Epilogue
Sebbie was chatting with Jude and Thea in the kitchen while I gathered up a few more of my belongings. Sebbie just happened to have another open drawer in his dresser, and there just happened to be an open shelf in his living room, as well.
I was also pretty sure he’d been sneaking trinkets from my room and putting them on his shelves.
Although, I couldn’t discount the possibility that Crow was responsible for that.
More than likely, the two of them were working together.
My daimon and my mate had a strong bond with one another, and sometimes it felt like they took great joy in poking fun at me.
I never minded. Sebbie didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and I knew that all his joking came from a place of love and joy.
So, yeah, we still hadn’t had the whole moving in together conversation.
Sebbie had started driving himself to work again, but he was always sure to tell me that he’d see me at home when he got off his shift.
Even if I was hunting hellbound souls, I made sure I was always there to meet him.
And although we hadn’t officially said we were moving in together, I told Sebbie every day that he would never be alone again.
So maybe we didn’t even need to have an official conversation. I was pretty sure most of the Smith family hadn’t, and who was I to break tradition?
I saw the pack of tarot cards, and I considered leaving it here.
It really did have quite the attitude most of the time.
I wouldn’t actually abandon it, though, and I picked it up and shuffled the deck.
I stared out the window as I did, thinking that this view was no longer the view I’d see each morning.
I wouldn’t be going out and communing with the land here anymore.
This place would no longer be a part of my morning routine.
I had found a different morning routine.
Sebbie and I woke and had tea on the deck, feeding the murder and talking to them.
After he was at work, I walked his property, letting the land get to know me.
We were already becoming fast friends, and soon I’d seal it to Sebbie and I with a blood offering.
I did know better than to do it when my mate wasn’t around, however.
He didn’t like to see me hurt, even though I was immortal.
Plus, he could always bring me back from the dead.
We didn’t talk about it that much, and my memories of it all were very fuzzy.
I knew the general idea of it—Sebbie had traded Sheriff Paul’s soul for the man that was trying to stab him.
As for the specifics—I had no idea how he’d done it.
Sometimes I seemed to recall being on a boat with the sheriff and Sebbie, but mostly that seemed more like a dream than anything that had actually happened.
Sebbie didn’t remember the details, either, and we both thought that was for the best. Perhaps it was his reaper side, but Sebbie had a firm idea that things happened the way they did for a reason.
Or perhaps that was his ferryman side, since he knew that death was not an ending. It was only a new beginning.
Whatever the case, Sebbie didn’t like doing whatever he’d done.
In general, he hated reaping bad souls. Sometimes it couldn’t be avoided, though.
Mostly, he wasn’t really aware when he was reaping souls.
We’d figured out that it probably happened so quickly that it was only a blink, and thus his human side barely registered it.
Still, on more than one occasion, I’d found myself suddenly transported to that empty, lifeless plane where reapers worked. Sometimes it took a little more than a blink, and whenever it did, I was there with Sebbie. As I had promised him, he never had to be alone again.
I turned away from the window when I heard laughter from the other room. It was time to go be with my mate. I cut the deck, drawing a card.
Cheeky deck.
I smiled, though, because she hadn’t been wrong yet.
It was the four of wands. Four long sticks held up greenery and fruit, and two people held bouquets underneath it, arms up in joyous celebration. The four of wands was celebration, harmony, and homecoming.
Sebbie was my home now, and I thought that perhaps tomorrow I’d come and empty the room out completely.
I sensed more people coming up to the house, and I realized the deck was right in another way, too. It appeared the whole crew was on the way. It looked like a celebration with all our family was about to take place.
I walked out into the main area of the house just as the front door opened. Liam, Q, Aiden, and Fluffy all came traipsing in. Jude and I started cooking for the crew, because Dexter, Toby, Wilder, and Josh were on the way as well. We could both sense it.
