---- sacrifice. Orion cried on the altar, seemingly sensing his father's departure. I picked him up, tears falling onto his small face. "Your daddy was a hero, Orion," I whispered. "He gave everything for us." Down the mountain, the remnants of the Northern Pack had scattered, having lost Lyra's control, they were once again ordinary werewolves. The crisis was temporarily over, but the cost was so heavy. I stood at the edge of the altar, watching the distant rising sun. A new day had begun, but for me, the world was different. Kaelen Nightfang, the once-proud Alpha, my former mate, my child's father, had completed his redemption with his final sacrifice. ---- And I, I had to carry on with his child, his bloodline, his legacy. The silver light on the altar still surrounded us, as if the Moon Goddess's blessing would never leave. But my heart had gone with that vanished figure, falling into endless darkness.