- 16 minutes ago
Stolen Princess and Her Wolf Daughter
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Short filmTranscript
00:03my mother was a gorgeous madwoman
00:07made it to the ugliest lowest ranked wolf in the pack
00:10with yellow teeth and nothing to his name everyone in the pack praised my father
00:22ugly and low ranking but what a devoted mate then one day a band of rogues crossed into the house
00:30they tore my father open and killed him brutally my mother stood beside them and clapped her hands
00:36with joy she walked away with the rogues and never looked back the whole pack called her cold-blooded
00:41they said she was a curse a bad omen what they didn't know was this i an eight-year-old
00:48girl
00:48had hired those rogue wolves to kill my monster father he was never a good mate never a good
00:55father through the crack in the door i watched brett sander out of the bedroom adjusting his belt
01:02with that look of dark satisfaction on his face
01:07i scrambled back onto my pile of flour sacks a second later he kicked me go heat some water for
01:14your mother i didn't say a word i crawled up and went to the kitchen to start the fire
01:19the smell drifting from my parents room was thick and nauseating my mother lay on the tangled bedding
01:25naked and still staring straight up at the ceiling someone who didn't know better would have thought
01:31she was dead brett would never let anyone see what he did to her in there i drew hot water
01:42from the
01:43basin mixed it carefully with cold until the temperature was right then worked a rough cloth
01:48through it and gently cleaned her body the moment i touched the bruising on her inner thighs she
01:54seemed to snap awake she screamed and curled into herself and wouldn't let me near her
02:00her screaming carried through the walls i pressed my hands together frantic trying to signal her
02:05don't don't if you keep screaming he'll come back from the yard came the steady rhythm of an axe
02:12splitting wood one strike after another my mother went silent immediately
02:20the front gate creaked open it was mrs harrow from next door brett how's clara doing
02:29he gave a sad little laugh she's having one of her days wanted to wash her up and she threw
02:34a fit
02:35mrs harrow sighed you really have it hard you know that then she asked what he was building his
02:42voice came back slow and simple she won't sit stilly for a bath so i'm making her a special chair
02:46makes it easier on both of us brett you are something else that woman is lucky to have you
02:52shame she doesn't understand it inside the room my mother and i both went cold at the same time
02:58it wasn't a regular chair the arm rests in the back were fitted with locking clamps we had several
03:04things like that in the house brett called them gifts he made for her he kept them in the back
03:08room a bench with restraints he said to make it easier for her to use the toilet a wooden rocking
03:13horse a swing he said to lift her spirits the whole pack thought he was devoted building things
03:18for a mate who couldn't even appreciate it only i knew what those things were for on the nights brett
03:23came home drunk i would crawl to the doorway and watch through the dark he would strip her
03:27bear and strapped her to the wooden horse then beat her thighs with a cane until the skin split
03:32she would shake and sweat and cry in silence because her mouth was always stuffed full of something so
03:37no sound could get out he would laugh while he did it who would believe it the highborn princess
03:42on all fours like a dog for me i used to think he must be as broken as she was
03:50how could my mother have anything to do with a highborn princess
03:56in the daylight he was a different man patient humble well liked for miles in every direction
04:02he kept her clean he chopped extra wood and walked farther to sell it just so we could eat
04:07the pack said she had earned good fortune in a past life to have a mate like him
04:11i knew from early on that brett was not good enough for my mother she was soft and warm and
04:16something in
04:16the way she held herself had always felt like it belonged somewhere else somewhere finer when she wasn't
04:21lost in her own mind her face was so calm and beautiful it hurt to look at i always wanted
04:25to
04:25get closer brett i hated with everything in me the yellow teeth the way he nodded her neck like an
04:31animal
04:33as i got older i saw his two faces more clearly what he did to her he did to me
04:39too in his own way
04:41i had no bed i slept on the flower sacks he told the pack i was afraid of the dark
04:46and had to sleep
04:47curled at my parents feet he said he went without food so we could eat but i caught him alone
04:52in the
04:52back room more than once working through a roasted chicken and a cup of ale he didn't seem to care
04:57that i saw he'd grab me by the hair and put his face close to mine he'd say say one
05:02word and i'll
05:03break your legs with his clean reputation even if he hit me once in a while people would take his
05:11side
05:11they'd say i was the difficult one that the two of us were a weight he carried so he kept
05:16doing it
05:17nothing to fear when i was older i started to notice things that didn't add up brett barely
05:23scraped by selling firewood so where was the money coming from for all his private meals and drink
05:28then one night i climbed the crooked tree in the backyard and finally saw what he'd been hiding
