Boys Who Hunt

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Heath

I sigh and put my phone away. “Why did I even say yes to this?”

Ivy throws her arm around my waist and drags me along. “C’mon, you’ll be fine. It’s just a family dinner.”

“You don’t know our history,” I say.

“My stepdad literally tried to kill me,” she says.

I nod. “Okay, fine, you win in the shitty family category.”

She winks. “Your family loves you. Even if you don’t see it.”

“I’ll just sit it out.” As we make our way to the restaurant, I keep tugging at my clothes. “Jesus, are these suits supposed to feel so tight?”

“No, your muscles are just that big,” Max says, licking his lips like he wants to take a bite out of me even though we’re all wearing the same thing. “You look handsome.”

I grab his chin and make him look even more. “And you look appetizing. Might take a bite out of you later after dinner.”

“Oh …” He blushes. “I’ll be your dessert.”

“Don’t go playing around without us,” Silas says.

“Family time first, then playtime,” Ivy says, winking.

“Playtime? Now you’ve got my attention,” I say, raising a brow as I pull both of them close. “I have a closet full of toys back at home that I can’t wait to use. On both of you. Maybe at the same time.”

“Dude, we’re in a casino. People can hear you,” Silas grits.

“So? I don’t care who sees,” I say, squeezing them against my pecs. “I fucking love these two.”

“Don’t claim her all for yourself,” Silas says, throwing me a look.

“Claim who?”

I come to a full stop from the sound of that voice, my whole body vibrating as though time has ceased to exist.

Cecelia stands in the doorway to the restaurant area, her arms casually folded, her blue-studded dress gleaming like the smile on her face.

“Cece,” I mutter, completely overwhelmed.

“We’ll let you two talk,” Silas says, dragging Max and Ivy away from me.

“Hey, little brother,” Cecelia says, tucking back her curly blond hair. “Missed me?”

“You’re here.” I’m still in disbelief. “How?”

“Mom and Dad begged me to come back. At least for a week or so.”

“Wait … begged ?” I frown. “I thought Mom and Dad sent you off to that boarding school.”

She rubs her lips together, then sighs. “I’m sorry, Heath. They were lying to you.”

My fist balls. “Why?”

She averts her eyes. “Because I wanted them to. I asked them not to tell you.”

“What? But that doesn’t make any sense. They shipped you off to that boarding school, right?”

She shakes her head. “No. I went there because I wanted to.”

All this time, I was so angry with my parents for forcing her to go there and not telling me until it was too late. But it was all her idea, and I don’t know how to feel about that.

My face contorts. “Why couldn’t you just tell me?”

“Because I knew you’d never let me go there,” she says. “It’s Prodigium Academy.”

Damn right, I wouldn’t. That place is filled to the brim with pretentious and rich assholes.

She approaches me and grabs my hands. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d try to stop me before I could even try.” She squeezes them softly, looking up into my eyes. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I didn’t want to risk losing the chance.”

“So you had Mom and Dad take the fall,” I grit.

“They agreed to do it for me because they love you. Don’t be mad at them, please,” she says, her eyes tearing up. “Please, I don’t want my decision to be the reason you hate them.”

“I don’t… hate them.” I sigh and look away. “I’m angry that you thought you had to force them to lie to me just to get what you wanted.”

“I’m sorry, Heath. I just know how you are. I know you only want to protect me,” she says.

Screw it.

I wrap my arms around her and hug her so tightly she can barely breathe, but I don’t care.

“I’m sorry,” she mutters again.

“Stop apologizing.”

“But I hurt you,” she says, hugging me back.

“You did it because you thought I would take away your only opportunity at something you really wanted to do,” I say. “And I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to lie.”

We hug for a few more minutes as I soak in the fact that she’s back.

“I missed you, Cece.”

“I missed you too, lil’ bro,” she says, sniffling as she pulls back.

“So … you’re a Prodigy now, huh?” I say, and I mess up her hair. “My fucking sister is studying with the richest of the rich.”

“Heath, stop it,” she hisses. “I’m trying to look good for the rest of the family too.”

“Maybe you should drop by more often so they’d see you more too,” I say.

“Hmm … maybe…”

I cross my arms. “I promise I won’t force you to stay.”

She narrows her eyes. “You swear you won’t try to stop me from going back there?”

“On my life. And his,” I say, pointing at Max over my shoulder because I know he’s watching us.

