Chapter 228 The Campfire 2

Chapter 228: Chapter 228 The Campfire 2

Talia’s POV

His gray eyes met mine, and I could see the love in them. He was not here out of obligation, he was here because he wanted to be.

I looked down at my hands, and I felt the tears threatening to spill over.

"I do not want to be a burden," I whispered.

He reached out and tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. "You are not a burden, Talia. You never have been."

I felt the tears prick at my eyes.

Kaelen brushed a tear from my cheek with his thumb when they finally started to fall, and I leaned into his touch.

"Talk to me," he said. "Tell me what is going on in that head of yours."

"I am sorry, Kaelen. But I cannot even stop thinking about her," I admitted.

The words came out in a rush, spilling out of me like water from a broken dam. I had been holding them in for so long, and I could not keep them inside anymore.

I am so scared," I admitted. "I am scared that she is already dead. I am scared that I will get there and find nothing but bones, and I am scared that I have been hoping for nothing."

"She is alive," Kaelen said. "I know she is."

"How?" I asked. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can feel it," he said. "In my bones, the same way I feel you. Remember the vision you said you had, from the necklace? I believe that it is a confirmation that she is out there, waiting."

"I keep wondering if she knows I am coming to get her, how will she feel, and I wonder if she will even recognize me." my voice cracked.

Kaelen reached over and took my hand.

I felt the strength in his grip, the way he held on to me like I was the most precious thing in the world. It grounded me, and pulled me back from the edge of my own thoughts.

His fingers were warm and steady, and they wrapped around mine gently.

"She knows," he said.

His voice was calm and certain, like he was stating a fact rather than offering comfort. I wanted to believe him, and I let his words settle into my chest.

"I do not know how, but I know she knows. She has definitely been waiting for you for a day to see you again for the past fifteen years. So she will recognize you." Kaelen said.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked.

He looked at me, and his gray eyes were soft. "Because you are her daughter. And a mother never forgets her child."

He cupped my face in his hands, and his thumbs brushed across my cheeks.

"Listen to me," he said. "She has been dreaming of you, just like you have been dreaming of her. She will know you the moment she sees you. And she will be so proud of the woman you have become."

His voice was soft, and I could hear the emotion behind it. He was not just talking about my mother, he was talking about the bond between a parent and a child, a bond that could never be broken.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, and I felt the warmth of his body against mine. He wrapped his arm around me, and I let myself sink into his embrace.

"I love you," I whispered.

He pressed his lips against my forehead. "I love you too. More than anything."

We sat in silence for a long time after that, but it was not an empty silence. It was filled with everything we did not need to say.

"Kaelen?" I called after a while.

"Mm?" he answered.

"Thank you so much, for not leaving me alone." I said honestly.

He squeezed my hand. "I will never leave you alone, Talia. Not now, and not ever."

I listened to the sounds of the night, the rustling leaves, and the distant call of an owl. It was peaceful, and I felt myself slowly relaxing for the first time in hours.

The fire crackled behind us, and the sounds of the others filled the air. Jax was saying something that made Silas groan.

I caught snippets of their conversation, and it was the easy banter between friends who had known each other for years. It was a reminder that there was still joy in the world, even in the middle of uncertainty.

Piper was laughing at something, and Cain was quiet, as always.

I glanced over and saw him sitting by the fire, with his eyes fixed on the flames. He did not join in the laughter, but he did not seem unhappy either. He was simply present, watching over us all.

I watched Cain for a moment, and I wondered what he was thinking. He always seemed so distant, and so closed off.

"I wonder what he is thinking about," I said.

Kaelen followed my gaze. "Probably the mission," he said. "He is always planning three steps ahead."

"Or maybe he is thinking about someone," I said, and I smiled.

Kaelen looked at me. "Who?"

"I do not know," I answered. "But I have a feeling he will find someone eventually. Even the quietest wolves need love."

Kaelen smiled. “You are very correct.”

While the rest of the group rested, Kaelen and I were in our own world. I looked up, and I watched the stars appear in the darkening sky, one by one, and I watched them scattered across the darkness like tiny diamonds.

I counted them as they emerged, with each one a tiny point of light in the vast darkness. It was a reminder of how small I was, and yet how much I mattered.

I felt the weight of the journey pressing down on me.

It was heavy, and it was constant, but it was no longer overwhelming. I had carried it for so long that it had become a part of me, and a reminder of why I was fighting.

I was not alone.

Kaelen was beside me, and I knew that I would find my mother.

The words were like a promise, and a vow that I would not break. I had come too far to turn back now, and no matter what lay ahead, I would see this through to the end.