05:35he crept out of the house and dug up a wooden box from the base of the wall
05:46he lifted a coin turned it over in his palm and then tucked it away and buried the box again
05:52like
05:52it had never moved i was stunned a bundle of firewood was worth almost nothing when did brett
05:59ever saved up that much gold coins the next day the moment he left for town i dug up the
06:04box and brought
06:05it inside mom we have money i can get us out of here right now my mother saw the box
06:12and froze her
06:13pupils went small her whole body locked up i grabbed her arm come on we have to go before he
06:19gets back
06:20she gave me a sharp look and for just a moment i thought she was really seeing me then she
06:25snapped
06:25back she laughed and knocked the box out of my hands and gold coins scattered across the floor while i
06:31scrambled to collect them she picked up the box and started turning it over found a hidden latch and
06:36out slid a small pendant pack crest old design the markings intricate and worn she pressed it to her
06:43cheek and rocked back and forth making soft sounds i felt something twist hard in my chest she recognized
06:50it i eased it out of her hands and looked it over carefully then the gate rattled my heart stopped
06:56i
06:56shoved the coins back into the box and kicked it under the bed aria you and your mother okay in
07:02there
07:04it was mrs harrow we're fine she knocked over a bowl i cleaned it up i kept my voice steady
07:12i waited until i heard her footsteps move away then i grabbed what i could and hauled my mother toward
07:17the door but when i pushed the gate open mrs harrow was right there so were three other women from
07:23the
07:23pack she hadn't left at all where do you think you're taking her aria just for some air down by
07:30the creek they closed in you're too young to be out alone with her wait for your father go back
07:36inside
07:37my stomach dropped my mother had no idea what was happening she stood there playing with a wild
07:43flower laughing quietly to herself i turned us around behind me i heard them whispering
07:51no wonder brett worries stepping out for an hour and this girl nearly runs off with the poor woman
07:56he's lucky he asked us to keep watch those two are nothing but trouble for him he had set watchers
08:02on
08:02us we couldn't get out when he came back his face was iron he went to the yard first to
08:07check the box
08:08i had buried it exactly where it was he came inside he locked the doors and the windows and dragged
08:14out
08:14the chair from the back room doesn't matter whose idea it was you don't listen there are consequences
08:19he patted my cheek don't worry i won't mark you can't have the pack asking questions then he grabbed
08:26my mother by the hair stuffed something in her mouth and strapped her into that chair
08:35her legs were forced apart he pulled down her clothes in front of me and beat her thighs with a
08:38cane she was shaking sweat running down her face tears she couldn't wipe away i threw myself at his legs
08:44stop please i'll never do it again he shook me off i hit the floor and tried to press my
08:51head down
08:52try anything else and she pays for it if she doesn't survive it that's on you he caught my arm
08:59before
09:00i could every time you hurt yourself she gets another strike go ahead try it i went completely still
09:11that night i lay in the back room with my hands over my ears and cried until the flower sacks
09:16were
09:17soaked brett kept us locked in for seven days when he was finally sure my mother was no different than
09:23before he took me out with him brett bringing your girl along today he put on his tired long-suffering
09:29face she's getting older living around her mother like this what's she gonna learn
09:33i want to get her set up with something useful isn't that thoughtful aria's lucky to have a father
09:38like you i kept my eyes on the ground he was going to sell me he wanted me far away
09:43so i couldn't try
09:44to run again in wolf town he handed me to a black market dealer he told the man to sell
09:48me as far
09:48away as possible lots of demands didn't leave a single coin extra cheap bastard so they weren't
09:55friends that was useful i know how to get you twice the price i sketched a design on a scrap
10:02of paper
10:02sell me to someone with this crest on their coat their vehicles their estate gates you'll get double
10:09the standard rate guaranteed what is that
10:17i made up a story on the spot i found an injured alpha's son in the woods once
10:24his pendant had this crest he told me he'd repay whoever helped him
10:31why didn't your father mention this if my father knew would you be involved at all he hits me every
10:36day i'm not giving him the satisfaction the dealer turned it over in his mind then shrugged fine i'm
10:41heading north anyway i'll take the gamble but if you've lied to me you've got my life in your hands
10:47i'm not stupid enough to lie so we traveled north one by one the other children with us were sold
10:53we kept moving we finally reached where the alpha king lived i still hadn't seen the crest anywhere
10:58the dealer was watching me with darker and darker eyes i was starting to doubt myself then a convoy
11:05swept through the road ahead of us and nearly upended a stall at the roadside the dealer cursed the dust
11:09out
