Epilogue
W e won.
Alderbridge RFC just won the damn final.
The stadium’s still going nuts. People are crying, Rory tackled a coach and got tackled right back, and Harper screamed so loud I’m genuinely worried she popped a blood vessel. I managed to catch about half of it on video before she grabbed Ollie by the collar and kissed him like it was prom night and she had something to prove.
The crowd’s still roaring, smoke cannons are hissing, and I’m standing at the edge of the pitch, phone in hand, mascara halfway down my face, heart absolutely flying.
We did it. We beat Northport Harriers. The dirtiest, cockiest, most smug team in the entire league.
And not only did we beat them—we steamrolled them.
Jax tackled someone so hard he left a dent in the turf. Theo intercepted a pass and ran the whole field like his life depended on it. (I got it in slow-mo. Obviously .) Finn dove for a try that was so dramatic the ref actually fist-bumped him, and Rory didn’t crack a smile until the final whistle; but then he lifted the ball over his head like a war trophy and roared . Like, full-chest, primal sound.
I pan my phone across the chaos. Fans are losing their minds. Some kid is holding up a sign that says Frankie’s Four Alphas Northport’s Front Line, and I zoom in as I snap a photo of it.
I may need that printed on a hoodie.
“Oh, that’s 100% gonna be in the next OSC report,” I mutter.
Theo wraps his arms around me from behind, chin on my shoulder. “Worth it.”
We turn just as Jax jogs over, dried blood on his jersey and a blissed-out smile on his face. “They’re sending me for a concussion test. Again .”
“Did you tackle a player or a goalpost?” I ask.
“Hard to say,” he shrugs. “Felt good either way.”
Finn shows up next, shirtless and grinning. “Did we win?” he laughs. “I swear I blacked out after the second try.”
Rory follows behind him, somehow still holding four water bottles and his phone. “There’s already a video of you kissing the trophy. Twice .”
Finn throws his arms up. “Put it in the highlight reel!”
Tom’s pacing a few feet away, looking like his blood pressure’s never been higher, but he’s grinning anyway. Evie’s standing right next to him, clipboard in one hand, champagne in the other, and smiling . Like, actual human joy.
It’s unsettling.
Theo nudges me. “They’re definitely having sex.”
“No way,” I say.
“Yes way,” he says. “How are you not seeing this? She just hit him with the clipboard and he blushed!”
“Oh my god,” I whisper. “Wait—why do I kind of ship them?!”
Harper pops back into frame, breathless and glittery. “Has anyone seen my bra?”
“Yeah, you tossed it at the ref,” Ollie laughs, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“Oh! Right,” she shrugs, totally unbothered, and kisses him again.
Honestly, it’s a mess . It’s loud and chaotic—and absolutely perfect .
The scouts were here—regional reps, a couple of pro team guys. Rory’s pretending not to care and Theo’s acting relaxed, but I can feel them both buzzing through our bonds. Jax keeps saying he doesn’t want to be recruited, which means he definitely does, and Finn’s already planning our European summer.
“Picture it,” he says. “Pack villa in Italy. Or France. You’d look so good in linen.”
I catch a glimpse of myself in someone’s Instagram story—hair wild, cheeks flushed, surrounded by three shirtless alphas and one who’s definitely emailing a recruiter as we speak.
This is my pack. My choice. My future.
The trolls? The hate? It’s gone quiet. Maybe it’s still there, buried in some dark little corner of the internet, but I’m not looking. It turns out that peace of mind is better than knowing what strangers think— and my mother.
The guys herd me into one last group photo as the crowd begins to thin. Theo’s got an arm over Rory’s shoulder, Jax is flicking whipped cream off Finn’s nose, Harper’s flipping off the scoreboard behind us, and me?
I’m smiling like my life just started.
I kiss Theo for one of the photos, and Finn dips me dramatically and kisses me too.
Rory raises a brow. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” say Jax, Finn, and Theo, in unison .
So Rory rolls his eyes, leans in, and kisses me like it’s a contract negotiation.
Then Jax smirks and whispers, “You ready to go home?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
That’s all it takes. I blink—literally blink —and he throws me over his shoulder.
I scream, laughing as the small crowd around us erupts all over again.
Rory sighs as Theo jogs alongside us, and Finn starts narrating like it’s an ESPN documentary.
And me?
I’m right where I belong.
Because this is what happy looks like.
The End