I could feel his eyes beam into my back.

“Wait, what?” Max mumbles, making Cece laugh.

“I couldn’t ever fucking hurt him, so my promise is solid, trust me on that,” I say.

“Why?” She’s got that smug smile on her face just like I remember. “Something I need to know, Heath?”

“Actually, we’re dating,” I say, stepping back to pull Max into the conversation.

Max splutters, “Wait, hold up—”

But I kiss him on the lips to shut him up and show the world I mean it.

“Wow, holy shit,” Cece says.

My lips leave a stain on his, along with a giant blush turning his entire face red.

“I didn’t know you were gay,” Cece says.

“No.”

Ivy’s standing in the hallway, so I go and grab her and kiss her too, right in front of Cece.

“Bi,” I add after I’ve taken my lips off hers. “And damn proud.”

Cece’s staring at us with wide-open eyes. “Wow … two at the same time?”

“Well, uh, it’s complicated,” Max says, scratching the back of his head while laughing.

“Three, if you count Silas.” Ivy shrugs.

“THREE?!” Cece screams. “Holy shit, girl, nicely done.” She high-fives Ivy. “Also, Silas? I thought that dude didn’t have a heart.”

“I didn’t think so either, but I guess we were all wrong,” Silas interjects. “Mom asks if we’re coming.”

“Right, of course,” Max says as Silas walks off again.

“Wait,” my dad’s voice makes me turn around.

Mom and Dad are standing in the hallway, staring at us so uncomfortable that the room feels like it got ten degrees colder.

“Yikes,” Max mutters, grabbing Ivy’s hand. “Let’s go introduce you to the rest of the family.”

He pulls her away from us, so I have some time alone with my family.

“Heath,” Mom mutters, tears staining her eyes. “It really hurt.”

I walk to them and grab my mom, hugging her tightly before she begins to cry. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.”

But it’s no use. We’re both fucking crying, and I don’t want to stop either.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, caressing my back.

“No, it’s not,” I say.

“You were angry,” my dad says. “I get it.”

“You love Cece, and you wanted to protect her. That’s a good thing,” Mom says, grabbing my face. “That’s why we had to lie. For her sake as well as yours so you wouldn’t go get her back. She needed the time alone.”

“I understand now,” I say. “And I’m sorry for fucking things up.”

My dad pulls me in for a hug. “Come here.”

Even Cece comes in for the hug.

“Group hug,” she muses, making us all laugh.

“I’m glad you’re back, sis,” I say when we’re all done squeezing each other to death. “You missed a shit ton of stuff.”

She raises a brow. “Oh? Well, then, tell me all about it over dinner.”

“There’s just one more thing I have to do,” I say, walking to the bathroom.

“Cool, I’ll see you in there,” Cece says, wrinkling her nose when she smiles.

I head to the nearest toilet and pull out my bottle of pills.

The one bottle I’ve been carrying with me all this time because I wondered if I would need them again. But that’s just it. I don’t think I do.

These feelings I’ve been numbing are allowed to exist, no matter how dark or sad or how incredibly overpowering they get. Nothing is too difficult to deal with that it will ever make me want to hide again.

Because I have them now.

Ivy and Max.

And the loneliness will never again take hold of my heart.

I open the lid of the toilet, pour out the bottle's contents, and stare at the pills for a few seconds before I flush them down.

And it feels like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders for the first time in a long while.

Max

I pull out a seat for Ivy and let her sit down first before I sit beside her.

“So … who’s that lady over there?” Atlas asks, running his fingers through his wolf-cut hair.

“She’s taken already,” I say, putting my arm around her shoulders.

“Relax, I was just asking.” He chuckles. “I have better things on my mind than girls.”

“I haven’t seen you before,” Ivy says, holding out a hand. “Ivy Clark.”

“Atlas Torres,” he says, shaking her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You aren’t at Spine Ridge U yet, are you?” she asks him.

He shakes his head. “Not yet. I’m planning to go there next year. If it all works out.”

“Wait, I’m confused. Are you Levi’s brother?” Ivy asks Atlas.

“No, Apollo’s,” I explain. “I know, it’s confusing. Levi is my half brother. Atlas and Apollo are Crystal and Ares’s kids. He’s the youngest of the two.”

“Youngest, but not the dumbest,” Atlas says, snorting.

“If you say so,” I reply.