11:09of his mouth looked up and saw me staring at the vehicles with everything i had there finally there it
11:15was those vehicles were covered in the exact crest i had memorized and drawn from the pen you're sure
11:20that's the one the pack you saved someone from we just walked into the territory of rogue alpha riker
11:25i stepped straight into the road and planted myself in front of the lead vehicle the driver
11:30hadn't seen me coming the whole convoy launched to a stop he yelled at me a guard grabbed me by
11:34the
11:34collar and swung me toward rogue alpha i have something that belongs to you silence from inside
11:43years ago the pureblood daughter of the shen pack was taken by rogues they searched everywhere and
11:49found nothing riker never stopped looking he had worn the matching half of the pendant on his belt
11:54every single day waiting for the moment he could use it to find his sister
12:07get the horses we ride for the border pack now
12:13hold on hooves mammered the road wind screamed past my ears
12:20mom wait a little longer i'm coming three days no real sleep we finally reached the outskirts
12:29of the border pack where i'd grown up riker had the horses hidden in the tree line
12:34he took a small unit of enforcers and followed me on foot through the edge of the settlement
12:40it was dusk
12:43cooking smoke drifted up from the houses
12:48everything looked quiet nobody knew what was about to hit them
12:54our house was at the far eastern edge from a distance i could already see brett sitting in
12:59the yard splitting wood humming something tuneless that easy humble look on his face nothing like
13:04the thing he became at night i dug my nails into my palm the hatred came up slow and thick
13:13do we move the lead enforcer asked quietly ryerga's eyes were cold check on clara first
13:21we circled around to the back of the yard and looked over the low fence
13:25my mother was sitting on the doorstep with a wildflower in her hand smiling at nothing
13:30her hair was loose and tangled her clothes were patched all over even so there was something in the
13:38way she held herself that none of it could touch brett finished with the wood and walked over to her
13:43he brushed a hand over her hair soft and easy clara hungry i'll get dinner started
13:50anyone watching would have called him a good man i knew exactly what lived behind that voice sure
13:56enough my mother flinched away from his hand fear flashed through her eyes quick as a spark brett's
14:01face went flat he caught himself aware the neighbors might be watching and turned back toward the house
14:06without a word reicher's voice was ice take him the enforcers went over the fence like water brett
14:12didn't have time to react they had him pinned to the ground before he could shout he struggled and yelled
14:18who are you get off me you've got the wrong house reicher walked into the yard
14:23and looked down at him he didn't bother hiding what was in his eyes
14:32brett do you know who i am
14:42brett blinked up at him then his eyes caught the half pendant on ryer's belt
14:46and his face went white i don't know you you've got the wrong guy
14:55you tortured my mother for over a decade and now you want to say wrong man my mother startled at
15:00the noise the flower fell from her hand she looked between us confused then her eyes landed on reicher's
15:06face her lips moved clara she made a small broken sound reicher crossed the yard fast and crouched in
15:13front of her his voice cracked it's me it's reich your brother i'm here to take you home she stared
15:19at him for a long time then two tears ran down her face she reached toward him fingers shaking and
15:25pulled her hand back like she was afraid to touch him in case he disappeared i paid for clara she's
15:29mine what business is it of yours what i do with her brett saw it all and knew it was
15:32over he still pushed
15:44she is the pure blood daughter of the shen pack you think coin changes that you know where that money
15:52came from rogue raids trafficking that's your coin here is what actually happened brett had known exactly
16:02who my mother was from the start he wanted the shen pack's wealth and he wanted her so he worked
16:10with the rogues who took her then he played the part of the simple woodcutter who bought a madwoman
16:15for almost nothing locked her in this backwater settlement and told everyone she'd lost her mind
16:23the coin he buried part of it is cut from the rogues part of it from selling off her jewelry
16:28piece by
16:29piece the neighbors had heard the commotion they gathered at the fence mrs harrow and the other
16:37women were among them nobody spoke
16:44then rikers enforcers dragged out the back room restraints the chair with the locking clamps the
16:49wooden horse all of it and set it in the yard the crowd went silent then the murmuring started i
16:56never
16:56would have thought it he seemed like such a decent man no wonder she lost her mind anyone would mrs
17:01harrow's
17:02face cycled through several colors she stepped forward and bowed her head toward ryok and my mother
17:07i'm sorry i believed him i helped him watch them i owe you both more than i can say the
17:13other women who
17:13had kept guard for brett came forward too some of them were crying i watched them and felt nothing their
17:19gossip and their blind trust had been part of the weight pressing down on us all those years an apology
17:24didn't change that
