EPILOGUE || REED #2
But before anyone could speak, Lacey stepped out of the circle, clapped Daniel on the shoulder, and grinned at him. “Alright, enough of this serious doom-and-gloom shit. You’re officially one of us! It’s time to party.”
She took him by the hand and towed him over to the folding table we’d piled with beer, liquor, and other drinks from the bar.
Sally had provided plenty of food for tonight as a thank-you to the pack. She’d kept the bar and grill closed while she recovered, but she’d be reopening soon. Members of the pack—including Harris and me—had been checking in on her periodically, and she seemed almost back to normal.
“Now that you’re our pack brother, we’re getting you drunk,” Lacey told Daniel with a grin.
Daniel winced. “Do I have a choice?”
She pressed a beer into his hands. “Absolutely not. Drink up.”
With that, all the tension broke like a snapped wire.
The pack was laughing and talking, pulling Daniel into their midst. Sarah was practically bouncing—uncharacteristically bubbly.
Oliver clapped him on the back, smiling, but still as reserved as always.
Emma beamed at Daniel and hugged him, causing the warlock to narrowly avoid soaking her with his beer.
The twins stood slightly apart from everyone else, but even they were watching Daniel with small smiles on their faces. I still couldn’t help wondering what Lee had said to him.
“Don’t look so serious. He’ll be okay.” Harris nudged me, and I felt a surge of affection through our connection. “You did a good thing tonight.”
“We did,” I corrected. “And yeah, I think so, too.”
We watched together as the pack welcomed Daniel fully, no hesitation, no reservations. Officially one of ours.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, turning to look at Harris. “For convincing me to do this.”
Harris planted a kiss on my lips, his eyes dark and warm in the firelight, carrying the promise of more to come later. “I’ll always bring out your better wolf, Reed. For as long as you’ll let me.”
“Always,” I said simply.
“Hello, detective,” Cole said, strolling up to us with a glass of red wine in one hand, towing a beautiful man with clear brown skin and dark eyes behind him with the other.
He beamed at Harris, the smile crinkling at his vivid blue eyes, then glanced at the man beside him. “You remember Eli, of course.”
Harris laughed. “We all almost got killed together. Kind of hard to forget.”
Eli laughed. “Hiya, Harris.” Then he turned to Cole, his gaze going mischievous. “See, Nicolas? He thinks I’m unforgettable.”
“You can’t blame him. I’ve always thought that myself,” Cole said, with a smile that transformed his cold, aristocratic features, turning his expression soft and open.
Then his gaze flicked to Harris and he raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve come a long way from hardboiled LAPD homicide detective.
Alpha of a werewolf pack isn’t exactly what I saw in your future, but it looks good on you. ”
“Co-alpha,” Harris said immediately, taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re doing this together.”
“Absolutely saccharine,” Cole said, shaking his head. “But that looks good on you, too.”
“I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Harris told him solemnly.
Cole’s lips twitched. “Well, if I’d known you wanted to become a supernatural creature, you could’ve become a vampire.”
“And there it is,” Harris said, rolling his eyes. “For a second there, I thought you’d been body-snatched.”
“Fangs are better than fur, detective,” Cole replied sweetly, taking a sip of his wine. “I don’t make the rules, I’m afraid.”
“Why choose?” Jeremy asked, strolling up to us, hand in hand with Thierry.
A wide grin split across his rugged face, and his piercing blue eyes were dancing with amusement.
A rush of familiarity washed over me. How many times had I seen that expression over the years? He added, “You can always have both.”
“Don’t scare the mortals, darling,” Thierry drawled.
Like with Lee and Hunter, it was stunning how identical he and Cole were.
He was also holding a glass of red wine.
They must have brought their own bottle—we hadn’t provided any wine.
To the rest of us, he added, “He is, of course, merely joking.”
“That makes one of us,” Cole said seriously, searching Harris’s eyes. “Any time you want to become whatever Jeremy is—a vampire and a werewolf—say the word.”
Harris raised his eyebrows. “Um. Thanks, Cole. I think.” He shot me an amused look, which I interpreted as: See what I go through? Then he turned back to Cole and added, “I’ll definitely take that under advisement.”
“Either way, we’ll still be besties,” Cole assured him. “Now, we’re eating ice cream later. Just so you know.”
“You’ve got to learn how to let things go,” Eli said, shaking his head, a small smile on his lips.
Cole pouted, but brightened considerably when Harris said, “Fine. But I choose the flavor.”
“Can we still talk about how vile men are?”
“Wait, what?” Eli said, mock-offended. “I happen to be a man.”
