Bonus Chapter 9

Azzy hesitates, lingering a few steps away with Emma still asleep in his arms, his brows furrowed ever so slightly. Even as he turns to follow the others after winking my way, I can feel his eyes staying on me like an invisible thread keeping me tethered. A protective warmth wraps around my heart, steadying the flutter of nerves in my chest.  
I’m safe. 
Azrael’s watching.  
The man with the leather eyepatch waits nearby, his easy smile never faltering. He’s as tall as Azrael, broad, and unfamiliar except for his meadow green eye, but somehow, there’s nothing threatening about him. His posture is relaxed, almost boyish, and he keeps a polite distance that makes it easier to breathe.  
He gestures toward a bench under a wide oak tree, not far from where Azzy had been sitting with his father.  
“Let’s sit, little witch,” he says warmly, a playful twinkle in his eye.  
I hesitate just a second before nodding, brushing more dirt from my skirt, and following him. 
The grass brushes my ankles as I walk, and the scent of lilies and earth lingers heavily in the air, which also makes me breathe easier.  
As we reach the bench, I catch my skirt on a thorny vine hidden in the grass. I tug it free quickly. 
*Ouch*! I wince as I feel a sharp sting on my hand, but I don’t say anything. I don’t want to make a fuss.  
The wooden bench is warm from the sun. I sit carefully, tucking my hands into my lap to hide the little bead of blood welling up from the scratch.  
But the man notices.  
“Let me see.” He leans forward with a soft, almost fatherly frown, reaching gently for my hand. His voice is kind, with a roughness that somehow feels comforting.  
Shyly, I extend my hand to him. My cheeks burn with the smallness of the injury compared to his big, rough hands, but he’s so careful it makes my heart ache a little.  
He pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket, tears a clean strip from it, and dabs at the red blood with a touch light as a feather.  
“There we go,” he says, tying the cloth neatly around my palm. “Battle scars from the flower war, huh?”  
A small giggle escapes before I can stop it. Shy under his attention, I duck my head, feeling the warm bubble of laughter in my chest.  
For a moment, we just sit there in the shade, the leaves rustling softly above us, the rest of the world fading into a gentle hum and the laughs nearby.  
Then he leans back a little, his one meadow green eye crinkling kindly as he taps his broad chest lightly.
“Name’s Cedar, by the way,” he says with a crooked smile. “Figured you should know who you’re trusting your battle wounds to.”
I smile. “I’m Poppy,” I offer.
He gives a playful little bow from where he sits. “At your service, little witch.”
A giggle bubbles up again before I can stop it, and I tuck my chin down, cheeks heating.
Then his voice softens.
“You remind me of someone,” he says, his voice growing softer. 
I blink up at him, confused.  
“Me?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.  
Please don’t say my mother. 
Not right now. 
Don’t burst the comfort bubble I’m in right now. 
*Please*!
He chuckles like he can feel my panic rising. “Not *her*, little one. Your brother.”  
I sit up a little straighter, my heart jumping into my throat.  
“My brother?” I ask, hardly daring to breathe. 
Pete? 
He nods with a charming smile that reminds me of my own mate.  
“I knew your brother,” Cedar says, his smile turning a little sad but full of warmth. “He was a good man. I owe him more than I can ever repay. Without Peter, I wouldn’t be here.”
I blink, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest.
I know so little about my big brother. Just blurry memories of a boy with a kind smile, of arms lifting me up and swinging me around. A protector I lost too soon. Yet, I miss him every day.
Cedar leans back, resting his arm along the back of the bench. “When I was locked away... Uhn, long ago... he was already there. We were prisoners in the same hellhole.”  
I bite my lip, the image of my brother trapped in a dungeon burning behind my eyes. I remember where Pete was. All too well.
“Everyone that was... Fuck. Never mind. But your brother... he was different. Even broken, he still fought for light,” Cedar continues, his voice roughening. “He never gave up trying to find a way out, not for himself. For you. Always for you, Poppy.”  
