269 First of Many
Between Corrine making sure Bell had everything she needed and wasn’t feeling too sick from the pregnancy, and Wyatt double-checking that Axel didn’t need his help with the negotiations, it had taken them almost a full day to get on the road.
Even then, there was a debate about whether they should just leave the next day. However, it was Axel pulling rank as Alpha and practically shoving them into their car that finally got them driving down the road.
Corrine smiled as she watched the warm glow of the sunset filling the sky.
“It’s been a long time,” she smiled.
“It has,” Wyatt sighed. “It shouldn’t have been.”
“What?” Corrine asked, furrowing her brows as she glanced at him.
His expression was grim.
“Wyatt, darling, I was talking about the sunset,” she said. “It’s been a long time since I took a moment to appreciate one.”
“Oh,” Wyatt said, glancing up at the sky. “It’s beautiful.”
“Very,” she smiled.
After taking another moment to bask in the glow of the ending of another day, she turned to her husband with a curious look.
“Now, what is it you were talking about?”
Wyatt sighed.
“It’s been far too long since I have taken you anywhere, spent time together, just the two of us.”
Corrine nodded.
“That’s true,” she said. “But, Wyatt, we have been running the largest pack in North America for over thirty years… we were busy.”
“I should have found the time,” he said quietly, glancing over at her. “To appreciate you.”
Corrine furrowed her brow and looked carefully at him.
“Pull over,” she said.
“What?”
“Pull over,” she repeated.
“Corrine, we haven’t even left Winter….”
“Wyatt,” she said earnestly, “pull the car over.”
Though he didn’t understand why he did as she asked.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, shifting the car into park.
Wyatt turned to his wife, expecting her to explain what was happening. Instead, she grabbed and pulled him toward her as she leaned forward and gave him a firm, loving kiss. Biting his lip gently before she pulled away.
Corrine let him go and then sat back against her door so she could still face him.
“I have never felt unappreciated or unloved by you, Wyatt of Winter,” she said. “You are a strong man with strong morals to match. Your sense of honor is unparalleled and at times ridiculous.”
Wyatt let out a soft chuckle.
“You are stubborn, reserved, and you take everything on yourself. Yet, you have carried the world’s weight on your shoulders, and your back has never broken.
“Has our life together been easy? No. Have you kept things from me? Yes. Would things have been better if you let me carry some of that weight? Of course.”
Corrine smiled.
“But the past is in the past. What I want is the future. Our future. You and me together, finding our passion with and for each other again.”
Wyatt reached his hand out to touch her cheek.
“I want that too, my love.”
“Good,” she smiled. “Then let’s get back on the road and start our new future together.”
Wyatt laughed and turned back to the wheel.
“Yes, my Luna,” he smiled brightly as he pulled the car back onto the road.
“I’m not sure how much longer I will carry that title,” Corrine smiled.
“You will always be my Luna,” Wyatt replied.
Corrine reached over and held his hand.
“And you, my Alpha,” she said.
Wyatt pulled her hand to his mouth, kissing softly on her wrist.
“And what of this mate of Axel’s?” He asked, “Do you know her? Will she be able to take on the role?”
Corrine sighed.
“I don’t know,” she said. “He wouldn’t give me her name or any of her details. It’s a complicated situation he has found himself in. But, from the sound of it, the girl is in some kind of trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” Wyatt asked.
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me,” Corrine pouted.
“Our son knows you well,” Wyatt laughed. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Corrine asked.
“Are you not pouting right now because you can’t run off and save the girl?” Wyatt asked.
Corrine pursed her lips and raised a brow.
“Is there something wrong with wanting to rescue my daughter-in-law?” she grumbled.
Wyatt laughed, and she slapped his arm.
“No, not at all, my love,” he said. “But, I would wager that Axel would not have returned home if there was a way to help the girl.”
“He did say she would rescue herself,” Corrine sighed.
“That is a good thing,” Wyatt stated.
“I know,” Corrine said, leaning back against her chair. “I just want him to be happy.”
“He is much happier than he was before,” Wyatt said.
Corrine smiled, thinking of the change in Axel. For years he had used his long hair to hide the scars on his face. But, as friendly as he was, he often shied away from most people so he wouldn’t have to explain why he covered his face.
Ever since he had been attacked at the Blood Moon, he had hidden behind a wall. Over the years, Corrine had tried many times to pull him out, to get him to open up. But he refused. It wasn’t until Bell’s arrival that he started really speaking to others.
They had helped each other learn to trust.
Corrine had loved Bell as a daughter. A tiny part of her hoped that Bell and Axel might find a place in their hearts for each other.
But seeing him over the past few weeks, Corrine knew that whoever this woman was, she was what Axel had been missing.
The realization struck her then, and she gasped.
“Corrine?” Wyatt asked with concern. “Are you alright?”
“Goddess…” she whispered with a pained sigh.
Wyatt pulled the car over quickly. Then, shifting into park, he turned to her.
“Corrine, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”
Corrine shook her head and took a deep breath.
“I didn’t realize it had been so long…” she whispered.
Wyatt reached his hand to her shoulder, rubbing it gently.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Axel… I just realized when it happened to him… when he was forced to drink the Bitter Night… it was the same time he was attacked. At the Blood Moon when he was only ten years old.”
“How could someone do such a thing to a child!” Wyatt growled.
“He must have found her then… they were so small… all this time. He has been missing her without even realizing it,” Corrine let out a soft sob.
Wyatt softened. He reached down and took her hand.
“They have found each other again. They have completed their bond,” he whispered. “I have faith that the Goddess will give them a future together. Just like the one she has given Ashleigh and Caleb.”
Corrine smiled, she turned to Wyatt, and they shared a warm kiss.
“Thank you,” she said.
Wyatt smiled.
“You have changed,” Corrine said.
Wyatt furrowed his brows. Corrine reached up and ran her thumb over the creases on his forehead, down along his eyes and mouth.
“You smile more,” she said.
“I feel like smiling now,” he said.
“Have you finally let it all go?” she asked.
“Not all of it,” he said, looking away. “But enough to know the mistakes I have made. Trying to hold on to the guilt of Cain’s death… took more from me than I ever realized. My pack, my children, my love.”
He kissed her hand once more. She smiled at him.
“I do not know how you have put up with me all these years. How you have tolerated my moods, my actions, my secrets. That night in the hospital, I thought you might actually try to kill me.”
“I thought about it,” she smiled.
“I can’t blame you,” he laughed. “I needed it.”
Wyatt took a deep breath.
“Seeing you react to me as you did… it woke me up. I’m not sure I could have convinced myself to tell Ashleigh and Caleb the truth otherwise. You are the best part of me, Corrine. Yet, I do not feel worthy of you. I know how lucky I have been to keep you by my side all these years.”
Corrine sniffled and smiled. She reached out and touched his cheek.
“Well, the Goddess fated us, and we make beautiful babies together.”
They both laughed.
“I love you, Wyatt,” she said softly. “Through the good and the bad, that has never changed. It never will.”
“Until my dying day, Corrine,” he replied. “You are the one I hold above all others. The one that I carry with me. The love of my life.”
They shared another gentle kiss.
“Alright, enough,” she said as she pulled away with a laugh. “Let’s get out of here and enjoy our first trip together in twenty years!”
“The first of many,” Wyatt smiled. “I promise.”