Mine to Protect Chapter 151: EPILOGUE

*Hazel*

3 months later

I would be proud to tell you that I ran, avoiding Derek’s mark, and ran into the sunset in search of new adventures, but I would just be kidding you.

Even if our mark disappeared, the bond was still there, ready for us to claim again, and like hell I would have another she-wolf mark my god-like-handsome-sexy mate. I pretended I didn’t want him as my mate anymore just to tease him, as soon as he got near him, I jumped him and sank my teeth into his neck, making him moan in pleasure, his knees going weak under the spell of my mark.

He didn’t waste any time though, as soon as he recovered, he took me to the sofa, where he did unspeakable things to me, before marking me too, in a bliss of pleasure and pain, that left me with a beautiful mark of a white wolf and a black wolf side by side, bathed in the moonlight. Derek’s mark represents a black wolf in a protective stance before a white wolf, both wolves’ fur is swept by a strong wind.

It is amazing how these mate marks change to adapt to new situations, although I hope we won’t have to mark again, I’ve had enough of heartbreak, I just want to spend the rest of my days happily with Derek.

Now that peace has been restored with the humans, they apologized on behalf of Lacroix Pharmaceuticals, which according to them, was the sole responsible for the experiments conducted on werewolves, and for the attacks on me and our pack. I know for sure that the government was involved, but I have no concrete proof, and it is easier for them to just push the blame on a dead person, Meredith Lacroix, apparently the main culprit of it all. I honestly doubt she had a leading role in all this, she looked more like an executor than a mastermind, more interested in her experiments than anything else.

Anyway, we took the truce for now, we pretended to believe their lies, while we’ll keep our eyes open, and will keep ready for anything coming at us.

Alice is still not ok because of their so called “research”; after the battle, I have spent so many days trying to get through to her, by talking to her, and projecting memories in her head, but nothing would work. The pack doctor, after many failed attempts, managed to come up with some kind of antidote, which makes the mind control recess temporarily, she needs to take her meds every day, and even like that, strong emotions can still trigger her. So, she has been removed from the Gamma position, and now she spends her days combat training the children.

I hate that I did this to her, her life got ruined because of me, and no matter how many times Derek tells me that it is not true, I know it is. I wish I could heal her, but I don’t have that kind of power, the only thing I can do is stay by her side, be a good friend to her, and do my best to compensate her for what she has lost.

Talking of losses, I too have lost something I never knew I craved, and now that I can’t have it anymore, it hurts so much that sometimes I feel I can’t breathe.

The poison that Meredith and Jackson injected me with, was not meant to kill me, well they injected me with too much of it, which nearly killed me, but their aim was really to kill my ability to have children, that’s why Jackson injected it in my belly, he wanted to stop me from creating new white wolves. That’s the reason that brought them together, Alpha Jackson, Derek’s mom, Alpha Preston and even Meredith Lacroix, they all hated white wolves.

I don’t know what they hate of my kind, maybe the fact that we are more powerful? That we can pose as a threat if willing? I don’t know, and I don’t want to enter into their twisted minds and dirty myself with their crazy thoughts.

It’s just unfair and cruel what they did to me, even now, after months, my body hasn’t fully recovered by the poisonous mix of silver, mandragora, wolfsbane and hemlock, I feel weakened and sometimes get headaches or pain in my lower abdomen.

When the doctor delivered us the news, after the nth checkup at the hospital, I was completely devastated. The doctor assured me that there is no chance at all that I could get pregnant, or that my body could heal enough from the poison to carry an offspring. At that moment, I felt like I had been robbed of my life, my dream of creating a family with Derek, of giving him the heir he needs, just crumbled to dust.

Derek didn’t blame me or anything, he’s been supportive through it all, assuring me that he was just fine with having only me, that we don’t need kids for the moment, and that we can adopt or find a surrogate, if we feel the need in the future. Even when I tried to push him away, when I told him to find a better Luna, someone less troublesome, someone who can give him what I can’t, he just brushed all my worries away, and reassured me over and over, that the only important thing in his life is me, and everything else, is just not worth brooding over.

I feel lucky to have such an amazing mate by my side, and even if I feel guilty for being less than he deserves, I know I will never find it in myself to leave him, because I just love him too much, and I am probably just too selfish.

With time, maybe I’ll come to terms with my condition, for the moment, I just try not to think about it, and focus on other things, like my job as designer, I still give dancing lessons in the evening, and when I can I give my unwanted input on pack matters, much to Derek and Damon’s annoyance.

Now Derek is the Head of the Court of Alphas, voted unanimously by all the packs, which means that he has much more work to do and responsibilities on his shoulders.

He has appointed new Alphas for the Woodrock pack, the Westside River Pack, the Rocky Valley Pack and the Black Mountain Pack, because it was just too much for him to handle, while the Moon Shade Pack stays under Lukas.

I am going to the Moonlight Walkers Pack next week to see Cindy, I have missed her so much, and she said she has some news she wants to deliver personally. I will bring Meera with me, Damon is not happy about it, but he can suck it, he’s never letting her out of his sight, worried that someone might steal her, for Goodness’ sake, she’s marked, who would dare touch her. Plus, she is young and needs to have some fun, I don’t need to explain that Meera and I, we hit it off well, and we are already besties, even if Damon says that I have a bad influence on her, and that I am making her naughtier; I don’t agree at all with his accusations.

Hugo had stayed with us to help Derek running the pack, and to keep an eye on me, in a good way, to make sure that I am safe and ok. He is really a sweet person, and I am so sorry for what he had to go through, even the number of betrayals we discovered Melissa had carried out just under our nose. She was the one who stole Derek’s blood from the pack doctor’s lab, to use it to break his shield, she gave Preston and Lacroix Pharmaceutical all the information they needed to beak Crescent Moon’s defenses and attack us. I still can’t believe she would do that to her son and to her pack, just because she hated white wolves, it is just sick and sad.

I hope that Hugo in time will get over her, and maybe, who knows, the Moon Goddess will grant him a second chance mate.

The Moon Goddess, true to her word, came to visit me and Derek in our sleep, she thanked us for our help, for restoring peace, and she explained that Derek’s wind power was a gift from my mom, to help him protect me, it passed to him when I marked him on the street, that day he glowed blue. He will keep his power, as more hassles and dangers await us ahead, great, just what we needed, and he will have to use his gift wisely.

Lurking dangers aside, things are not so bad, I have my loving, at times irritatingly so, Alpha by my side, and friends whom I love dearly and who love me back with the same intensity. Those are the important things in life, everything else is just a blur.

Everything that will come at us, we will face together, because our love makes us stronger, and together we can overcome anything.