Chapter 37
The forest was alive with the sounds of peace—the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze, the occasional chirp of night creatures scurrying by, and the soft hum of nature at rest. But amidst all that quiet, my world was centered around one thing: Jake.
His strong arms were still wrapped around me, holding me close as if I might disappear at any moment. The smell of smoke and blood lingered in the air, but it didn’t matter. We had survived. The chaos, the fighting, the fear—it was over. And now, all that was left was us.
"Can we just stay like this forever?" I whispered, burying my face into his chest. I could hear the steady thump of his heartbeat, a reminder that he was alive, that we both were.
Jake’s laugh was soft, vibrating through his chest. "Forever sounds good to me." He tilted my chin up, forcing me to look into his eyes. They were back to their usual warm, chocolate brown, the dangerous red glow of his beast long gone. "I’m never letting you go, Prisca. Not now, not ever."
I smiled, my heart swelling with love for this man—the man who had risked everything for me. "You better not," I teased, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. "I’ve had enough drama to last me a lifetime."
He chuckled, pulling me even closer until our foreheads were touching. "You know, we should probably be heading back. There’s still a pack of wolves waiting for us, and Chris is probably losing his mind right now."
I groaned. "Chris can wait. This is *our* moment. Let’s just… be here for a while. Just you and me."
Jake smiled softly, his eyes locking onto mine. “You always know what to say, don’t you?”
“I learned from the best,” I shot back, playfully punching his shoulder. He caught my hand and brought it to his lips, planting a gentle kiss on my knuckles. The simple gesture sent a wave of warmth coursing through my body. In the aftermath of everything, moments like this felt like gold.
“Speaking of moments,” Jake said, pulling back slightly, “I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Oh no,” I teased, grinning. “That can’t be good.”
He shook his head, his expression turning more serious. “I’m serious, Prisca. All my life, I’ve been fighting—fighting for the pack, for survival, for control over this… thing inside me. But with you…” His voice trailed off, his eyes softening. “With you, I don’t have to fight anymore. You make everything make sense.”
I stared at him, my heart skipping a beat. Jake wasn’t one to wear his heart on his sleeve, and hearing him say these words—it made everything that had happened, every challenge we’d faced, worth it.
“I feel the same way,” I whispered. “I never thought I’d find this. You’re… you’re everything, Jake. My home. My future.”
He smiled, the kind of smile that made my knees weak. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, he scooped me up into his arms effortlessly. “Well, if I’m your home, then it’s about time I gave you a proper welcome.”
I laughed, clinging to him as he spun me around in the moonlight. “Jake! Put me down!”
“Never,” he grinned, twirling me around until we both collapsed onto the soft grass, laughing like children.
The night was cool, and the stars above us twinkled like little diamonds in the sky. It was the perfect backdrop for this new chapter of our lives. A chapter of peace, of love, and of finally being free.
I turned to Jake, who was lying beside me, one arm propped up as he looked down at me with that playful smirk of his. “You know what this reminds me of?”
“What?” he asked, his voice full of curiosity.
“That day I snuck out of the packhouse and you followed me. We found that clearing by the river and you tried to teach me how to fish after ofcourse threatening to teach me a lesson for sneaking out again.”
Jake laughed, the memory clearly vivid in his mind. “You were terrible at it!”
“I was not!” I protested, sitting up and playfully shoving him. “You didn’t explain the technique properly!”
“Oh, right,” he said, grinning. “It had nothing to do with the fact that you kept scaring the fish away by talking too much.”
I rolled my eyes, though a smile tugged at my lips. “Okay, fine. Maybe I was a little chatty. But I remember you couldn’t stop laughing the entire time.”
“That’s because you were adorable,” he said, his voice softening as he reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “You still are.”
I felt my cheeks heat up, even after everything we’d been through, even after how close we were now. He still had that effect on me.
“You know,” he said, his tone suddenly more serious, “I wasn’t just laughing because of the fishing. That was the day I realized something.”
“What’s that?”
“That I was falling for you.”
I blinked, surprised by his confession. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, a little shy now. “I remember thinking that I didn’t want the day to end. That as long as I was with you, everything felt… right. It scared me at first. I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself. But that day? That was when I knew.”
I felt a lump form in my throat. “Jake…”
He reached out, cupping my face in his hand. “I know I haven’t always been the best at showing it. I’ve made mistakes, and there were times when I thought I didn’t deserve you. But Prisca, I swear, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
My heart swelled with emotion. “You don’t have to make anything up to me. I love you, Jake. For all of it. The good, the bad, the beast. I love *you*.”
He smiled, and it was the kind of smile that made me feel like the only person in the world. “Then marry me.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What?”
“Marry me,” he repeated, his voice filled with certainty. “Right here, right now. We don’t need a ceremony, or witnesses, or anything fancy. Just us.”
I stared at him, my mind racing. It was so sudden, so unexpected, but the moment felt perfect. There was nothing standing between us anymore—no demons, no secrets, no fear.
“I…” I began, but my voice cracked with emotion. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Jake’s face lit up with the biggest smile I’d ever seen, and before I knew it, he was kissing me again, pulling me into his arms as if he never wanted to let go. And maybe he didn’t. I didn’t either.
We lay there under the stars, holding each other, making promises that didn’t need to be spoken. Our bond was unbreakable, stronger than any ceremony could make it. We had fought for this—for each other—and now we were finally free to live the life we deserved.
“Hey,” Jake murmured after a while, his voice soft in the quiet night. “You know what this means, right?”
“What?” I asked, half-asleep in his arms.
“I get to call you my wife now.”
I snorted, playfully smacking his chest. “You’re such a dork.”
“That’s why you love me,” he said with a grin, echoing his earlier words.
I looked up at him, my heart full. “Yeah,” I whispered, smiling. “That’s why I love you.”
We spent the rest of the night wrapped in each other’s arms, talking, laughing, and just *being*. For the first time in a long time, there was no rush, no danger. Just love.
And it was perfect.
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