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I blink them away, sitting up straighter. 
I want to be strong. 
I want to hear everything.  
“He helped me escape,” Cedar says, smiling wistfully. “We destroyed everything.” His voice drops lower. “But when he learned about you and your mother...”  
Cedar pauses, taking a breath.  
“...He lost the will to live. He fought like a demon until the end, but his heart wasn’t in it anymore.”  
I clutch the hem of my skirt tightly.  
“He loved you, Poppy. Fiercely. More than anything in this world. You do need to know that.”  
A small sob escapes before I can stop it, and Cedar gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.  
“And because of him,” he says gently, “I’m here. Alive. Free. And because of him, I’ll be here for you too. Whatever you need. Whenever you need it. You have my word, little witch.”  
I sniffle and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.  
“You... you remind me of Pete,” I whisper. “The way you talk. It’s like... like a piece of him is still here.”  
Cedar’s smile softens even more. “Then I’ll take that as the best compliment I’ve ever gotten, even though that bastard wasn’t as funny as me.”  
I giggle through my tears.  
“Can you...” I say, peeking up at him shyly. “Can you tell me more about him?”  
Cedar’s grin turns mischievous, like a boy about to tell a secret.  
“When I first met him... well, I didn’t know anything about werewolves. I’d just been turned, didn’t have a clue what I was. And your brother—” Cedar pauses, fighting a grin, “he told me that if I howled three times at the Full Moon while hopping on one foot, I would unlock a power gifted by the Moon Goddess.”  
I blink at him, stunned. “He didn’t!”  
“He *absolutely* did,” Cedar says, throwing his head back with laughter. “And I believed him! Because how couldn’t I? It was absurd already that werewolves were real, so there I was, hopping around the dungeon courtyard, howling my lungs out while trying not to fall over—thinking I’d get more strength or something. Meanwhile, your brother was sitting there, completely deadpan, nodding seriously like it was some sacred werewolf shit.”  
I burst into giggles so hard I nearly slip off the bench.  
Cedar leans closer, whispering like he’s confessing a great crime. “It took me *weeks* to realize he was messing with me. And when I confronted him about it, he just said, ‘Well, you needed to exercise your wolf anyway’.”  
I wipe tears of laughter from my eyes, picturing the scene perfectly.  
“He sounds...” I say between giggles, my heart swelling with warmth, “*amazing*. Just like I remember him!”  
Cedar smiles—this time softer, a little wistful again.  
“He was,” he says. “The best. Brave, loyal, and just the right amount of wicked. And he loved you, Poppy. He talked about you every day. You were his light.”  
I clutch the edge of the bench, feeling the ache in my chest, but it’s not the lonely kind anymore. It’s the kind that makes me feel full—connected to something bigger and better than the pain.  
“Thank you,” I whisper, shyly. “For telling me.”  
“Anytime, little witch,” Cedar says, giving my hand a squeeze. “Whenever you want stories, you just find me. I’ve got enough to last a lifetime.”  
I’m about to ask him for another story when I hear footsteps.  
I glance up to see Li striding toward us, her hair wild from the wind, a stubborn glint in her eyes. Beside her, her mother follows, graceful and composed, like she’s walking into a ballroom instead of a garden.  
I shift nervously on the bench. The tension between them is like a crackling fire I can already feel from here.  
Cedar straightens, his smile dimming slightly as he watches them approach together. Just like me, he can feel the tension between the two of them.
Li crosses her arms. “If you came to bark at me, don’t bother,” she snaps, her voice sharp enough to cut through the garden’s warm air.  
Her mother, dressed elegantly even in the casual setting, sighs, but her face stays soft. “I only came to see you, Lily,” she says, voice patient but tired, as if she’s said this a thousand times and never once been heard.  
“Well, you saw me,” Li says, her full lips curling into a bitter smile. “Congratulations. You can go now.”  