“Don’t get all crummy on me, Max. That’s not your style.”

“Max has style?” Elliot Fletcher muses as he sits down beside me, and he punches me in the shoulder. “Good to see you finally got the girl.”

“Hold on, he’s sharing,” Heath says as he sits down across from us together with Cecelia. “With me and Silas.”

“Three boys from our family?” Sunny Reed suddenly comes to sit beside Ivy. “Damn, girl. I don’t know anyone who’d have the stomach for that.”

“Don’t listen to her. She hates everyone in this room,” Elliot whispers to Ivy.

Sunny chucks a piece of bread at him so hard it leaves an imprint on his forehead. “Shut it, lil’ dicky.”

“Little?!” Elliot scoffs. “I do not—”

“Prove it,” Sunny says, leaning back in the chair. “Go on then, show the rest your teeny tiny dick. They’re waiting.”

“Sunny, we’re at a family dinner, please.”

My mother steps closer and clutches our chairs. Sunny immediately straightens herself in her seat.

“And you boys, behave around the new girl. For the love of God, we do not need to scare her away the first time she meets us,” my mom tells Atlas and Elliot, and they immediately look away as if they’re scared for their lives.

And something about that is so funny, I burst out into laughter.

Mom leans over to stare at me with those killer eyes of hers. “Stop laughing.”

I nearly shit my pants.

“Yes, Mom.”

“Good.”

She smiles. “Keep it civil. This is a family dinner, after all,” she says before walking off.

“Holy shit, your mom’s intimidating as hell,” Ivy says.

“You should’ve seen her when she was in her twenties.” I look up at one of my extra dads, Nathan, suddenly hovering over my chair.

“Jesus, where’d you come from?” I say, grabbing my heart. “I didn’t even fucking see you approach.”

“I’m a ghost.” Nathan wriggles his fingers in the air.

“The ghost with nine fingers, how scary,” Dylan says, wriggling his fingers in the air too.

And boy, I have never seen anyone more willing to grab a fork and stab Dylan’s eyes out. Luckily, they’re all made of plastic. Silas’s mom knows how to prepare for the worst.

“Not again …” My other extra dad Kai shakes his head from the corner of the room. “Can you guys not start another fight for once? We promised Penelope and Lana.”

“Kai’s right, don’t offend the moms,” my dad says, patting me on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Max. You did it.”

“Thanks,” I say.

“I love these family dinners,” Blaine, Orion’s dad says, as he leans back in his chair. “Reminds me of the good old days.”

“You make it sound like we weren’t fighting every other day,” Ares, Atlas and Apollo’s dad, says.

“Me? Fighting? With who?” Blaine raises his brows. “I was just reading my books in the corner, minding my own business, enjoying the view.”

“The view of us knocking each other’s heads off, yeah,” Kai says, chuckling.

“That’s just the Phantoms and Skull and Serpents being uncivilized,” Blaine muses.

“ Uncivilized ?” Nathan rasps.

“Tartarus is a much better house, let’s be honest,” Ares says, stoking the flames.

“You want to prove that, brother?” Kai says, leaning his chin on his elbow.

“Jesus Christ, how much longer is the food going to take?” Silas interjects from a few seats down, breaking the icy mood. “I’m fucking famished.”

Aspen is sitting beside him, and she shoves her elbow into his side.

“Silas!” Penelope warns him.

“Yeah, Silas. Chill,” Mavis says from across the table. “Eat the fucking table if you’re so damn hungry.”

“I’ll chomp off your fingers first,” Silas retorts. “Tasty snack.”

Melody, Silas’s younger sister, giggles like it’s funny even though it’s not. “Silas, can you come and pose for me sometime? I really want to paint you when you’re angry.”

Silas sighs. “If I get the painting, sure, I don’t see why the hell not.”

“So, is that girl the little thief you were talking about, Silas?” Mavis glares at Ivy. “Do I still need to cast some spells?”

Silas makes a fist. “Don’t you fucking dare hex her.”

“Do those two even like each other?” Ivy asks.

I snort. “She’s his sister. Of course he loves her.”

“No, I said like .”

“No one ever said you needed to like your siblings,” Heath says.

“I don’t, that’s for sure,” Atlas growls, sipping his drink.

“Thanks, bro,” Apollo says as he pats Atlas’s shoulder. “Remind me to kick your ass when we get home.”

“See? He likes me,” Atlas jokes.

