Epilogue
FIVE YEARS LATER
SAWYER
“Madison Reese, do not feed your little brother mud pies!” I’m adding that to the mental list of things I never thought I’d have to say before having kids.
Henry laughs in the lawn chair beside me, his baby daughter, Eloise, snuggled in his arms, and I arch a brow at him.
“Just wait, man. One day you’ll turn your back, and Jackson will be putting worms in little Ellie’s sandwiches.
You won’t be laughing then.” I pinch the bridge of my nose when my five-year-old daughter streaks past in a blur of maniacal laughter with a handful of mud as she sets her sights on her cousin, rather than her two-year-old brother, and gives chase.
Henry’s son, Jackson, squeals, his three-year-old legs pumping as hard as they can as he runs away from her.
“Probably,” Henry agrees. He smiles, as if he thinks it’ll be cute and not absolutely fucking exhausting.
We lapse into companionable silence—the kind borne from decades of friendship and understanding—as we watch our families mingle in the thick August heat.
It’s so much like the same day five years ago, when Liv went into labor with Maddie, but this time, we’re in our backyard, celebrating said daughter’s fifth birthday.
So much has changed since that day, and yet, so much has remained the same.
We’re surrounded by many of the same people we were the day Liv went into labor, but there are faces here this year that couldn’t be present then.
Nigel stands with his arm around Emeline while Theodore stands on her other side, holding her hand.
The drug Liv helped create has been a huge success, and it’s given thousands of omegas their lives back, including Emeline.
Watching Nigel’s pack heal from everything they endured after Trevor’s death and Emeline’s sickness has been amazing.
And it’s knit us all together in a big way.
Maddie and Ryland call Emeline Grandma and Nigel and Theo are both Grandpa.
Our kids have a lot of those. Liv’s dads have been a steady presence.
They put in a lot of work to mend their relationship with their daughter after everything blew up the night our mating was revealed.
Liv cut her mom out of her life, but her dads couldn’t stand the idea of losing their daughter.
Luckily for them, Liv didn’t like the idea of going no contact, either.
They’ll never have a perfect relationship, but it’s more than Liv ever expected.
My dads mingle with Liam’s, and Hayes and Wilder’s parents are around here somewhere.
Then there’s Henry, Verity, their pack and two kids.
Cici—who is the kids’ favorite aunt because she’s so much closer to their ages and always makes them laugh—chases the kids around the yard.
Our circle is vast now. Chaotic. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
My attention shifts to my beautiful omega as she kneels in front of our sullen son, an eternally patient look on her face.
“No, Ryland, you can’t have ice cream yet. Not until after you eat dinner, and then you can have some with your cake.”
Our two-year-old son pouts, his lower lip jutting out as he levels his mom with big, brown puppy-dog eyes. “Pwease, Mommy?”
“Mom said no, squirt,” Hayes admonishes, scooping up our son.
He blows a raspberry on Ry’s chubby tummy, making our toddler squeal with laughter.
To the outside world, Hayes can come off as gruff and quiet, but he’s neither of those things with our family.
He’s the gentle backbone of Pack Flynn, and he’s taken to being a dad in a way none of us could have foreseen.
Hell, he’s even pulled back on the restoration projects he accepts, and the last few years have seen the demand for his services skyrocket.
“Why don’t you go find Grammy Emmie and ask her to read you a book?” Liv suggests, tapping her finger ever-so-gently on Ryland’s little nose. “She told me she’s been missing snuggles with her Ry-Ry.”
That has Ryland perking up in Hayes's arms, and his little mouth curves in a bright smile. “Okay!” He wiggles until Hayes relents and sets him on his feet, then he’s off like a shot, his short, chubby legs carrying him precariously fast through the grass.
“Good thinking,” Hayes says to Liv, pulling her into his arms. She melts against him, her eyes fluttering closed as she rests her cheek on his chest and he runs his fingers through her hair. “Tired, vixen?”
She grins. “Always. But it’s a good tired.”
“We’ll make sure you get to sleep in tomorrow,” he replies.
“Yeah.” Wilder walks up and smacks Liv’s ass, earning a squeal and a censuring look. “And tonight I’m going to tire you out real good, so you sleep like a rock.”
Our omega’s vanilla and honey scent blooms with the sweet hint of arousal, and the twins groan. Liv rolls her eyes and pushes away from them. “This is a family party, you two.”
“Are your alphas not behaving themselves?” Liam grabs Liv’s hand and spins her around so she’s pressed to his chest. “Because we can put them on butt-wiping duty for the next month.”
Wilder shudders. “Please, no, sweetness. I don’t know what Ryland’s been eating lately, but it makes me gag every time.”
Henry laughs as we watch the rest of my pack negotiate parenting duties and make our mate smile so brightly, her face must hurt. “Did you ever think things would turn out like this?”
I shake my head. “Not even for a second. But I’m sure as hell glad they did.”
Liv has always been a part of my life, and I’ve always loved her.
When we were kids, I loved her in the protective way you care for someone smaller than you, someone who preens under your attention.
When we were teenagers, those feelings shifted into something I thought I needed to fight.
Liv was Henry’s little sister, and I was too old for her.
I kept my distance as she grew into a young woman as much as I could, but I never stopped caring.
Then, that night in the restaurant with that pack of jackasses, I fell for the beautiful, awkward, unsure adult version of Olivia.
I’ve loved every iteration of Liv, but this current version of her? The one where she’s always smiling, the one where she rocks our kids to sleep and looks gorgeous despite the bags under her eyes, the one where she’s confident and knows she’s loved? This version of Liv may be my very favorite.
Henry claps me on the back, his tone wistful. “I’m glad too. I’ve never seen my sister so happy. Or my best friend. It may have taken a little getting used to, but I think you were always meant for each other.” He grins. “And now we’re really brothers.”
“That, we are.”
A small child shrieks behind us, and Henry and I both turn.
“It’s mine,” he says with a sigh. “Duty calls.”
I chuckle as I watch my best friend help one of his packmates explain to their son that the present he’s trying to rip open is for his cousin Maddie. Tears are shed, eyes are rolled, and long hugs are given.
“Oh, children,” a feminine voice says from beside me as my mate loops her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “They’re so cute, even if their brains are underdeveloped and they have no impulse control.”
“I’ll remind you that you said that later when one of our kids pees in a potted plant because it looks fun.”
One of Liv’s eyebrows rises as she looks up at me. “That is an awfully specific example, Sawyer. Do I want to know?”
My upper body shakes as I try to hold in my laughter, and I pull my beautiful omega tighter against my side. “Doubt it.”
“Noted.”
We stand in comfortable silence, enjoying this rare bubble of quiet amidst the chaos around us. Then again, Olivia is always my peace in the chaos.
“I love you,” I whisper into her hair. “Are you happy?”
My omega looks up at me, her cheek pressed to my shoulder, and the smile she gives me steals the breath from my lungs. “Completely. Perfectly. Always.”
Then all is as it should be. And we’ll do everything in our power to make sure it stays that way. No matter what life throws in our path.