h4Chapter 325: Immortality and Humanity/h4

    strongEaster~/strong

    I sat on the quiet bench tucked away in the garden, jasmine vines draping around us like a curtain. Their white blossoms glowed faintly under the full moon, filling the air with a sweet, heady scent. Somewhere beyond the walls, the Seine whispered against its banks, but all I could think about was Jacob—my Jacob.

    He didn’t look like the ancient wolf spirit he was. To anyone else, he was just a ridiculously handsome man, the kind who made people stop in their tracks. His ck hair caught the moonlight, messy in that effortless way, and his warm brown eyes—usually teasing—had gone serious. They pulled me in, deep and steady, like staring into a forest where you weren’t sure what waited between the trees.

    He had me perched on hisp, his arms wrapped around my waist with a strength I never doubted, though his touch was careful, almost tender. My green dress pooled around us, and the breeze tugged at my curls, brushing them against the sharp line of his jaw.

    But something in him had changed. His face, usually so boyish, carried an expression older than time. The spirit orbs he’d summoned earlier pulsed brighter around us, throwing soft light across his features. The air felt heavy, expectant, as if the night itself was holding its breath for whatever he was about to say.

    I felt my cheeks burn, heat spreading so fast I was sure I looked like a tomato. My heart thudded against my ribs, caught between dread and hope, as though the world was tilting toward a moment I couldn’t take back.

    "Easter," Jacob said softly, his voice carrying a depth that made me feel small and safe all at once. His hands framed my face, warm and steady, his thumbs brushing along my cheeks like I was something fragile. "My love... now that you’ve be a werewolf—now that I changed you to keep you safe—there’s something I need to tell you. Something about us. About me. Before I give you back the memory I took, you need to understand the truth first. It’s not just about you and me—it’s about forever."

    I leaned into his touch, my eyes locked on his, wide with surprise and a flicker of fear. My breath caught, and I whispered, "Jacob, you’re scaring me a little. But... I’m listening. Tell me everything. I trust you."

    His eyes softened, but the weight in them didn’t lift. "First, you need to know who I truly am. I’m not only the Wolf Spirit—the one they call the father of all werewolves. I’m more than that. I’m a god. I don’t just live long, Easter... I can’t die of time. I’m ageless."

    The word hit me hard. Ageless. My lips parted, breath catching, as though the ground shifted beneath me. I already knew he was powerful—a god even—but hearing it like that made my heart stumble. "Ageless," I repeated, my voice trembling. "You always look so... human. So young, like me." My fingers curled tighter in his dark hair, holding onto him as if he might vanish.

    He gave a quietugh, low and warm, though there was sorrow behind it. "I know. I wear the face of a man, sometimes twenty-six, sometimes neen, to move unnoticed among people. But Easter, I’ve walked this earth for longer than memory can hold. Time doesn’t touch me. Age doesn’t im me. Illness doesn’t reach me. The only thing that could end me is another god—and even that is no simple thing."

    His hand lingered against my cheek, and I saw the truth in his eyes, the loneliness of eternity. "It’s my gift," he said gently. "And my burden."

    I blinked hard, tears burning at the corners of my eyes as the thought of him—alone for centuries—settled heavy in my chest. "That’s... incredible. And terrifying. You’ve seen so much, Jacob—wars, kingdoms, beauty I can’t even imagine. And yet... you chose me? Just me? A girl with messy hair and freckles?" My voice broke, fragile with disbelief, and I leaned in to kiss him, tasting something eternal in the softness of his lips.

    He kissed me back slowly, like he had all the time in the world, his hands sliding down to my waist, pulling me against him until I could feel the steady strength of his body. "Yes, Easter. I chose you long before you ever became my mate. Because your light outshines every star I’ve watched fade from the sky." His eyes searched mine, tender but serious. "But there’s more you need to know—about werewolves. They’re not immortal like gods, but their lives are long. Five thousand years, sometimes more. Long enough to watch empires copse and forests grow back over stone. Long enough to love deeply, again and again, as the world changes around them."

    My mouth fell open. I could see it in my mind—me, silver-haired but still running barefoot through fields,ughing with Rose and Diane as centuries rolled by like Chapters in a storybook. "Five thousand years?" I whispered, my heart racing. "That’s like a fairytale without an ending. I could... I could watch my girls grow, see their children, their children’s children..." Augh slipped out, breathless and trembling. Then the joy faltered, and a quiet fear crept in. "But what about you? What happens when I die? You’d be alone again."

    He gave me a smile that was both yful and heartbreakingly tender, that boyish mischief sparking in his eyes. "My love, I’ve never had a mate before you. No one’s ever reached me the way you do. But there’s something you should know—when a god finds their true mate, something extraordinary happens. Once marked, the mate’s life is bound to the god’s eternity."

