As much as I ever could

Epiphron was foolish to even hope that this story would have a happy ending. She'd known it from the start, that they wouldn't ever be together the way she wanted them to -- they'd talked about it, albeit vaguely. Unless Maverick stepped from his throne to join her in Valhalla, they were doomed from the start; but the girl did not blame him, for she too was unwilling to abandon her family. No blame would be given here, even to the Gerhardt and to Collision, who had chosen the fates of three children.

She could only hope that the next time she saw Maverick -- for the wedding, most likely -- that the pain would subside. That it would give way to joy for her sister, for the alliance of their packs, for whatever the future might have in store for them. She would have to put her feelings aside, for the future King of Seracia would be her brother-in-law in barely over a season. Truly, she had no other option.

It would've hurt worse had Maverick attempted to return the embrace, to hold her and comfort her and even try to keep her from leaving, but it hurt far more than she had expected as he did nothing at all. Part of her had hoped, a very small part, that he would beg her to stay, that he would confess his eternal love for her, but the reality of the situation was much more difficult to face. She straightened herself slightly, clinging desperately to any semblance of composure she had left, even sniffling a bit as a few tears fell down her cheeks. But even that did not stop Maverick from giving his final goodbye and turning on his heels, heading from whence he came. Love, in fact, could not conquer all, and it had ultimately failed them. No final words left her mouth as the girl turned, her pace quickly increasing to a near sprint as her heart felt as though it shattered into a million pieces, too many to ever put back together.