The words hit her mother harder than any slap, even to me sitting a few feet away.  
I clutch my skirt, my heart aching. I love Li—fiercely—but I can see the cruelty in her words now. The way she breathes easier after seeing her mother’s sad face with her words.
Spirits...
I know Li learned that coldness from somewhere. But...
“I don’t know why you are looking at me like that. I learned from the best, didn’t I?” Li adds, tilting her head mockingly. “You taught me to leave first. You taught me to shut the door on people without caring if they could be hurt in the process.”  
My mate’s voice wavers for half a second, but she catches it, shoving the crack in her armor away like it never happened.  
Cedar’s hand twitches at his side, like he wants to step in, but holds back.  
And my chest squeezes painfully.  
I know Li’s family has money. I can see it in the grand packhouse behind them, in the careful embroidery on her mother’s dress.  
But pride is stitched into Li even tighter than any embroidery thread.  
She would rather bleed than ask for help.  
She did.  
She fled and didn’t get a dollar from her family.
Li’s mother opens her mouth, looking so much like she wants to explain, to fix, to grab her daughter by the hand and not let go, but as she looks at Li’s face, her hair—  
“Don’t you dare! Save it!” Li says through gritted teeth, the words cutting deeper than before. “Leave me the hell alone.”  
“Honey, I just want to help—”
“I’m doing just fine without you. I don’t need you!”
The pain flashes across her mother’s face. It’s so raw and real. And too fast to hide.  
Before any of us can speak, she shifts into her wolf form, a graceful, shining grey creature with a white patch of fur in her forehead, and bolts away into the forest, leaving the scent of wildflowers in her wake and her dress in the ground.  
The garden falls into stunned silence.  
Cedar sighs heavily and stands. “That was cruel, Tiger, even for you,” he says quietly, looking at Li with a mixture of disappointment and deep love. “Vi’s not perfect. But she never stopped loving you. You might want to remember that before it’s too late.”  
Li stiffens, her hands clenched into fists, but she doesn’t argue.  
She told me about her mom’s true fated mate.
Li never argues with him.  
Cedar’s gaze lingers on her for a moment longer, soft and sad, before he shifts into his wolf form, too.  
And, Spirits, he’s enormous! Bigger than any wolf I’ve ever seen up close! His wolf has thick white fur with a gray patch on his forehead.
Wow!
I stare, wide-eyed, hardly breathing. Their wolves are so beautiful!
He bounds after his mate’s silver form, disappearing into the woods, the earth trembling slightly under his paws.  
Li stands there, shoulders rigid, her eyes dark and glassy.  
That’s why I stand up and hug her, feeling Azzy’s gaze from across the garden, steady and warm, grounding me like always.  
Maybe some wounds run too deep for words.  
Maybe some hearts just need time to find their way home.  
Li stiffens in my arms, her muscles tight, but she doesn’t pull away.  
I kiss the spot right over her heart, my face just reaching it, and hold her tighter.
A single tear, unseen by others and only witnessed by me, traces a path down Li’s cheek and lands on mine.
I stay there, arms wrapped tightly around Li, feeling the fierce beat of her heart against my cheek. Her scent wraps around me, and I breathe it in like it could stitch her back together.  
Azzy’s gaze finds mine across the garden. 
When Li finally pulls back, there’s something raw in her eyes. She looks down at me, then at Azzy, and for a heartbeat, it feels like everything is finally falling into place. Like maybe, just maybe, the cracks can heal.
Azzy steps closer, brushing his fingers lightly against my back, anchoring me between them. His touch is always warm and gentle, the way I like it.  
I whimper, snuggling my face in Li’s chest. 
Then I look up at her, and she is rolling her eyes. Li smirks before saying, “You’re acting like we’re some perfect little happy family, Az.”
She snorts.
Azzy’s hand on my back tightens. “Maybe we could be if you stopped tearing into the people who love you.”