17:28ryker had brett bound and the back room cleared out completely when the enforcers carried the restraints
17:34into the yard the crowd made a sound all at once everyone's staring at brett with disgust take him to
17:40the capital pack dungeon full interrogation i want him to answer for every single thing he's done
17:45because voice was flat and final as they dragged brett away he turned and fixed me and my mother with
17:50a
17:50stare full of poison i'll come back for you too dead or alive i looked back at him and didn't
17:55blink
17:57good riddance ryker helped my mother to her feet and gently smoothed back her hair clara we're going
18:03home no one is ever gonna hurt you again she looked at him then she broke she pressed her face
18:09against
18:09his shoulder and sobbed and through it she was saying brother over and over muffled and raw i knew in
18:14that
18:15moment she was truly back it wasn't a sudden recovery it was that seeing someone who loved her
18:19cracked open everything she had held locked inside for over a decade and all of it came flooding out
18:23at once ryker had someone gather the few things my mother used daily then he picked her up and looked
18:27at me aria let's go i nodded i followed him out of that yard one step at a time
18:36at the edge of the settlement i looked back once the house sat small and gray in the last of
18:41the light
18:41every bad thing that had ever happened to me lived in that house i was never coming back but it
18:46wasn't over yet we hadn't gone far when a message reached ryer brett had tried to run during transport
18:51and been restrained on the spot ryker didn't want to risk anything overnight he decided to lock brett in
18:57the local pack cells in the nearest town and move out in the morning that night i lay on an
19:01actual bed
19:01in the inn and stared at the ceiling brett's voice kept running in my head i'll come back for you
19:06too
19:07i knew what he was even if the pack court dealt with him that wouldn't be enough
19:11not for what he did to her not for what he did to me everything came back in flashes every
19:17night
19:17every sound from that back room just past midnight i got up quietly slipped past the enforcers and
19:22walked out of the inn i remembered the cells were at the west end of town i made my way
19:26there by memory
19:27staying in the shadows the streets were empty a few lanterns swaying
19:34i had a handful of sharp stones in my sleeve that i'd picked up on the road just in case
19:38i ran into a
19:39patrol the cell block wasn't heavily guarded two old pack warriors were dozing by the front
19:44i held my breath and worked my way around to the backyard low wall there i climbed it slowly using
19:50the weeds along the base for footing and dropped down on the other side the yard was still just
19:56leaves moving in the wind i found brett's cell from the direction i'd clocked earlier that day
20:01he was in the last section curled in the corner snoring i pulled out the wire i'd had since the
20:05dealer lit it from his pack during the journey north thinking it might come in useful turned
20:10out i was right i worked it into the lock carefully and turned it slow a soft click the door
20:16swung open
20:16i pushed it just enough to get through bread stirred his eyes opened
20:24he looked at me first confused then a slow grin spread across his face well are you here to break
20:31me out or finish me off finish you off i said it without feeling anything the grin stopped his eyes
20:36went uncertain you wouldn't dare i'm your father you were never a father i didn't raise my voice
20:44you remember what you did to her what you did to me every night of it i pulled out the
20:49knife
20:50i'd lifted it off one of riker's enforcers during the afternoon when he was reorganizing his gear and
20:55wasn't watching his belt i'd seen it and made my decision right then today i collect for her
21:01and for myself brett started backing towards the corner he was begging aria i'll change i swear it
21:10just let me walk let you walk i thought of her bruises i thought of the flower sacks i thought
21:16of every
21:17locked door every stuffed scream and every night i spent with my hands over my ears did you ever think
21:25about letting her go i didn't stop walking toward him he lunged for the knife i was ready i stepped
21:39aside and drove the blade into his chest with everything i had brett's eyes went wide he looked
21:47at me like he still couldn't believe it blood came up into his mouth he got out one sentence you
21:54you'll regret this then he went down and didn't move again i looked at the blood on my hands no
22:02fear
22:03just a stillness i hadn't felt in years it was done i wiped the blade tucked it away and slipped
22:10back out
22:10of the cell back through the yard back to the end before first light i lay down on the bed
22:19and stared
22:20at the ceiling again sleep didn't come the image of it kept repeating in my head i didn't regret it
22:27not
22:28once he had destroyed her life and taken my childhood and he had never lost a single night's sleep over
22:34it
22:35he deserved what he got by morning brett's body had been found word moved fast through the town
22:42some said he took his own life out of guilt others said a rival had settled a score
22:51reicher ordered an investigation the cell had left nothing behind
22:58and with my mother needing urgent care he didn't press it long he had brett's body disposed of in
