Epilogue
Six weeks later
The sun has left a streak of fire across the ocean as we gather on the beach for our bonding ceremony. We’re all dressed in white, barefoot, our faces sun-kissed from an afternoon in the late summer heat. There’s no fancy pavilion this time, just an avenue of beeswax candles stretching from the sand dunes to the surf, and the heady scent of lavender and sea salt in the air. Soon we’ll go back to the house for champagne and a seafood feast, but for now we’re watching the sun sink into the horizon, hands linked and arms across shoulders as we speak the ancient bonding vow with smiling lips.
“Mine, ours, one pack, now and forever.”
Our friends applaud as we hug and kiss, the surf surging forward to tickle our bare toes. I kiss all my mates, laughing as they nuzzle my marks and I breathe in our mingling scents. The rings we exchanged earlier gleam in the setting sun, simple bands of twisted gold to reflect our interwoven lives. My bonding bites form a silvery necklace around my throat, and when I catch Creed’s eye, I shiver with anticipation.
“Tonight, you’re mine, sweetheart,” he says as I lean into his solid warmth, our hands clasped and our toes brushing in the wet sand.
“And I’m yours,” I reply. Standing on my tiptoes, I murmur against his lips, “Finally.”
After Soren’s heat, where he was claimed by all his alphas, Creed and I agreed to wait until tonight to formalise our bond. It hasn’t stopped us from tearing each other’s clothes off at every opportunity, but in his heart, Creed is old-fashioned, and I love the way the anticipation has brought us closer together. It’s a kind of ritual now, the way he brushes his thumb over the patch of unclaimed skin on my neck, whispering how he’s going to bury his knot in me and claim me forever.
We spend the next hour mingling with our guests and watching the sun go down. Creed has set up a sound system so that all my favourite Sundowners’ tracks are playing in the background while Lang brings out a tray of cocktails. He lingers to kiss the fruity liquor off my lips, settling behind me as our friends present our bonding gifts. Clark and Kat have brought us a luxury gift basket from the Switcheroo Club, including five backstage passes to Sweet Addiction’s final concert of their sellout tour. I’m pretty sure my squeal of delight deafens everyone in a fifty-mile radius.
“There’s also an open invitation to come to our gym,” Kat says as she pulls me in for a quick hug. “I know you’ve got a pretty good setup here, but it might be fun to teach you a few boxing tricks.”
“From you? ” I squeak, watching her biceps ripple in her sleeveless white pantsuit. “Um… Can I bring Creed as backup?”
She snorts, then gives him a chin uplift, since his gaze is never far from me today. “Yeah, I’m not even going to try to keep him away.”
We grin, and then Sally is in my arms, squeezing me so tight it brings tears to my eyes. “So, is everything ready for the big night?”
It’s pretty much an open secret at this point that Creed and I are going to have a ceremony of our own later. “Yep. There’s not a lot to organise, just more of this really.” I wave my hand at the simple decorations, since describing anything else I have planned would be kind of awkward.
“Well, I baked a tray of vanilla slice for you all to share later, but I wanted to give this to you personally. It’s the first thing he ever won.”
She presses a small gold trophy into my hands, and I laugh as I read the inscription. “First place in the primary school spelling bee?”
Her cheeky grin lights up her pretty face. “I thought it was appropriate.”
“Very,” I reply, already picturing it in my larder next to my Viktor Rees and workbench of beeswax candles. “Thanks again for inviting Dee and Jacob to stay,” I add, watching as my sister and nephew build a soggy sandcastle while Soren looks on from a safe distance. “She’s never been happier, and Jacob loves sleeping in Uncle Creed’s old room.”
Creed was actually the one who suggested the arrangement. I think he was triggered when his mum started talking about a new renovation project for her backyard. It wasn’t the outdoor pizza oven that she really wanted; Sally was just trying to fill her packhouse with something other than sad memories. At the same time, Dee was getting desperate to find an apartment that was close to her work, in a good school area, had built-in babysitting, and was within her budget. Creed explained her situation to his mum, and Sally threw her home open immediately, insisting their company was all the payment she needed.
Tears now prickle the corners of Sally’s eyes, but she gives my hand a pat. “Well, it was time to breathe some new life into the old house.” She leans in and whispers, “Thank you for giving me all this, and for helping my boys find their way back to each other.”
I just nod, since the lump in my throat only grows as I think back on everything my pack has already given me .
A little while later, the last of the sunlight has leached from the sky and we’re strolling up to the house when Clark and Derek join me. From the matching grins on their faces, I immediately sense a story I want to hear for myself.
“You think my superpower is calmness?” I scrunch up my nose after Derek finishes explaining their theory on my new switch power. “That’s not very sexy.”
“It would be if we were fleeing a swarm of killer bees,” Clark replies, and I click my tongue at him, but his curious gaze is fixed on Finn. Our alpha is waiting for us on the back verandah, his pale grey eyes taking in everything at once. “And look, you managed to tame the ultimate beast.”
Derek nudges his friend. “He’s not that scary once you get to know him.”
Clark snorts. “Maybe not when you’re wrapped up in his dark web .”
