h4Chapter 309: Moonlight, Mirrors, and Miracles/h4

    strongNatalie~/strong

    There are moments in life so surreal that the world seems to hush—like it’s holding its breath for you.

    This was one of those moments.

    The air in the chamber trembled. Not with sound—but with silence so deep, it hummed in my bones. Even Jasmine went still. The chamber seemed to hold its breath with me. Moonlight spilled through the tall windows like liquid silver, brighter than before, creating shimmering paths across the polished floor. And then came the scent—lilies, stardust, and something that felt like memory.

    My heart stopped.

    "...Mom?" My voice cracked like ice.

    I didn’t mean to say it. It just broke out of me, soft and stunned.

    My knees gave out, and I staggered forward on shaky legs, every part of me unraveling. The figure stepped into full view—and suddenly, it didn’t feel like I was twenty-two anymore. It felt like I was a child again, heartbroken and hopeful and clinging to dreams I’d long buried.

    She looked like me—red curls tumbling down like fire and silk. Kind eyes that held too much knowing. Lips trembling into a smile I had seen a hundred times in dreams and memories that faded too fast.

    Princess Katrina.

    My mother.

    My I.

    I didn’t walk. I ran.

    The kind of run thates from somewhere deeper than muscle or bone. The kind that springs from the soul. I flew across the cold marble, barefoot and breathless, and crashed into her arms like the years between us meant nothing. My arms locked around her neck. Her warmth wrapped around me like a nket I hadn’t realized I’d been freezing without.

    "I thought I’d never see you again," I sobbed, the words wing their way out. "I thought—" My voice cracked hard. "I thought it wasn’t possible in this lifetime."

    "Oh, my baby..." Her voice shook as she held me tighter. "My beautiful, strong Natalie."

    We broke.

    Both of us.

    Crying like the years had cracked us open and we were trying to pour them out through our tears.

    I buried my face in the crook of her neck and just breathed her in. She smelled like sunlight. Like home. Like peace. Like the kind of safety I hadn’t known since Alpha Darius ripped my world apart.

    "You grew up," she whispered into my hair, kissing my forehead, cheeks, every inch of my face like she was making up for the time she’d lost. "Stars above, you grew into something so beautiful."

    Iughed through my sobs. "Look who’s talking. You’re still wless."

    A soft chuckle echoed beside us—light, familiar, celestial.

    I turned, still clinging to my mom’s hand.

    The Moon Goddess stood there, radiant and calm, her smile knowing. The way her presence shifted the air felt like standing at the edge of forever.

    "You... you made this happen," I said, my voice still trembling. "You brought her to me. Thank you mother."

    She stepped forward with a grace that didn’t belong to this world. Her voice was wind and melody. "This is only half the miracle, child."

    I blinked. "Half?" I echoed. "Wait... what do you—?"

    The room stilled again. Something in the air twisted.

    And then I felt it.

    That scent.

    A whisper of woodsmoke, leather, and something deep and earthy that always made me feel safe.

    My breath caught in my throat.

    I spun.

    And there he was.

    A man stepped out of the light. Tall. Broad shoulders. That same wavy dark hair and warm amber eyes I used to trace with my fingertips as a little girl. His face was older, more handsome but still impossibly familiar. Tears shimmered in his eyes like stars waiting to fall.

    My father.

    Evan Cross.

    I forgot how to breathe.

    "Daddy?" I whispered.

    He opened his arms, voice cracking with emotion. "Come here, my moon."

    And I screamed.

    Not out of fear. But from the kind of joy that doesn’t fit inside a chest. The kind that bursts out, fierce and raw and golden.

    I leapt into his arms, just like I used to when I was small. He caught me without hesitation, lifting me like I weighed nothing and spinning me once, just like old times. His arms crushed me to him, and I never wanted to let go.

    He kissed my face, my forehead, even the tip of my nose. I was full-on sobbing now, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt like I was afraid it would all disappear if I blinked.

    "Is this real?" I gasped between sobs. "Please—tell me I’m not dreaming this."

    "It’s real," he whispered against my temple. "We’ve watched you every day, Natalie. We never stopped loving you. We’ve missed you so much."

    "When you both died, I thought I was alone..." My voice broke as I clung to both of them. "I thought I was the only one left."

    "Never," they said together.

    And then they pulled me into a hug so tight and perfect, I thought my heart might just stop from the weight of it. All the grief, the yearning, the emptiness—it didn’t go away. But for the first time, it wasn’t crushing me. It was held. It was shared.

    A perfect, impossibly beautiful, too-good-to-be-real moment.

    Until...

    Cue the record scratch.

    "Ahem." Cassandra cleared her throat behind us, very pointedly. "Okay, I don’t mean to interrupt this Lifetime movie reunion scene, but can someone exin what the hell is happening right now?"

    I burst outughing into my dad’s chest, tears still clinging to myshes. "Cass, meet my parents. All three of them."

    She blinked. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. What with all the crying and celestial lighting. Hi. Nice to meet you both. You guys are, um... glowing."

    "Oh my stars, am I glowing?" Mom pulled back, brushing her curls. "Evan, you told me the glow stopped!"

    He grinned. "Only in direct sunlight."

    She smacked his arm lightly and then turned her glowing smile—literally—on Cassandra and Easter.

    Dad stepped forward too, holding out a hand with the same warmth I remembered from childhood bedtime stories. "Thank you. Both of you. For keeping our girlpany when we couldn’t."

