Torn Between Destinies

Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty Eight

The moon hung high above Thornridge, casting silver light across the stone paths and moss-covered trees. It was quiet, the kind of quiet that settled in your bones. The wind didn’t speak. The wolves didn’t howl. Even the trees, tall and ancient, stood still like they were holding their breath.

I needed answers.

The letter still weighed heavy in my pocket, creased from being read too many times. Darius’s words played on a loop in my mind—his fears, his confession, the regret dripping between every line.

I didn’t know how to feel anymore.

So I went to the only ones who might understand what the heart couldn’t.

I crossed the training grounds in silence and headed toward the eastern ridge—where the sacred grove lived, tucked behind the mountain’s curve. The path was faint, but my feet knew the way.

The Moon Priestess waited there. And I hoped my father would come too.

Nefang always knew when I needed him.

The grove opened like a breath, wide and glowing under the moonlight. A gentle mist kissed the grass, and moonflowers blinked their soft petals open, their glow barely brighter than the stars.

At the center stood her—tall, cloaked in pale blue robes, silver curls cascading down her back.

Priestess Elenya.

She turned as I approached, her white eyes piercing through me like she could read the storm beneath my skin.

"You’re troubled," she said softly.

"I need guidance," I admitted, walking closer. "And maybe a little grace."

"You seek the truth," she said, motioning for me to sit on the smooth rock beside her, "but it will not come easy tonight."

"I don’t need easy," I whispered, "just... clarity."

She nodded slowly. "You’ve crossed many fires, Luciana. You’ve saved your mother. Your sister. You’ve fulfilled a prophecy that was once only spoken in shadows. And now—"

"I’m breaking," I cut in. My voice cracked. "The bond I shared with Darius is fractured. He betrayed me. And yet... I still feel it. That pull. That ache."

A rustle sounded behind us.

I turned.

Nefang.

My father emerged from the trees, dark cloak trailing behind him, golden eyes warm but shadowed. He looked older than I remembered. Not in years, but in weight.

"My little moon," he said, coming to sit on the other side of me. "You carry too much."

I tried to smile, but it didn’t come. "I don’t know what to do."

Elenya placed her hands in her lap. "Let us begin not with answers, but questions. Why do you still love him?"

I paused. "Because... he was mine. We shared something real. Even if it’s broken now."

"And why does it hurt so deeply?" she asked.

"Because I trusted him," I said, the bitterness rising. "And he chose someone else."

Nefang looked at the sky. "And yet you are here, asking what to do. That means a part of you hasn’t let go."

"I hate that part," I admitted.

He chuckled sadly. "I’ve hated parts of myself too. Especially after I took you and your mother through the portal without her understanding the truth."

I turned to him slowly.

"She loved me, but she never chose this life," he said. "And when I asked her to accept the beast in me, it was too much. She left... and I couldn’t blame her."

I swallowed hard. "She left you because she feared what love would cost."

He nodded. "And I let her go because forcing her to stay would’ve destroyed us both."

Elenya’s voice softened. "Do you understand now, Luciana? Choices made in pain are not always wrong. But they shape the path ahead. You must ask yourself—what path do you want to walk now?"

I looked down at my hands. "One where I’m not afraid."

Nefang leaned forward. "Then do not let your emotions steer you into fire. Don’t punish Darius just to prove you can survive without him. And don’t forgive him just to numb your loneliness."

I blinked, tears burning.

"What if he never tries again?" I whispered. "What if he lets me go this time?"

"Then you’ll know he was never strong enough to carry your heart," Elenya said gently. "And you’ll move forward with grace, not bitterness."

I closed my eyes.

The breeze shifted, rustling the moonflowers around us.

"He said it only happened once," I murmured. "But his silence afterward... it was louder than anything."

"That silence was shame," Nefang said. "Some men crumble under the weight of their own guilt. It does not make them unworthy of love—but it does mean they must rise before they can be loved again."

I let his words sink in.

"What do I do now?" I asked finally. "Do I confront him again? Do I wait? Do I walk away?"

Elenya’s eyes seemed to glow brighter. "You listen to the moon inside you. The same instinct that brought you to save Aira. The same strength that helped Kiani shift for the first time. You already know the answer."

I sat in silence for a long while.

Then I nodded.

"I’ll give him time," I said. "But not forever."

"Wise," Nefang said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Let him prove his love. Let him fight for what he broke. And if he doesn’t..."

"I’ll still rise," I finished, voice firmer.

The Moon Priestess smiled.

"You are your mother’s courage and your father’s fire," she said. "Whatever happens, the Moon favors you."

I stood, suddenly lighter.

The pain hadn’t vanished, but it no longer ruled me.

As I turned to leave, Nefang walked beside me.

"Luciana," he said before I stepped past the grove. "One last thing."

I paused.

