Blood And Silver:Rise of the Alpha’s Rejected Mate

Chapter 215 DANE I look down at the glowing runes on my chest , still too warm to seem quite real .

Yeah , I say , but the heaviness of Liriens words clings to the back of my mind .

The grove is well , but at what cost remains to be seen .

The pack steps into the resurgence of life forced onto the grove .

Their eyes were wide in features still covered with some incredulity , they slowly went inside the clearing , looking between shining trees and restored roots .

Beautiful , someone finally whispers , breaking the awed silence .

Lirien stands at the edge of the clearing ; his form now is much more solid , nearly human .

The glow emanating from inside the grove steadies it , lending him an air of quiet authority .

The curse is broken , he states with solemnity .

Now , for once , the pack can fully flourish as it deserves .

Aurora releases my hand and steps forward .

Her eyes scan the grove , pride , and anguish wrestling for dominance in their vibrancy .

Chapter 215 2/6 Lirien cocks its head to one side .

The grove has accepted your sacrifice , it says .

But your mortal ties to the pack have saved you .

The balance is restored , and your bond is no longer required to sustain it .

I watch the tension that has weighed on Auroras shoulders since this began to ease a little , her shoulders relaxing , and for the first time in days , she seems at peace .

The pack closes in , voices rising as talk starts about what this means to all of us .

Gone is the weight of the curse , and with it the divisions that plagued us for generations .

I see Piper laughing with Warrick , the two of them trading .

banter like none of the horrors we faced just happened .

Trajan stands a little distant , his expression guarded , his guilt loud in the way he refuses to meet anyones gaze .

Ill make it right , he mutters , to himself , not to anyone else .

I dont approach him .

Not yet .

my side , her hand brushing

their footsteps lighter , their

Broken Ridge

air is clear , the tension that once clung to

, the ruins that

spirits buoyed as they start to speak

mutter to myself , and

out in the garden at the back of the packhouse with Aurora ,

beneath our feet , smelling of earth and greenery

on a stone bench ,

say nothing ; the silence speaking for

then , presses her hand to my chest , tracing the runes with her fingers where they glow in the

asks

head , offering a

Not anymore .

her gaze falling to the joined hands between us

this means

you didnt choose it

squeeze her hand

you , but you carried it

So can I .

faint smile , even

it

rises higher in the sky and long shadows throw their way across

215 onto

We sit in silence until a faint

sound that raises the hairs on the back

me , snapping

that ? I nod

Yeah .

, and our senses sharpen as we gaze out into the dark outside the packhouse

, but the unease it leaves in its wake does

was that ? she whispers , barely audible

dont know , I admit , my hand instinctively going to the hilt of my blade

now , the peace wed found

a creeping

but something else is stirring

of the grove stretches across the horizon , bathing everything in

twisted and corrupted , now hum with life , their Juminous fruit swaying gently in

her hand clutched

pale and seems to be exhausted , with only shallow