Chapter 427 Victory finally

Chapter 427: Chapter 427 Victory finally

Talia’s POV

I lay beside Kaelen, with my head on his shoulder and my hand in his.

The sky was still gray, but the air was warm, and the clouds were thinner than before. The sounds of battle had faded, and the only sounds were the wind and the distant murmurs of the surviving wolves.

The wind was soft, and it carried the scent of blood and ash and something else. Something that smelled almost like rain. It was the scent of a storm that had finally passed.

It was the scent of a world that was learning how to breathe again, and I let it fill my lungs, and I let it remind me that we were still alive.

I did not speak, and I did not move. I just breathed.

I was exhausted, and I was empty. I was too tired to smile.

My bones felt like they were made of stone, and my muscles felt like they had been wrung out like wet cloth. I could not remember the last time I had eaten, or slept, or felt anything other than fear.

The exhaustion was so deep that it felt like it had settled into my bones, and I knew that it would take days, maybe weeks, to feel like myself again.

But I was alive. And he was alive. And that was enough.

Kaelen spoke, and his voice was still weak, but it was stronger than before.

It was not the voice of the Alpha who had commanded armies and led packs. It was the voice of a man who had been to the edge of death and had come back.

It was quiet, and it was raw, and it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard, because it meant he was still here.

"You did it," he said. "You killed him. You saved us all."

I shook my head against his shoulder.

"I did not do it alone," I said. "We did it together."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke again.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I said.

We did not speak again for a long moment. We just held each other.

I lifted my head, and I looked out at the battlefield.

The corrupted wolves were scattered across the dead earth. Some of them were weeping, and some of them were sitting up, and some of them were staring at their hands like they had never seen them before.

They were free. The black was gone from their eyes, and their souls had returned.

I saw a woman holding her hands up to the light, like she was seeing them for the first time. I saw a man on his knees, weeping into the dirt. I saw a young wolf staring at the sky with wide, wondering eyes.

They had been prisoners in their own bodies. They had been forced to do things they would never have done. They had been tools of a monster.

And now, they were free.

I watched them, and I did not smile. I was too tired.

But I felt something. It was not joy, and it was not relief. It was something quieter, and something deeper.

The Alphas were still standing around me. They had not left.

Alpha Stone was the first to speak.

"The war is over," he said. "We won."

His voice was rough, and it cracked on the last word. He had lost wolves today. They all had.

But they had won.

Alpha Thornwood agreed. "Malachai is gone."

Alpha Frost and Alpha Ridge were silent. They just watched.

I nodded. I did not speak. I was too tired.

"We will begin the journey home soon," Alpha Stone said. "As soon as the wounded are ready to travel."

I nodded again. "I understand," I said.

Jax knelt beside me, and he was grinning, even though he was covered in blood and dirt.

His hair was matted with sweat, and there was a cut above his eye that was still bleeding, and he looked like he had been dragged through a war.

But he was grinning.

"You were amazing," he said. "You were incredible. You were terrifying."

"Shut up," I said, and I said it with a small smile.

It was the first smile I had felt in hours, and it hurt, but it was real, and it was mine.

Jax laughed, and it was a good sound. It was a sound of relief.

Silas stepped forward. He was calm, as always, but his eyes were bright.

I had never seen Silas cry. I had never seen him laugh like he had laughed today. But now, standing in front of me, his eyes were wet, and he did not try to hide it.

"I am proud of you," he said. "You are the strongest person I have ever known."

"I could not have done it without you," I said. "Without any of you."

Cain said nothing. He just nodded at me, and it was enough.

Cain was not a wolf of many words. He never had been. But the look in his eyes said everything. It said, "You did well, Luna." It said, "I am proud to serve you." It said, "I will follow you anywhere."

I had never asked for that kind of loyalty, and I had never expected it. But I had earned it, and I would carry it with me for the rest of my life.