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Chapter 44

The candlelight danced across the polished wood of their chambers, casting golden shadows on the walls. Avynna stood at the window, arms crossed, watching the wind stir the trees. Baron stood behind her, silent, uncertain.

It had been days since they’d really spoken—spoken, not barked strategy or updates.

Finally, his voice came low. “Are you still angry?”

She didn’t turn. “I was never angry, Baron. I was... tired. Tired of feeling alone when you were right beside me.”

Baron’s face fell. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that. I’ve just—everything’s been so heavy. The war. Bavanda. I thought I was protecting you by carrying it.”

She turned to face him then, eyes glossy with unshed emotion. “You stopped letting me carry it with you.”

There was silence, raw and brittle.

“I failed you,” he said quietly. “I failed us.”

She shook her head. “No. We failed each other. But we’re still here.”

Baron stepped closer, placing a hand gently on her waist, the other on her cheek. “I love you, Avynna. Even when I’m an idiot. Even when I forget how to show it.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she leaned into his touch. “And I love you. Even when you drive me mad.”

He smiled softly and kissed her—slow and deep, tasting years of pain and passion, promises and scars. Her fingers tangled in his shirt as they stumbled back into the bed, rediscovering each other with reverence, not urgency.

Clothes shed like old wounds. Hands memorized skin once taken for granted. They made love not as leaders, not as legends, but as man and woman, husband and wife—holding each other like the world might end again and they wouldn't survive the next time apart.

Hours later, Baron lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, Avynna nestled on his chest, her fingers trailing idle circles over his skin.

“She’s drifting,” he said finally.

Avynna lifted her head. “Bavanda?”

He nodded. “And Loco. They’re spiraling. They won’t say it, but I saw the way they looked at each other—like they were both drowning and afraid to ask for help.”

“She’s her father’s daughter,” Avynna murmured with a faint smile. “And Loco... he’s everything I didn’t expect.”

Baron exhaled. “We argued. I told him to stop waiting for her to come around. Told him to act, to fight. I didn’t mean to push him so hard.”

“Maybe he needed that push,” she said. “But Bavanda needs something else. She needs someone to listen.”

They looked at each other in quiet agreement.

“You talk to Loco,” she said.

Baron smirked. “Good luck with our daughter.”

Avynna laughed softly. “I made peace with the devil. I think I can handle her.”

***

The air was crisp with dew. Bavanda sat on a mossy rock, knees hugged to her chest, her eyes distant.

Avynna approached quietly, her presence known only by the faint rustle of her long coat.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said gently.

Bavanda didn’t look at her. “You didn’t.”

Avynna sat beside her, not speaking at first. Just waiting.

After a long pause, Bavanda spoke, her voice a whisper. “I think I’m breaking him.”

Avynna’s gaze softened. “Loco?”

Bavanda nodded. “He’s everything anyone could ask for. Loyal. Brave. He sees me—even the parts I hate. But... I don’t know if I love him the way he loves me.”

“You love him,” Avynna said, not as a question.

“I think I do. But love shouldn’t feel like this. Like pressure. Like I’m being crushed by expectations—his, the pack’s, even my own.”

Avynna reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. “You’ve carried more than most people twice your age. It’s okay to be unsure. It’s okay to need time.”

Bavanda’s throat bobbed. “What if I wait too long and I lose him?”

“Then he wasn’t yours to lose,” Avynna replied. “But if he’s the one... he’ll still be there when you’re ready.”

Tears welled in Bavanda’s eyes. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Then be honest with him. That’s the kindest thing you can do. And if your heart tells you to stay... don’t let fear silence you.”

Bavanda leaned against her mother then, for the first time in a long time, like a child again.

Meanwhile in the training grounds, the moon hung low and heavy, casting silver light over the empty training grounds. Dust stirred with each furious strike as Loco moved across the open space, sparring alone against an invisible enemy. His shirt clung to his chest, soaked with sweat, hair damp and sticking to his forehead. His breath came in sharp, angry bursts, each swing of his blade more desperate than the last.

He let out a low, guttural yell as he spun, slashing through the air.

Then again. And again.

Until finally—he stopped. His chest heaving, knees shaking, a quiet growl lingering in his throat.

“You’ll break your own damn bones if you keep going like that.”

