---- Chapter 25 LAURENCE POV: Five years. Five years | had kept my vow. | lived like a monk in my own pack, burying myself in work, the Alpha of Black Moon a hollow shell of a man. The bond-pain was a dull, constant ache in my soul, a phantom limb that never stopped hurting. But once a year, on her daughter's birthday, | allowed myself this torture. | sat in my black, non-descript car, parked across the street from a small, cheerful-looking kindergarten. And | watched. Chris pulled up, his limp more pronounced today. He leaned on his wolf-head cane as he got out of the car. He looked older, but his eyes, when they landed on the little girl running out of the school, were full of a light | knew | would never have. And the girl... Stella. She was the perfect image of her mother. The same dark, wavy hair. The same bright, intelligent eyes. A faint, shimmering aura already clung to her, the unmistakable sign of a White Wolf in the making. She was Josie's blood. My mate's blood. ---- A wave of longing so powerful it made me gasp washed over me. To have a child with Josie, to see our love made real... it was a dream | had thrown away for a lie. Chris and Stella were laughing, their joy a beautiful, painful melody. He knelt to hug her, and in that moment, his phone tang. He answered, his expression shifting to the focused look of an Alpha handling business. "Just one second, starlight," he said to his daughter, turning away to speak into the phone. Stella, impatient as only a five-year-old can be, saw the ice cream truck parked down the street. Her eyes lit up, and she darted away from her father, a blur of pink dress and flying hair. She ran straight into the street. My wolf screamed inside me before my mind could even process what was happening. A black, windowless van, which had been idling at the corner, suddenly roared to life. It swerved, its tires screeching, and aimed directly for the small child in the middle of the road. Rosalie's family. The last dregs of their loyalists, seeking a final, pathetic revenge. Time slowed down. | saw Chris's head snap up, his face a mask of pure terror. He was too far away. He wouldn't make it. | didn't think. | just moved. ---- My car door flew open. | was out and running, my Alpha speed a blur. The world narrowed to a single point: the little girl, frozen in fear, and the metal beast bearing down on her. | reached her in two long strides, scooping her small, warm body into my arms. | twisted, putting my own body between her and the van, bracing for the impact. The collision was a brutal, final explosion of force. Metal shrieked and buckled around me. | felt a catastrophic, crushing pain as the front of the van slammed into my back. A sharp, searing agony ripped through my abdomen. The bumper. It was lined with silver. | hit the pavement hard, my arms locked around the child, shielding her from the impact. The world went gray at the edges. | could hear screaming. Chris's voice, raw with panic. | looked down at the little girl in my arms. Stella was crying, terrified, but she was untouched. Not a scratch. Safe. | had saved her. Chris was kneeling over me, his hands hovering, not knowing what to do. His face was a wreck of horror and disbelief. Blood was filling my mouth. The silver was a liquid fire, dissolving my life force. My wolf was whimpering, fading. | met Chris's eyes. | had to make him understand. ---- My car door flew open. | was out and running, my Alpha speed a blur. The world narrowed to a single point: the little girl, frozen in fear, and the metal beast bearing down on her. | reached her in two long strides, scooping her small, warm body into my arms. | twisted, putting my own body between her and the van, bracing for the impact. The collision was a brutal, final explosion of force. Metal shrieked and buckled around me. | felt a catastrophic, crushing pain as the front of the van slammed into my back. A sharp, searing agony ripped through my abdomen. The bumper. It was lined with silver. | hit the pavement hard, my arms locked around the child, shielding her from the impact. The world went gray at the edges. | could hear screaming. Chris's voice, raw with panic. | looked down at the little girl in my arms. Stella was crying, terrified, but she was untouched. Not a scratch. Safe. | had saved her. Chris was kneeling over me, his hands hovering, not knowing what to do. His face was a wreck of horror and disbelief. Blood was filling my mouth. The silver was a liquid fire, dissolving my life force. My wolf was whimpering, fading. | met Chris's eyes. | had to make him understand. ---- "Don't..." | coughed, a spray of red painting his shirt. "Don't tell her.' Don't tell Josie it was me. Let her have her peace. Let her remember me as the monster, not the man who died for her child. He just stared at me, tears streaming down his face as he finally understood the depth of my regret. My vision was tunneling to black. The pain was fading, replaced by a strange, quiet peace. The ache in my soul, the one that had been my constant companion for years, was finally gone. In the last flicker of my consciousness, | thought of Josie. | had rejected her, hurt her, broken her. But in the end, with my final breath, | had protected her legacy. | had protected her bloodline. | had finally, truly, guarded my mate. And with that one, redemptive thought, | let the darkness take me.