Epilogue
JAX
The pack meeting room is fuller than I've ever seen it. Three months ago, maybe twenty wolves would show up, most of them, keeping to the edges, ready to bolt. Tonight, nearly sixty pack members fill the space, and some actually sit in the middle rows.
I lean against the wall near the door, positioned where I can watch everything.
Camille sits with the other senior pack members at the front, supporting me, and while she’s not staring right at me, her awareness is there. A warm pulse of contentment mixes with lingering satisfaction from earlier.
Kain stands at the front, relaxed but authoritative. No podium, no elevated platform. Just an alpha speaking to his pack like equals.
"First, let’s welcome back the Morrison family," he says, nodding to a group near the windows. "It's good to have you home."
The returning family shifts nervously, still uncertain of their reception, but several pack members turn to smile at them, genuine warmth in their gestures.
"That makes six families returned so far," Kain continues. "With more reaching out every week."
"Where are we going to put them all?" someone calls from the back. "They left. Now they’re back looking for houses and jobs?"
My wolf stirs, ready to enforce respect, but Kain raises a hand slightly. So, I settle back and watch.
"They were forced out." Kain gives a gentle reminder. "For disagreeing. For being strong enough to pose a threat. For refusing unreasonable demands. That's not leaving, that's survival."
The room goes quiet, remembering.
The old alpha had cast out anyone who challenged him, anyone who might rival his power. Wolves like Wyatt, who were too strong. Families who questioned his methods. Young wolves who showed too much promise.
"We're stronger with them back." Kain continues. "Each returning family brings skills, connections, and strength that we lost. We need them, and they need us. That's what pack means."
A gradual murmur of agreement ripples through the room. Not everyone looks convinced, but it's progress. Three months ago, they wouldn't have even dared voice an opinion.
"Other business." Kain moves on smoothly. "The eastern border patrol reports are good. No incidents this week. The clinic expansion is on schedule, and the youth training program starts next week."
He continues through pack business with the same calm efficiency. When someone raises a concern about food stores for the winter, he addresses it directly. And when a disagreement breaks out about patrol schedules, he mediates without raising his voice.
I watch the pack respond to his leadership style. No threats, no dominance displays, just steady authority.
Some of the older wolves occasionally still flinch when voices raise, expecting punishment for disagreement. But to everyone’s surprise, Kain laughs at a particularly witty barb, and the younger ones start to relax, trusting that disagreement doesn't mean exile.
My job is different. When a wolf in the corner starts getting aggressive about territory disputes, I push off the wall. Don't need to move closer, just let my presence be felt. When the wolf catches sight of me, sees my eyes flash gold, they settle immediately.
Kain and I have found our rhythm. He provides the steady leadership, and I provide the enforcement when needed. Good alpha, bad beta, though it rarely comes to that anymore. My reputation as wild and unpredictable has finally come in useful.
The meeting winds down with logistics and announcements. Pack members file out in small groups, chatting more freely than they used to. The returning families are surrounded by old friends, tentative reunions happening throughout the room.
"Beta Jax?"
I turn to find a woman I don't recognize, though something about her scent is familiar. Pack, but maybe a relation of someone I do know well.
"I'm Helen Reed," she says. "I just returned last week. My sister told me to come, but..." Her voice breaks. "My daughter is still missing."
Kain appears at my shoulder, drawn by the distress in her voice. “Tell us."
"Willow. She's twenty-three now. The old alpha.
.. he wanted her for himself." Helen's hands clench.
"She refused, so he cast her out two years ago.
I couldn't stop him, couldn't..." She takes a shaky breath.
"I've been searching since I left, but rogues are hard to track.
She refused to stay with me in case he found out I was hiding her. "
I grit my teeth.
We’ve heard too many stories like this.
"You know she went rogue?" I ask. “Not to another pack?”
"Where else could she have gone? She had no connections outside the pack, no money. Just what she could carry." Tears track down Helen’s face. "I'm terrified she's still out there, alone, and not knowing everything's changed here. Not knowing it's safe to come home."
I exchange a look with Kain.
Two years as a rogue is hard for any wolf, but for a young female, alone? She might not be safe to bring back if her wolf has been badly affected. But this is what Kain is good at, so I already know we’ll try.
"We’ll do everything we can to bring Willow home," I say. "Wyatt still maintains contacts from his time outside pack structure. I’ll put in a call and see what he can find out. And Camille can check with Zane if they’ve had any contact with a she-wolf fitting her description."
Hope flares in Helen's eyes. "You'd do that? Contact them?"
"I'll call tonight." I promise. "Send me a photo and any information about where she could have gone. Extended family. Friends that mated in other packs."
"Thank you." She grips my hand tightly. "Thank you, both."
After she leaves, Kain turns to me. "Two years is a long time."
"Jamie survived far longer. It's possible." I choose to think positively. “Maybe, she got into another pack.”
Kain’s lips twist in scepticism he doesn’t want to voice with her mother still lingering close by. The odds are slim. Like what happened to Jamie and Wyatt, most packs won’t take a chance on outcasts, assuming they were driven out of their home packs for good reason.
"Make the calls. Use whatever resources we have." He pauses. "Thank you, Jax. I know it’s not easy welcoming in more and more wolves with issues, and that it unsettles your own balance."
"We'll find her," I say. “And we’ll do what we can. Because it’s the right thing to do.” I shrug, surprised at how eager my wolf has been to help others. “It’s not about me.”
Camille's pride washes over me. She's been listening, feeling my determination to help.
"I believe you will." Kain grips my shoulder briefly before heading off to speak with the returning families and leaving me to process.
Three months ago, I was the wolf everyone feared. Now, I'm helping reunite families and building something better from the ashes of an old regime, much like Dean had to do with our pack.
Camille appears at my side, sliding under my arm naturally, then giving my ass a gentle pat. "Ready to head home?"
Always.
"Yeah." I pull her closer. "Need to make some calls when we get back, though."
She rises on her toes to kiss my jaw. "I'm proud of you.” Through our bond, I feel the truth of it. “And I’ll go through our files. If she’s come into contact with the enforcer team, there’ll be a record of it."
We leave together, past pack members, who nod respectfully instead of fearfully. Past returning families settling back into homes they thought were lost forever. Past all the small signs of healing that mark our progress.
Three months in, and Riverside pack is becoming what it should have been all along.
A true home.