Aiden was sitting with Fluffy and laughing over Q’s description of a customer at the coffee shop where they worked. Toby, Sebbie, and Josh were all laughing as well, and Toby mentioned that perhaps he needed a book set in a coffee shop.
Dexter and Wilder were talking about hunting grounds and how far we might extend our reach from Paradise Falls, and Liam was on his computer, talking about maybe “accidentally” owning some more property behind our houses that was supposed to be part of the national park.
Jude and I occasionally joined in, and then Liam had the idea that Sebbie maybe needed to “accidentally” acquire more land as well.
Liam assumed that his house and property were pack lands as well, now, and I supposed he wasn’t wrong.
Not only that, but I knew Sebbie would probably be thrilled at the idea that his home was part of the pack.
Liam then gave us an update on the cult’s current workings.
They really weren’t in our area, so we’d let hellhounds know about them where they did have a presence.
We occasionally got updates, and they were being dealt with.
No one had run across an immortal being like that first Nephilim we’d found, so perhaps she’d been their only success in that way. We could hope, at least.
Jude and I laid out a spread for brunch—eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, bread, and some sandwich fixings. Everyone grabbed a plate, and the joyous chatter continued. It really was a celebration.
Sebbie came over to me where I was leaning against the kitchen counter, and I dipped my head down to give him a kiss. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in for a hug. He rested his head on my chest.
“Love you, little reaper,” I told him.
He looked up and smiled. “I love you, too, my hellhound.”
I pecked his lips again, and then he was off to chat more with his friends. He was sunshine and light, and I was so lucky to have him in my life.
“He doesn’t mind the nickname?” Jude asked, coming to stand next to me.
I’d told him most of what I remembered happening, and also about Sebbie’s dislike of being a reaper.
“No, he actually likes it. He says it makes him feel special, and it makes it seem like the reaper part of him isn’t scary.”
Jude nodded. “That makes sense. It is scary, having power over life and death, and making it normal probably feels good. Like you accept every part of him.”
“I do. I love and cherish every aspect of Sebbie,” I answered. “All of those pieces make up who is, and I love who he is.”
Jude nodded again. I looked over at him. “How are you doing?” I asked. He had, after all, almost lost his mate.
“I’m okay about everything that happened. I can admit to being a little panicked at the time, but the sheriff is fine, and Sebbie said he’s going to stay that way. So at least I don’t need to worry about that.”
“So what does have you worried?” I asked. I knew Jude well, and there was something under his carefree attitude. He had some worry that he was working out.
He looked out over the group. They were all laughing and chatting, and the camaraderie and friendship was palpable.
“Your walrus will fit right in with the pack,” I assured Jude.
Jude sighed. “I know that. He’ll fit in better than even he knows.”
“What are you waiting for?” I asked him. It wasn’t judgemental—I knew that there was sometimes a reason to wait.
Jude hummed. “I’m not sure. It’s been fun, flirting with him and teasing him.
I think I’ve grown on him, despite him wanting to kill me half the time.
” Jude flashed a grin at that. “But, there’s something he has to work through.
He has to accept who he is before he can accept who I am.
I don’t know if that makes sense, but it’s a feeling I have. ”
“Perhaps you’re meant to help him work through whatever it is that he needs to work through,” I commented.
Jude grinned at me. “Yes, I think so. I felt like we were in a sort of waiting game—maybe he needed to almost die, and Sebbie needed to do whatever he did to bring him back, before it was my time with the sheriff. I feel like it’s here now, though. Time to up my flirtation.”
Jude’s grin was decidedly wicked on the last line, and Josh caught the end of his statement. “So help me god, Jude, we really are not bailing you out if you get arrested.”
“Don’t worry—I wouldn’t want to be bailed out,” Jude smirked, then he winked at Josh, who rolled his eyes in exasperation.
There was never a moment of quiet in the pack, and I loved all the energy and chaos that came with so many of my family members. Sometimes, though, they were a lot.