"If he does come back to you," he said quietly, "make sure it’s not out of guilt. Or habit. Make sure it’s love. Real love."

I nodded. "I will."

Then I left, the moon casting silver shadows behind me.

---

I woke with a strange feeling in my chest.

It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t pain.

It was a pulse.

Steady. Soft. Deep inside me, like a second heartbeat beneath my own.

At first, I thought it was my nerves. I hadn’t eaten much. I hadn’t slept well in days. My head was full of Darius and his silence, full of questions and regrets.

But this... this was something else.

My hand drifted to my stomach, unsure why. It just felt right.

And suddenly, I knew.

I didn’t have proof. No symptoms, no signs. Just that quiet thump inside me that didn’t belong to me alone.

A breath caught in my throat.

No.

I pushed myself out of bed slowly. The cabin was silent. Kiani was still asleep in the next room, curled beside Aira. The world outside was still draped in early morning shadows.

But the world inside me was changing.

I threw on a coat and slipped outside.

The wind was cold, and the scent of pine and damp earth settled over my skin like a blanket. I walked without knowing where I was going, feet moving on instinct.

I stopped at the healer’s hut.

She was an old woman named Mehra. Sharp eyes, gentle hands.

She opened the door before I could knock.

"You felt it," she said.

I stared at her.

"Come inside, child."

I obeyed, heart pounding in my chest.

She didn’t ask questions. She placed her warm hands on my stomach, just beneath my ribs, and closed her eyes.

I stood still, breath locked.

She smiled.

"There is life," she whispered. "Small, but strong."

I sat down, my knees buckling.

"A baby," I said. My voice was small.

She nodded. "A life formed in love, even if born into pain."

Tears burned in my eyes.

"How long?"

"Only a few weeks," she said. "But it has already chosen to stay."

I looked at the wall, blinking fast. "I didn’t know."

"You do now."

The healer sat beside me. She didn’t lecture. Didn’t warn. She just placed her hand over mine and let the silence settle.

A child.

Mine.

Darius’s.

My heart twisted.

"I don’t know if I can do this alone," I whispered.

"You aren’t alone," she said. "Your mother is here. Your sister. Your father. And most of all—" she pointed to my heart "—you have yourself."

I nodded, though my chest ached.

---

I wandered through the village for hours.

Everyone was waking up. Chopping wood. Feeding animals. Training in the far field. Life moved as if nothing had changed.

But everything had.

Every time I touched my belly, I felt it—the smallest flicker. A pulse that wasn’t mine. A tiny being holding on. Existing.

And something in me began to shift.

I couldn’t afford to fall apart anymore.

Not with a child inside me.

Not with a future forming.

I found myself by the creek, where the water flowed gently over stones. This had always been my quiet place. The trees were tall and kind, and the wind seemed to understand.

I sat on the edge and closed my eyes.

Darius’s face came to me again. His smile. The way he used to trace lines on my back when he thought I was asleep. The way he’d call me "little moon" when he wanted me to laugh.

And then... the silence. The scent that wasn’t mine. His avoidance.

It still hurt.

But something else stirred now.

Resolve.

This child didn’t ask to be born in chaos. It deserved a mother who wasn’t broken. A mother who would fight for its peace, even if she had to let go of love to find it.

I had cried enough.

Now, I had to choose strength.

For both of us.

I returned home in the afternoon.

Kiani ran to hug me. Aira was making stew, her face tired but peaceful.

"You okay?" she asked, wiping her hands.

"I’m fine," I said, smiling faintly.

But later, when we were alone, I told her.

Her eyes widened, then softened.

"You’re pregnant?" she said, stunned.

"Yes."

She sat down slowly, her eyes filling. "Oh, Luciana."

"I didn’t plan it," I said quickly. "And I don’t know what I’m going to do."

"You’re going to be a mother," she whispered.

I swallowed hard. "I don’t know if I can."

She reached for my hands. "You already are."

I cried then. For the first time that day, I let it come. She held me like she used to when I was a child, when the nightmares came and I didn’t understand why the world was cruel.

And just like then, she didn’t try to fix it.

She just stayed.

---

That night, I stood under the moon.

I placed both hands on my belly.

"I don’t know what you’ll look like," I whispered. "Or if you’ll howl like your father. Or smile like me. But I promise you this..."

I took a deep breath.

"I will protect you. I will love you. Even when I’m tired. Even when I’m scared. I will never leave you behind."

The wind picked up gently, brushing against my face like a kiss.

I closed my eyes.

"You are my second chance," I said.

A pulse answered me.

Steady.

Certain.

And just like that, the fear didn’t feel so big anymore.

I didn’t know what would happen with Darius.

But I knew who I was now.

A mother.

A protector.

A wolf.

And for the first time in days, I didn’t feel broken.

I felt whole.