23:06the creek at the edge of the old settlement the pack members there found it and assumed he'd brought
23:11it on himself they stood by the water and cursed him said he'd gotten what came to a man who
23:16treated
23:17his maid that way none of them knew it was me who had actually done it
23:23the girl he had treated like something that didn't matter
23:28we rode north toward the capital pack
23:33my mother leaned against reicher for most of the journey but she was clearer now
23:39occasionally she surfaced and said a few words to us
23:43reicher said he had the best pack healers waiting he would get her well he promised it
23:51i sat by the window and watched the landscape change
23:57i had come such a long way from that border settlement from everything that had happened there
24:04i knew our lives were about to become something completely different
24:10but the damage that had been done didn't just disappear
24:14you carry it you learn to carry it differently
24:21a few days later we reached the capital pack
24:27reicher's estate was large and well fortified nothing like the crumpling house i had grown up in
24:34my mother took it all in with wide uncertain eyes
24:40the space seemed to confuse her
24:45ryok put us in the best suite in the east wing
24:49it had a small garden and pond
24:55he sent for the pack healer immediately the healer examined my mother and shook his head
25:02alpha rider she has sustained serious psychological trauma over a long period
25:08prolonged fear and abuse recovery is possible but it will take time you cannot rush it
25:14riker told him to spare nothing
25:18he arranged daily treatment
25:21had someone tend to her meals personally
25:24kept her routine as calm and consistent as possible
25:31i had my own room soft clothes food i had never seen before i still couldn't fully relax
25:41it felt like a dream i might wake up from and find myself back on the flower sacks
25:46riker noticed he made time for me he told me about my mother when she was young said she had
25:52been
25:52bright and full of life talented at everything she put her hands to well known across the capital
25:56for it her name clara he said was meant to mean something clear and untroubled a life without
26:01hardship then things went the way they went aria he said resting a hand on my head his voice was
26:07gentle this is your home now i'm your uncle and nobody is going to hurt you or your mother again
26:12whatever you want to learn i'll find you the best teacher for it i looked at him he meant every
26:16word i had never had that before someone who meant it
26:19i said i want to learn to read and i want to learn to fight so i can protect her
26:31done
26:33he smiled i'll have a teacher here tomorrow the days passed my mother got better slowly she was lucid for
26:41longer stretches she started to remember things one afternoon she looked at the flowers in the garden
26:46and said quietly we had flowers like these at home my mother planted them i went still for a moment
26:53then cried it was the first time she had clearly reached back into her past and found something real
27:00riker heard about it and had flowers brought from the old shen family home and replanted in the garden
27:06i threw myself into learning up before light to study practicing by lamp after dark i knew that being
27:13strong was the only way to never be at someone else's mercy again then just as things were starting
27:19to settle bad news came in from the capital
27:25someone had filed a formal complaint riker had abused his authority by privately imprisoning a pack member
27:30and had mobilized enforcers for personal matters the alpha king was furious he ordered a full
27:35investigation it was the work of slade a senior pack official who had been looking for a way to bring
27:41rigen down for years the two had always been enemies slade had seized on the brett situation
27:49and shaped it into a weapon riker was summoned before the alpha king and dressed down in front of the
27:54court
27:55the alpha king didn't strip him of everything his past record carried weight but riker lost a portion of
28:01his command authority and was ordered to stand down while the investigation continued
28:06the atmosphere in the estate shifted immediately pack members who had been warm to us cooled off some of
28:15the staff got lazy stopped looking after my mother as carefully as they had before i watched riker
28:22wearing down under the pressure and didn't know how to help him my mother felt the change in the house
28:27too
28:27her episodes came back she would shout that people were coming for her
28:36i stayed with my mother around the clock keeping her calm it's okay i'm right here nobody is getting to
28:43you i held her close and kept my voice steady she shook in my arms and kept whispering they're coming
28:50they're going to take me i rubbed her back and let the tears run without wiping them i made myself
28:56a
28:56quiet promise i would find a way to help riken i was not going to let slade win then it
29:03hit me the
29:04wooden box from brett's hiding spot under the wall there had been letters in it not just coin and the
29:09pendant letters i had been too focused on running to read them properly but now i thought those letters
29:15recorded brett's dealings with the rogues and if slade was connected to any of it they might be the
29:20thread that unraveled him i told riker his expression shifted he sent a unit back to the border settlement
