Chapter 197. My Family

Xerina’s POV

The sun had dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the pack’s home as the evening settled in. Tonight was special. After everything we’d been through, Rasmus and I were finally getting a moment of peace with the people who had become my family. The long dining table in the main hall was set for a feast—a feast that I was sure we all needed after weeks of battle and chaos.

My parents bustled around the kitchen, their laughter and chatter filling the room with a sense of home I hadn’t felt in a long time. Papa was a tall, broad-shouldered man with graying hair and a smile that could light up the darkest of days. Mama, on the other hand, was shorter and rounder, with a no-nonsense attitude and a hug that could squeeze the breath right out of you—in the best way possible.

“Xerina, my darling, would you pass me that bowl of herbs?” Mama asked, not even looking up from the pot she was stirring on the stove. Her hands moved with the precisi