Derek rolls his eyes at the nerdy joke, but I consider the analogy. “Finn has always reminded me more of a wolf than a spider.”
“Why can’t he be both?” Clark quips, then gives a delicate shudder. “You ever seen a wolf spider? Those things are creepy as hell.”
I just shrug, since not everyone can appreciate creepy-crawlies like I do.
Dee chooses that moment to wander over with a sand-encrusted Jacob in tow. “What are you three whispering about?”
“I was just saying that your sister’s superpower is calming wild and dangerous things,” Clark says with the intonation of David Attenborough.
“You noticed that too, huh?” They share a snigger as they gawk at our packmates. “Those alphas have been eyeing you like you’re the last three chips at the beach picnic.”
“Not me, I hope,” Clark says and melts off into the crowd, leaving Dee and I to head towards the house together, while Derek falls back to talk to Jacob. Derek is wearing bites from all of our alphas, and when I cast a glance at him over my shoulder, his eyes shine with contentment. I’m not sure if that’s my superpower at work, or just the fact that we’re both exactly where we’re meant to be.
“I love you,” I mouth to him, grinning when he pauses and runs his toe through the sand to scratch out a quick ‘SOS’.
“That was really nice,” my sister says, bumping me with her hip and drawing me out of my lovestruck haze. “And you look beautiful, by the way.”
“So do you,” I tell her, and for once I’m not ignoring the dark shadows under her eyes. Since moving in with Sally, Dee’s been sleeping more, eating better, and has even gone on a date with a work colleague. I don’t think it’s serious, but it still makes me smile as we climb the stairs and join Finn on the verandah. In silent agreement, we peel away from the rest of the party and head into the sitting room where his laptop is set up on the coffee table.
“Any updates about dear old dad?” she asks as she leans on the back of the couch. “Last I heard, there was some talk of a court-martial.”
Finn’s smile is grim. “He’ll get a dishonourable discharge, that’s for certain. Whether he faces jail time will depend on how much of their own dirty laundry the army wants to have flapping in the breeze.”
“But he’s done, right?” she asks, looking between us. “No more bullshit medals or fucked-up mind games?”
“He’s done,” Finn confirms. “And your mother has officially moved in with your upstairs neighbour. Just say the word, and they’re both out on the street.”
I nod, because as heartless as it sounds to cut ties with our mother, Finn will always put our safety before anything else.
And ever since Finn took control of my ex’s real estate portfolio, the axe has been hovering over our mother’s head. There are a lot of ways she could’ve still hurt Dee and Jacob once they moved out, but she seems content to live upstairs with Mrs. Evans. Now that my dad is no longer secretly funding her lifestyle, she’ll probably pop up again asking for money, especially if she can’t find a wealthy admirer to finance her chardonnay and spa days.
“Leave her there,” Dee says with a dismissive shrug. “She’s out of Jacob’s life, and that’s all I care about right now.”
Finn nods in my direction, and I step forward, urging Dee to come and sit on the couch. “Okay, but now we need to know what you want to do about Abel.”
She looks up at me in shock. “What? You found something?”
“We found him ,” I said gently. “He wasn’t AWOL at all. He was taken prisoner in Pakistan while he was on a mission the army didn’t want the public to know about.” I reach forward and tap the keyboard. “He’s in a safe house in Bangkok, and Finn has set up a video call for you. As soon as you say the word, Finn can get him back here with a new identity and anything else you need.”
“ Abel! ” My sister’s broken cry is all the confirmation I need, and as soon as my brother-in-law’s gaunt face comes into view, I back out of the room. Finn comes with me, even though I’m sure he’s monitoring their conversation somewhere in his dark web, as Clark puts it.
He immediately wraps an arm around me, slowing our steps before we reach the rest of the party. “You’re happy?”
“Very.” I sniff, wiping my damp eyes on a hankie I conveniently had tucked up my sleeve. “It’s not going to be easy for them, but at least Dee now has a choice.”
He hums his agreement, and I peek around the corner at the party. Derek, Lang, and Soren are holding court, dishing up seafood and champagne while Silva Sterling and his lead singer, Jett Kolter, stroll through the front door to play an acoustic set. A howl of excitement greets their arrival, and I watch as the world-famous musicians banter with our friends, not quite believing that this is my new reality.
“You sure you don’t mind missing this?” Finn asks, no doubt picking up on the hero worship in my scent.
“Well, if it was Kobi Grace in our living room you might have a fight on your hands…” I laugh at his sour expression. “We’ve got backstage passes, so I’ll get my fill of Sweet Addiction then. Plus, you’re probably recording this with at least a dozen of those little spy cams you like to hide everywhere.”
He clears his throat, since Creed forced him to confess to all the surveillance he coordinated in the past, including hidden cameras in our old apartment and spyware on Derek’s computers. But then he steps closer, his hand winding around the back of my neck and stroking the curls on my nape. “And you still want me as witness?”
“More than anything.” There’s no hesitation in my voice, and as he hits send on his phone, I watch as Creed receives the text we drafted earlier. He frowns but discreetly excuses himself from the party and heads towards the front door. “Come on, let’s go surprise him.”
