The Alpha’s Miracle

Chapter Twelve:The Answer-Sebastian

It had been exactly one week.

Seven days since Alpha Kai had told me the truth.

Seven days since my world had changed.

And somewhere during those seven days, I had lost a version of myself I didn’t even know existed.

I was still Sebastian.

I still prayed.

I still attended Mass.

I still helped people.

I still wore my clerical clothes.

I still smiled when someone greeted me.

But something inside me had changed.

I was sad.

Constantly.

There was a heaviness in my chest that refused to leave.

Sometimes it became so tight that I had to stop what I was doing and take several deep breaths.

And the dreams…

The dreams were becoming worse.

Every night, the same black wolf appeared.

But it wasn’t the same anymore.

It was always crying.

Always howling.

Its howls echoed through the forest in a way that made my heart ache.

Sometimes it would look at me.

Sometimes it would lower its head.

Sometimes it would simply stand there and howl until I woke up crying.

I was afraid to sleep.

I was afraid of what I would see.

But I was even more afraid of what the dreams meant.

I needed an answer.

So, after morning prayers, I went to Father Archie’s office.

He looked up when I entered.

“Sebastian.”

“Father, can I speak with you?”

“Of course.”

I sat across from him.

For several seconds, I couldn’t find the words.

Then I finally whispered,

“Is it wrong if I choose the Church?”

Father Archie studied me carefully.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Because I love the Church.”

My voice trembled.

“I’ve loved it for years. I made a promise to God.”

I swallowed.

“But I can feel his pain.”

Father Archie didn’t interrupt.

“I don’t know how,” I continued, “but I can feel it.”

I pressed my hand against my chest.

“Sometimes it feels like something is pulling here.”

I breathed deeply.

“And the wolf in my dreams…”

I looked down.

“It’s becoming sadder.”

Father Archie sighed.

“I know.”

“I’m scared.”

“Of Kai?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I’m scared of making the wrong decision.”

He leaned back.

“Then you need to understand something.”

“What?”

“This is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make.”

“I know.”

“It concerns your entire future.”

“I know.”

“And that’s why you cannot make the decision simply because you feel pressured.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a week.”

“I know.”

“I’ve prayed.”

“I know.”

“I’ve cried.”

He gave me a sympathetic smile.

“I know that too.”

I looked at him.

Then I asked the question I had been terrified to ask.

“Father…”

“Yes?”

“If I choose Kai…”

My voice broke.

“Does that mean I’ve broken my promise to God?”

Father Archie was quiet for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

“No.”

I stared at him.

“No?”

“You have not forsaken God.”

“But I promised Him.”

“You promised to give your life to Him.”

“I did.”

“And loving someone does not mean you have abandoned God.”

I remained silent.

Father Archie continued.

“Perhaps you have been looking at your promise too narrowly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You thought the only way to serve God was through priesthood.”

I nodded.

“But that’s not the only way to live a life dedicated to God.”

He smiled gently.

“You can serve people without being a priest.”

“You can pray.”

“You can give.”

“You can help the poor.”

“You can participate in charity.”

“You can comfort people.”

“You can be kind.”

“You can live honestly.”

“Those things don’t disappear simply because you aren’t wearing a priest’s robe.”

I felt tears forming in my eyes.

“I really wanted to become a priest.”

“I know.”

“You’ve watched me prepare.”

“I’ve watched you grow.”

“You believe I would have been a good priest?”

“I don’t believe it.”

He smiled.

“I know it.”

My eyes filled with tears.

“But I also know the kind of man you are.”

Father Archie leaned forward.

“The Church has shaped you, Sebastian.”

“Yes.”

“But it didn’t create your goodness.”

I looked at him.

“Your kindness was already inside you.”

His words stayed with me.

“God doesn’t stop being God because you leave the priesthood.”

I lowered my eyes.

“You can still pray.”

“You can still worship.”

“You can still serve.”

“You can still help people.”

“You can still belong to the Church.”

I swallowed.

“So choosing Kai doesn’t automatically mean I’ve betrayed God?”

“No.”

“Even if I don’t become a priest?”

“No.”

He paused.

“But I want you to understand something else.”

I looked up.

“Kai is suffering.”

My chest tightened.

“I know.”

“You are hurting.”

“I know.”

“But his pain is different.”

“Because he’s a wolf.”

“Yes.”

Father Archie sighed.

“And because he’s an Alpha.”

He shook his head slowly.

