Invincible 3/3
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Wolf Lake or any of its Characters. Only the character of Calen Ryans is mine.
This is the sequel to Torn. Both'Waiting' and 'Torn'must be read for any of this to make sense.
Author's Note: The end has arrived- finally! Sorry for the wait- and once again, Thank you… For everything.
Sophia
She had never known what it felt like to feel so guilty that she wanted to die from it.
As she had cradled Luke's wounded body in her arms, she had looked down with agonized eyes at the man she had thought she loved.
The man she had thought truly loved her.
"I'm sorry." She had whispered sorrowfully, even while knowing that for the future generations he would be painted the villain in their twisted story.
"I'm sorry."
Calen's dark eyes had glittered in the moonlight, as he opened his eyes.
Gazing into her pain-filled orbs, he had lifted a blood-soaked hand towards her.
"If I could love-" He had paused, breathing harshly, trying futilely to breathe air into lungs already beginning to shut down.
"If I could love- I would have loved you." He had finished with a rasp, his raised hand collapsing on the ground as he drew his final breath.
She had bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
She knew that he had only been using her.
She knew that she had only been a stepping stone in his ultimate plan for revenge.
But that knowledge couldn't stop the torrent of tears that pressed at the back of her lids.
Whispering a quick prayer for his soul, she looked down to see Luke awake.
"Don't worry; you're going to be fine." She softly reassured, caressing his face, needing to know that he was still there, still holding on, still alive.
"You saved me." He murmured back in wonder.
She had managed a jerky nod, unable to hold back a sob. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you enough."
Luke had shaken his head slowly, "It doesn't matter now. You saved me. " He had slowly repeated. "I was afraid." He whispered.
She had tenderly attempted to attend to a wound at his head. "Of what?"
"I was afraid that you didn't love me anymore. I was afraid that you were going to let me die." He had murmured softly.
His words stopped her still. In their younger years, he may have hurt her with his stupidity, but she had hurt him equally, if not more.
She had created scars in him that would never completely heal.
But she would try.
Going back to the wound on his head, she had stared intently at it, continuing to gently stop it with a cloth she had torn from a shirt.
"Well you're wrong on both counts. I wasn't going to let you die." She had said, before continuing softly, "And I still love you."
Luke had wearily closed his eyes as an expression of peace settled on his face. "I want to rest."
She had nodded even though he couldn't see her. "All right."
"Will you still be here when I wake up?"
It was his insecurity making its presence known again.
"Always."
Luke
It had taken years.
It had taken blood, sweat, and tears to arrive at this place.
In the end, he had achieved all he had set out to achieve.
He was the strongest, the most respected, the most powerful.
He was the Alpha of the pack.
Rolling on his back, he tenderly took in her content expression and resisted the urge to wake her so that he could reassure himself in the most basic and instinctual of ways that she was in fact there.
That she was still, in fact, his.
He always pressed an apologetic kiss on her shoulder whenever he lost control and allowed the wolf in him to emerge and claim her, once again, as his mate, his wife.
She would merely smile gently and hold him close.
After the prophecy had been fulfilled, things had not simply unfurled and fallen into their place. They had been left to deal with the ramifications that Calen's death had on the community, on his supporters.
But together, with his determination and her quiet strength, they had made it through.
Ten years had passed and the laws of the Skin-Walkers had been ruthlessly restructured. With a new council, Luke and Sophia had been able to create a kind of freedom for their people. Although, their ways and their people would always remain a secret, they would not be held captive at Wolf Lake any longer. The consequences of Calen's parent's death had led to that.
Ten years had passed and Ruby had returned home with her husband and children. Now that there were no chains binding her, she had felt that she could come back.
The years had passed and he now had other people to whom he was achingly vulnerable to besides Sophia. Like his sons, Derek and Matthew. And his newborn daughter, Kara.
The irony never failed to amuse him.
As he grew more vulnerable, he had never felt more invincible.
As if she sensed someone looking at her, Sophia's eyelashes fluttered and her dark wide eyes opened.
"Good morning."
"Good morning." He whispered back.
Curling her body more tightly around his for warmth, he could feel her smile into his nape.
"I love you." She mumbled.
"I love you, too." He grinned.
Invincible.
finis