The first haunting chords of ‘Ghost Notes’ fill the air as we scurry down the back stairs. I feel giddy as I jump in the back seat of the car, ducking low as Creed arrives, his eyes going wide as he takes in the luxury sedan. “Damn, this is a Maybach s600,” he says in an awed voice. “Did the band rent it for the night?”
I peek past the headrest and watch Finn’s smile flash in the moonlight. “You mean the pinnacle of civilian vehicular armour, rated at VR10 level with an ERV 2010 explosion resistance certification?”
The impressive list of safety features rolls off his tongue like molten honey as Creed runs an appreciative hand over the bonnet. “This is presidential level.”
“Only the best for our pack,” Finn replies, and when he drops the key in Creed’s hand, his eyes almost bulge out of his head. “You can’t be serious…”
“As a ballistic assault. Now, why don’t you check out the best feature of all?” On cue, Finn opens the back door, and I grin up into Creed’s startled face. It’s not often we catch our stoic mate off guard, so this moment is all the sweeter. “Jump in the back with Em, and I’ll take you out for a spin.”
Creed doesn’t need to be told twice, climbing in beside me and settling on the leather seat with a happy rumble. I know he’s probably dying to test out all the new gadgets on the console, but instead, he sweeps me into his lap, planting his big palms on either side of my face. “You knew about this?”
“I helped Finn pick it out from the brochure.” I giggle at his expression. “What bonding gift do you give the safety-obsessed alpha who has everything? An armoured car, of course!”
“Not everything,” he murmurs, running his thumb over the unclaimed skin on my neck. “There’s still one really important thing I need.”
“My eternal adoration?”
He takes my lips in a soft kiss, and I breathe him in. I think I can taste a little bit of all our packmates in the caress, but mostly it’s musk and metal, with that hint of spicy amber that makes my toes curl.
When he pulls away, his lips curve up into a rueful smile. “You really gave up a private Sweet Addiction performance for me?”
“You’re all the honey I need, Alpha.”
It’s corny but true, and I slowly pull up the hem of my skirt until he can see the silky V of my naked thighs. “I thought this would be the perfect place to finish what we started.”
The sound that rumbles out of his chest fills the car, and Finn chuckles. “I think that means hell, yes, sweetheart .”
I grin, turning back to rock gently over Creed’s lap. “Finn’s going to witness for us. Is that okay?”
It’s a practice that isn’t used much anymore – the most dominant alpha in a pack, bearing witness to the bonding of his mates – but Creed is old-fashioned. And Finn likes to watch almost as much as he likes to bury his knot in me.
“It’s perfect,” Creed says, nodding past me to where Finn is no doubt observing everything in the rearview mirror. “Thanks, brother. For everything.”
“Only what you deserve,” Finn murmurs back, and then Creed slowly lowers the zipper on my dress, kissing his way across my collarbones. I work on his outfit – dark grey pants with a crisp white shirt – humming in approval as I peel the garments away. It takes a little wriggling to get him out of his pants, and I appreciate both the heavy tint on the windows and the long stretch of empty coastline as our naked bodies come together in a rush of heat.
Not an omega heat, but after all the build-up, I’m impatient to claim Creed. Rising onto my knees, I notch his hot crown at my opening, and stare deep into his eyes. Dark brown with gold flecks, they shine with need as I sink down on his impressive length with a shivery sigh.
“Damn, that feels so good,” Creed grunts, his head falling back against the seat as I undulate over him. His hands are on my hips, helping me set the perfect rhythm. I keep it slow and smooth, happy to draw out the pleasure for all three of us as the car moves silently through the night.
“’Life is the flower of which love is the honey,’" Finn murmurs.
“Victor Hugo. My favourite metaphor.” I sigh and lean forward, feeling the swell of Creed’s knot at my opening. I’ve practiced bringing calm to my body, opening myself to my alphas even when I’m not in a switch, and Creed helps by reaching between us and rubbing my clit. I rock over him, my mouth falling open at the pleasurable stretch. In the darkness of the car, he’s not just in me but all around me, and I cup his face, drinking down his kisses like they’re nectar.
It doesn’t take long before we’re both rushing to our peak, waves of bliss wrapping around us as his knot slides home. Pressing my chest to his hammering heart, I tilt my head, running my thumb over his lips. “Bite me, Alpha, and make me yours.”
He's still coming as he punctures the skin, the final bond settling in my chest with the brilliance of the evening star shining above us.
“I love you, Tyler Creed.” I murmur, full to the brim with happiness.
“Same, sweet girl,” he replies, then tips his head forward to nuzzle his bonding mark. “So much, in fact, it scares the shit out of me.”
I pause, absorbing his words, then wrap my arms around my brave soldier, the man who taught me that service means more than duty, and loyalty is as precious as the bonds I now carry in my chest. “Then we just hold each other tight and never let go.”
Creed nods, and Finn makes a gentle humming sound as he turns the car in a long, slow loop. It’s the perfect ending to the perfect night, because ahead of us, twinkling in the darkness, is our packhouse and our happily ever after.
Thank you for reading my book.