blink, nerves fluttering in my chest, but Allie squeezes my hand again, reassuring.  
I nod shyly, standing up on wobbly legs, brushing dirt from my skirt.  
“Of course,” I say, my voice small but steady.  
Little did I know that his following words would cause the threatening tears in my eyes to finally fall.