Page 78 of Curvy Alpha Bride
“Does she still—?” Clara pauses, not sure how to ask the question.
“Yes,” I answer. “Whenever Dove is around, there is no sign at all of the witch.”
“I’m telling you, the child has magic,” Serra says. “It’s because she was in your womb when you fought her—and the two of you are the only ones to ever survive against Ivarra.”
I haven’t told anyone, even Xavier, about the sense of communication I felt with my daughter before she was born. I agree with the idea that Dove helped us beat the witch, but she was helping me before the main battle began. Even if Ivarra couldn’t be killed, she is surely beaten, and if we maintain the rules, we can keep her from becoming a threat again.
And who knows? Maybe little Dove will grow into a new power, something we’ve never seen, and we wouldn’t need to fear Ivarra again.
“We had a little help,” I say, smiling at the others as I respond to Serra’s comment. Around the table, alphas and lunas from the other packs acknowledge my words.
“Let no wolf walk alone,” Galen states, and the crowd murmurs, “here, here.”
On every full moon, we now hold a ceremony, inviting all surrounding packs to attend. Instead of stopping our lives and hiding in fear of the witch, we celebrate and taunt her with our strength.
“I think she’s finished now,” I say, rocking Dove a little. “I assume you want her back?”
Serra smiles, holding out her arms. “You assume correctly.”
“I love having a full-time babysitter,” I tease. “But I do like to see her occasionally, too.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Serra laughs. “Oh, by the way, Xavier was looking for you.”
“Where is he?”
“Out the back of the hall, I think.”
“Okay, I’ll go and find him. Thanks.”
I say goodbye to the others and walk over to the town hall, waving to people as I go. Crowds of young people are set up on picnic blankets, some playing music and dancing, others sitting together, talking and laughing. I see Lyssa in the arms of a young man I don’t recognize. I assume he must be from one of the packs further down the Range.
Finally, the girls get to live something like a normal life. We still have rules to live by, and the threat of Ivarra will never end. But at least we aren’t alone.
When I get to the back of the hall, the sun has dropped towards the hills, and orange light slants across the grass, lighting the tips like flames. I turn to the east, knowing that as the sun sets behind me, the full moon will rise at almost the exact same moment, meaning that light never leaves the valley.
As the great silvery orb slips above the high, dark ridge, I feel Xavier’s arms go around me.
“Hi, my love,” he whispers in my ear. “I was hoping you’d get here for moonrise.”
“Well, I did,” I say, turning to kiss him. “Have you been out at the cabin with Nico?”
“I sure have. He says he can see the magical wards inside the walls and may be able to duplicate them to put spells on all the buildings. He just needs a bit more time out there to understand the magics.”
“That kid is amazing,” I say. “So far, no magic worker has been able to decode them.”
“I think that’s just it—he does everything by instinct. It would never occur to him to approach the problem intellectually.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s here. One more weapon against Ivarra is always welcome.”
Xavier turns me towards him and kisses my lips gently but insistently. He pulls me back a little, and that’s when I see the big woolen rug on the ground, a pile of pillows, and a picnic basket.
“You’re well set up here,” I remark.
“I wanted us to be comfortable while we watched the sky,” he says. “This night is our act of defiance against her—and I honestly believe it does weaken her.”
In the old days, the townsfolk of Valentine Creek would have been terrified to party at all, let alone hold an all-night vigil out under the stars. Now we fully believe that coming together in love gives us strength against Ivarra and drains her strength.
Still. No one is ever to go further than the edge of the forest past the cabin. We don’t go into her territory.
