Epilogue
Ford
“Hey, bartender, turn it up.”
I sat back on the stool, peering up at the television hanging over the bar.
Jake grumbled, but did as his customer asked, turning the volume on high.
When a man approached the podium in the massive ballroom, someone in the back of the bar shushed the crowd.
Suddenly, you could hear a pin drop.
“The Portland Hellions select Ford ‘The Wolfman’ Kendrick.”
Both the crowd in the hotel ballroom and the one inside the bar went wild, cheering and applauding. With a push on my arm and a look that said get my ass off the chair from Georgia, I grinned and stood, waving while everyone whistled.
“My hot alpha male,” Georgia teased.
“I better be your only hot male.”
“Depends on how good you are.” The fact she could joke and enjoy the moment was a testament to her resolve.
And her mean right hand. The woman could throw a punch. I’d very much enjoyed the sound of Hoffman’s nose breaking.
The moment was as bittersweet as it was surreal. I’d missed the night for a very good reason.
Saving the woman I loved, my mate and best friend. But damn it, I hadn’t been allowed to feast, although the meat was likely rancid.
Beck lifted his glass. “To the Hellions!”
Another cheer.
Another satisfying moment.
And one that wouldn’t have occurred without so many people watching my back.
“You’re a star,” Georgia cooed from beside me.
“You think so?” I turned my head toward her while taking a pull on my beer. It had felt damn good to finally put Hoffman in his place. In truth, I’d wanted to sink my canines into him, but I was a good boy and had merely allowed him to understand the power we had as a pack.
And perhaps in my jaws. You bet I’d opened my mouth.
“I do,” she purred. “But do not let that go to your head. Although I wouldn’t mind bringing you down to size.”
She had me laughing as she always did. “You didn’t need to run, you know.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to allow that man to destroy your family. Not a chance in hell.”
Suddenly, two more drinks appeared in front of us, Jake grinning. “We’re proud of you.”
“Hey, what about me?” Beck yelled. “Fast forward to the next round.”
“So fucking pushy,” Jake snarled, but grabbed the remote once again.
“I wanted to kill him for what he did to you.” I cursed under my breath.
As always, she was trying to comfort me. “You can’t fight my battles. I can do just fine.”
“Like hell I can’t. I’m your mate. Don’t forget it.”
In seeing the spark in her eyes, my hunger raged off the charts. “As long as you don’t forget you’re mine.”
“In the second draft, the Portland Hellions selects Beck ‘The Devil’ Kendrick.”
The Devil. I lifted my bottle toward my brother. The moniker suited him.
Another cheer erupted in the bar, which was currently wall to wall with people. I could swear the entire town had come out for the replay.
“Why don’t we remind each other a little later?” I asked before leaning over, nipping her earlobe.
“Get a room, you two.” Roxanne suddenly appeared, crowding our space at the bar.
“There you are,” Georgia said.
“Oh, I had no intention of missing this. Plus, I have a date. Well, as soon as someone gets off from work.”
When Georgia’s eyes opened wide and she nodded toward Jake, I could tell I hadn’t been let in on a little secret.
My mate clapped her hands. “About time.”
“So I’m a slow learner.” We were both surprised when Jake leaned over the bar, taking her face into his hands. With one sizzling kiss, half the bar cheered.
At this point, they were eager to cheer for anything.
“Our local heroes,” Finn said as he approached. So did half the team who’d made it out to celebrate. “I’m going to miss you, buddy,” he said.
“Hey, you made it to Chicago like you wanted.”
He nodded. “I did, but it won’t be the same. We were a good team.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We were.”
“Make us proud, buddy,” Daniel the Dominator stated almost in a demand.
Another gulp of beer, another lift of my bottle. “A toast to all of us.”
“And to one amazing doctor,” Beck offered.
“I’m not a doctor yet,” Georgia corrected. “But soon enough.”
Knowing what my parents had done for her with medical school was the icing on the cake. I crowded her space, enjoying staring into her eyes. “What did you think of my wolf?”
“He’s a badass,” she answered.
“Don’t get too used to him.”
She lifted her wineglass, dragging her tongue across the rim. “I do like furry creatures.” Her small growl was enough to bring the Wolfman to the surface.
“What do you say we get the hell out of this place and have a nice, long walk in the forest?”
“I’d say you’re on. Or maybe about time. My rules this time.”
“Your rules, eh?”
When she winked, I was about ready to drag her into the restroom.
Who knew a woman could crave being hunted so much? I was just fine with that. As long as I was the predator.
We both heard a sound, legs from chairs being scraped against the tile floor. Suddenly, a group of guys were on their feet facing the entrance.
“What is going on?” Georgia asked.
“I don’t know but I’m going to find out.” I pushed away from the bar just as a few other customers moved toward the front. Beck joined me, Cole flanking my other side. It took a few seconds to realize what I was seeing.
Bubba. Only this time, he had three others like him as his companions. All goons. All looking for a fight.
Or a hunt.
“Funny. I don’t think they’re here for a drink. Do you?” Beck asked.
“No, I don’t.” Before we had a chance to move more than a couple of feet, the crowd from the bar had pushed forward, the entrance door opening.
Cole snickered from beside me. “Don’t look now, but I don’t think we’re needed.”
My brother was right, yet we walked outside anyway to find the four men surrounded.
Not by the wolves in the community who were just out to enjoy a few drinks and a good time.
By the humans who’d once feared our kind, but now believed we were simply part of them. In truth, we were. As I’d heard from a very special woman. We had the same muscles and bones. And we all bled the same color.
While they were being kicked out of town, reminded that if they returned, they would face human wrath, I returned to the bar, taking several deep breaths until I located my mate.
The screech of tires was easy to hear as they were leaving.
With no words, she knew I was there and I was waiting for her. With a simple goodbye to Roxanne, she grabbed her purse and headed in my direction.
We had a house waiting for us in a lovely community halfway between Seattle and Portland. She’d start medical school soon and the first game was only a couple of weeks away. This was everything I wanted, yet wouldn’t mean a damn thing if she wasn’t in my life.
“Ready, Wolfman?” she purred as if my wolf wouldn’t eat her kitten whole.
“I don’t know if you can handle me tonight. Maybe I’ll give you a head start.”
“Now what fun is that?”
Once we were outside, I waited until we were beside the truck to give her my answer. “I guess you’ll need to trust me. Now, won’t you?”
“Trust is so highly overrated.” She laughed, waiting until I opened the driver’s door. When she pitched her purse inside and backed away, I knew the woman was up to something.
“What are you doing?”
“Just going for a little walk. In the woods. Care to join me? Can you handle the heat?” With her laughter floating into the night sky, I shook my head.
She simply blew me a kiss and took off running.
So this was how it was going to be.
After counting to ten, I sprinted toward the trees. Somehow, I had a feeling I was going to like spending the rest of my life with her.
When I hit the tree line, I glanced back at the bar before allowing my wolf to breach the surface long enough to offer a deep, passionate, and intense howl. “Look out, Little Red Riding Hood. I’m coming for you.”
The End