Epilogue
1 Year Later
~Hunter
I stroll into the room, feeling the warmth of the evening sun smoothing against my face.
"I think this room is my favourite," I decide after taking a decent amount of time examining it.
It's far too large for what Kaan and I need, but it is stunning. The large window faces out toward a sprawling mountain littered with trees, a river snaking around it and toward the house. The sun now sets behind it, sending rays of light spiralling out across the landscape.
Kaan and I spent a great deal of time choosing this location. It's going to be our home forever, so it had to be perfect.
"Are you certain?" Kaan asks me, running his hand down my back as we collectively gaze out the window.
"Look at that view of the mountain. There is nothing like it," I breathe.
We've spent over an hour now wandering through our freshly built home deciding where everything is going to go. This has been a labour of love for us over the past few months, and has been an excellent distraction amidst everything going on.
Kaan and Azura took their time to grieve their parents in their own way. They have lost two people who helped raise them, and yet, their relationship has always been complicated.
I gave them space during the process. Now, they seem much happier, having dealt with their issues regarding their parents before putting them behind them.
They will always have to work through what happened to them in their childhood, but they are making good progress.
As for me...I'm still working on it.
My father ended his working relationship with Vinn. Emma, my sister, wrote to me asking for a way to escape, having finally came to her senses. Unfortunately for my dear sister, she had to use the same method of escaping via rubbish transport to escape, but now she is making her own life with another man somewhere in this pack. I see her at times, but for now she is enjoying the countryside.
My brother is now working with Kaan on new business deals that are supporting his pack. He no longer has to rely on our father, giving him space to redeem his past behaviour. I'm still working on forgiving him, but when I do occasionally see him, I feel our relationship improving.
My father will always be a threat, but his influence as an Alpha has diminished significantly. I'm hoping I never have to see him again.
"The other room had a view of the forest that you loved as well," Kaan brings up, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"That's true," I note. "But it faces my father's Pack."
"Ah, I see," Kaan murmurs. He knows how desperate I am to put everything behind me. "This room it is."
"It's perfect," I breathe, turning in a circle to take everything in.
Our furniture will be brought in tomorrow to fill the space. I can see myself here forever, and I'm beyond excited to make this place feel more like our own than just another empty place.
Kaan comes up behind me, lifting my hair off my neck. He kisses below my ear, causing my eyes to flutter closed.
"Prepare to be fucked on and against every surface in this room," he murmurs lowly.
"Kaan!" I scold playfully, glancing toward the door that has been left ajar. "Your sister..."
"Is downstairs, don't worry," he assures me, turning me around to face him. I narrow my eyes, seeing the mischievous look on his face. He has no problem taking me wherever he pleases, whenever we please, but now is not the time when his sister is present.
I press a chaste kiss to his lips. "I'm looking forward to everything about our new life here."
"All of the old memories are behind us."
"Have you heard from your grandmother?" I ask him as we head out of the room.
"Tay has been behaving herself. Apparently my grandmother has chosen to grow an orchard, and Tay has been helping her." Kaan smile is partially amused knowing his sister is, to a degree, suffering from her circumstance. "This hard work is good for her, but it will be a great deal of time before she will be able to reintegrate into society, if ever."
I sigh through my nose as we head downstairs.
The situation with Tay is complicated. There will be plenty of evaluations occurring before we ever trust her again. Even then, I'm not sure Kaan will be able to overcome what she did to his parents. I'm not sure I'll ever want to live a life knowing she is out there, capable of hurting us, but in the future that may change.
"We'll keep an eye on her," I say eventually.
We make it to the empty dining room, seeing Tay sitting on stretched out blanket on the floor, her legs folded as she places different plates of food across it.
"Thanks for laying all the food out," Kaan exclaims as we sit down with her. "Have you picked your room?"
She nods eagerly, pointing to her right. "Over there."
I know where she is referring. It's one of the only bedrooms downstairs, and I had a feeling she would choose it. She spent far too much time being locked away upstairs.
Azura looks so much better, so much brighter here. She has truly come into herself since her parents died, and has even been undergoing speech therapy. I learned that she lost her voice after she attempted to kill her parents from the shock. Now, it's slowly returning.
"Next to the library. Excellent choice," I muse, catching a smile in return.
It was very quickly established after everything happened that Azura never hated me. She wanted me to leave the estate because she wanted to protect me from what she knew Tay was capable of.
Now, we have started an incredible friendship I value dearly.
"Don't forget about your art studio outside as well. We had it especially built for you," Kaan notes, unfolding a steaming pile of food from a wrapper.
"That doesn't mean you are forced to stay here. Anytime you want to leave, you can," I remind her.
I've learnt with Azura that she doesn't want to be locked in. When she wants to wander into the forest, or disappear into the town for a few days, we allow her too.
"Thank you," she murmurs.
"Now, this food has come from all the local spots from the nearby village. I figured we can't move into a new home without determining where we are going to eat when we tire of the cooks food," Kaan exclaims, gesturing for me to dig in.
There is definitely more food than we could ever need sitting right here, but at least it will sustain us as leftovers while we undergo the arduous moving process.
"Good decision." I take a bite out of some kind of crispy pastry with meat inside it.
Kaan leans back on his hands, gazing around the beautiful dining room before down at us. "I don't think I've ever been happier."
"Me too. When I ran away from my father that first time, I never expected I would make a life like this. I'm protected, but I'm free," I admit, closing my eyes for a moment so I can admire the sounds of nature.
We specifically built this place to be emersed in nature, while also being near a road that can take Kaan and I anywhere in the pack when we are needed.
"And you're going to be an incredible Luna," Kaan breathes. I open my eyes to see him gazing at me lovingly, his eyes a more vibrant green than I have ever seen them before.
"And you're going to be an even better Alpha now that you can rule how you want to," I tell him with a soft smile.
There was a time where he wanted to cease being an Alpha, until he realised his resentment for the position came from his mother and father and their control over him. He has always had ideas for his pack that they wouldn't allow him to conduct without interfering.
"I love you," Kaan states, before his eyes sweep to his sister. "And I love you, Azura."
"I love you both," I affirm, reaching over to squeeze Kaan's hand.
Azura takes a moment, summoning the words before she says them. "Love you too."
"Now let's eat till we are sick," Kaan says with joy, pushing some more food toward Azura, who digs into it immediately.
I smile to myself. I chose the right life, and I couldn't be happier.
Thank you all for reading this story to completion, it means a lot!