SPECIAL CHAPTER

ALTERNATIVE EPILOGUE

In the past, the darkness that prevails here would have frightened me. Whenever there was a power failure, I had saved myself in my mother's arms. She smiled at me, kissed my head and whispered soothing words in my ear. But those times are long gone now. I no longer fear the dark, and even if I did, there are no more arms to save myself into. I slowly follow the stony path deeper and deeper into the darkness. Wolves can see in the dark, so there are no light sources to be found here. Only the faint glow of my flashlight helps me to find my way. I've never been here and I don't intend to come back again, but this one time, it has to be. I have too many questions that need an answer before this all ends here. The silence is surprisingly pleasant. She's not cutting or promising, just calm. Only the faint sound of my own footsteps echoes dully through the corridors. I imagine my heart is beating in the same rhythm. Fast but not rushed, like I'm trying to prove to myself I'm ready. I am not. But I never will be either, so I have no choice. Time is running out and if I want to see my brother again before he dies, today might be my last chance. I would like to claim that I am a good person and that it was difficult for me to decide about Thomas' fate, but that would be a lie. It's not just my pain that made me make this decision. it's fear Fear that otherwise it will never end. That the fight between wolves and humans never ends. This may not seem logical, death rarely ends wars in the right way. grace already. But my pack would never forgive me for letting the killer of my mate and their alpha live. The pack needs an alpha who is strong. I'm certainly not, but Nero will be, and until he does, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to convince the pack that Nero will be up to any task. Before he has a chance to prove himself, his father, the killer, will have to die. A judgment I make, it would be even worse if Nero had to make it one day. But my pack would never forgive me for letting the killer of my mate and their alpha live. The pack needs an alpha who is strong. I'm certainly not, but Nero will be, and until he does, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to convince the pack that Nero will be up to any task. Before he has a chance to prove himself, his father, the killer, will have to die. A judgment I make, it would be even worse if Nero had to make it one day. But my pack would never forgive me for letting the killer of my mate and their alpha live. The pack needs an alpha who is strong. I'm certainly not, but Nero will be, and until he does, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to convince the pack that Nero will be up to any task. Before he has a chance to prove himself, his father, the killer, will have to die. A judgment I make, it would be even worse if Nero had to make it one day. that Nero will be up to any task. Before he has a chance to prove himself, his father, the killer, will have to die. A judgment I make, it would be even worse if Nero had to make it one day. that Nero will be up to any task. Before he has a chance to prove himself, his father, the killer, will have to die. A judgment I make, it would be even worse if Nero had to make it one day.

I almost automatically slow down when I hear the soft noise. Breaths that don't belong to me. Thomas cell. It might be almost funny how similar it is to the cell I woke up in some time ago after being kidnapped. But this time the sides are reversed. My brother is trapped and I am out here. At that time he came to get me out of the cell, I had him locked in there.

The small cone of light from my flashlight is too small and too weak to be able to take a closer look at Thomas. Only a black figure is visible at the other end of the cell. I can't see much more than he's sitting on the floor. However, it is my right, I don't want to see him at all, don't want to look into the face that was once so familiar to me.

"I expected you to stop by at some point." His voice is weaker and raspier than I remembered. Whether that's from the time he's been locked behind or if he just got stronger in my memory I don't know I don't exactly.

"Hey" is probably the dumbest answer I get, but I've also never been as good with words as my brother.

There is an awkward silence for a moment.

"You're going to be sentenced to death." I said then simply bluntly. "I think I owe it to you that you find out from me. Somehow."

"You think so?" My brother's sneer echoes through the corridors. "So you owe it to me. Like from sister to brother, or from leader to leader?"

Silence again. I should have prepared better for this interview. I have no idea what I'm even doing here.

"I defended you, you know? Against every idiot in our village who even gave you a stupid look. I was defending you from the Council when they tried to kill you." That horrible laughter echoes through the room again. It hits me straight to the heart. "Even when it became clear that you were a traitor. You jumped out the window and ran into the middle of the meadow. I was supposed to shoot you. An arrow, straight through your heart, but I just couldn't do it. None of this would have happened if I hadn't failed. But you're my sister, I couldn't kill you. Never Heal thighs you know I thought it would work I really thought we had a chance against the wolves and that you would then realize you were human.

In the dark, you can't see the tears that steal from the corner of my eye. Tired, I sink against the wall opposite the cell and turn off the flashlight. Darkness goes better with silence.

"You are a good brother and I was never a good sister. No matter how I twist and turn it, it's true. Everything you say is true. You always protected me, I know that. But that's not the point here. It was never about that. The world doesn't just revolve around the two of us, we are just a small part, two people out of so many. It's about them all. About the wolves, the people. You were a good brother, maybe you were even a good man who wanted to save his people. But it was the wrong way, Thomas."

“Family is always the way to go Lexa. We take care of each other. When in doubt, family is all you have. A bond that stays put no matter what."

I stand up slowly. I've got to get out of here.

"I think you're right." I admit. "Family should always stick together. That's why you lost, Thomas. Because the whole pack is one family. They made mistakes, yes, but they always look out for each other and through Cyrian I am." me a part of it." A brief ache runs through my heart as I say his name out loud. "Your problem is that only the family that is close enough to you counts for you. The traditions our parents built. But that's not family, that's kinship. Family is more than that. More than old worldviews and traditions that our parents put in your head. Cyrian would have become my family. Family sticks together and that's exactly what I do. I stand by him even now and I'm sorry I can't stand by you the same way but you would never want to be part of my family, my pack. "

I'll detach myself from my brother and follow the hallway back upstairs. "You'll never be a part of them, Lexa. They will never accept you, never really see you as one of their own."

I turn around one last time, but all I see is blackness anyway. "Maybe you are right. But I will do whatever it takes to earn my place among them. And if I can do it, anyone else can too. Nothing speaks against the fact that wolves and humans live together peacefully. We just have to learn it first. I'm ready to change, I'm ready to learn. For the family."