29:31that same day
29:37the letters came back and they were exactly what we needed brett had kept detailed records
29:43his arrangement with the rogues his correspondence with people working under slade trafficking extortion
29:49payments the rogues who had taken my mother had been operating under slade's protection the whole time
29:59slade used them to take the family members of officials who wouldn't cooperate then held those
30:04people as leverage
30:08riker brought everything before the alpha king in person
30:11he laid out the full picture and named slade for what he was
30:16the alpha king read through the letters and understood he had been wrong about riker
30:22he reinstated riker's full command on the spot and ordered slade and everyone connected to him brought in
30:30every person who had worked to bring riker down got what they deserved
30:36the crisis was finished the estate went quiet again in the best way
30:46my mother continued to improve she could hold a full conversation now most of her memory was back
30:53one afternoon she took my hand and said
30:57aria thank you without you i would have stayed in that place forever
31:02and never found my way out i shook my head my throat was tight
31:07mom i should be thanking you you protected me just by still being there you gave me a reason to
31:13keep
31:13going riker walked over and looked at us both with something quiet and satisfied in his face
31:18clara aria this family stays together from here on out i looked at the two of them and felt the
31:24warmth of it settle in my chest the dark days were behind us whatever came next we would face it
31:29together
31:30riker gave me a new name aria shen he said he wanted me to carry the past with me not
31:36as a wound
31:36but as something that had made me who i was i liked it it felt like starting over it felt
31:43like hope
31:46my mother made a full recovery she picked up everything she had loved before music painting
31:52writing she filled her days and was happy she taught me too said a woman needed her own strength and
31:58her
31:58own voice not just someone else to rely on i didn't slow down either beyond my studies i trained with
32:04the estate's combat instructor every day i knew that real protection came from real ability
32:10the instructor saw i was serious and pushed me hard i got good fast in quieter moments my mother told
32:18me
32:18more about what had happened she said the rogues had taken her because slade wanted to force my
32:23grandfather into surrendering his command authority over the pack my grandfather refused so slade took
32:29her as a threat my grandfather had protected the family and kept searching for her in secret all those
32:35years when he found out i was safe he couldn't sleep for days she smiled but her eyes were wet
32:43he's old
32:44now and not well he can't make the trip to the capital when things settle we'll all go to him
32:52i nodded i had never met him but i already felt something for him a man who had spent years
32:59quietly
32:59looking and never stopped
33:04time passed i grew up alpha hairs and high ranking sons from across the capital made their interest known
33:11i turned them all down i could see what most of them were after reicher's standing the shen name not
33:18me reicher understood without me having to explain he said aria i'm not looking for a powerful match for
33:27you i just want you to find someone who's genuinely in your corner whatever you decide i'm behind you
33:37i was grateful every time he said something like that having him was the luckiest thing that had ever
33:43happened to me then reicher brought me and my mother to a formal gathering at the royal estate
33:49that was where i met prince caden he was the alpha king's younger brother known for being fair capable and
33:56well respected across the pack hierarchy when he saw me he didn't look at me the way most men did
34:02no calculation in it he just greeted me and asked how i was doing we talked for a while he
34:10was sharp
34:11and he actually cared about the lower ranked wolves in the pack when he heard a little of what my
34:16mother and i had been through he said simply if you ever need help come find me
34:28after that prince caden came by reicher's estate regularly sometimes to talk strategy with reicher
34:33sometimes just to sit with me and my mother and spend time he was always respectful never pushed
34:39anything it was the first time i had been around a man and felt completely at ease i started to
34:44like
34:44him then i started to feel guilty about liking him i was the daughter of a criminal what brett had
34:50done
34:50it wasn't my fault but i was still his daughter and i had that past all of it my mother
34:57saw what was
34:58happening she took my hand
35:06aria none of what happened to you is your fault you are brave and you are good and you deserve
35:13someone
35:14who sees that prince caden is a good man if you feel something for him don't talk yourself out of
35:23it
35:24reicher said the same i trust your instincts he's the kind of man you can count on
35:31if you want this i'll stand behind you
35:36with the two of them backing me i finally said what i felt out loud
35:44prince caden smiled when i told him he took my hand aria i've known for a while i love how
35:51strong you are i love how kind you are i don't care about your past i want to spend the
35:57rest of my
35:58life with you the alpha king gave his blessing