    Easter, bless her heart, was already crying. "This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t even have tissues. Someone give me a sleeve."

    Cass rolled her eyes but smiled, then reached into her jacket and tossed Easter a pack of tissues. "You’re lucky I’m always prepared for emotionally unstable people."

    Easter caught it with a sniffle. "You’re too kind."

    The Moon Goddess gently raised her hands. "Tonight is a celebration. You’ve carried so much pain, Mara. It’s time to feel joy."

    The windows blew open on their own.

    A breeze spiraled in, soft and cool and shimmering with silver dust.

    And then, like moonlight folding in on itself, the entire room began to transform.

    Mirrors bloomed out of thin air, twisting into delicate arches. Crystalline pathways formed beneath our feet, glowing like the full moon on water. Petals fell from nowhere.

    The chamber disappeared.

    We stood at the entrance of an enormous maze made entirely of moonlight and mirrors.

    "Oh hell yes," Cassandra muttered. "This is giving Narnia meets bridal fever dream."

    The Moon Goddess grinned. "Wee to the Maze of Self. A gift, for the bride."

    I blinked. "Wait—this is my bachelorette party?"

    "With a twist," my mother winked.

    "A bachelorette? That’s what I was nning earlier today! You read my mind, moon mother." Cassandra cried happily.

    I turned to Easter. "Did you know about the party ns?"

    She was already cradling her baby in one arm and pulling Rose into the maze with the other. "I was told there would be cake. This works too!"

    Inside the maze, everything shimmered. Every wall was reflective, but not in a normal mirror way—each one showed versions of us.

    I paused at the first mirror.

    There she was.

    Me.

    But... smaller.

    Thirteen years old. Bruised. Broken. Hollow-eyed and alone, sitting in the rain outside a packhouse that no longer wanted her.

    I dropped to my knees.

    Cassandra knelt beside me. "Who is she?"

    "Me," I whispered. "The day my parents died."

    Little Natalie raised her head and looked at me. Her eyes wide. Curious. Hopeful.

    "You survived," she whispered.

    I reached out to touch the ss. "I did."

    Little Natalie reached out too.

    "But I miss you," she said. "You left me behind."

    "I had to grow up," I said. "But I never stopped carrying you."

    She smiled. "Then take this."

    Light burst from her hand—blinding, warm, pure—and flew into my chest.

    Jasmine howled in joy inside me.

    I staggered back, breathless. "What was that?"

    "Your final blessing," the Moon Goddess whispered behind me. "Your inner child has given you her forgiveness."

    Cassandra sniffled. "Damn. That hit harder than I expected."

    We kept moving through the maze, and every turn brought something new.

    Easter found a mirror where she was a warrior, wielding twin swords and leading an army of werewolves. Sheughed so hard she nearly dropped the baby.

    Cassandra’s showed her in a glittering tuxedo with a sword strapped to her hip, dragging a vampire groom (Sebastian, of course) down the aisle.

    "My taste is immacte," she muttered.

    Even my parents were shown.

    One mirror reflected a version of them where they’d never died, where we had a home and a dinner table and birthdays together.

    I touched the ss and smiled.

    "I’m okay," I whispered to them. "I’ve made it this far."

    At the center of the maze, we all reunited.

    My dress had changed—now a flowing gown of moonlight and stars. My hair braided with silver vines. Jasmine glowed inside me, proud.

    A final pedestal rose.

    On it, a single riddle carved in glowing script:

    "To leave this ce, speak the name of the one who made you whole."

    I didn’t hesitate.

    "Me."

    The maze shimmered.

    Copsed into stardust.

    And we were back in the chamber,ughing, crying, some of us holding wine (Cassandra), some of us holding babies (Easter), and some of us just holding each other (me and my parents).

    My mother (The Moon Goddess) stepped forward, smiling.

    "You are ready," she said softly.

    I turned to my parents, my voice soft, hopeful. "Will I see you again? I wish you could meet Zane—he’s everything. The most perfect man alive. And Alexander... our son. He’s the sweetest little boy you could ever imagine. And now... there’s a new baby. Growing inside me."

    My father smiled, eyes glowing with warmth as he ced a hand over my heart. "Oh, sweetheart... we know. We’ve been watching over all of you for a long time. Zane—he’s exactly who you were meant to find. Strong, kind,pletely devoted. He loves you the way you deserve."

    "And Alexander," my mother added, her eyes shining, "our precious grandson. What a beautiful little soul. He’s a light in this world. And the one on the way... that little spark will bring even more magic into your life."

    I blinked through fresh tears, my heart aching in the best way.

    "We’re always with you," my dad said gently. "In every heartbeat. Every moment. Right here." He pressed his hand a little firmer over my chest.

    My mom stepped beside him, her voice calm and filled with something ancient and eternal. "And one day... when your journey ends, when the stars call you home—" she smiled, "we’ll be waiting."

    I hugged them both onest time, tighter than ever.

    And as the moonlight began to pull them back into the heavens, my voice cracked with love:

    "Thank you... for finding me."

    They faded into light.

    And I stood there, surrounded by my new sisters, my family, my wolf, and the moon.

    I was no longer the girl left in the rain.

    I was the celestial princess and the bride of the Lycan Prince.

    And tomorrow... my new Chapter would begin.

    But tonight?

    Tonight, I had moonlight in my hair.

    And stars in my chest.