As if Sebbie sensed my need for some stillness and quiet, he began the round of goodbyes. This typically took at least half an hour for him, whereas I simply waved a hand to the whole crew as we walked out the front door, my stuff in a bag flung over my shoulder.
I drove back to his house, one hand on the wheel and one hand holding his. We were quiet, but it was a peaceful quiet. It was a quiet borne of love and comfort with one another.
“Want to sit on the deck and feed the crows?” he asked me when we pulled up.
I smiled and nodded. That was exactly what I needed. Some quiet time in nature with Sebbie. I carried my stuff in, leaving it in his bedroom—our bedroom—to unpack later. We gathered food for the crows, tea for ourselves, and made our way out onto the porch.
We fed the crows, enjoying the warm spring breeze.
Eventually Crow came over. The attention hog was more concerned with getting pets from Sebbie than actual snacks, but I didn’t begrudge her that.
She flew off, only to come back again with a beautiful pink quartz stone that she gave to Sebbie.
It was probably two inches long and of a good thickness, and I was impressed with her find.
Sebbie oohed and ahhed over it, and Crow preened.
“Isn’t it lovely, Corbin? She did such a good job,” Sebbie praised, handing the rock to me to look at.
As I handled it, I could almost see, within the striations of the rock, a figure.
It looked like Sebbie, standing there with his pink cloak and his staff.
I smiled at Crow, and she cooed at me. She had brought me a perfect rock for carving, and I knew Sebbie would love seeing himself carved in pink stone.
“I love you, mate,” I told him, looking over at him.
He smiled. “Love you, too. Want to head inside?”
He wiggled his eyebrows a bit at that, which made me laugh. My mate and I still couldn’t get enough of each other, and skin-to-skin contact sounded perfect right now.
I stood and picked him up from his chair, making him giggle as I carried him into the bedroom. I set him down in front of the bed, stripping off his shirt and then my own. I was in the process of stripping my pants off when I heard the ruffling sound of paper.
“Oops,” Sebbie said, and I looked over to see that when he’d stripped his pants and thrown them, they’d knocked the tarot deck off the dresser where I’d put it.
I ignored the cards, more focused on Sebbie’s sexy body. He was still wearing boxer briefs, his hard dick a little tent in the front of them. He was staring at my dick, which was hard and leaking from thinking about touching him. He reluctantly tore his eyes away to look at the cards on the floor.
“Oh,” he said. “That’s pretty.”
He hopped off the bed to pick up a card—my guess was it had fallen face up. Cheeky deck couldn’t even let me have sex in peace.
Sebbie had a card in his hand, and he was examining it.
“Was it upside down?” I asked.
“No, it was right side up. It was the only card flipped over. It makes me feel happy, though. What does it mean?” he asked, holding up the card.
It was the ten of cups.
I barked out a laugh, walking over to my mate. I took the card from his hand and laid it on the dresser—right side up—before I took his face in my hands, leaning in for a soft kiss.
“It means fulfillment of a journey and stability,” I murmured against his lips.
He hummed against my lips, and I backed him up to the bed, easing us both gently down onto the mattress.
“It means happily ever after,” I said, looking into his eyes.
He breathed out a soft hum, lifting a hand to caress my cheek. “Well, then, it must be true, because you, my sexy hellhound, are definitely my happy ever after.”
“And you, little reaper, are mine.”
Crow cawed from outside, and we both laughed.
“Love you, too, Crow!” Sebbie yelled.
“If there aren’t any further interruptions from the peanut gallery,” I muttered, “I’d like to make love to my mate.”
“Your mate would like that very much,” Sebbie answered. He wiggled his eyebrows then. “Show me what happily ever after feels like, Corbin.”
His line was so corny that I couldn’t resist smiling, and he broke out in joyful giggles. This was my eternity—a silly, lighthearted mate who could do impossible things.
It really was the perfect new beginning.