CHAPTER 14

A Beacon of Hope

Flora stared at the envelope in her hand, the official seal marking its importance. She had been summoned to the commander's office for a "special announcement." Her mind whirred on. Was this another task? A reprimand for something she had missed during training? She took a deep breath and forced her thoughts to settle before she walked into the building. Outside, the world was abuzz while inside, a knot seemed to be tightening in her stomach.

Flora," Commander Alvarez greeted her, firm but warm, gesturing her to sit, a slight encouraging smile on his lips. "I have something very important to talk over with you."

She sat down, still feeling uncertain, her eyes running from the face of the Commander to the envelope held in his hands.

“You’ve been selected for a promotion,” Alvarez said, cutting to the chase. “Your dedication, your skill, and your leadership in the last several missions haven’t gone unnoticed.”

A promotion? It seemed so unreal. She had just been doing her job, pushing through the motions, trying to get through the day without thinking too much about her past. But this? This was unexpected.

"Wait, you're serious?" Flora asked, a little too loudly and a little too incredulous. "I. I didn't even know I was being considered.

"Well, now you do." Alvarez's smile expanded. "You've earned this. And I've put in a request for you to head up the next operation. You'll be leading a team on a secret operation across the border. It will be dangerous, but I believe in you.

Theoretically, she was a jumble of emotions, but real, raw excitement flashed through her. She'd worked for this moment. Every grueling hour, every bruised joint, every bleeding scrape had been for this. S'he'd spent so much time letting her past define her, letting those memories with Adrian hold her back. But now? She carved her own path. That future she was clinging to-it was time to build her own.

Flora took the promotion letter from Alvarez's hand, her fingers curling around it as pride swelled in her chest.

"I won't let you down, sir," she said, her voice steady.

Alvarez nodded. "I know you won't."

As night began to fall, Flora found herself walking back toward her quarters, her mind racing. For the first time in what felt like forever, she was walking without the weight of doubt hanging over her head. She wasn't tied to Adrian; she wasn't bound by the past. She was her own person now, someone who could make decisions based on her own merits.

When she opened the door to her room, Leo was already inside, sitting on the edge of her bed, his legs crossed as he waited for her. She could see the question in his eyes before he even spoke.

“Well?” he asked, a smirk on his lips.

“I got it,” she said, almost breathless. “I got the promotion. And I’m leading the next mission.”

Leo’s eyebrows shot up, and he stood in a single fluid motion. “No way. Seriously? That’s huge!”

Flora laughed, the sound more free than she’d felt in a long time. “Yeah. It feels. it feels like everything is finally falling into place.” She paused, suddenly a little more somber. “I’m not looking back anymore. Not at Adrian, not at anything. This is my future.”

Leo smiled, clearly proud of her. “Hell yeah, it is. You’ve been holding yourself back for way too long. It’s your time to shine, Flora.”

Later that week, Flora stood in front of the mirror, her uniform pressed perfectly, her hair pulled back tightly into a braid. She barely recognized herself anymore—this woman was different. She was a leader, not someone who cowered under the weight of her past.

Her phone buzzed on the counter, and she didn't even have to check to know who it was. Adrian. Again. Every time she saw his name, a part of her still wanted to answer, to hear him out. But she couldn't keep doing this to herself.

The message was simple, as always.

Flora, I need to talk. Please.

Her fingers danced across the screen. She wanted to respond-to ask him why now, after everything, it was okay simply to waltz back into her life as if nothing was wrong. Instead, she set the phone down. She didn't need this. Not today. Not when she was going to do something huge, hers and hers alone.

Meanwhile, Adrian stood in the window of his office, peering out onto the pack's territory under the moonlight; it reached for him in slivers, falling across his features in a matrix of dark and light, the shadows dancing with his contemplations. For weeks now, it seemed that he had lived merely to decide based on someone else's decree, first from his parents, then the pack council, and lastly from Alice.

His fingers drummed on the desk, the rhythm of his anxiety that simply excluded him from any concentration on other aspects. He had tried to call Flora and explain, but nothing worked, or so it seemed. He knew by now that the chasm was wide, far beyond repair. Still, he felt that something should be done; he did not know what, but it should be done.

His office door burst open, and Alice came in without knocking; with every step, her heels clicked on the floor. Adrian didn't look up.

"I assume you read the reports on Flora's promotion?" Alice said sharply. She didn't wait for a response. "That's all your fault, you know. She wouldn't be out there making a name for herself if you hadn't screwed things up with her.

Adrian's fists clenched, but he didn't say a word. Of course, Alice wasn't wrong. He had let her slip away, and now she was out there, on the cusp of something bigger than he had ever thought would happen. The weight of that realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I can't do this anymore," Adrian finally muttered, his voice tight with frustration.

Alice lifted an eyebrow; her lips curled into a smirk. "What are you talking about?"

"I won't go through with this. with us," Adrian said, the words seeming to lift from his chest like lumps of weight. "I won't be able to marry you, Alice. It's not right. It has never been right.

Her face hardened; her expression, cold. "You think you can just walk away from this? You think you can undo everything? After everything we've done to secure this future?"

"I'm not doing this anymore," Adrian said again, firm and low, without raising his voice. "I'm not going to continue to play at make-believe. I have to stop setting courses based upon the whims of other people. This. it's not me.

The spark of anger shot in Alice's eyes, yet she uttered not a word. Her silence spoke volumes.

Adrian turned away from her, his mind working overtime. He had made a choice, and it wasn't for the pack, or for Alice. It was for himself.

Back in the military base, Flora stood before her team, briefing them on the mission ahead. She had a job to do and a purpose to fulfill-no one, least of all Adrian, could take that away from her.