Clara

“We have to give him the girl before he harms any more people,” the elderly man said, turning to my uncle. My uncle’s eyes, like mine, remained glued to the screen.

“I’m not giving my niece to that monster,” he replied through clenched teeth.

“She’s one of them; she’s a monster. I don’t see the problem,” the elderly man retorted, earning a grunt from my uncle.

“She is not a monster. She’s my niece, my brother’s daughter. You all remember what happened to my brother. We condemned him, just as you’re trying to do to his daughter. And how did that turn out for us? We grew weak without him, and we’ll only get weaker unless we do the right thing. My brother made me promise to bring his daughter here to take his place as leader, and I intend to keep that promise,” my uncle said, his gaze fixed on the screen. I remained silent.

Silence fell until the elderly man sighed.

“We allowed you to bring her here and helped you watch over her to honor your brother’s dying wish. But she’s still a wolf, and that’s what we’re fighting against. Do you think anyone will take us seriously if they find out our leader is a wolf?” he asked. Everyone murmured in agreement.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re not hunting these beings for recognition or applause. We’re doing it to save our kind, and with our plan, we’re this close to achieving it,” my uncle said, making me frown.

“You didn’t ask me what I wanted, Uncle,” I finally said, reluctantly tearing my eyes from the screen.

“You don’t know what you want. You’re blinded by your infatuation with that man, and that’s why you can’t think for yourself,” he said, making me scoff. “Infatuation? I’m pregnant with his child, and he’s my husband. I’m in love with him, and no matter what, I’ll always stand by his side. Having me as your leader will do you more harm than good because I’d never let you hurt my kind if I can help it. I don’t wish to be your leader; I don’t wish to be here. I wish to be with my husband,” I told him. He frowned.

“I have to agree with her. She…”

“I don’t care what any of you think. As the leader, my word is final, and you’re staying here,” he declared with such authority that a chill ran down my spine. I didn’t know humans were capable of such authority.

“If you don’t let me go to him, Damon will kill every human he can find. Are you willing to risk all those lives just to keep me here?” I asked. He nodded without hesitation.

“You don’t understand how much I blame myself for what happened to my brother. To me, you’re my redemption. I have to do right by you to rid myself of this guilt,” he explained. I frowned and turned back to the screen, seeing Damon had slaughtered three more humans.

“I understand, but it doesn’t change what I want. If I don’t get to Damon, you won’t have any humans left by the end of the day. Do you want that?” I asked, turning back to him.

“We’re running out of time. We have to let her go,” the elderly man said. My uncle, however, kept staring at me. “And if I say no? If I still want to keep you here?” he asked. I shook my head.

“I can’t stay here. Even if I have to fight my way out, I will, just to get to my husband. He needs me, and the longer we wait, the more humans die. Do you want that?” I asked, staring intently into his eyes.

I could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

“Get the car and some men; we’re going to meet that monster,” he ordered. My heart swelled with happiness.

They immediately obeyed, and since I hadn’t unpacked, my luggage was ready to go.

My uncle didn’t speak to me until we were in the car, driving towards Damon. Several cars followed, and the sheer number of weapons in our car made me frown, realizing how vulnerable I’d been. I couldn’t help but wonder how my mother felt, knowing she was the only wolf among hunters.

I don’t know how long the journey was, but the sun was setting when the car stopped. I’d slept partway and awoke to soft taps on my cheek.

“You’ll have to proceed on foot from here. We’ve surveyed the area, and he has men everywhere. Will you be okay walking?” he asked. I nodded, wiping my eyes.

“I’m okay. Don’t worry,” I murmured, then started to climb out of the car when he grabbed my hand.

“If you go to him now, I can’t protect you anymore, and you’ll face the same fate as the other wolves. Is that what you want?” he asked. I smiled slightly.

“I’ll stand by my husband and my people, no matter what. I’m going to be Queen Luna soon, after all. It was nice to know I had a living relative, but I don’t appreciate you keeping me away from Damon. Hopefully, next time we meet, neither of us will be dying, and we can talk properly then,” I said, flashing him another smile before climbing out of the car and pulling my luggage behind me as I hurried to find Damon’s scent.

Every other thought vanished; all I could think about was Damon. I couldn’t wait to see him.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Damon. He sat on the hood of a car, a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

I watched him take a swig before turning to the terrified human.

“Damon!” I screamed before he could rip out the human’s heart.

Everything seemed to freeze as we stared into each other’s eyes. It was as if we couldn’t believe we were seeing each other.

After a few seconds, Damon jumped off the hood, threw the bottle to the ground, shattering it, and ran towards me. I dropped my luggage and ran to him. He opened his arms, and as I buried myself in his embrace, I released the tears I’d been holding back.

“Fuck, I missed you so much, my wife. I missed you so damn much,” he murmured, peppering kisses on my face. Only when his lips met mine did I taste his tears; he was crying too.

My hold on him tightened. In that moment, we didn’t care who was watching. All that mattered was that we were finally back together.

I was finally home.

(Note: The final author's note about publication issues has been omitted as it is not part of the story itself.)