Chapter 85
I couldn’t believe it.
Graduation was near. The day I would finally close the chapter of my life as a university student, standing side by side with humans who had no idea about the world I truly came from,
The halls once walked through filled with nervousness and solitude now echoed with laughter, chatter, and bittersweet anticipation
Wow. Time really did fly.
I still remembered that first day. The airport in Florence. The worn out backpack clutched Sea lifeline. The confusing signs in Italian. The nervous flutter in my stomach. And then–Patricia and Louis. Two kind strangers who became my lifeline in a foreign country. They welcomed me with warm smiles, helped me settle in, and introduced me to Beta Alfonso. That was the moment everything changed.
I remembered the first time I saw the portrait of Anastasia–the late Luna. Her sonowlul eyes etched in paint called to something deep inside me, I didn’t know then that the man who mourned her, Alpha Francesco Totti, would become the one to stitch together the shattered pieces of my soul.
Back then,
n, I was just a she–woll running from a heartbreak, Now?
Now, I was the Luna of the most powerful Lycan in Italy.
As I stood outside the gallery, staring at the final piece I submitted for the end–of–year exhibition, I could still feel the ghost of that broken girl.
The painting shimmered beneath the skylight capturing not just light and shadow but a journey of survival and rebirth. My fingers brushed the edge of the frame, as if grounding myself to this moment–to everything I’d become.
And then he was there.
My Francesco.
He stood just a few paces away from me, arms crossed, dressed in a dark coat that clung to his tall frame, eyes locked on mine like I was the only thing that mattered in the world. A few of the students nearby whispered, and I saw heads tuming
Angela nudged me. “Ellaine, your boyfriend is stealing all the attention. Again”
Istifled a laugh, cheeks flushing.
“He’s just here to see the exhibition,” I said, but my tone lacked conviction.
Jose arched a brow, “Come on, El. That man’s too damn hot to be just here for the art.
I turned toward my three closest human friends–Angela, Jose, and Katrina–and before I could deflect again, Katrina gasped, her eyes lighting up in triumph.
“Wait! Is he the same man who picked you up that time? Remember? Outside the campus, the black car?”
I froze, eyes widening.
She remembered that day?
I nodded slowly, watching her reaction.
Katrina squealed, grabbing Angela’s hand as if she had just unearthed a royal secret Jose simply chuckled, shaking his head.
ourse he is,” Angela whispered. “No wonder you always looked like you were hiding something. You lucky, mysterious woman.”
“Of hels
Their excitement made my heart warm, They didn’t know who he truly was–an Alpha Lycan leared and revored across Europe–but they accepted the
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part of my I was allowed to share. I united, grateful, and stole a glance at Francesco
He was leaning against the car now, as folded, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. His eyes flickered toward me with a teasing gnt. Of cours everything. Werewolf ears.
We spent the next few minutes talking about the exhibit, laughing about our struggles with the final assignments, and sharing our hopes for graduati But then the topic shitted.
“Have you heard about Mario?” Angela asked, lowering her voice.
Itensed.
Mario had been the scholarship student Bright, full of promise. In the human world, they said he went back to his country for family reasons. But w the truth. He had died in our territory
He had watched his siblings die–their heads sent by Luca, the deranged rogue Alpha, as a warning.
I swallowed thickly
Francesco’s gaze locked onto mine. I knew he could feel the shift in my mood. The bond between us pulsed like a heartbeat, and I knew he wouldn’t
allow me to suffer in silence.
I gave him a faint smile and waved my hand in a small, dismissive gesture, hoping to reassure him. But my friends noticed.
“You’re okay?” Katrina asked gently.
“Yeah,” lied. “Just tired.”
“You’re coming to the graduation ceremony, right?” Jose asked, eager to lighten the mood.
I nodded. “Of course. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good,” Katrina said, then motioned toward Francesco. “Go. He’s been waiting patiently. We can talk later.”
I turned to them, grateful for their presence. “Thank you, guys. Really.”
As I stepped away from the gallery, the quiet hum of conversation and art critique faded behind me. My heart eased with each step I book toward him. Toward home.
Francesco straightened the moment I neared, his cool composure melting into something softer–warmer. The women who had been casually lingering near him only seconds ago slowly backed away, their smiles faltering with quiet disappointment. They might have seen the suit, the car, the charm… but they didn’t know the man.
They didn’t know the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.
Without a word, he leaned in and pressed a brief kiss to my lips. Just a gentle peck. But one with clear intent. A public gesture. A silent declaration:I’m hers, and she’s mine.
I blinked in surprise and couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on my face as he opened the car door for me.
“Ready to go, my Luna?” he asked, his voice low, teasing.
I rolled my eyes as I slipped inside. “You heard everything, didn’t you?”
“Naturally,” he said, slipping in beside me. “But I especially liked the part where your friends said I was hot.”
I laughed despite myself, shaking my head, “You’re impossible.”
“And you,” he murmured, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, “are glowing.”
Chapter 85
The ride back to the estate was peacehil, the kind of quiet that didn’t need to be filled. He held my hand the entire way, his thumb brushing over my knuckles in soft, genunding strokes. It left like a small thing. But it meant everything. A reminder that wasn’t alone anymore, Not in this world. Not in
this life.
As we passed through the gatis of the estate, I noticed something different.
The guards bowed their heads as usual–but their eyes lingered longer on me. There was something like reverence in their gaze for just respect, for just protocol
Iswallowed the tightness in my threat. It still feels strange them looking at me like that.”
Francesco glanced at me. “They’re proud of you.”
Itted my head. “Proud?”
“Yes.” His voice was firm, steady. “Because you changed me. Because you walked into this place as someone broken–and you refused to stay that They see it. I see it. You became more than what fate tried to break and in the process you changed me and bring happiness back.”
I looked at him, his profile lit by the soft golden light of the setting sun, and my chest clenched in that bittersweet, full way that always came when he said something I wasn’t prepared for
He always knew how to speak to the deepest parts of me–the parts still tried to shield, even from myself.
That night, after a quiet dinner and a walk beneath the stars, we curled up in our bed together. His arms around me. His presence a shield I’d learned to
rely on.
I should’ve felt peace
But sleep didn’t come.
Not with the storm in my mind.
I stared at the ceiling, listening to his breathing Steady, Safe. I turned, facing him, watching the moonlight soften the sharp lines of his face.
“Francesco,” I whispered.
His eyes opened instantly, sharp and alert. Always ready.
“Do you think…the Council will try something again?” I asked.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached for me, pulling me close, pressing a kiss to my f
y forehead.
“if they do,” he said slowly, “they’ll regret it. And this time, they won’t find you unprotected.”
I nodded against his chest, breathing in the scent of him. Sandalwood, forest, safety
This wasn’t just about me anymore.
it was about our people. Our pack. The quiet, growing bond between humans and werewolves here in Florence. The tentative trust we’d begun building
one painting, one step, one conversation at a time.
Graduation was only days away. A milestone. An ending
But also a beginning
I wasn’t that broken girl who had arrived in Italy with nothing but pain in her chest and rejection in her heart, I wasn’t just the she–wall without a pack or purpose.
I was Luna now.
мол,
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Thad a voice. A future. A partner.
I was Ellaine Rollies and i was no longer afraid of the world waiting for me.
Not with him by my side.
AD