    I gasped, my hand flying to my lips. "Immortal?" My voice shook. "You mean... forever? With you?" My cheeks burned, hot tears spilling freely as I pressed my face into his neck, breathing in that warm, earthy scent of pine and rain. "Jacob, I don’t even have words. It’s too much—and it’s everything."

    He held me close, his voice soft against my hair. "It is everything, Easter. But not all bonds work the same. Take my sister Natalie—she chose differently. She became the light for werewolves, not just a goddess. She chose to live their lives alongside them. She ties her existence to her mate, Zane. She lives his lifetime, then sheds her form and waits for him to be born again. Every lifetime, she finds him. Every lifetime, their love continues."

    I pulled back, wiping my cheeks, my heart aching at the thought. "Natalie... she’s so selfless. And Zane has always been her mate? Through every life?" My voice was hushed, reverent, as though I was speaking of myth turned real.

    Jacob nodded, his eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. "Yes. Herpassion is boundless. Our mother, the Moon Goddess, made her a beacon—for werewolves and for the world. Zane is her anchor through every lifetime. But I tell you this, Easter, for a reason. You’re different from us. You were once human. You have roots in this world—your family, your humanity. And that’s something you’ll have to carry with you, even in eternity."

    My heart skipped, a knot forming in my stomach. "What do you mean? My family... Ruben was my ex, but he’s gone. And the girls..." Dread crept in, cold and insidious, making my skin prickle despite the warm night.

    He took a deep breath, his expression grave, the ancient depth in his eyes pulling me in like a vortex. "Very soon, my love, once we’re fully mated and marked, you’ll be immortal like me. But Rose... she’s still human. If we leave her as she is, in about 80 years or so, she’ll age and die, while you remain unchanged, forever young."

    My heart sank like a stone into the Seine, dread flooding me in icy waves. I clutched at his shirt, my grip tightening, tears streaming freely now. "No... no, Jacob, not Rose. My little girl, with her giggles and drawings of wolves... I can’t watch her fade while I stay. It would break me." My voice broke into sobs, emotional and raw, my body trembling in his arms. The thought of outliving my 4-year-old daughter, her tiny hands growing old while mine stayed soft and youthful—it was unbearable.

    He rocked me gently, his predatory grace turning to purefort, like a wolf shielding its pup. "Shh, Easter, don’t be scared yet. I can turn her into a werewolf, extend her life to those 5,000 years or more. But it has to be her choice, not ours. When shees of age—say, 18 or so—I’ll have that talk with her. But, you need to prepare yourself mentally for whatever she decides. She might choose mortality, to live a human life."

    I nodded through my tears, my hair sticking to my damp cheeks, praying silently with every fiber of my being. Please, Rose, choose us. Choose eternity with Mommy and Diane and Jacob. "Okay," I whispered, my voice small but resolute. "I’ll prepare. But oh, gods, I hope she chooses to be like us."

    Jacob kissed my forehead, his lips warm and reassuring. "As for Diane, our newborn... she’s been touched by the moon. Her fate rests in the Moon Goddess’s hands, but I know for certain she’s notpletely human. There are signs—her eyes glow faintly in the dark, her cries summon a hush from the spirits. She’s special, love."

    I furrowed my brow, confusion mingling with the lingering dread. "Touched by the moon? Notpletely human... what does that mean exactly, Jacob? Is she like you? A spirit?" I didn’t fully grasp it, the words swirling like mist in my mind, but his certainty soothed me. I trusted him implicitly, nodding slowly. "Alright. If you say so, I believe you. She’s our miracle, whatever she is."

    He let out a long breath, the tightness in his shoulders easing, though his eyes grew heavier, shadowed by what he was about to say. The jasmine vines around us shivered in the night breeze, their white blooms trembling, and even the glowing spirit orbs seemed to dim, as if they knew this moment mattered.

    "Easter," Jacob said gently, his voice threaded with sorrow, "the memory I took from you—not just the ones tied to your nightmares about me and my world, but another. This one... I buried on purpose. Not to shield your sleep, but to shield your heart." He hesitated, his eyes searching mine as if bracing for the hurt it would bring. "It’s about your real family. Your parents... and your twin sister. Her name is Melody."

    For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe. His words didn’t make sense—they crashed against everything I thought I knew. I blinked rapidly, my chest tightening, heat rising in my face. "Twin sister? Parents?" I choked out. My whole body went cold, as though the night air had turned to ice around me.

    I shook my head, almostughing in disbelief. "Jacob, that’s impossible. I don’t have parents. I don’t have a sister. My life was Ruben—the abuse, the escape, the holes in my memory. That was all I knew." My voice cracked, caught between fear and anger. "I’ve never even heard the name Melody before! Are you absolutely sure?"

    The moonlight caught the shock on my face, pale and trembling, as the revtion settled over us like a shadow. It hung there, unmovable, heavy and unresolved. I felt the world tilt beneath me, as though everything I thought was real had just been rewritten.

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