“Guys, guys, where is the love?” Orion Navarro approaches with a glass of wine in his hand. He looks wasted already. “There’s a new girl in our family and you guys can’t even stop one day and just … smell the roses.” He sucks in a breath through his nostrils. “C’mon, do it with me. Breathe in, and out.”

Sunny just glares at him. “Shut the fuck up.”

Orion stares at her, his eyes widening, then relaxing, before his entire body shivers.

“Orion, can you please stop drinking wine?” Crystal rubs her forehead. “You aren’t even old enough yet, and you look drunk.”

“Mom, please, not tonight,” Orion says, making a face. “Can’t you see this family is driving me to the edge?” He’s so dramatic when he talks.

“Orion, I thought you cared about your skin?” his father, Blaine, asks as he takes a sip of his water. “Drinking will age it even quicker.”

Orion’s eyes widen, and he immediately puts the wine down.

“You have … an interesting family,” Ivy tells Heath, smiling.

“You think?” Heath replies, snorting.

She sniggers behind her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I feel the same way. But they’re my family, and I love them,” Heath says.

“Aw …” Orion hugs Heath from behind. “Thank you, big bro.”

Heath’s mom, Crystal, claps her hands. “Everybody, find your seats!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Levi Torres says, eyeing the seats left. He sits down at the far end of the table next to Mavis.

“So, I heard you three were together now. Is that true?” Levi asks me casually.

I blush. “Um, yeah. Pretty much. Ivy is with me, Heath, and Silas.”

“Interesting …” He taps his knuckles on the table as he looks at Ivy. “I’ve seen you around. You’re Aspen’s friend, aren’t you?”

Ivy nods. “We met on campus. All of us, actually.” She laughs awkwardly.

This must be so weird for her.

It’s normal to us, but our families aren’t exactly the regular kind.

We tend to kill people if they do us wrong, and that’s okay. Every family has its flaws.

“Anyway.” Levi shrugs, turning to Mavis instead. “So, are you coming on the camping trip next week, or what?”

Okay, this conversation shifted out of nowhere.

“You know, I thought about it, and why not?” Mavis replies, leaning over the table on her elbows. “Are we just going hiking up the mountain, or are we going to go visit some spooky shit? I’m talking graveyards, abandoned houses, stuff like that.”

“No, I was actually thinking of going far beyond Lake Verity,” Levi says. “There’s another ridge there that directly overlooks the sea. I think it’d be nice.”

“Oh …” Mavis sounds disappointed.

“Romantic,” Apollo jests, winking at him. “With Silas’ sister?”

“You’d better not say that out loud again if you value your life, Torres,” Silas grits.

Apollo clasps the table as he stands up, those muscles looking all menacing. “I’d love to see you try to kill me.”

“Apollo …” his father’s voice booms across the table, silencing everyone. “Sit. Down.”

“Yeah, shut up.” Mavis throws some bread at Apollo too.

Finally, he sits, the annoyance clearly showing on his face.

“Why is everyone throwing the bread around?!” Penelope growls, and half the table begins to chuckle.

Ivy frowns. “Wait a minute … A camping trip?”

She looks over at Aspen, whose eyes have widened, and then she quickly turns to chat with her brother Xavier.

“Never mind.” Ivy casually tucks her hair behind her ear.

Xavier throws his arm around Aspen. “We’re coming too!”

She punches him in the shoulder.

Levi grins. “Perfect.”

“I wish I could come to the camping thing …” Melody mutters to herself, rolling a strand of her hair around her finger before sighing loudly.

“Camping sounds dreadful, not gonna lie,” Orion says, shivering again. “All those bugs out there crawling across your skin.”

“No, it’s gonna be fabulous, and I, for one, can’t wait,” Elliot says. “I’ll be there, along with Talon and Océane, and maybe some others, if we can convince them. Oh, and Cecelia’s coming too!”

“Wait, what?” Heath furrows his brows. “Since when do you like camping?”

“Since I just came back from Prodigium Academy. I mean, why not?” Cecelia says. “You should come too.”

Heath grimaces. “No, thanks.”

“Party pooper,” Cecelia says.

“More fun for us,” Elliot says, leaning back in his seat.

Which only seems to piss off Heath even further.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take Heath’s place. If Sisi is going, I’m going,” Apollo says, winking.

Cecelia scowls. “Stop calling me that.”

