Epilogue #2
“You’re spoilt for choice today,” I tease, and Seth grins.
“I know. Pretty ladies and pretty men, and the irony is that I’m not even going to bother trying to pick someone up for the night, because my itinerary after the show involves my fully shifted ass sleeping outside your hotel room door.”
“I’m sorry”
“It’s fine. I had a good date this week already. I might call her back.”
“You’re terrible.”
“I’m just not interested in a relationship anytime soon, so it’s always the toss up between having a second date because the sex was really good and risking them thinking that it means more than it does, or just finding someone new. Which isn’t hard to do, so…” He shrugs.
It’s quieter in the small hallway where the bathrooms are, though the line to the ladies’ is still excessively long. “I bet there’s no one even in the men’s,” Seth says. “Come on.”
“But —”
“It’ll be fine, trust me.” His wolfish smile is as charming as ever, and I see at least a few more women eyeing him up as we walk past the queue. “Look, I was right,” he says, pushing the door open. “Completely empty. You can piss in peace.”
“Thank you,” I laugh, following behind him. He disappears into the first stall while I pick one further down, grateful that this bathroom looks pristine.
“Hey, I’ve got a question,” he asks a minute later, his voice echoing off the tiles. “Do you remember anything about that other realm? Any people?”
A shiver runs down my spine as I stand and adjust my clothes. “No.” No, a hundred and ten years, and it’s nothing but emptiness in my mind.
There’s a pause, and his voice sounds choked on the other side of the door. “No one at all?”
The flush of the toilet seems overly loud. I shake my head as I open the stall, meeting his gold eyes in the bathroom mirror. This is the most serious that I’ve ever seen him. “No one. I don’t remember a thing. I’m thankful that I don’t. You know what Zak saw.”
“Yeah, I do.” We’d all been interrogated by the coven after that night, and Zak had revealed how he’d seen me lying in a field of mushrooms, looking freshly-dead, my eyes staring blankly up at the sky.
“I don’t like thinking about it,” I say quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry I brought it up.” He doesn’t say why he did, but from the haunted look on his face, all I can guess is that it gives him the same sense of terror that it does me.
“I owe you my thanks.” My hands shake as I reach for a paper towel, half expecting my fingers to pass right through it.
I still dream of when I was a ghost often.
“I don’t think I ever said it directly to you.
Thank you, Seth, for helping to pull me out that night.
You saved my life.” I remember the warmth of his magic on my arm, and the hope it had given me in the middle of that horror.
He nods, dark brows drawn down in a frown, but he’s interrupted by a blaring, disembodied voice that makes me jump in fright.
“This is a reminder that the show will begin in five minutes,” the female voice says in a very obvious Australian accent, and I realise it’s the radio system. “Please make your way to your seats.” Seth’s hand lands on my arm, a sympathetic smile on his lips.
“It’s just the loudspeaker,” he says. “We’re fine.”
“I’m still getting used to this world!” I press my hand over my heart, feeling it beat wildly beneath my palm.
“Trust me, I get it. You’re doing way better than most people would.”
“It’s because I have good people around me,” I say. “We better get back. I know you don’t want to miss any part of the show. Especially the full-frontal moments.”
The crowd — primarily women, though there’s some men dotted around the theatre — cheers and shrieks and whoops as the man on stage — Nathan, the werewolf Seth had pointed out earlier — performs a series of flips while completely nude, with only a small towel held to his crotch.
Ellie’s gasp is loud as Nathan proceeds to toss that final item in the air before cartwheeling around, everything on full display, the feral sounds of delighted screaming filling the air as he runs off stage.
“Oh my god.”
I laugh at my sister’s expression.
“I didn’t think they were allowed to do that?!”
“They’re allowed. Happy?” I ask, turning to Seth.
He nods his head, a smile splaying on his lips.
Van simply rolls his eyes. The reality is that wolves don’t even care about nudity — I’ve accidentally come across both Livingston brothers naked while wandering the vineyard, simply because they’ve been shifting — but there’s something about this environment that seems to titillate audience members, the atmosphere working up to a frenzy at the climax of each performance.
“Does Zak do that?” Seth asks.
“No. He keeps the towel on.” Each performer has their own levels of comfort, and for Zak, he simply says he’s happy to leave his penis up to the imagination of the audience.
“Alright Melbourne!” Leigh, dressed in her MC outfit, yells into her microphone. “How was that?!”
The noise from the audience is deafening.
“Fantastic, right?! That was the first half of the show! Feel free to go out into the foyer, some of the men will be out there selling our t-shirts, go and get a photo with them, grab yourself some more drinks, and make sure you’re back in here in twenty minutes for the second half.
I promise you, you won’t want to miss it! ”
“Okay, I need to pee. Badly,” Ellie announces, and Van gets to his feet, helping her out of her chair. I watch her waddle away, Van’s hand holding hers tight as they navigate the crowd at the doors. When I look back at the stage, Zak is crossing it, heading directly for me.
This isn’t part of his usual routine.
He’s all smiles as he passes other women, using his customer service grin even as he dodges some roaming hands. He’s back in a black t-shirt now, paired with jeans and sneakers, and greets me with a “Hey babe,” and a quick kiss as he takes the seat Ellie vacated.
“I knew you were planning something tonight,” I say, and he laughs.
“If you want to, I want you to come with me.”
I tilt my head, pretending to think about it, as if I would ever say no to my sweet man.
“I feel like it’s a little unfair to the paying customers,” I tell him, “but I’ve been wondering when you might try this.
” Zak’s solo routine is at the end of the show, and involves a lap dance that ends with the audience member on the floor, with Zak flipping them around by the legs and giving them a cheeky slap on the bottom.
“I told you your face gave it away this afternoon.”
“I know, I could tell you knew the moment you put on your good undies and the short skirt. Come on. We’ve gotta get you prepped.”
“Have fun!” Seth waves as I allow Zak to lead me away.
I’ve been on stage during rehearsals often enough to know what the heat of the lights feel like, and I’ve seen Zak’s performance time and time again, to the point that I anticipate every move he makes.
So when I’m led out onto the stage while blindfolded, I’m not at all surprised. The chair I’m guided to feels exactly as I anticipated, and the noise of the crowd isn’t any different from any other night.
Then the music starts.
It’s not the usual track Zak dances to, but the song Zak danced to in my old house on the first night we moved from friends to something more.
I blink back happy tears as he removes the blindfold and plants a kiss on my cheek, and while most of the audience thinks this is all just an act, I know this performance is just for me.
I love you, he mouths as he rolls his hips in front of my face, his g-string clad bottom to the audience.
“I love you too.”
I could not imagine in my wildest dreams that this is where I’d end up in life, but as I’m lifted into the air and spun onto the floor, the love of my life dancing over me, all I can do is laugh and smile and take in all of this joy.
Life with Zak is an adventure, and we’re only just getting started.
The End… of Zak and Rose’s story.
If you would like to turn the page for the bonus epilogue from a different character’s point of view, you can do so now.