*Chapter 12: The Aftermath*
1688 Words
_Narrator POV_
The chanting hadn’t stopped.
“ALLISON! LUNA ALLISON! ALLISON!”
Alex left the elders’ box without a word. He didn’t push. Didn’t snarl. He walked.
He was still in his tux from earlier. Jacket on, but the bowtie hung undone around his neck. Top two buttons loose, exposing the hollow of his throat. His curly hair was a mess, damp with sweat, a few locks fallen on his forehead. He looked like he’d been in a fight. Because he had. Just not with his fists.
Warriors fell in step beside him as he moved through the crowd.
“Goddess, Alpha,” Brock said, voice low with respect. “You’re a lucky male. She didn’t even shift.”
“Best damn Luna we’ve ever had,” Marcus added. Head warrior. Jennifer’s father. And he meant it. “Treat her right, boy.”
Alex gave them one nod. Quiet. Jaw tight. _Alaric_ was silent inside him, watching. Processing.
He kept walking. Toward the locker rooms. Toward her.
---
Inside, the air smelled like jasmine soap and powder.
Allison was sitting on a cushioned bench, already showered. Her hair was damp, combed out over her shoulders. She was back in the bottle green dress from before the fight. Silk, flowing, hiding the muscle that had just dismantled Jennifer. Bare feet tucked under her.
Rose was kneeling in front of her, fixing her cat eye with steady hands. Jessy stood behind her, twisting her hair up.
“You went easy on her,” Jessy muttered, sliding a pin into place. “Goddess, Ally. Ten seconds. That’s all you needed.”
“She needed her makeup and hair,” Rose said, dabbing at a spot of powder. “Now we’ve got to do damage control because Jennifer’s pride is bleeding out on the circle floor.”
Allison’s eyes were closed. Calm. “She challenged me. I answered. That’s it.”
The door opened.
Alex stepped in. Tux jacket still on, bowtie undone, shirt open at the throat. His curly hair was a wreck, locks sticking to his forehead. He didn’t fill the frame with rage. He just stood there. Brooding. Eyes finding Allison immediately.
Jessy moved to block him without looking up from the bun. “No. She’s not taking visitors.”
Alex’s voice was quiet. Even. “I need a minute.”
Rose didn’t stop lining Allison’s lips. “She said no minutes for you until you remember how to ask.”
Alex didn’t argue. He walked in and sat. Bench across from Allison. Elbows on his knees. Hands clasped. Watching her.
Jessy clicked her tongue but kept working.
Alex waited until Rose pulled back. “Where’d you learn to fight like that?” he asked. No growl. No command. Just a question.
I started training will all the other pups. Then Helen trained me. After that, I spared with Shaquil, but Allegra is the real star,” I replied, not looking at him.
“Allegra?” Alex asked. Still quiet.
“My wolf,” Allison said. “She’s a battle genius. I just listen.”
Jessy grabbed Rose’s wrist. “We’re done here.”
The door shut behind them.
Silence.
Alex stood too. He didn’t step closer. Gave her space.
“You were incredible, Ally,” he said. Low. Honest. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Thank you,” Allison said. No smile. No softness.
He looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry. For Jennifer. For before. For all of it.”
Allison walked to him.
She stopped right in front of him. Close enough that _Alaric_ went still.
And then it hit him.
Malva pudding and butterscotch.
Warm. Sweet. Rich. The scent of her. Not perfume. _Her_. It wrapped around him, filled his lungs, drowned his brain. Goddess, she smelled like home.
His hands twitched at his sides. _Alaric_ whined inside his head. _Mate. Ours. So close._
Allison reached up.
Her fingers went to his shirt. Buttoned the top button. Then the second. Slow. Deliberate. Her knuckles brushed his throat and the scent got stronger. Alex’s jaw locked. He didn’t breathe.
“I fought for you today,” she said, voice low, eyes on her work. “Because the goddess chose me, and I won’t shame her.”
Her hands moved to his bowtie. She pulled it straight, then tied it. Perfect. Sharp. Every motion precise.
“But I won’t keep fighting women for you, Alex.” Her eyes flicked up to his. Steel wrapped in silk. “At some point you will have to draw a clear line for others to see. On your own. Without me bleeding for it.”
She gave the bowtie one last tug. Settled it. Then stepped back.
The scent didn’t leave. It clung to him. Malva pudding and butterscotch and judgment.
He didn’t flinch. He just took it. Brooding. Absorbing. Drowning.
Allison picked up a thin shawl, same bottle green, and draped it over her arms. “Let’s go. They’re waiting.”
---
The hall was chaos when they returned.
The moment Allison stepped through the archway, the cheers erupted again. Louder.