Li stiffens, her mouth curving into a hard line. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize being angry at the self-absorbed woman who didn’t care about me all my life is off-limits now.”
Azrael steps back, and out of the corner of my eye, I spot him crossing his strong arms. “It’s not about your anger, Lily. You *have* the right to be angry. What you don’t have is the right to cut into her like that.”  
He jerks his chin toward the path where her mother had disappeared. 
“You crossed a line. It was low. Even for you.”
Li barks a short, humorless laugh. “Right, because it’s so *easy* to judge when you’re not the one who got left behind.”
“I’m the one who stood there for you since we were kids, Lily,” Azzy snaps, his voice rising. “I’m the one who helped you when you didn’t even trust yourself enough to breathe!”
“You think helping gives you the right to lecture me?” Li spits, stepping closer and pushing me aside. “You were just waiting for me to screw up again, admit it! You and everyone else!”
Azrael’s nostrils flare. “If I cared about saving face, I wouldn’t have spent two fucking years tearing apart the world trying to find you.”
“Sure,” Li says, her voice dripping venom, “as long as I change. Stay obedient. Like Poppy.”  
She flings her hand toward me, and the way she says the words hits me hard. Like it is a bad thing.
I blink, stepping back. “What do you mean, Li?” I whisper, hurt threading through my chest.
Azzy steps between us, furious. “Don’t you dare talk about her in that fucking tone.”
“Why not?” Li hisses. “Maybe you just want her like your only mate.”
My heart cracks in half. “Li, stop, please. I love you—both of you!”
Li turns on me, eyes flashing. “Is that *really* what you feel, angel? Because just now, I felt the fucking anger you felt deep down after hearing about your brother. I didn’t tell you before because I knew it would make you scare like a little rabbit.”
“You could have told me—you should have!” I cry out, tears blurring my vision. “Not everything is just about you, Li!”
Li’s mouth falls open, stunned, then furious. “You have the audacity to say that? After everything I gave up for you? After fighting against my own family so you could stay?”
Azrael’s voice cuts through the air like a blade. “Stop twisting it, Lily! Poppy’s right. You chose what to hide because it was easier for you, not for her. You knew she would like to meet Cedar if you had told her everything!”
Lily sneers. “You’re just happy she’s sweet and spineless, aren’t you? But she can’t survive without me telling her what to do.”
I flinch like she slapped me. My throat feels raw, but I force the words out anyway, trembling, “I don’t need you to survive, Li. I just wanted you to *want* me.” 
She snorts. “Sure.”
Azzy steps toward Li, fury rising in his bright green eyes. “You want to push us away? Fine. But don’t you dare tear her down because you hate yourself.”
Silence. Heavy and horrible.
Li’s face crumples, rage fighting heartbreak.  
Then she shoves him hard.  
He doesn’t budge. Not an inch.  
Her momentum crashes into me instead, and I stumble backward, hitting the ground with a cry, the breath knocked clean from my lungs.
“Sunshine!” Azzy drops to his knees, panic flooding his face. 
“Angel!” Li freezes, her mouth open in horror. 
I scoot back on my hands, tears burning my cheeks. “Don’t... don’t touch me!” I sob, my heart hammering out of control. “Neither of you!”
Both of them freeze, guilt written in every line of their bodies.
Allie rushes over, wrapping her arms around me like a soft shield.  
“It’s okay, Pumpkin, let’s get you inside,” she murmurs, lifting me gently. Her scent is calming, like the sun on new grass.
Alpha Ethan steps between his son and Li, towering and furious. “You two—Enough,” he growls, voice like distant thunder.
I cling to Allie, my heart aching as she guides me toward the packhouse, her hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. 
I glance over my shoulder. Behind me, Li shifts with a wild, broken growl and bolts into the trees, her feral wolf flashing between the trunks.  
Azzy shifts a second later, a massive white wolf, as big as Cedar’s. But he runs in the opposite direction, disappearing into the forest.
Three paths.
None together.