36:04the ceremony was held at rikers estate and the whole place was lit up and loud with celebration
36:12i sat in the carriage on the way to my new home
36:16and felt something i hadn't felt in a very long time
36:23uncomplicated happiness
36:26caden treated me well every single day after that he never brought up my past and he didn't allow
36:32anyone else to either he was good to my mother too he spent time with her walked with her made
36:38her
36:39feel like she had gained a son my mother's health stayed strong she started visiting the local pack temple
36:47regularly lighting candles for everyone she loved she also used her own savings to open a shelter for
36:55orphaned girls in the capital a place where they could learn and eat and be safe so they wouldn't have
37:02to grow up the way i did i stayed busy alongside her i followed caden's lead in paying attention to
37:09the
37:09lower ranked wolves helping where we could and i used what i had learned in training to watch over the
37:14girls in the shelter and make sure no one came near them with bad intentions
37:22one day a letter arrived from the old border settlement it was from mrs harrow she said everyone
37:28there now knew the full truth about brett they knew what had been done to me and my mother she
37:34said
37:35people were ashamed they hadn't seen it and hadn't helped she said the settlement had a lot of respect
37:39for us now and hoped we might visit someday i held the letter and sat with it for a while
37:44they had
37:45finally understood i didn't go back the hurt ran too deep and i had no desire to walk back into
37:50those
37:51memories but i wrote her a reply i told her that my mother and i were well that i had
37:56forgiven the
37:56people there that i hoped they would live clearly from now on and not be fooled by appearances again
38:02years went by caden and i had a daughter we named her nora we wanted her to have a life
38:08that was steady
38:09and safe my mother lit up every time she saw her granddaughter rica was still protecting the pack's
38:15borders i thought about the border settlement sometimes about brett and what he had done there was still a
38:25threat of anger when i did but mostly what i felt was release the suffering had made me harder in
38:32the
38:32places that needed to be hard i was grateful for the life i had now because i knew exactly what
38:40the
38:40other kind looked like the secret of what i had done to brett would stay buried in me forever
38:47i didn't regret it it was the right ending for the life he had chosen to live
38:52from here forward all i wanted was this my mother riker caden nora all of us together the past sealed
39:01away where it belonged bring light in the courtyard warm and clear my mother sat in the garden teaching
39:10noah a song the melody drifting out across the yard caden stood beside me and held my hand
39:17look at all of this i looked i smiled i know everything that had broken us had turned into
39:24something else in the end fuel armor foundation as long as we moved forward with good hearts
39:33we would be fine i believe that few more years passed nora grew up steady and bright with caden's
39:39calm and my stubbornness in equal measure she loved sitting with my mother and asking for stories my
39:44mother gave her the good ones the old shen family home the history of the pack things that made nora
39:49laugh or ask questions she never told her about the border settlement i understood why she wanted nora
39:57to grow up inside something clean that autumn riker came back to the capital from the front with news
40:08the rogue threat at the border had been broken the territory was secure families out there could
40:14finally stop looking over their shoulders the alpha king held a formal celebration and caden's household
40:21was invited at the gathering the alpha king looked at me and caden and then at nora beside us and
40:28said to
40:28raya your niece has built herself quite a life good mate good family good daughter reich said she did it
40:38herself caden just had the good sense to recognize it caden squeezed my hand having aria is the lucky
40:47part that's all mine later in the evening an older council member brought up slade's case
40:54a lot of good families had been hurt by that man and it was a relief that at aria shin
41:00had come through
41:01it everyone looked at me i stood and raised my glass
41:08the pain was real but it taught me that justice takes its time and then it arrives we have peace
41:15now and the people i love are safe that is everything the room responded warmly the alpha
41:22king nodded i had learned to wear what had happened to me as strength instead of shame
41:30we went back to rikers estate after the gathering all of us together late that night my mother and i
41:36sat in the garden looking at the flowers she was quiet for a long time then she said aria brett
41:45wasn't
41:45always the way he became i looked at her we had never spoken his name i had assumed she had
41:51put him
41:52behind her completely when i first arrived at that settlement he was just an ordinary man
41:57not kind but not what he turned into either her eyes went somewhere distant the rogues came back
42:04for him later threatened to kill everyone he knew if he let me go he was weak by nature and
42:09greedy on
42:10top of it he just kept choosing wrong until there was nothing decent left in him i sat with that
42:15i still
