EPILOGUE

ALINA’S VIEW

"I still can't believe you made me think you were never coming back for days." Amelia was angry. Oh yes, she was and I knew it. But somehow I was more pleased than sorry. After all that time alone, it was nice to hear how much you meant to those close to you.

"Well, here I am again," I said, smiling. Amelia nodded and scanned me again from top to bottom like she had done several times before. But I could understand her. If I used to look like I couldn't be found in the snow, now I looked like a ghost.

My physical changes made it much more difficult for me to find something suitable to wear. However, Damian kept insisting how good I looked and although I knew it, I was always happy when he told me so. In my opinion, you just couldn't hear that often enough.

"Now we've talked enough about me," I clarified. "How are things with Niklas?" Amelia's cheeks turned a subtle shade of red, which made me laugh. "It's going well, really. Your words had already convinced me to give him a chance, but what happened then that day..." she swallowed hard.

"I really enjoy spending time with him. But he also gives me the space I need. We haven't kissed or anything like that, but who knows." She smiled at me while fidgeting with her hands. She always did that when she was nervous and didn't know what to say. I found it incredibly cute.

The next moment someone knocked on Amelia's door and Niklas' head peeked out from behind it. "I'm really sorry to bother you, but Damian asked for you, Alina." I nodded and looked over at Amelia again. Her gaze switched from me to Niklas, which signaled to me that she wouldn't really have a problem if I left now.

***

I was just a few steps out of Amelia's house when Niklas appeared next to me. I looked at him in surprise. "I thought you might want to stay with her." "I've spoken to Amelia," he said, "I'll go to her in a moment. But first I have a bone to pick with you."

I turned to him laughing. "Why is that? What have I done wrong?" "Actually, there are even two chickens. First of all, can you actually imagine what caused your absence here? You were constantly asked where you were and when you were coming back. Believe me, these questions get really annoying in the long run."

I waved to some children who were staring at me happily from a house. "After all this time you still can't admit you like me, can you? I was hoping my long absence would make that clear to you in some way." He glared at me angrily. "Not funny. Now to point two. Do you realize how complicated it is to be beta?"

Yes that was it. I had seen all the actions that I couldn't see on Earth. That's how I knew how panicked Niklas had become when Damian wanted to appoint him his beta. I was incredibly proud of Damian for forcing Niklas into this position in a way.

Because even though he couldn't see that yet, I knew that Niklas was perfect for it. And that he deserved it. I had seen Jack die and it had shaken me to the core. Jack had been like a brother to Damian, but he had also had a close connection to me. Losing him broke my heart.

As were the losses of many other people and it had bothered me so much that I couldn't have prevented it. But I also believed that this was what made possible what we had achieved here and would still achieve.

I had also assured Damian that all of his pack would be happy in death, and they were. That's the only reason this village here wasn't sunk in sorrow. Because they knew that although they would lose a lot in death, they would also finally find peace.

Niklas led me behind a few trees and then stopped. I could see Damian standing several yards away. But Niklas still held my arm just as I was about to continue. He glanced at Damian and then back at me, wrinkling his nose before saying quietly, "I like you." With the words he went back.

I grinned and stalked to Damian's side, who also looked at me in amusement. "Did he finally admit it?" "Yep, after all this time it was due." I smiled at Damian and he stared at my mouth for a long time before sighing and wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me closer.

It's been like this since I got back here. Damian constantly sought physical contact with me. But it didn't bother me, quite the opposite. I needed it too, for the same reason he did. To remind us that we made it. With many complications, but we made it.

I buried my head in his chest and inhaled his scent deeply. We stood like that for many minutes. We had that time. Finally he broke away from me and asked: "Do you recognize these trees?"

I looked around confused. Then I understood. "Right here I was watching you. I instinctively said your name and you knew I was here." I thought about it and I said, "If I remember correctly, this is the first time I've seen you shirtless."

Now Damian laughed at the top of his lungs. "Of course you remember." I looked up at him in disgust. "As if you didn't remember that, too." "Probably," he admitted. "It would definitely have speeded things up if I'd seen you like that back then."

"Oh please, you already stared at me the first time we met. That wouldn't have changed anything." Then he said nothing more. Instead, he had this permanent smile on his face, like so often lately.

"I'm still processing what you told me the night you arrived, just so you know," he said. I could well imagine that because I still had to digest it myself.

Much had changed that day, the day of the fight. I had almost died, Damian really was. I really had ripped a piece out of the moon. A small piece of his power that I used to amplify my powers and thus bring Damian - my mate - back to life.

I still had this power within me and had to pay the price for this act. For the moon could never regain perfection without its missing part. Alone it was not possible for him to become the full moon. That's where I came into play.

On the day of a full moon, I would also leave this world for a day and take my place in the moon to act as a sort of missing piece. This enabled me to connect more soulmates in less time as I had access to more power. On the one hand, that meant no more sitting on the balcony and, on the other hand, that the people who always claimed I lived on the moon were suddenly right.

After that day I would get back to earth. I didn't think it was the best, I had to admit, as I could definitely think of better ways to spend the day. But I had no choice, because that was the price for the bit of power in me that really shouldn't belong to me. Also, I was so close to the moon, which I had always had a connection with - logically. Maybe someday I'd get around to thanking him for my mate.

"Believe me, I do that too, but you have to look at it positively." Damian looked at me skeptically, but I signaled him to wait so I could tell him what was positive about it: "I'll be gone for a day, but we can spend the nights undisturbed."

Damian smiled and I knew I had him. "Right. That's really handy." "Now another topic," I said. "Do you really think that the alphas will stick to the agreement that you guys worked out and then gave the humans to sign?"

I was there when the alphas and betas agreed on a contract. Some certainly didn't like it because it really attributed a lot to people, but that was a good thing. Because while a few of them had caused us a great deal of grief and pain, not all of them had.

Certain areas were made available to them and ascribed to them, which people could shape and use completely alone and according to their will. There were also rules for the common life of humans and werewolves. This included, among other things, respectful cooperation, which would certainly pose a problem for some.

Damian then presented the full contract, signed by the werewolves, to human representatives. I wasn't sure what they were expecting as they looked very surprised but quickly signed. It hadn't made me suspicious that when drafting the treaty, Sam had been particularly committed to human rights. Quite the opposite of Damian. I could well imagine that Sam had done it to make up for past mistakes. After he signed, he looked at me. I had looked at him for a few long moments and then nodded. We all made mistakes, but Sam had done a lot to fix his. Sam nodded back, accepting my apology. We were even. "Some were", Damian answered my question. "But definitely not all." He kissed me without warning and then released me with a sigh. "It will make our lives very interesting." I smiled. Right, it would.

“I'm glad you kept your promise. That you always come back to me.”

“You are not the only one who keeps his promises.”

“Would you then promise me again? If something like this happens again, so I can be sure.”

“Only if you do me the same favor.”

“Agreed.” Damian smiled and grabbed my hand. “I promise to always find you, no matter how hard it is.”

Now I had to smile too and leaned forward to kiss Damian. Something I would never get enough of in the future. Between kisses, I murmured, close to his lips, "I'll always find a way back to you."

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