Chapter 26: The Life I Chose

Faye’s POV

The Crimson Council was gone.

For the first time in centuries, the ancient bloodlines no longer answered to a hidden group of elders.

The great hall slowly emptied.

Pack leaders returned to their territories carrying copies of the records that had exposed the Council's crimes.

Some thanked me.

Others simply bowed their heads before leaving.

I didn't need their loyalty.

I only wanted the freedom they had been denied.

Mira remained behind with Roman.

Together, they would help rebuild the Moonborn archives and return stolen lands to the families who had lost them.

Leo was asleep in a nearby room.

After everything that had happened, he had finally allowed himself to rest.

I stood alone on the balcony overlooking the mountains.

For the first time, the future didn't frighten me.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

I knew who it was before he spoke.

“Faye.”

Sebastian stopped several feet away.

I didn't turn around.

“Leo is sleeping.”

“I know.”

Silence settled between us.

Then he said,

“I meant what I said earlier.”

I turned.

His expression was unusually vulnerable.

“I know.”

“But I don't expect you to forget what happened.”

I looked at him for a long moment.

“I won't.”

His jaw tightened.

“You shouldn't.”

“The man I was in your first life deserved to lose you.”

My heart tightened.

“Sebastian…”

He shook his head.

“Let me finish.”

“I spent years believing that protecting the pack meant sacrificing anything that stood in the way of power.”

“I convinced myself that leaving you behind was necessary.”

“Then I saw your memories.”

His eyes reddened.

“I watched you die alone.”

“And I realized I had spent an entire lifetime protecting a future that wasn't worth having.”

I lowered my gaze.

“You can't change that life.”

“No.”

He took a slow breath.

“But I can change this one.”

I looked at him.

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing.”

His answer came immediately.

“I want you to choose.”

“If you want to leave, I'll help you.”

“If you want to build your own pack, I'll protect its borders.”

“If you never want to be my mate again, I'll accept that.”

“And if one day you decide you want me beside you…”

He paused.

“I'll be there.”

I stared at him.

In my previous life, I had begged this man to choose me.

Now he was giving me the one thing I had never received.

A choice.

“I don't want the Silver Moon throne.”

Sebastian nodded.

“Then it will be Leo's one day.”

“No.”

He looked surprised.

“Leo doesn't need a throne either.”

I smiled.

“He needs a childhood.”

A faint smile appeared on Sebastian's face.

“I agree.”

I looked toward the mountains.

“I want to return to the human town.”

He went still.

“You want to leave?”

“For a while.”

“I want a small house.”

“I want to work.”

“I want Leo to grow up knowing that he doesn't have to become an Alpha just because his blood says he can.”

Sebastian nodded slowly.

“Then that's what we'll do.”

I studied him.

“We'll?”

He smiled.

“If you'll allow me.”

For several seconds, I said nothing.

Then I reached out and took his hand.

His fingers closed gently around mine.

There was no command in the touch.

No obligation.

No promise that I would wait forever.

Just two people choosing each other in the present.

“One day at a time,” I said.

Sebastian nodded.

“One day at a time.”

A small voice came from the doorway.

“Are you two getting back together?”

We turned.

Leo stood there with sleepy eyes and messy hair.

I laughed.

“Go back to bed.”

He grinned.

“So that's a yes?”

Sebastian actually laughed.

“Go to sleep, Leo.”

Leo ran over and hugged both of us.

For a moment, I closed my eyes.

This wasn't the family I had dreamed of in my first life.

It was something better.

A family built by choice instead of duty.

A life built by love instead of fear.

The next morning, I packed a single suitcase.

Not because I was running away.

Because I was finally going somewhere I wanted to be.

As we walked toward the waiting car, Mira stood at the estate gates.

She hugged me tightly.

“You'll come back?”

I smiled.

“Of course.”

Roman handed me a small silver key.

“Your mother left this in the archives.”

I looked down at it.

“What does it open?”

Roman smiled.

“You'll find out when you're ready.”

I slipped the key into my pocket.

Then I looked toward the road ahead.

Three years ago, I had walked down a highway alone because I believed I had no other choice.

This time, I walked toward the same road with my son beside me and Sebastian at my side.

But there was one difference.

I wasn't waiting for anyone anymore.

I was choosing my own life.

And whatever waited at the end of that road, I would face it on my own terms.