LEGACY
909 Words
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*CHAPTER 14: LEGACY*
Twenty years.
That’s how long it’s been since I stood on that dock with burnt coffee and a blue cuff.
That’s how long since Lyra called Kade “dumb alpha” and jumped in the lake.
That’s how long since the silver wolf gave us the gift of choice.
I’m 48 now.
Kade is 52. Gray at his temples. Still makes burnt coffee.
Elara is 50 and Council Elder. She runs the country now, basically.
Damian is 49 and has 3 dogs.
And Lyra...
Lyra is 31.
And today is her wedding.
*6am. The lake house.*
Same dock. Same snow. Same blue cuff.
I was alone for five minutes.
That never happens anymore.
There are 200 people in the house.
Kade found me.
He always does.
“Hey,” he said. Wrapped his arms around me.
“Hey,” I said.
“You okay?”
“I’m watching my daughter get married on the same dock where we chose each other.”
He kissed my temple. “Yeah. We did good.”
Behind us the door slammed.
“WHERE IS THE VEIL?!” Elara yelled.
“IT’S IN THE TRUCK!” Damian yelled back.
“WHO PUT IT IN THE TRUCK?!”
“YOU DID!”
Kade and I looked at each other and laughed.
Some things never change.
*The Groom*
His name is Elias.
Wolfless.
Met Lyra at the Moore Center when she was 16 and he was 17.
He volunteered. She was teaching self-defense.
He lasted 3 minutes before she pinned him.
He’s been following her around ever since.
*10am. The Ceremony*
200 chairs. All full.
Wolfless. Alpha. Council. Center kids. The 300 women from under the ice. Their grandkids.
Elder Elara Vore officiated.
In a suit. Crying.
“Lyra Moore-Vore,” she said. “And Elias Chen. Do you choose each other?”
“I do,” Lyra said.
“I do,” Elias said.
“Then by the power vested in me by the Council, and by the Moon Goddess who witnessed this pack twenty years ago, I now pronounce you married.”
The crowd stood.
And every single person raised a blue bracelet.
Lyra cried.
I cried.
Kade cried.
Damian pretended he had something in his eye.
*The Reception*
Pancakes.
Obviously.
Elara burned them.
Damian dropped one on the ceiling.
Tradition.
Lyra and Elias danced first.
Then Kade and I.
Then Elara and Damian.
Then all 200 people.
Someone put on music.
Someone else opened the bar.
The dogs ran around with cake in their fur.
It was chaos.
It was home.
*The Speech*
Kade tapped a glass.
Everyone went quiet.
“Twenty years ago,” he said, “my sister told me I couldn’t have a pack without permission.”
He looked at me.
“Twenty years ago, Kira chose me anyway.”
He looked at Lyra.
“Twenty years ago, we chose her.”
He looked at everyone.
“Today, she chooses again. And we choose her back. Every day.”
He raised his glass.
“To legacy. To choice. To family.”
“To legacy,” 200 voices said.
*The Letter*
After the dance, Lyra came to me.
She had an envelope.
Old paper. Silver seal.
“Mama,” she said. “This was under my pillow.”
Inside:
`The promise continues.
The legacy continues.
Because you chose.
- M`
Lyra looked at me.
“Who’s M?”
I smiled.
“The Moon Goddess,” I said. “And maybe us.”
*Night. The dock.*
Just us four again.
Kade. Me. Elara. Damian.
The lake was glowing faintly blue.
Like it always did on full moons.
Elara sighed. “I’m tired.”
Damian: “You’re old.”
Elara: “You’re older.”
Damian: “Fair.”
Kade took my hand.
“Think the wolf will come back?”
I shook my head.
“No. I think we’re the wolves now.”
*One Year Later*
Lyra was pregnant.
Twins.
Boy and girl.
We named them:
Evelyn. After Elara’s mom.
Rowan. After the Elder who finally did right.
*Five Years Later*
Evelyn and Rowan are 4.
Wolfless.
Gray eyes.
Already running the Center’s kids program.
Lyra runs the international division now.
24 Moore Centers.
Across 12 countries.
Elara is President of the Council.
Damian is her Head of Security.
He still hates the suit.
Kade and I retired.
Sort of.
We still do the burnt coffee.
We still do the lake.
*Ten Years Later*
I’m 58.
Kade is 62.
We’re grandparents to 4.
Lyra had two more.
The house is louder than ever.
The cuff is still blue.
Every full moon we go to the dock.
All of us.
And sometimes, just sometimes, the water ripples.
Not the wolf.
Just the moon.
Reflecting.
*Today*
I’m on the dock. Alone.
Sunrise.
Coffee.
Blue cuff.
Footsteps.
Kade.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he asks.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I say.
We sit.
He puts his arm around me.
“You ever regret it?” he asks. “Choosing us? Choosing this?”
I look at the house.
At the noise.
At the life.
“Never,” I say. “Not one day.”
He kisses my hair.
“Me neither.”
The sun comes up.
The lake turns gold.
The house yells.
And I think about that night.
Blood moon.
Silver wolf.
“You chose each other. That is enough.”
It was.
It is.
It will be.
*END OF CHAPTER 14*
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