Samuel and Esther crashed back into the university lab, landing right next to the Golden Leaf Casket. The air was calm, the magical energy stable.
"It's over," Esther breathed, looking at Samuel, who was now fully human, albeit exhausted.
The silver bloom on his wrist had gone cold.
"Fortune is trapped," Samuel realized, his voice thick with relief. "Trapped in the past, without the means to escape. The past Pack is stable, and the future Pack is free."
Suddenly, the ethereal voice of Ọrúnmìlà returned, calmer now.
"The Shadow is contained. But the fabric of time remembers. The balance is held by a new, more potent law: Choice."
The deity's message was a final warning. Fortune may be contained, but the threat of chaos the choice between love and self-preservation would always linger.
Samuel and Esther looked at each other. They had secured their freedom, not by fighting an ancient curse, but by rewriting destiny itself with the power of their unconditional love and choice. They were not just the Alpha and the Keeper; they were the guardians of the Àkàlà, the fate of the city secured by the Golden Leaf.