Blackbird

†Chapter Sixteen†

I was lured out of sleep by a gentle kiss to my forehead, followed by familiar fingers brushing hair out of my face, the strands tickling my cheek. I soon became aware of the soft bed beneath me, the warm body beside me, and the sweet, familiar scent that could only belong to Axel. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing him smiling kindly at me. "Good morning, Luna," he whispered. 

I smiled back, relieved to see that he was no longer visibly upset with me. "How did I get here?" I asked softly. 

"I stayed up waiting for you to come back inside so that I could apologize, but when you didn't, I went outside to check on you. I didn't want to wake you, so I carried you back to bed," he explained, tracing my collar bone with his index finger. 

I slid closer to him, burying my face against his bare chest and wrapping my arms around him. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I made you worry." 

He rubbed my back, pulling me closer. "No, you don't need to apologize. I overreacted and blew things out of proportion. You were right; something needs to be done, but I just don't want you to try to kill the King. I don't want to lose you," he said, his voice shaking just a little. 

I gently kissed his collarbone. "The treaty is going to work. We're all going to walk out of there alive and start new lives without fear." 

He pulled back to look at me, smiling sadly. "I really hope so," he whispered, pressing his lips to mine. I could see the doubt in his beautiful green eyes, mirroring what I felt deep down inside. After all the pain and sadness, having complete faith in something that could very easily go wrong was difficult. The Prince had said his father had gone mad, and madness wasn't a disease that could be cured with any medicine or herb. 

I tried to bury the doubt as deep down inside as I could, but I could still feel it whispering to me in the back of my mind. I needed to be sure of this and not allow doubt to make me uneasy. I had to be brave, strong, and hope with every ounce of my being that this hell would finally come to an end. 

Axel was silent for a long moment, gently stroking my hair as he stared at my lips. "When this is all over, we should head North, away from the kingdom towards the mountains. I heard there are some small wolf colonies hidden there, safe from the violence. We could build a home, start our new life in a truly safe place, free to be ourselves," he said gently. "Maybe even start a family of our own." 

My heart fluttered at his words, bringing a smile to the surface. "A family?" I asked. 

He smiled back, nodding slowly. "Yes, our very own family," he replied, then his smile slowly faded. "But you have to promise me something. If things do go badly, we don't fight. We get the hell out of there and go North, as far as we can until we're safe. Promise me that we'll get out of there alive, no matter what, and get our happy ending." 

Naomi's words flashed through my mind. Life doesn't have a happy ending, Blackbird. My chest ached unexpectedly, and a flush of sadness spread coldly through my veins, but I pushed it all to the back of my mind and rested my hand on Axel's cheek, smiling at him. "I promise." 

He pulled me close, kissing me deeply, and then he hugged me as tightly as he could. Naomi's words still echoed quietly in the background, but I was determined to prove them wrong. We would get out of there alive, go to the mountains in the North, and have our happy ending. It gave me a new sense of purpose, of hope, and I refused to let the mad King take that away from me. He already took my family and my home away from me, but he would not take Axel or my chance at happiness.