Shattered Bonds: A Second Chance Mate - Chapter 50: Chapter 50

It’s been three weeks since I first stepped onto the training grounds with trembling knees and aching doubt.
Three weeks since I gasped for breath, unsure if my legs could carry me through one more lap, one more push-up, one more round of sparring under Audrey’s sharp eyes and sharper tongue.
And now?
Now I run.
I fly across the field, hair loose in the wind, boots pounding the earth with a rhythm that feels... free. Fast. Alive.
I’m not the strongest. Not yet. But I’m better—stronger than I’ve ever been. More than I ever believed I could be.
“Amazing, El!” Audrey shouted this morning after our third lap around the compound’s outer ring. Her hands rested on her hips, breath slightly short but eyes bright. “You’re fast—crazy fast. I thought I was the fastest in the pack.”
I laughed, breathless and giddy, my cheeks flushed from more than the running. “I thought I was slow.”
“You were,” she said with a wink. “But not anymore.”
Even Francesco, who had insisted on watching every session for the last week, couldn’t hide his pride. He stood at the edge of the field, arms folded, jaw relaxed, his dark eyes never straying from me. When I stumbled toward him at the end of our drills, he always caught me in his arms, holding me like something precious but powerful.
And every time, without fail, he would murmur into my hair, “I’m proud of you, amore mio.”
And oh, how I lived for those words.
He didn’t coddle me. Not anymore. He encouraged. He protected, yes—but not like before. Not in a way that smothered. He gave me space to grow, to fight, to fail and rise again.
He saw me not as something to shield—but as something rising.
And I knew he felt it too—the shift. Not just in my speed or stamina or how quickly I could disarm Jonathan now in a sparring match. But in my energy.
Something inside me had changed.
Mika.
My wolf stirred more than ever these past few nights. Sometimes, I’d be brushing my teeth or sketching in the common room, and I’d feel her—a soft nudge in the back of my mind. A quiet hum of breath against my spirit.
I’m here, she’d whisper. Finally.
I remembered her eyes—crystal blue like the winter skies back in Blackpine. I remembered the two times I had secretly shifted when I still lived there, long before rejection crushed my world. The first time, I’d nearly fainted. The second, I hid under the old bridge near the woods for hours, too afraid to shift back until the moon dipped low and the pain faded.
Mika had told me once, before everything shattered: You’re special. You carry more than a wolf.
And then Ruben rejected me.
Everything—everything—broke.
But now...
Now, something inside me was being rebuilt.
I could feel it in the way the earth responded to my steps. The way my instincts sharpened. How I could sense Francesco before he even entered the room, or feel a lie under someone’s tongue like a wrong note in a song.
Even my skin glowed a little warmer under the moon.
I wasn’t just recovering. I was awakening.
The wind was softer today, almost lazy as it swept across the hills beyond the training grounds. I sat on the grass, legs stretched out, sketchbook open beside me, though I hadn’t drawn a single line.
The Tuscan landscape sprawled ahead—golden hills, olive groves, vineyards tangled in green. I stared at it, eyes unfocused, heart full.
Tomorrow, I thought, school starts again.
My last semester. Graduation was so close, I could practically feel the cap on my head.
I never thought I’d make it this far.
I’d come to Italy broken—heart aching, soul shattered, hiding behind books and paint and silence. I had dragged my pain with me like luggage I didn’t know how to unpack.
But now?
I felt different. I was different.
I was no longer the girl who cried under the full moon, begging her wolf to speak to her.
I was becoming someone new. Someone whole.
Footsteps approached behind me—steady, deliberate.
I didn’t turn. I didn’t need to.
“I know it’s you,” I murmured with a smile.
A low chuckle.
Heavy boots stopped beside me, and then the grass dipped slightly as Francesco sat down. He didn’t say anything at first—he just pulled me close until I leaned naturally into his side, my head resting against his shoulder. His arm wrapped around my back, warm and steady.
For a while, we just watched the wind move through the trees.
Then he asked, “Why so serious, Amore Luna?”
I smiled into his shirt, wrapping one arm around his waist. “Because I’m happy.”
I tilted my head up to look at him. “Truly. Deeply. Happier than I thought I could be again.”
He studied my face, then lifted his hand to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing lightly under my eye.
“There’s no need to thank me,” he said gently. “It’s an honor to have you in my life.”
His voice, raw and real, wrapped around me like silk.
“And you’re right,” he added after a beat, his gaze drifting out across the field. “Knowing you’re stronger... it puts me at ease.”
I beamed, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “See? You don’t have to worry all the time.”
He chuckled, low and warm. “I will always worry, amore. It’s in the job description.”
I rolled my eyes, nudging him playfully. “I know. But you know what I mean.”
“I do, my Luna,” he said, voice soft but firm.
After a pause, he asked, “Tomorrow’s the beginning of your final semester. How does it feel?”
I let out a long, thoughtful sigh. “Surreal. Like it flew by. But I’m happy. Really happy.”
He nodded. “Keep your eyes open. Stay aware.”
“I will,” I promised. “I always do now.”
He kissed the top of my head. “That’s my girl.”
The next morning arrived with golden light and the faint scent of coffee from the manor kitchen.
Audrey stood by the car with that confident smirk she wore so well, dark sunglasses hiding her watchful eyes. She tossed my bag into the back seat like it weighed nothing.
“Ready to take on the world, graduate-to-be?” she asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” I grinned, smoothing the front of my jacket.
Joshua and Jeremy were already waiting in the black SUV a few paces behind us—my shadow guards, as they’d been nicknamed. Always nearby. Always quiet.
Together, we made our way into the city.
The moment I stepped onto campus grounds, I felt it—eyes on me.
But it wasn’t fear this time. Or pity. It wasn’t even distance.
It was recognition.
Warm greetings. Familiar smiles. Human classmates waved as I passed, asking how my break had been. A few complimented my new haircut. Someone even offered me a pastry from the little café stand.
It was… normal.
And I didn’t shrink from it.
Jose, Katrina, and Angela were already lounging on the dorm steps when I approached. They looked up, wide-eyed and dramatic as always.
“El!” Angela squealed. “Where have you been? You’ve been ghosting us!”
Katrina grinned. “We were about to file a missing persons report.”
Jose just smirked. “You look different. Glowing. Like someone’s been working out... or making out.”
I burst into laughter, cheeks pink. “I missed you guys.”
We hugged, joked, and made our way to class. It felt like the best kind of homecoming.
Even if they didn’t know the whole truth—about who I was now, what I was becoming—they still saw me. And somehow, that was enough.
Later that afternoon, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirrored glass outside the art building.
Hair tied in a high ponytail. Light jacket. Combat boots worn and muddy from morning drills. Confidence in my stride. Fire in my eyes.
And for the first time... I didn’t look away.
This is who I am now.
Ellaine Rollin…
Not just a student. Not just a werewolf. Not just someone’s fated mate.
But a survivor.
A fighter.
A Luna.
And this?
This was only the beginning.