Mated To An Enemy

759  What Summer Deserves

Ashleigh closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I can’t change the past,” she continued. “I can’t bring back all that is gone. I’m not the Warrior chosen by the Goddess. I’m just me…just Ashleigh.”

She swallowed, her heart aching as she spoke.

“The Goddess, the first Lunas… the ley lines…” she said, halting briefly as her voice shook. “They’re gone. It’s all gone, and there is no reason to keep hoping… no reason to keep holding on so tight to the past.”

She took another breath, pausing to stop the tears before they could fall.

“But still… I do it every day,” she said softly. “I wake up each morning, hoping that time has moved backward. The war hasn’t happened, and there is still time to change it all…”

A mixture of gentle and heavy sobs from the crowd tickled her ears. Ashleigh swallowed. She never had any intention of sharing these thoughts. Not with anyone, especially not an entire pack of people.

But after all she had witnessed, after all she had heard. It was the least she could do for Caleb.

“I have spent three years chasing the past,” she continued. “Ignoring the world around me, the people. I ran away from everything I knew and loved… all so I could keep living in the pain of what I lost.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose, letting it out slowly from her mouth.

“So, I know better than anyone that you don’t want that…” she said softly. “Not for you… not for your families, not for your pack.”

Ashleigh opened her eyes and looked out at the crowd. Tears and silence. Faces drawn down into heavy frowns and exhausted expressions.

She thought back to when she had first arrived in Summer. At the amazement and excitement she had felt. Even though she had considered Summer an enemy pack at the time, she had respected their abilities, their advancements, and their reputation. They were strong, united, and worthy of the reverence paid by all the other packs.

It was a far cry from the Summer she witnessed now.

“Summer was once the best of the four great packs,” Ashleigh said, “the most advanced, the most united, the strongest. But that, too, has changed.

“Now Spring and Autumn are gone. And Winter is the one that remains united, strong, and peaceful. And Broken Crag… once thought of as a pack barely a step above the beasts, leads the way for the wolves of these territories.”

Landon stood beside Fiona with his arms crossed over his chest. He gave a soft chuckle and nodded at Ashleigh’s accurate assessment of his pack.

Ashleigh took a deep breath.

“The world beyond our territories is filled with the stories of great and proud civilizations, brought down by their refusal to let go of the past. Holding tightly to the old beliefs, they watched their cities burn around them.”

Ashleigh looked out at their faces, seeing the pain her words caused. But she could also see that they were opening their eyes and facing what was really in front of them.

“Caleb… isn’t here,” she said. “And… I don’t know if he’ll ever come back.”

She paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing.

“But the love he had for all of you, for all of Summer, will always remain,” Ashleigh continued. “If you truly wish to honor him, his father, and all the Alphas that came before them… don’t let those old traditions destroy the future of this pack.”

She spent some time with Corrine in New Reef, visited Burning Ember, and even paid her respects at 00:26

the site of several of the lost packs.

In the crowd, several people nodded.

“They built Summer, but they didn’t do it alone,” Ashleigh said, raising her eyes across the crowd to meet Galen’s. “As long as the people continue to thrive, they could never be disappointed.”

Ashleigh nodded at Galen, giving a soft smile before returning to the crowd.

“Galen has always been by Caleb’s side. And Caleb knew he would always be by your side, too,” she smiled. “You don’t need a bloodline or a legacy. And you certainly don’t need me.”

Ashleigh looked out into the eyes that looked up at her, gentle smiles growing from their tired and weary gazes.

“What each of you needs, what Summer deserves…” Ashleigh said softly. She paused as she locked eyes with Fiona. She licked her lips and swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Is to move forward.”

Fiona gripped her cane and took in a heavy breath. Landon’s light touch on her shoulder soothed her. She slowly let her breath out before reaching up and touching his hand.

Ashleigh took a deep breath and pushed down the pain that still gripped her heart like a vice.

“Caleb already knew what needed to happen, and so do you,” she said softly, “the only person fit to be Alpha of Summer, is Galen.”

***

The full moon came, and with it, Galen was accepted without hesitation as the new Alpha of Summer.

Though she had publicly supported him, Ashleigh did not attend the ceremony. She understood that the change was necessary, and she didn’t exactly blame him, but it was still painful for her to accept.

Galen had struggled to make the decision to become Alpha, but once he had made it, he was devoted to the task and to his people. Within a few months, Summer had regained its unity and momentum, returning to the great pack it once was.

The tensions within the pack were not solved overnight. But accepting Galen as Alpha brought immense relief to all the wolves of Summer. Together, over time, they worked through and found solutions to the problems that were left unsettled.

With Galen officially leading as Alpha, Fiona chose to take a step back.

She was tired and needed rest as she began to truly experience the grief of losing her son. After much debate, Fiona finally agreed to visit Broken Crag. But much to Landon’s disappointment, she came with Nessa.

Nessa had suggested to Fiona that it might help her to face the grief head-on. The way the wolves of Broken Crag did.

They spent three months locked away deep in the mountain together. Nessa helped Fiona through the process. She wiped Fiona’s brow, cleaned her up, and fed her as she lost herself to grief.

But when the three months had passed, Fiona came out feeling both exhausted and refreshed. She returned home, delighted to see the improvements the pack had made since Galen had become Alpha. He offered her any role she wanted. But in the end, she decided that she no longer wished to play a role. Instead, she chose to simply be a wolf of Summer, free to come and go as she pleased.

She spent some time with Corrine in New Reef, visited Burning Ember, and even paid her respects at the site of several of the lost packs.

Finally, with a renewed desire to explore and experience the joys left in her life, she indulged herself with regular visits to Broken Crag.