Chapter 123

Logan

The courtyard had dark as evening solidified. The surroundings were lit by torches and lanterns to give life to the dimmed courtyard. A small gathering of people had collected around the dais that had been brought out. This time, unlike with Emma’s execution, Scott would be viewed not by a crowd of mostly common folk but by nobles, people who would take what happened that evening and spread the word accordingly. People who would do best to learn what betrayal of their Alpha King would cost them.

Scott knelt in the center of the dais, bound and silent, the glint of moonlight winking off of the iron chains at his wrists. He was mute, having no voice left to curse us with. Hollow eyes staring up at the blade that would end him.

Alex stood over him, sword in hand, as Scott watched the naked blade. The prince’s grip was steady, his jaw clenched tight. I had never seen such fury in Alex before. Rage simmered beneath his skin, and I could feel it like heat rolling off him in waves. This was incredibly personal for him.

It was almost amazing how deeply he and Evelyn had felt the slight against their father. More so than if it had happened to themselves, they felt it acutely, enough to turn them nearly feral with the need for vengeance.

The circle of onlookers around us was silent, but I could feel their bloodthirst as well. This man had harmed their Alpha King, making them feel vulnerable by association. They wanted to see Scott pay, too.

There was hardly any pretense for it all, and there certainly was no need to call upon Scott for his final words; he wouldn’t be able to muster them even if he tried.

Beside Alex, Evelyn was watching with a solemn expression that was difficult to read. At the edges of the crowd, the Alpha King was watching too as Alex raised his sword. In that breathless moment, the world held still. Even the wind seemed to hesitate, like everything around us was holding its breath.

Then, in a fluid motion, Alex brought his sword down in an arc, and steel met flesh.

Scott’s head rolled, freed from his shoulders immediately with the quick efficiency of Alex’s strike. It hit the cobblestones with a dull thud. Blood spread like ink across the ground, the darkness making the growing pool look almost black. The rest of his body slumped and fell to the dais, tongueless, armless, and now headless, too.

And just like that, it was over.

The traitor was gone. Another enemy had been overcome. For the first time in months, the weight pressing on my shoulders eased.

I looked to Evelyn immediately and found her staring back. Shared understanding passed between us: we were free. Free to enjoy life without the constant threat of our enemies. Free to be in love.

Free to create a mating bond between us.

Alex dropped the blade, his chest heaving. His eyes met mine as he re-clenched his jaw, and a sense of finality swept over both of us. I gave him a single nod. He didn’t need words. None of us did. Justice had been served.

I turned on my heel at that. There was no reason to remain in the courtyard, and I had no desire to linger where Scott was any longer than absolutely necessary. Frankly, he didn’t deserve any more of my time.

I returned to the palace halls, where the corridors were more amply lit. It wasn’t long before I heard her familiar footfalls behind me. I knew their cadence well.

Evelyn.

She approached me in swift, determined strides, her arms wrapped around herself as her eyes shimmered in the flicker of the amber torchlight. I stopped walking to allow her to approach me. She stared at me as she came nearer, a mixture of fire and fragility that undid me every time I witnessed it.

“It’s done,” I acknowledged quietly.

Her lips parted, trembling slightly. “I could hardly watch. But I did.”

“You didn’t need to. It was just another rat dying..” I stepped closer, my hands itching to pull her against me, to shield her from anything else that might try to hurt her. She had dealt with enough for several lifetimes.

But it was she who came to me first. She wrapped me in her arms, burying her head into my chest as we embraced. I smelled the strong, delicious scent of her shampoo as I wrapped my arms around her in return.

Her breath hitched, and she whispered, “Logan.” The sound of my name was like a plea.

“What is it?” I asked.

“We’re finally… We’ve done it. They’re gone. All of them.”

I held her tighter. It was just us in that moment. We were all that remained. We had overcome so much, and yet we were still standing, unyielding and resolute.

My hands slid up her back, refamiliarizing myself with the shape of her. There was such comfort even in this grazing touch.

“These past few months… They’ve been so much. So demanding. And there were times when I thought I lost everything. Times when I thought I lost you,” she murmured against me. “More than once.”

“Never,” I growled. I placed a hand under her chin and tilted her face up so I could see her eyes. They glistened with the beginnings of tears as they drank me in. “I’m not going anywhere, Evelyn. Never. I would burn the world before I let it take you.”

Her lips parted on a shaky breath. “I know,” she breathed.

And then she kissed me. It was everything I had craved in a single, perfect collision. I crushed her closer, tasting every ounce of pain and hope and hunger we’d buried for too long. So much was exchanged in that one kiss, so many hours of mourning and grief and love and lust.

When we finally broke apart, she was panting, her cheeks flushed, her fingers still tangled in my shirt as if she couldn’t let go and needed to hold onto me for support.

“I love you,” she said. “Logan, I love you. For everything you’ve done. For never giving up on me. I think I’ve always felt this way, but I kept pushing it down, shoving it aside. But it was always there, Logan. I love you so, so much.”

The words slammed into me like a physical force, leaving me raw and reeling. I’d dreamed of hearing them, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the reality of it.

“I wanted to be the first to tell you,” I said.

“I’ve been waiting for so long,” she smiled. “ I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Say it again,” I rasped, my forehead resting against hers.

“I love you,” she whispered, and it felt like salvation.

And then, softer still, her next words nearly brought me to my knees right there and then in that hallway.

“I’m ready,” she said. “To seal our love. I want to create a mating bond with you.

For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe. The world narrowed to the woman in my arms and the promise in her voice. My wolf surged, triumphant. It howled its claim and victory inside of me.

“Evelyn,” I said, her name rough on my tongue. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

Her smile wavered, tender and sure. “I think I do. Because it means just as much to me.”

I kissed her again, slower this time. I savored her taste and this moment, trying to stretch it out and make it last. Because this moment was absolutely perfect.

As I kissed her, I hoped that my passion and love were conveyed through my touches. This was forever, and I wanted her to feel that in every fiber of her being.

For the first time in my life, forever didn’t terrify me.

It felt like home.