“The pain you’re experiencing may feel unbearable.”

I nodded.

“But what Kai is experiencing is far more intense.”

I looked away.

“How much?”

“I can’t measure it.”

“But imagine your pain multiplied many times.”

My heart sank.

“He feels the bond physically, emotionally, instinctively.”

I closed my eyes.

The black wolf immediately appeared in my mind.

“I don’t want him to suffer.”

“I know.”

“But you also shouldn’t choose him simply because you pity him.”

“I don’t.”

Father Archie nodded.

“Good.”

“Because I think…”

I stopped.

“What?”

“I think I’m beginning to understand.”

Father Archie didn’t push me.

He simply waited.

I wasn’t ready to say it yet.

⸻

That afternoon, we celebrated Mass.

I prayed harder than I had ever prayed before.

Not because I wanted God to give me the answer I preferred.

But because I wanted Him to give me peace.

That evening, I prayed again.

And after night prayers, I returned to my room.

I changed into comfortable clothes and lay down.

For the first time in days, I wasn’t afraid to sleep.

I closed my eyes.

And darkness came.

⸻

I was standing in the forest.

The black wolf was there.

But this time, something was different.

There were two things in front of me.

On one side stood the black wolf.

Huge.

Beautiful.

Quiet.

On the other side was a priest’s robe.

White.

Clean.

Familiar.

The life I had spent years imagining.

I walked toward it.

I reached for the robe.

My fingers almost touched it.

But it moved farther away.

I tried again.

It moved farther.

“Wait.”

I chased it.

But the distance only grew.

I stopped.

Then I turned toward the wolf.

The wolf was watching me.

I slowly approached.

It didn’t move.

I reached out.

My fingers touched its fur.

And the moment I did—

Pain.

A wave of emotion rushed through me.

Not physical pain.

Something deeper.

Loneliness.

Grief.

Fear.

Love.

A desperate kind of love.

The wolf lowered its head beneath my hand.

And suddenly, I understood.

Not everything.

But enough.

I began to cry.

The wolf looked at me.

And for the first time, I wasn’t afraid of it.

I whispered,

“You’re not trying to hurt me.”

The wolf remained still.

“You’ve been waiting.”

It lowered its head.

I felt another wave of emotion.

And I knew.

I knew.

⸻

I woke up suddenly.

My eyes opened.

But I wasn’t terrified.

I wasn’t sweating.

I wasn’t confused.

I simply lay there quietly.

My heart was calm.

For the first time in weeks…

Calm.

I stared at the ceiling.

Then I whispered,

“I understand.”

Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

Not tears of fear.

Not tears of confusion.

Peace.

I didn’t know how I knew.

I couldn’t explain it.

There was no voice.

No divine figure.

No miracle that I could describe.

Just a certainty inside me.

A peace I hadn’t felt since Kai entered my life.

I sat up.

I prayed.

“God…”

My voice was quiet.

“If this is the path You have placed before me…”

I took a deep breath.

“Then give me the strength to walk it.”

I cried quietly.

“I don’t know what my life will look like.”

“I don’t know how I will adjust.”

“I don’t know what happens next.”

“But I trust You.”

I bowed my head.

“I won’t stop praying.”

“I won’t stop serving.”

“I won’t stop helping people.”

“And I won’t stop loving You.”

I wiped my tears.

Then I whispered the words that had been terrifying me for days.

“I choose him.”

The room became quiet.

And somehow, the words didn’t feel wrong.

They felt peaceful.

I thought about Kai.

His eyes.

His nervousness.

His trembling voice when he had told me he was my mate.

I have waited for you for eleven years.

I closed my eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t know if he could hear me.

But I said it anyway.

“I’m sorry I was afraid.”

I breathed deeply.

“I need time.”

I wasn’t suddenly ready to become his mate.

I wasn’t suddenly prepared for the wolf world.

I wasn’t suddenly ready to abandon everything I had known.

There would be conversations.

There would be changes.

There would be sacrifices.

There would be difficult days.

But for the first time, I wasn’t running from the decision.

I had made it.

I believed God had led me toward it.

And if this was truly the path He had chosen for me, then I would walk it faithfully.

I would still pray.

I would still serve.

I would still help people.

I would still be Sebastian.

Just not the Sebastian I had imagined becoming.

I looked toward the small crucifix beside my bed.

“Guide me.”

Then I closed my eyes.

And for the first time in seven days…

I slept without fear.