Epilogue
LYNX
“You sure about this?” Callum asks, sitting next to me on the steps in front of the house.
It’s the same thing he asked me when I stupidly thought sending Morgan away was a good idea. And my answer is pretty much the same one I gave him then.
“Nope.”
He laughs.
Morgan glances over his shoulder and rolls his eyes, because unlike last time, he can now hear everything we say. Even though he’s a good thirty feet away.
Callum nudges my shoulder. “Do you trust Ash?”
“I don’t know him well enough for that. But I trust Morgan’s judgement. And that’s good enough for me.” I know Morgan heard that because I get a wave of warmth through our bond. It makes me smile, and Callum sighs.
His gaze flicks from me to Morgan. “I didn’t think a bond was something I ever wanted, but got to say, I’m a little jealous with how sickeningly happy you two are.” There’s a wistfulness to his voice, a hint of longing in his scent, and it’s enough to make me turn to face him.
“There’s no reason why you can’t have this too.”
He scoffs. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious.”
Another sigh. “I know you are, but we don’t exactly meet a lot of new shifters, unless we rescue them from fight rings. And Nico aside, they don’t tend to stick around.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“No.”
“Why not?”
He nudges me again, harder this time, so I almost fall off the step. “As cute as Nico is, I like my men a little bigger, rougher around the edges. And I’m pretty sure Nico already has his eye on someone.”
Yeah, I think he’s right about that. I don’t get chance to ask him to explain, though, because there’s movement at the gate.
Ash has arrived.
Morgan’s nervous. I can feel it. I don’t want to call him out on it, because he wouldn’t thank me for bringing that up where everyone can hear. And I can already sense Mal and Flint getting closer.
Sure enough, about ten seconds later, they appear around the side of the house.
“Did we miss anything?” Flint asks, rubbing his hands.
“No.” Callum gestures at the car driving slowly towards us. “Ash just got here.”
“Excellent.” Flint grins as he and Mal take a seat on top of the picnic bench.
Morgan glances back over his shoulder, eyes narrowed as he directs a pointed look at Callum, then Flint and Mal. “Be nice. Please .”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Mal has a glint to his eyes that I’m pretty fucking sure spells trouble.
The four of us watch Ash’s car approach, finally coming to a stop beside Morgan. He gets out and immediately pulls Morgan into a hug. I swallow down the instinct to growl. This is his best friend. I need to get used to the idea of Ash touching him if I don’t want to piss Morgan off.
I catch Callum’s smirk out of the corner of my eye. “Fuck off,” I mutter, making him laugh.
The sound catches both Morgan’s and Ash’s attention. He pulls back from the hug and glances over at us. We’re still far enough away that Ash assumes we can’t hear him if he whispers.
“What’s going on, Mor?” Ash looks our way again, frowning, and either it’s my imagination or his gaze lingers on Callum.
I glance at Callum to see if he noticed too and get a death glare in return. Oh yeah, he noticed. I’m not sure whether to laugh or groan.
Objectively, Ash is a good-looking guy. Taller than Morgan by a couple of inches, broader too. Black hair that’s shaved at the sides and a strong jaw that’s clenched so hard I can see it from here.
“What d’you mean?” Morgan hedges, and I’m not at all surprised by the look Ash sends him.
“Well, let’s see,” he says quietly, but there’s no mistaking the hurt and frustration in his voice.
He knows Morgan well enough to recognise when he’s being evasive.
“You said you were going away for a while. But you’re back after a couple of weeks, and instead of coming home or even letting me know that you’re on your way back.
.. you come here instead.” He holds his arms out wide.
His T-shirt is tight enough to reveal a nicely toned body underneath his clothes. He looks like he’s built, enough muscle to manhandle a bloke, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into.
Which Callum is.
I glance at him again, but he’s too focused on Ash to notice me looking.
“So I’ll ask you again,” Ash says, voice rising. “What the fuck is going on?”
I bite back the urge to bare my teeth. I mean, I get why he’s pissed off, but my bond with Morgan is still new enough that I want to snarl at anyone who upsets him.
“Easy, tiger.” Callum’s hand lands on my arm. “He’s just hurting.”
I turn to face him, more than a little surprised that he’s defending Ash.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he scoffs. “Even I can tell he’s worried, not angry.” He glares at me until I sigh.
“I know. It’s just hard.”
“That’s what he said,” Flint says under his breath, and the others laugh.
Morgan sends a glare Flint’s way, then turns back to face Ash. I notice the rise of his chest as he takes a deep breath in.
Here it comes.
“I’ve joined the Wild Wolves.”
