42. A Peace

Ash's POV

This war had to be done and it had to be done immediately. The amount of casualties exceeded the worth of such a petty conflict. I pulled Alex into a side room and murmured, "I'm not risking any more lives over this war. I'm going to go try to end it."

"I'm coming with you, Ash."

We walked out of the pack house and walked to the clearing hand in hand. Just outside of it, I turned to him and breathed, "I'll go first and test the waters."

I entered the serene clearing, and everyone turned to look at me. "This war is over," I simply stated, and they all looked at me as if I had three heads. Kailey exited a tent on the edge of the clearing and walked up to me. She stood in front of me while looking directly into my eyes.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we just want it over. If they stay on their own side of the damn border, then I don't mind their peaceful existence."

"What!? Bu-" the leader from the other coven sputtered out before being cut off.

"Shut up, you don't even live here!"

Alex suddenly came out and walked up to me, joining our hands together.

"As the future Alpha, I agree to these terms. I agree that after tomorrow any pack members that enters may be warned as long as you think that's acceptable?"

"I do, and I think there should be a three strike system. The first two times we will simply communicate our problems to each other, but after that intrusions should be allowed to be met with violence."

"I think that is an excellent idea. We will need to work together in the future to come to a common, fair border, but we should agree to a peace first."

"I agree to these terms," Kailey finished, shaking his hand.

"I agree to these terms," Alex responded as the formal way to seal a deal.

Surprisingly most people in the clearing didn't mind. The only people that really seemed disturbed by it didn't even live here, but they were getting collected by their leadership and lead out of the clearing.

Kailey opened the small hatch to the bunker while shouting, "a peace has been made, it is safe to come up."

Children and females emerged in bunches and populated the camp. Kailey turned to my mother and murmured, "if any of your vampires are here, I would appreciate if you took them and went home. We do not need assistance any longer."

Eventually everyone except Kailey's coven were gone, and she turned to Alex. "We have some of your men that are alive, follow me."

We followed her underneath the ground, and found a large group of wolves sitting in huddles. "Alpha," one of them muttered causing everyone to stand.

"The war is over. Come home, help those who are injured. Tell anyone you see to meet in the dining hall as soon as possible."

Alex and I then went with Kailey to agree on a border. He indicated the current border, and minimal changes were made to suit everyone. We copied it to take home, and I said my goodbyes to Kailey. She mentioned she would miss me, but understood my want to live with Alex. I told her I would visit on occasion, and she told me she would like that.

Leaving was sad, but it had never truly become my home which made it easier. We walked back feeling better than ever, and Alex lead me to the dining hall. We met his father along the way, and he asked, "wait, what's happening?"

"Papa... The war is over. We ended it."

He was speechless, so we continued our trip to the hall. Alex stood at the front and explained the new border and consequences for crossing it, and everyone agreed to and accepted the new changes.

"Son... You created peace, and it's about time I retired. Since you have a mate and are older than 18, I can officially name you Alpha," Antony suddenly climbed onto the podium. The pack grew suddenly quiet while Alex squeaked out a faint, "what!?"

"You have shown me today that you are ready to take my position. I, Antony Canfield, Alpha of the Half Moon Pack, name Alexander Canfield, my successor, son, and now current Alpha of the Half Moon Pack, your leader. Lead well, son."

Applause erupted throughout the hall while he blushed at the attention. "Thanks so much, dad," he breathed while pulling him to a tight embrace.

"We celebrate tonight for a long earned peace after a time of war!" Alex shouted, allowing pandemonium to ensue around us as everyone celebrated.

We entered the crowd hand in hand and suddenly saw Winston. Alex snuck up behind him and jumped him, causing Winston to flinch. "Winny!" he shouted in the most annoying voice possible.

"You did a good job, Alex. I guess that makes me beta now, haha," he laughed while hugging Alex tightly. "I want you to meet Marcus, my soulmate."

We both turned to see him, and Alex was slightly thrown off by the fact that he was a vampire yet hardly skipped a beat. "It's wonderful to meet you, Marcus," he greeted, shaking his hand.

"I've already met you," I responded with a small smirk.

"Yah, you were a dick," he replied jokingly.

"Oh wow, I'm hurt," I remarked, dramatically slapping a hand over my chest.

"Oh come on, you," Alex smirked before dragging me through the crowd again while forcing me to meet people.

***

Jesus when werewolves party, they party hard. It was the end of the night, and I was absolutely exhausted.

"Alex, remind me to never underestimate a werewolf's ability to be the life of the party," I murmured quietly.

"Hey Ash, do you remember the day we met?"

"Yeah, it feels like yesterday even though it was two months ago."

"You pinned me against a wall, Ash."

"Okay, so I was a bit of a bitch back then, but can you blame me? I had a lot going on."

"A bit is the understatement of the century, yet I can't blame you for it."

"So much has changed since that day. I have you now."

"Well hopefully you'll have me forever."

I turned to him and placed a small, lingering kiss on his lips. Suddenly he walked up to the window and opened it before climbing out. I followed him out onto the roof and we just laid there.

"I used to come here when I was overwhelmed," Alex commented, his breath visible in the cold night air.

"It's really pretty up here," I mentioned, lying down right next to him.

"That it is, but it isn't as pretty as you."

"How cheesy of you, Alex."

"Shut up."

It was calm, and the stars shone bright. I hoped for that to never end. I hoped to never lose him. However life is unpredictable, so I must just hold him for as long as I could before it's too late.

"I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, you insufferable idiot."