Chapter 24
Elodie’s POV—
The air was cold that afternoon, so sharp enough to sting my cheeks as I sat on the park bench. Leaves rustled above me. Across the path, a man leaned down to kiss his mate’s cheek, his hand brushing tenderly over the small swell of her stomach. The glow on her face, the way he looked at her like nothing else mattered; it twisted something deep inside me.
I should have looked away, but I didn’t. My chest ached with an emotion I couldn’t name, half joy for them, half something darker, heavier. Something I didn’t want to admit lived inside me.
“They look happy,” Mila said quietly beside me.
“They do,” I whispered, forcing my eyes down to my hands. My fingers were stiff from the cold, but they wouldn’t stop fidgeting. “So how’s work, babes p>
Mila didn’t push. She never did. “Work’s the same,” she said after a pause. “Alphas sending contracts they expect me to rewrite overnight. Nothing new p>
I nodded, though I wasn’t listening. My mind was elsewhere, three years behind me, and yet still painfully close. Three years since I walked away from Calhoun. Three years since I’d sent him that final message that had gutted me as much as it freed me:
‘Nine years loving you in silence. Five years pretending it was enough. This is the end of the line p>
I’d meant it. Moon goddess, I had. I’d forced myself to mean it, even as I packed what little was mine, even as I tore my wolf in half to do it. I’d built a new life, brick by shaky brick, my own apartment, my work in tech development, quiet mornings that weren’t filled with his shadow. But some nights I’d still wake with his name in my throat, extremely raw and broken, as though he’d carved himself into my lungs.
And then Dante had appeared. Six months ago at a Pack conference in New York, the Alpha of the Bellini Pack in Italy and a tech Morgul. He’d sought me out after my presentation, his interest had been immediate, not just in my work, but in me. Where Calhoun had once consumed me like a storm, Dante had been patient. Dinners that turned into long nights talking. Calls that drifted from business to personal. For the first time in years, I’d felt seen.
“Elodie.” Mila nudged me gently. “You’re lost in your head again p>
Heat rose to my cheeks. “Dante… he asked me to go to Italy with him. To his Pack p>
Her brows lifted. “For how long p>
“A year. Maybe longer.” I swallowed. “He wants me to lead his AI development team. And… it’s not just about work. It’s personal too p>
“That’s a big leap after six months,” she said carefully, her Alpha’s instinct weighing every word.
“I know.” My voice cracked, and I hated how fragile it sounded. “But when I’m with him… I don’t feel small. I don’t feel like someone’s shadow. He sees me, Mila. Not as a convenience, not as someone to keep hidden. Just me p>
I hesitated. My hands wouldn’t stop twisting in my lap. Finally, I whispered, “And there’s something else p>
Mila stilled, her eyes narrowing slightly. “What is it p>
I forced myself to say it, the words heavy on my tongue. “I’m pregnant p>
The silence that followed stretched so long between us that I couldn’t even breathe. I could hear children laughing somewhere deeper in the park, leaves crunching beneath strangers’ footsteps. But here, between us, it was suffocating.
“Does he know?” she asked softly.
I shook my head. “No. I found out last week.” My throat burned. “I don’t know how to tell him. What if he changes when he finds out? What if… what if I ruin this too? What if I destroy him the way I destroyed myself with Calhoun p>
Mila’s hand covered mine, and gently squeezed reassuringly. “Listen to me. Dante isn’t Calhoun. And you aren’t the same woman you were with him either. You’re stronger now. You’ll handle whatever comes p>
I wanted to believe her. I wanted to let her strength bleed into me. But all I felt was the ghost of Calhoun’s name still burning in my chest, the wound he’d left raw, unhealed and still aches.
“I’m going to tell him tonight,” I whispered.
And for the first time in a long while, I was terrified of both the truth and the future it might bring.
The restaurant I was in smelled of charred wood and rich wine, but I barely noticed. Candlelight flickered across the table, painting Dante’s face in gold and shadow. He hadn’t stopped looking at me all evening, like he could sense the storm building behind my calm mask.
“You’ve been… somewhere else tonight,” he said, his Italian accent thick, almost melodic. His hand brushed against mine lightly. “Tell me, cara. What’s on your mind p>
I swallowed hard. My throat felt tight, dry. Every instinct told me to hold back, to protect myself but the truth pressed so urgently against my chest that it hurt.
“I… I need to tell you something,” I whispered, my voice sounded fragile.
Dante’s dark eyes softened, but there was still that quiet strength, that Alpha presence that always made me feel both safe and exposed. “Whatever it is, we face it together p>
The words broke something open in me. I’m… I’m… pregnant p>
The second the words left my lips, the restaurant seemed to shrink. His glass paused halfway to his mouth, suspended in air as though the world itself had stopped. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might escape my chest.
“Say something,” I begged, my voice trembling, my hands tightening around my own.
Dante set the glass down slowly. For a long, terrifying moment, his face was unreadable. And then, slowly, impossibly, his mouth curved, softening, opening into a smile that reached his eyes, lighting the shadows in them.
“A baby,” he murmured, voice low, reverent, almost in disbelief. “Our baby p>
Relief washed over me in. My knees went weak, my chest loosened, and for the first time in months, I exhaled without thinking.
“You’re… happy?” The words came out shakier than I intended, because even joy felt laced with fear after everything I’d lived through with Calhoun, the emptiness, the cold, the nights I cried alone.
“Happy?” Dante leaned across the table, hands covering mine, fingers pressing warmth into mine. “I’m more than happy. I’m alive, Elodie. I’m… I’m terrified, but ecstatic, and I wouldn’t change a second of this. Not one p>
My breath caught. His words should have been enough, but he wasn’t finished. He reached into his jacket, producing a small velvet box that gleamed under the candlelight.
“Dante My voice trembled.
“This isn’t because of the baby, Elodie,” he said quickly. “I’ve been carrying this with me. Waiting for the right moment p>
The box opened. Inside sat a diamond, so simple, and yet elegant. My chest tightened, memories of Calhoun flashing through my mind. While Calhoun had been cold, indifferent, distant… And here was Dante, who was warm, makes me feel alive, offering me everything I had once thought I couldn’t deserve.
“Elodie,” he said, his was voice low and, yet tender, “I don’t believe in coincidences. Meeting you, surviving my own darkness, falling in love, this child, it’s all… fate. Will you marry me p>
Tears pricked at my eyes. My fingers shook as they hovered over the ring. I saw everything at once, the fear, the heartbreak, the scars left by a man who never cared, and the hope, the warmth, the pull of another man who would move heaven and earth for me.
“Yes,” I whispered, voice breaking, but firm. “Yes, I’ll marry you p>
Dante’s hands tightened around mine, forehead pressing to mine. His heat, his strength, his life, the Alpha’s presence I had always craved, all wrapped around me, so protective, and possessive. And for the first time, I allowed myself to feel something beyond fear. Beyond heartbreak. I allowed myself to hope.