Broken Bonds

XLV. The end

Three years later

The baby grew up to be a gorgeous little woman. One that could barely be seen from the ground, and yet no one was able to forget her. It wasn't that long ago since she first learned how to talk, and she was already driving Rey mad with all the questions. But Rey wouldn't change her for anything.

To Rey's surprise and Brynn's another near heart-attack experience, not even a year and a half later a little boy joined their lives. Well, what to say? Lia and her mate certainly weren't wasting their time.

Not much changed for Brynn herself during those three years. She was still using all her extraordinary skills to heal those who needed her. S refused to let her go on her own, so he almost always followed her. Sometimes Lia joined in too. And when there was a particularly gruesome attack, they would all go. But there was a slight difference now, they had a place to come back to.

Rey was not able to shift into her wolf again. The lazy ass was still sleeping somewhere inside her, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet. Who knew? Maybe one day it would come alive.

She also wasn't going to give up hope for the time when humans and wolves would be able to live together in peace. It would be foolish to think their pack was never going to be attacked again. There was more than one occasion, the families of those killed seeking revenge, but the pack was still standing strong and it would continue to do so, especially now that it had four best healers in the country by their side.

There were members of the pack that were giving Rey hateful glances in the days after Elaine's departure and some remained suspicious of her to this day. But there was one particular reason why that helped convince them she had no intentions to become their luna. But Rey didn't want to think about it just yet.

She thought about her parents instead. They tried many times to build back the relationship with their estranged daughter, and although the road to forgiveness was still very long, Rey could at least tolerate their presence now. If they weren't bothering her every day.

"She fell again," S's voice pulled Rey out of her thoughts and she turned her head in the direction it came from. He walked towards her, Caroline's small fingers holding his hand. There were dried tears on her cheek and blood on her knees.

Rey sighed and chuckled a bit. She swore gravitation loved the little girl way too much because she was almost always pulled to the ground. She couldn't even remember the day that went by without Caroline tripping over something. Lucky for them, she was able to heal quickly.

"Come here, my poor little baby," Rey reached out her hands, which resulted in Caroline abandoning S and flying in Rey's arms instead.

Rey was sitting on the porch in front of their house, so when the little girl ran over, she lifted her up and sat her into her lap, the shattered knees now on full display.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Rey wondered.

She nodded almost immediately, but Rey had a hard time believing her. The wound was already closing in some places.

"She wanted to see her dad," S said. "But I have no idea where he went."

Rey smiled down at the little drama queen: "Your wound is going to heal long before we find him."

"What about my mum then? Do you think, she knows?" Caroline's question made Rey's heart squeeze, but she did her best for the smile to remain on her face: "I am sure she does. She might even help you heal right now."

"Really?" Caroline turned the upper half of her body towards Rey, sparks flying in her eyes. But as if she realised what she did, her expression quickly turned gloomy. "It still hurts quite a lot. Maybe it would help if someone would blow on it."