Loco didn’t turn. He already knew who it was. Baron stepped from the shadows, his arms crossed, a faint frown tugging at his mouth.

“I’m fine,” Loco muttered, dropping the wooden blade.

Baron walked closer, picking up a second training stick. “You’re anything but. You’re bleeding more on the inside than out.”

Loco scoffed, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “You here to tell me to let her go?”

“No,” Baron said simply, eyes locked with his. “I’m here to tell you to stop waiting. Stop bleeding in silence.”

Loco turned away, pacing, his fingers twitching like he didn’t know where to place all the emotion inside him.

“I don’t know what she’s feeling anymore. One moment she looks at me like I’m the only one. The next, like she’s already gone.”

“You love her?”

“More than anything.”

Baron stepped closer, voice low and steady. “Then fight for her. Even if it’s the last fight you lose. You’ll never know if you don’t ask. Sometimes the answer hurts. But silence? It kills.”

Loco closed his eyes for a long moment, swallowing the weight of everything he felt. Then, slowly, he nodded.

“You're right!" 

Without another word, he turned and went the way of  his chambers.

The lake glittered with the reflection of hundreds of paper lanterns floating on its surface. Laughter and soft music filled the air, weaving a thread of peace the pack hadn’t felt in years. Pups ran barefoot near the water, wolves lounged in human form beside bonfires, and joy felt… possible again.

Bavanda stood near one of the fires, her smile gentle as she laughed with a group of younger warriors, pretending—just for tonight—that the world wasn’t heavy on her shoulders.

But Loco only saw her.

He stood across the clearing, heart pounding against his ribs as he clutched the small velvet box in his hand. Every word Baron said echoed in his skull. Every memory—of battles fought together, of her leaning into him when no one else could see her pain—burned like a fire behind his ribs.

The drums quieted. The music softened.

He began to walk.

The crowd noticed the shift in energy before they saw him. One by one, wolves began to turn, voices falling to whispers as Loco crossed the bonfire’s glow and gently reached for her hand.

“Come with me,” he said, just loud enough for her.

Bavanda blinked, confused, then followed. Her steps felt slow and dreamlike. The world narrowed down to just the two of them.

He stopped at the water’s edge, where lantern light shimmered over the lake and the moon poured down in silent blessing.

She looked at him, eyes unsure. “Loco—”

But he was already dropping to one knee.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. The music faded completely now. All eyes were on them.

He opened the box, revealing a silver ring etched with tiny moons and a single opal.

Loco’s voice shook, but he spoke with his whole heart.

“Bavanda… You gave me a home when I didn’t believe I deserved one. You saw through every scar, every curse, every shadow. You made me believe I could be something more than the weapon I was raised to be. Let me spend the rest of my life proving that to you. Will you marry me?”

The silence was deafening.

Bavanda stared at him.

The moonlight caught the glassy tears forming in her eyes. Her lips parted, but no sound came. Her gaze drifted from the ring to his face, and back again.

She let out a shaky breath, then another. Her hands were visibly trembling, so was Loco's.

Then she took a single step back.

“No...” she whispered, the sound so soft it barely reached his ears. “I’m so sorry…”

Without another word, she turned—and ran.

Through the firelight, past the stunned crowd, into the trees. Her shoulders shook as sobs ripped from her chest, swallowed by the darkness.

Loco didn’t rise.

He stayed on his knees far too long, the open box in his hand like a wound. The only sound was the soft rustle of lanterns and the distant hum of the lake. No one dared speak.

Baron’s jaw clenched. Avynna closed her eyes, aching for both of them.

And Loco—heart cracking beneath his ribs—finally stood, closing the box as if that could stop the bleeding.

He whispered into the silence, more to himself than anyone else:

“She was never mine, was she?”

Hey Guys please check my other stories: The Lycan and His healer mate, His Purchased Wife, 365 Days in Dmitry Cage, The fatal Lycan and his mysterious mate, Xiol's Treasured Mate, The luna and the lycan, Flash Marriage: President's Seduction, In Adonis world, Alpha's little Vampire Mate on R.a.d.i.s.h.

Also you can check Alpha Lucious on F.i.c.t.i.o.n.m.e and His Purchased wife on Readink

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Betrayed by My Ex, Claimed by His father on Goodnovel