The Eleventh Luna Rose Trial Chapter 10

The Eleventh Luna Rose Trial Chapter 10

Spring comes later to the North than it does to the South.

But when the first Silver Frost Rose shoots finally emerge, the entire Rose Mountain erupts with

excitement.

Pack members gather at the foot of the mountain, staring at the fresh green shoots with tears of joy

in their eyes.

“They survived…”

“Alpha Helena, they really survived!”

I stand among the sea of roses without saying a word, reaching out to gently brush my fingers over

the tender new shoots.

Six years ago, I brought a surviving mother plant here. Everyone said the North could never grow

famous roses.

But now, the countless rose trees covering the mountain tell everyone the same thing: no place is destined to remain barren, and no one is destined to live by depending on someone else.

The day the Silver Frost Rose goes on the market, the entire werewolf realm is shaken.

The people who once laughed at me begin sending partnership offers.

The pack doctors, pack Alphas, Lunas, and rose merchants who once refused to even set foot in the

Northern wasteland now line up to sign contracts.

Six more years pass, and I decide to get married. The wedding is set for autumn.

My groom is Alexander Stratton, the newly crowned Lycan King.

He attends every Luna Trial. On the day I become the Luna Trial Champion, he watches me reject the position of the Alpha King’s Luna and realizes that we are second–chance mates.

But he doesn’t approach me right away.

Instead, he stays by my side, growing roses with me and waiting for me to take the first step toward

him.

On the day of my Luna coronation, Rose Garden is covered in gold, and the guests arrive one after

another.

At the edge of the crowd, Nathan stands behind Olivia, reaching up to smooth the strands of hair the

wind has blown across her face.

When he notices me looking, his hand pauses for a moment. Then he walks toward me, holding a small wooden box, “Helena, this belongs to you.”

Nopen it.

Inside is a cracked moonstone and an old Crimson Gold Rose seed.

I can’t help finding it ironic, “Why did you keep these?”

Nathan lowers his head, “After you left, I went back to clean up the rose garden and found them in

the ruins.”

His voice is quiet, but his eyes are red.

“I kept thinking that if I ever saw you again, I’d give them back to you. After today, you’ll be

someone else’s Luna.”

I close the box, “What’s in the past should stay in the past.”

His eyes remain fixed on me, “But I can’t leave it in the past.”

I freeze.

It’s the first time in six years that I’ve heard him speak so openly.

Nathan lowers his head and lets out a bitter laugh.

“Helena, do you know something? For years, I kept telling myself I’d accepted it.”

“I accepted that you left. I accepted that you built a new life. I accepted that you would never come

back to the South.”

“But every time I hear someone mention Alpha Helena of the Northern rose gardens, I still find

myself thinking…”

He pauses, “What if I had been the one standing beside you back then?”

I lower my eyes and say nothing.

The wind sweeps across Rose Mountain, and music signaling the beginning of the wedding drifts

from the distance.

Beta Rue comes over to remind me that it’s time.

Nathan takes a step back.

He looks at me standing in the sunlight in my wedding dress, complicated emotions churning in his

eyes for a long moment.

In the end, he says only one thing, “Helena, don’t carry everything by yourself anymore.”

I look at him, “I won’t. Someone will be there beside me.”

The moment the words leave my lips, the light in Nathan’s eyes dims.

But he still forces a faint smile, “That’s good.”

I turn and walk away without looking back.

My mother stands at the end of the aisle. The moment she sees me, her eye’s turn red, “I’m going to walk you down the aisle.”

Those hands that once pushed me away now tremble as they hold mine tightly.

I don’t say I’ve forgiven her, nor do I say I still resent her.

I simply squeeze her hand back.

On the other side, Calvin stands among the guests, his eyes already red.

He’s now one of the managers of the rose gardens.

But when he sees me walking toward him, he still calls out the way he did when we were children.

“Sis.”

I smile, “Why are you crying?”

He turns his face away, “The wind’s too strong.”

In the distance, thousands of acres of roses sway gently across Rose Garden.

The rose seedlings that were once destroyed eventually take root again in the North.

And so do I.

Someone once destroyed my spring.

But in the end, I grow an entire spring with my own hands.