Chapter 187
I couldn’t sleep.
The pieces refused to fit. Every lead we followed circled back into a maddening loop of dead ends—until today. Until the one clue that changed everything.
Tomas.
My heart clenched at the thought. The idea alone made me sick. He was like family. He *was* family. Always there. Always loyal. Or so we believed.
Anna slammed the door open, her face pale. “I found something.”
Jeremiah and I jumped up.
She tossed the rolled parchment on the table. “It’s the emblem’s lineage—its original bearer. It wasn’t Alpha Oliver’s to begin with. It belonged to a warrior from the Eastern Border Battalion. A man named Lorcan... Lorcan Hale.”
My blood ran cold. “Hale...”
“Tomas’ father,” Jeremiah finished grimly.
The room went silent.
Suddenly everything made sense—the odd disappearances, the subtle misdirections, Tomas’ strange behavior lately. All the evidence was right there. We just hadn’t wanted to see it.
“I need to talk to him,” I said, rising.
“I’m coming,” Jeremiah said firmly.
We found Tomas near the old observatory, exactly where I knew he’d be. He often came here when he wanted quiet—or to be alone with his ghosts.
He turned when he heard us. His face was unreadable. Calm. Too calm.
“You figured it out,” he said simply.
I stared at him, throat dry. “You knew I would.”
He offered no denial. “I hoped you wouldn’t. But if anyone could... it was you.”
Jeremiah moved closer, voice sharp. “Why, Tomas? Why take the emblem? Why put us through this?”
Tomas’s gaze drifted to the horizon. “Because no one else would remember him. My father died protecting this pack. He fought beside Alpha Rodrick. He bled for this land. And when he fell in battle, you know what they gave us? A burnt banner and silence.”
“They buried his name,” I whispered.
Tomas nodded slowly. “Alpha Oliver took the emblem from my father’s corpse and claimed it as his own. And my family—my legacy—was forgotten. I watched my mother grow old in bitterness. I swore I wouldn’t let that be the end of our name.”
Jeremiah’s fists clenched. “So you staged everything. The threats, the break-ins, the missing records?”
“I needed time. A diversion. Something that would keep everyone chasing ghosts while I reclaimed what was mine.”
“And the murders?” I asked, heart breaking.
His eyes widened. “I didn’t kill anyone, Astrid. I swear. I was retrieving the emblem when Marra was killed—I didn’t lay a hand on her. Someone else did that.”
I didn’t know if I believed him. And that was the worst part—doubt creeping into every corner of my mind.
Anna appeared behind us, face white as snow. “Tomas...why!"
“I never meant to hurt you,” Tomas said, looking at her with real pain in his eyes. “You were the closest thing I had to a sister.”
“You were my brother,” she snapped. “And you let us all walk into a lie.”
Tomas bowed his head.
For a long time, none of us spoke.
Finally, I broke the silence. “You don’t get to rewrite history by stealing relics, Tomas. That emblem is just metal. You desecrated your father’s memory with this.”
“No,” he said fiercely. “I honored it. He was a hero. He deserved more than a footnote.”
Jeremiah stepped forward. “You’ll tell this to the council. In full.”
“I will,” Tomas said quietly. “But I want you to promise something.”
We stared.
“Don’t let them erase me, too.”
Anna turned away. Jeremiah nodded grimly. And I... I said nothing. I couldn’t. My heart was in pieces.
\---
Later that evening, Jeremiah and I stood under the stars near the old treehouse, the same one we used to sneak out to as teens. It felt like another life.
He passed me a flask. “To broken friendships.”
I didn’t drink. “I still can’t believe it. Tomas... of all people.”
I leaned against the tree, my voice raw. “He was supposed to be the one who stayed. After everything I’ve lost... I thought he was constant.”
Jeremiah didn’t speak at first. The wind moved through the leaves above us, rustling like whispered regrets.
“I know what that feels like,” he finally said. “To think someone will stay, only to have them walk away.”
His words hit me deeper than I expected.
I looked up, finding his gaze already on mine.
“Jeremiah—”
“I was angry,” he said, stepping closer. “When I pushed you away, I told myself I had a right to. Because of what your father did. Because of the pain. But that’s not the whole truth.”
My breath caught. His voice was raw. Unsteady.
“My wolf…” He paused, swallowing hard. “My wolf has been howling for you every night. And I ignored him. I told myself I was stronger than that pull. That I didn’t need you.”
He shook his head, eyes shining under the moonlight.
“But I was wrong.”
Something fragile inside me trembled. I wasn’t sure I could take another wound. Not tonight.
“I’m tired of pretending I don’t care,” he said, his voice breaking. “Because I do. I always have.”
I blinked, and tears escaped. “You made me feel like I was poison.”
He winced. “I know. I hated myself for it the moment the words left my mouth. But I didn’t know how to stop bleeding. I thought staying away would protect me.”
I stepped back, needing space to breathe. “You broke me, Jeremiah. You said things I can’t unhear. And now\\... I’m supposed to just forget it because your wolf changed his mind?”
He moved closer again, slowly, cautiously. “Not forget. Never that. But maybe... maybe forgive. Not for me. For us.”
He reached out, hesitated, then gently pulled me into his arms.
I stiffened at first, but the warmth of him, the strength of his arms, the aching familiarity of his scent—it all tore down the walls I’d been building since the day he left me behind.
“I saw you today,” he whispered into my hair. “After Tomas. The way you looked... like the world had turned on you again. And it killed me.”
I closed my eyes. “Everyone I let in leaves me.”
“Then let me stay,” he said. “This time, let me choose you, without the shadows of the past between us.”
I pulled back, staring at him. “You mean that?”
He nodded. “I’m done running. From you. From myself. From us.”
My lips trembled. “You hurt me.”
“And I will spend every damn day making that right if you let me.”
I stared at him, searching his eyes for doubt, for hesitation. But all I found was the truth.
And then I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against his.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“So am I,” he said. “But I’d rather be scared with you than numb without you.”
His hand found mine, fingers weaving together like they belonged there. Maybe they always had.
We didn’t kiss—not yet. This wasn’t about desire. It was about trust, slowly knitting itself back together after being torn apart.
“I need time,” I said.
“You can have all of it.”
His wolf surfaced in his gaze for a split second—sad, loyal, aching. I knew that pain. I’d felt it in my bones every time I looked at the empty space beside me.
And now, maybe, just maybe, that space didn’t have to be empty anymore.
Later, as I lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, I replayed every word, every look, every fragile heartbeat we’d shared beneath the stars.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. More lies. More war. More grief.
But for now, there was a quiet corner of my soul that wasn’t hurting quite so loudly.
And that was enough.
For now.
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