“ALLISON! LUNA ALLISON!”
She didn’t wave. Didn’t play. She walked to the center of the hall, and the pack _parted_ for her.
Warriors dropped their heads as she passed. Not in submission to Alex. To _her_.
“Luna,” an elder whispered, bowing deep. “You honor us.”
Pups stared, wide-eyed. Women reached out just to brush her dress, like touching silk would bless them.
Allison felt it. The respect. The awe. Seven years she’d been called weak, useless, human. Now they looked at her like she was born for that chair.
She bowed once to the elders and took her seat at the Luna’s chair beside the Alpha’s.
It was hers now. No one doubted it.
Alex took his seat beside her. Tux now buttoned, bowtie fixed, curls still falling on his forehead. He said nothing. Just sat. proud. Watching her.
And breathing her in.
Malva pudding and butterscotch. It was on his shirt now. On his skin. Every time he inhaled, she was there.
Gifts started coming. Warriors brought daggers. Pups brought flowers. Elders brought blessed cloth. The pack was courting her. Claiming her as theirs.
Lysander came first. He bowed, dramatic, and held out his hand. “Dance with me, Luna. Before my brother broods me to death.”
Allison laughed. Real. First one since the circle. She took his hand.
They spun once. Fast, familiar. Brother and sister.
Then Shaquil.
Shaquil didn’t bow. He just grinned. “Told you you’d make me look bad.”
They moved together like they’d done it a hundred times. No words needed.
Alex watched from his chair. Quiet. Jaw working. _Alaric_ was still. Contained.
And he could still smell her. Even across the hall. Malva pudding and butterscotch, cut with jasmine soap. It was driving him insane.
The music shifted. Tavares. _Heaven._
Alex stood.
He walked to them, not fast, not aggressive. He placed a hand on Shaquille’s shoulder. A request, not a challenge.
Shaquil laughed and stepped back. Held his hands up. “All yours, Alpha. Try to keep up.”
Alex took Allison’s hand. One hand at her waist. The other holding hers.
She didn’t stiffen. Didn’t pull away.
And the scent hit him full force. Up close it was overwhelming. Sweet and warm and _hers_. His wolf nearly came to the surface just to bury his nose in her neck.
But she smelled him too.
Mint and earth.
Sharp. Clean. Grounding. The scent of rain on forest soil, of winter air before snow. The scent of _him_. Of the Alpha she’d been mated to for seven years and never let herself breathe in.
It hit her low in her belly. _Allegra_ surged, purring. _Mate. Home. Safe._
Allison’s fingers tightened on his shoulder before she could stop them.
“You look beautiful,” he said. Voice low. Rough. Only for her.
Allison looked up at him. Silk dress, perfect bun, cat eye sharp enough to cut. He was in a tux, fixed by her hands, and looking at her like she was the only thing real in the room.
And she smiled. Small. Real.
The pack saw it.
And the chanting started again. Louder. Wilder.
“KISS HER! KISS HER!”
It rolled through the hall like thunder. Warriors stomping. Pups giggling. Elders nodding like it was law.
Alex’s hand tightened at her waist. Just a fraction. His eyes never left hers. Mint and earth wrapped around her. Malva pudding and butterscotch drowned him.
Allison’s breath hitched. Barely. But he felt it.
He leaned down, mouth by her ear. His voice was low. Rough. Broody as hell.
“Looks like we don’t have a choice, Luna.”
Allison’s cheeks went pink. A real blush. The first crack in her ice since he’d gotten back.
Alex dipped his head.
The kiss wasn’t rushed. Wasn’t for the pack.
It was deep. Slow. His lips moved against hers like he was memorizing her. Like he’d been starving and she was the first meal in seven years.
For them, time slowed.
The music faded. Tavares became a hum. The chanting died to silence. There was no hall. No pack. No war.
Just mint and earth mixing with malva pudding and butterscotch. Just the taste of him, the taste of her. Just the way her hand fisted in his tux jacket like she didn’t mean to. Just the way his other hand came up to cradle her jaw like she was glass.
He savoured her. She savoured him.
_Allegra_ and _Alaric_ were quiet for once. No snarling. No fighting. Just _yes_.
Then her wrist buzzed.
Hard.
Allison’s smart watch vibrated against his chest. Once. Twice. Urgent..
The spell shattered.
Alex pulled back a fraction, enough to see her eyes open. Dazed. Pupils blown. Mint and earth still in her lungs.
A subtle red exclamation mark pulsed on her watch face.
Allison blinked. Luna snapped back into place.
“Excuse me,” she said. Voice steady, even though her lips were still swollen from him.
---
- Writer
