Epilogue #2
For the next several hours, Lina was passed from group to group, welcomed and congratulated by more people than she could keep track of.
Everyone wanted to hear the story of how they’d met and how they’d realized they were mates.
They also wanted the details about how they’d taken out Mrs. Entwistle together, since that woman had caused trouble here a few short weeks ago.
They told Lina the tale of how a Demon War had been averted and the evil Rollins family of mages almost destroyed in the fight.
She listened attentively, though she’d heard the bare bones of the situation in the briefings she’d had before taking on the mission to find Mrs. E.
Still, it was good to hear it from the people who’d lived through it.
The Kinkaid Clan was warm and boisterous, their beast-halves evident in their larger-than-life personalities and easy affection.
Most were lions, but she thought she recognized a few selkies and even a few shifters of different species that had married into the Clan.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, someone started shooting off fireworks. The teenagers had taken charge of the display, setting them off in the large common area at the center of the neighborhood while everyone gathered to watch.
Liam found Lina in the crowd and pulled her away from a group of his cousins, leading her to a quiet spot on the grass at the edge of the gathering. They sat side-by-side, his arm coming around her shoulders as she leaned into his warmth.
The fireworks burst overhead in brilliant colors. Gold, silver, red, green, and blue reflected in the eyes of all the Kinkaids gathered around them. Children squealed with delight, adults cheered, and the whole neighborhood seemed to pulse with joy and celebration.
Lina watched it all with a growing tightness in her chest. The laughter, the love, the sense of belonging that permeated every inch of this place.
It was everything she’d never known she was missing.
For so long, she’d been alone, focused on her career and telling herself that was enough.
But this...this was what family looked like. This was what home felt like.
“Hey,” Liam murmured, tilting her chin up to look at him. “Don’t cry.”
She hadn’t even realized the tears had started. She swiped at them with a laugh that came out watery. “Happy tears,” she assured him. “I just can’t believe this is real. That all of this is mine now.”
His expression softened, his thumb brushing away another tear from her cheek. “It’s real, sweetheart. Every bit of it. You’re a Kinkaid now, which means all of this—all of them—they’re yours. Forever.”
The word forever settled over her like a warm blanket.
She looked around at the celebrating Clan, at the children running through the darkness with sparklers, at the adults gathered around the barbecues, still talking and laughing as night fully descended.
These were her people now. This was her family.
“Thank you,” she whispered, turning back to Liam. “For giving me all of this. For giving me you, and your love, and this incredible family. I don’t even know how to tell you what it means to me.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I can feel it. And Lina, you need to know that you’re not the only one who got everything.
You gave me everything too. You gave me a reason to look forward to the future, instead of just surviving day to day.
You made me believe in love, in forever, and in all the things I thought were just fairy tales before. ”
Another firework exploded overhead, showering them in golden light, and Lina felt her heart swell until she thought it might burst. Around them, the celebration continued.
Music and laughter and the sounds of family surrounded them.
But in this moment, there was only Liam, his arms around her and his love wrapping her in warmth.
“I love you,” she said, the words feeling inadequate for everything she felt.
“I love you too.” He kissed her then, soft and sweet, while fireworks painted the sky above them and his family—their family—celebrated around them. “Always and forever, my beautiful wildcat.”
She kissed him back, tasting joy and promise and home. And as they sat there together on the grass, surrounded by the family she’d never had and the love she’d never dared hope for, Lina knew with absolute certainty that she’d finally found where she belonged.
Not in a place, but with him. Her mate. In his arms, in his heart, and in the life they would build together. This was her home now, her family, and her future.
This was everything.
And it was absolutely perfect.
*
Thanks for reading Knight of Lions.