We thought it’d be better to tell Ash this first, rather than hit him with the whole shifter thing right off the bat. Judging by his expression, it’s a fucking good job too.
Ash opens his mouth, then closes it again, eyes wide. He looks over at the four of us, gaze lingering like he’s trying to work out if maybe we’re keeping Morgan here by force. He closes his eyes, and I imagine him counting to ten in his head. Then he looks at Morgan, forehead scrunched. “Why?”
I feel a wave of warmth and affection through the bond and Morgan looks back over his shoulder and smiles.
Ash groans. “Seriously?” He looks between me and Morgan, confusion evident. “How? You haven’t even been here...” He trails off, as the realisation that his best friend has lied to him slowly sinks in. The scent of betrayal leaves a bitter tang in the air.
Callum sighs next to me. “Shit.”
“ Ash .” Morgan takes a step towards him, but Ash holds up his hands and shakes his head.
“Have you been here this whole fucking time?” he asks softly. The hurt in those eight words is palpable from here. I can only imagine how it’s affecting Morgan. “The truth, Mor.”
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” Ash drops to his knees, like he’s been punched. Like that one admission has knocked the wind out of him. He runs a shaky hand through his hair, looking totally fucking lost.
Callum fidgets beside me, hands clenching into fists where they rest on his thighs.
“I can explain.” Morgan takes a tentative step towards him, stopping when Ash lifts his head. He looks gutted.
“Jesus.” Callum winces. “He looks like someone died.” He sighs and scrubs a hand over his face. “Can you imagine what it’ll be like when Morgan tells him the rest?”
Yes. And I’m starting to wonder if he should tell him.
Sensing my sudden indecision, Morgan glances back and gives a slight shake of his head.
“I don’t think he’s going to. Not today anyway.”
Callum grunts in response, whatever that means.
“Will you let me explain?” Morgan prompts when Ash still hasn’t said anything. He holds a hand out to him, and I hold my breath, willing Ash to fucking take it.
Finally, he reaches out and lets Morgan haul him to his feet. “Do you promise to tell me everything?” Ash asks. “No more fucking lies, Morgan.”
Morgan swallows. “No more lies.”
“And you’re okay, right?” He casts an assessing gaze over him, looking for evidence to the contrary.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
Ash nods. “Good.”
“Good.”
They both stare at each other and then grin.
Ash rolls his eyes. “Come here, you fucking arsehole.” He pulls Morgan into a hug and they cling tightly to each other. “You know I hate being mad at you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
They hug it out for a little longer before stepping back and the tension between them has almost disappeared.
“I will tell you everything,” Morgan says, grimacing.
“But it’s a lot. I thought maybe, for today, I’ll tell you a little bit and we could just hang out.
” He offers Ash a tentative smile. “I’ve fucking missed you. ”
“I’ve fucking missed you too.” Ash waits a beat before adding, “And yeah, fine. But you’re telling me soon, like in the next few days, Mor.”
Morgan nods. “Promise.”
“Oh,” Ash says, like he’s just remembered something. “What about uni? Our final year starts soon.”
“I’m going back,” Morgan states glancing back at me.
His tone leaves no room for discussion, but we’re going to have to talk about that at some point.
He gestures towards the forest behind the house. “Let’s go for a walk.” He sends us all a pointed look. “Somewhere with less of an audience.”
Ash startles, like he’d forgotten we were here. His gaze follows Morgan’s, sweeping over the four of us in turn, and I know I didn’t imagine it this time. He definitely gave Callum a second look.
“Yeah,” Ash agrees. “As hot as they are, they’re still fucking scary.”
I lean into Callum and whisper, “He means me.”
Morgan tries to disguise his laughter as a cough.
Fails.
“I still can’t believe you’re fucking Lynx Harper,” Ash muses as they head towards the trees. “You are, right?”
“Yeah, I am.” He sounds smug, and I flash Callum a shit-eating grin.
“You lucky fucker.”
Morgan laughs. “Right?”
They’re almost to the treeline when Ash says, “Never thought they’d bother with anyone outside of their club.”
“Well, technically, he hasn’t since I’m part of it now.”
“I guess,” Ash muses. “Pretty sure that’s a step too far for me.” He laughs.
“I knew you liked him.” Morgan nudges his shoulder.
Ash nudges him back. “Fuck off.”
They’re laughing as they enter the forest, the rest of their conversation lost to the trees.
“Hmm... Who do you think they were talking about?” Flint’s eyes shine with amusement as he looks at Callum.
“Don’t start.”
“What? I didn’t even say anything.” He shares a knowing look with Mal, and I almost feel sorry for Callum. They both laugh when he bares his teeth at them and make the wise decision to be somewhere else.