Apollo laughs, as though he enjoys pissing off his family.

“God, I hope you hired a good chef, Kai,” Milo says, licking his lips. “Let’s see if he can top me.”

“Ego, much?” Blaine muses.

“Oh no, his sushi is the best there is, trust me,” Kai says.

“FOOD’S HERE!” Mom’s sudden shout makes everyone sit up in their seats.

“Fuck, Lana,” Kai says, dragging her back down into her seat. “Be a little more … subtle. Please.”

“What?” Lana scoffs. “I’m hungry.”

“You don’t want to see how she eats when she gets mad, trust me,” Silas’s dad says.

And everyone begins to laugh.

Ivy

1 week later

“You can open your eyes now.”

Heath removes his hands from my face, and when I blink, my heart nearly jumps out of my chest. A brand-new, gleaming red Corvette is standing right in front of me with a giant pink ribbon on top of the hood.

“Surprise!” Heath, Max, and Silas all say simultaneously.

“This is for me?” I mutter in disbelief.

Heath sports a smirk. “You betchya.”

“Thank you,” I say, not knowing what else to say as I’m still stunned. “You keep lavishing me with gifts. It’s gonna make me feel guilty.”

“Don’t be.” Max places his hand on my shoulder. “Your bike has gotten you far, but you deserve something that doesn’t make you work out like you’re trying to get in shape for the Olympics.”

“Silas pinches my waist. “Maybe then you’ll finally be less of a twig.”

“Ha-ha.” I put my hands against my waist. “What a generous compliment.”

“Don’t mention it,” Silas says as he slides his whole hand across my belly, creeping underneath my crop top. “Now let’s go get us some burgers as juicy as these tits.”

“Wow,” I say, but I still laugh. “Your filth never ceases to amaze me.”

His hand snakes its way up my crop top, all the way to my neck. “Good.” He squeezes while whispering. “Keep it that way.” His tongue darts out to lick the rim of my earlobe. “Now who’s ready for a ride?”

“Wait, we can take it for a spin right away?” I mutter, completely distracted.

“Hell yeah,” Heath says, opening the car door for me. “Jump in.”

I’m too excited not to, so I hop in and slide behind the wheel, checking out the dashboard for all the fancy stuff.

“I don’t wanna be rude or anything, but do you know how to drive?” Max asks.

“Yeah, my dad taught me before … well, you know.”

“Oh …” Max mutters. “Well, you can put the skills he taught you to good use.”

I turn on the engine and rev it a little.

“That sound is fucking nice,” Heath says.

Someone taps the hood of the car, and I look to my left to see Caleb, Heath’s dad, hovering over us. “Make sure not to crash it the first day. This baby deserves better.”

“You got it, mister,” Max says, saluting him.

“Of course, I’ll drive safe,” I reply.

He smiles. “Have fun.”

I hit the gas, and we exit the parking lot of the car dealership. The wind flows through my hair the faster we go, and it feels so damn good that I don’t wanna stop. If this is what true freedom feels like, I never want to exchange it for a damn thing.

We go to a burger joint somewhere in the middle of town and eat to our heart’s content, or at least until Silas is done shoving fries down my throat. When I’m full, we jump back into the brand-new car and drive off into the night.

God, if I could only tell my past self where I’d be right now, she’d probably call me a liar.

“Where are we going?” Max asks.

“I thought we could drive out of town for a little. Do some sightseeing.”

Right as we head into the woods, my phone buzzes.

“Who’s in your inbox?” Silas asks as he rummages around in my pocket. “It’d better not be some guy.”

Heath snorts. “Like she doesn’t have enough to deal with just being with the three of us.”

“True,” Max says. “Especially you two.”

“I’m not interested in more trouble, thanks,” I retort.

Silas hands me the phone before he turns his head to glare at Max, practically throwing darts with his eyes.

But all I can do is hit the brakes so damn hard the boys are nearly flung out of the car.

“What the fuck—this is a new car, be gentle with her!” Heath growls.

His words barely register with me while read the words on my phone up close … and my whole body begins to quake.

“What’s wrong?” Max asks.

“Silas.” His face grows bleak when I look at him because I’m unable to hide the terror sinking into my heart. “Mavis is dead.”

Thank you for reading BOYS WHO HUNT!

I hope you enjoyed and if you did, please leave a review.

Preorder book 2: Boys Who Taint !