“You’re an Eli,” Cole assured him. “We’ll make an exception for you. Even though you do hog the covers.”
Eli’s eyes danced with amusement. “Vicious lies.”
“We can discuss how vile men are, but only in the abstract,” Harris replied, bemused. His gaze was warm when he turned to me. “They aren’t all bad.”
Thierry made a gagging noise. Then he said, “Oh, Nicolas, Lacey was wondering which of us could do more Jello shots. Since we’re identical.”
Everyone stared at him, except for Jeremy.
Cole’s eyebrows drew together. “J—Jello shots?” He sounded baffled. “What in the college frat boy nonsense is she talking about?”
“You know what?” Eli said, shooting his mate a meaningful look. “I think I’m curious, too. Also, I’d pay good money to see you take a Jello shot.”
Cole locked eyes with Eli, as if trying to puzzle him out.
Unspoken communication seemed to pass between them—unsurprising, given that they were telepathically connected. Then his expression lit up with understanding. “Ah. I see. Yes, we’ll go do…” His expression curled with disdain. “Jello shots.”
“I think I’ll help them with that,” Harris said, not even being remotely subtle about it. “Besides, I’m not sure anyone has warned Lacey about vampire alcohol tolerance.”
When it was just us, Jeremy shook his head regretfully. “Poker wouldn’t be their game. None of them.”
“No kidding.”
“I’m proud of you,” Jeremy said, without warning. “I wouldn’t have thought to initiate Daniel. And I’m not sure how I would’ve felt about splitting leadership, either.”
I shrugged, heat creeping into my cheeks. “The pack needs to change.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. It does.” He paused. “They’re lucky to have you. It’s been a long time since this pack has had a good alpha.”
“Now it has two,” I replied. “I don’t know about being good, but we’re going to try to be better.”
Jeremy smiled but didn’t reply. The silence that fell was easy rather than awkward.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
Jeremy’s eyebrows drew together. “What for? This isn’t about my transformation again, is it? I’ve already told you, there’s nothing to apologize for.”
“It is about that, sort of,” I admitted. “But I’m mostly apologizing for being a dick. You’re still my friend. You’re still the same Jeremy I grew up with. And I guess I kind of used the vampire thing to push you away.”
“You were dealing with a lot,” Jeremy said. But then his gaze locked on mine, filled with unexpected understanding. “I didn’t exactly handle being alpha any better. And I’ve made mistakes in my time. Lots of them.”
“It’s not just being alpha,” I said, determined not to let myself off the hook so easily. “It was me. I was an idiot.”
“No offense, but I grew up with you.” Jeremy grinned at me. “I’m sort of used to it. The important part is that you always get over it.”
“We’re cool?”
“No,” Jeremy said, his eyes suddenly glassy. “We’re not ‘cool.’ You’re my brother—you have been since before we could talk. We’ve been through everything together. We’re family, Reed. And we always will be.”
At those words, the last of my doubt about whether he’d changed fell away. I stepped forward and embraced him, pulling him into a bear hug.
Jeremy went tense for a moment, as if startled, then returned the hug.
“Yeah, you’re right. You’re my brother,” I said, my voice thick. “And you always will be.”
“Enough of that,” Jeremy said, when he pulled back. His eyes were still glassy. His voice was rough, too. “Let’s go catch up with the others. Lindsey is probably wondering if we’re about to kill each other.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s.”
We made our way over to Cole, Thierry, and the others, in time to watch the vampire twins take a Jello shot together.
“Mm. Well, it’s not a vodka cran,” Cole remarked. “But I suppose it’ll do. I’ve certainly put worse things in my mouth.”
Thierry’s lips pursed. He shot Lacey a raised eyebrow. “What kind of vodka is in those shots? I can practically taste the potato.”
Cole frowned at him, puzzled. “That’s part of the appeal, isn’t it? It’s like being in a frat house.” He paused, considering it. “Or at a trailer park.”
Lacey’s eyebrows knitted together, apparently struck speechless. Harris and Eli both looked like they were trying very hard not to laugh.
Oliver approached us. “Hey, the pack’s going for a run.” He glanced over at Harris. “Are you two coming?”
Harris’s face lit up in a way that ignited warmth in my chest. “Absolutely.”
“I suppose we’ll stay here and continue to taste the trailer park,” Thierry said, shooting his twin a sour look.
“Lighten up,” Cole said. In a stage whisper, he added, “Also, I think Lacey is getting ready to reach for a wooden stake.”
“Someone ought to,” Lindsey said, shaking her head and giving the vampire twins a bemused smile. Then she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the ground. “I’m going for a run with the others. In my non-official, non-pack capacity.”