Snow fell heavy over the clearing, the world silent but for the wind.
Kael and Aradia stood together before the pack, their eyes locked, their hearts heavy with the truth.
She trembled, tears streaming down her face. "We've done this before. We've died before. And every time, the shadow wins."
Kael stepped closer, his massive form towering but his touch gentle as his hand brushed her cheek. His green eyes burned—not with fear, but with love that defied time.
"Not this time," he vowed.
Her lips trembled. "How can you be certain?"
His forehead pressed to hers, his voice rough, breaking. "Because I remember, Aradia. I remember you. Your laugh, your fire, your tears. Every time I die, I search. Every time I'm reborn, I hunt. And every time—I find you."
Her sobs shook her body, her fire trembling in her palms. "And I promised you too… didn't I?"
His lips captured hers, fierce, desperate, eternal.
"Yes," he whispered against her mouth. "You promised you would find me. And you did. Always."
The pack watched in silence as fire rose around them, not wild, not destructive—beautiful. A crown of flame and wolf's howl, sealing a love older than death.
And as the shadow stirred in the distance, Aradia and Kael stood unbroken, bound not just by this life, but by all the lives before.
Destined. Eternal. Forever.