Chapter 10 - Beneath the Rosemary Again
Midnight at Wolfkeep was quiet once more.
The grand feasts had ended. The lords and ladies had retreated to their chambers. The castle rested beneath a vast, star-studded winter sky.
In the kitchen garden, where the frost clung lightly to the rosemary hedge, two figures walked side by side in the crisp night air.
Seraphina wore her old wool shawl over her silk gown, her bare feet stepping lightly on the frozen grass. Darian walked beside her, his heavy royal doublet discarded, wearing only a simple dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.
They stopped beside the rosemary bush.
Seraphina smiled softly, kneeling down just as she had on that first desperate night, running her fingers through the damp earth.
A massive silver head nudged gently against her shoulder, letting out that familiar, deep, rumbling hum that warmed her entirely from within.
Darian knelt beside her, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and pulling her close against his side. He pressed a warm kiss into her dark hair.
"You know," Darian murmured, watching the silver wolf stretch out lazily beneath the stars, "the high priestess says we should host a grand celebration across the southern provinces next month."
Seraphina smiled, leaning her head against his broad shoulder, feeling the steady, powerful beat of his heart—and the answering thrum of her own.
May you like
"Let the provinces wait," she whispered, turning her face up to meet his lips. "Right now, I have a very stubborn beast to feed."
And as Darian kissed her beneath the moonlight, the ancient kingdom of Wolfkeep finally, truly, found its peace.