42:16hated what brett had done every bit of it but what my mother said reminded me that people make choices
42:23and then more choices and eventually there's nothing left of whoever they started as that still doesn't
42:30make any of it acceptable i said no she nodded and held my hand it doesn't i'm not defending him
42:38i just
42:39don't want you carrying the weight of it anymore you killed him to protect us i have never blamed you
42:44for
42:44that put it down at aria we have too much good in front of us i felt the tears before
42:49i realized
42:49they were there all these years i had thought i was over it but there were still nights when it
42:53came
42:54back her words cut through the last of it i hear you mom i held on to her no more
43:00looking back we just live
43:03she pressed her hand against my back yes we just live then winter brought word from the old shen
43:13family home my grandfather was failing and wanted to see us one last time
43:22reigen arranged everything immediately we set out that same night all of us together the shen family
43:29home sat deep in the countryside old stone and quiet water and everything exactly as my mother
43:34had described it across all those years of telling me stories my grandfather was in bed and very weak
43:39when he saw my mother walk through the door something came back into his eyes clara my clara
43:47he reached for her hand and held it and cried my mother pressed her face close to his
43:52eyes i'm sorry it took so long i'm so sorry you're here that's all that matters he looked past her
44:02at me
44:03and cade and little nora this is my granddaughter and my great-granddaughter my mother introduced us
44:11i came forward and knelt by the bed grandfather nora followed great-grandfather
44:20he smiled then he looked at ryker you never stopped looking i knew you wouldn't thank you son
44:29ryker's jaw was tight that's what i was supposed to do we stayed for two weeks he slipped away quietly
44:36near the end after the funeral we stayed on at the old house for a while my mother walked through
44:43every
44:44room in every corner of the garden remembering some of it made her laugh some of it made her cry
44:49the day we left she stood at the front gate for a long moment and then bowed her head low
44:57i'm going now i'll come back and visit i knew she had made her peace with it all of it
45:04back in
45:04the capital things returned to their steady rhythm nora was in lessons caden was busy with pack matters
45:10i managed the household and looked after my mother and made regular visits to the shelter
45:14one afternoon a new girl arrived her name was petra something about the way she held herself reminded me
45:19of my mother when she was young in old portraits i'd seen petra had been trafficked and had gotten out
45:25her family was gone i saw myself in the way she kept her eyes down i brought her close taught
45:32her to read
45:32taught her to fight i told her you are allowed to be soft you are not allowed to be helpless
45:40whatever
45:41comes stand up protect yourself petra was sharp and she worked hard she came out of her shell faster
45:51than i expected the warriness in her face started to soften into something more open i knew helping her
45:56was also finishing something for that younger version of me who had no one another decade went by
46:02nora married a young enforcer from a good family steady and honest they were happy together petra
46:07became one of the lead teachers at the shelter passing along everything i had given her to the
46:10next round of girls who came through the doors my mother was still strong she visited the shelter
46:15every week sometimes teaching music sometimes just sitting with the younger ones reicher had retired
46:22from active duty at last he bought a place outside the capital and was by all accounts enjoying doing
46:27almost nothing that winter we all gathered at the estate for the new year celebration nora came
46:33with her mate and their children petra brought several of the shelter girls the courtyard was full
46:38of noise and warmth i looked at all of it and felt something settle deep in my chest the little
46:46girl who
46:46used to sleep on flower sacks and dream of nothing bigger than one day getting her mother out
46:50she could never have imagined this the children fell asleep eventually the yard went quiet caden stood
46:58with me and we watched the lights going off across the sky what are you thinking about he asked i
47:05think
47:05about where we'd be without that pendant without reicher he took my hand no that's not what got you here
47:11you were already on your way you would have found another path you always would have i leaned into
47:17him and let that land the lights kept bursting open above us bright and then gone and then bright again
47:24the secret of what i had done to brett would stay in me until the end but it wasn't a
47:28shadow anymore
47:29it was just part of the story a reminder to hold tight to what i had to guard the people
47:34around me
47:34that was enough that was everything all i wanted for whatever time remained was this
47:40my mother well riger at peace caden beside me nora and her family petra and her girls
47:49the hard years had become light i could see by and i believed with everything in me keep moving
47:55keep loving keep your eyes forward there is always a way through there is always something
48:02worth reaching for on the other side
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