43. Harper
FORTY-THREE
HARPER
The pills took effect quickly. After losing my own memories, it was uncomfortable seeing the forgetting serum in action. But anything was better than two more dead bodies.
In less than a minute, the Carders went from furious and frustrated, to disoriented and clueless. They peered around the room with doe-like eyes, cowering in their binds.
“W-where am I?” Michelle stuttered, frowning at her husband. “W-who are you?” She looked down at her hands, bound by thick rope. “Is that an age spot?” She crinkled her nose in disgust.
“I-I’m not sure where we are. This isn’t my dorm room,” Maximus muttered. He strained against the ties, but pulled back when he saw Wyatt and Jax. “W-what do you want from us?” he mumbled, his voice shaking. “If it’s money you’re after, I’m sure my p-parents will pay. They’re very wealthy, as I’m sure you must know.”
“I had Tim formulate the pills to take them back to the earliest intel we have of Maximus’ experimentations,” Wyatt said. “They think they’re in their first year of college.”
Jax frowned. “Are we going to release them back into Seattle?”
“Of course not. There’d be too many questions. I’ll have my secretary draft a PR statement celebrating Grandview’s takeover of Carder Corporation and all its subsidiaries. I think these two will really enjoy their new positions as…” Wyatt rubbed his chin thoughtfully, the thick, grizzled hairs moving against his thumb. “Janitors. In our mines.” A sly smile spread from cheek to cheek.
Laughter bubbled up within me. The Carders had caused anguish for so many that I felt zero empathy for them. For a woman as vain as Michelle Carder, I couldn’t think of a worse punishment than wearing soot-covered overalls day in and day out.
“Very good,” Jax said.
The pops of gunfire began to subside, but my ears still ached from the ongoing explosions. A youthful-looking man with white hair hanging past his knees appeared in the doorway, flanked by some of Wyatt’s crew.
“Ayan,” the Yeti woman said. “You bring good news, I trust?”
“Ekaterina,” he said. He bowed first to her, and then to Wyatt and Jax. “It is done. The building is contained.”
My shoulders sagged in relief as the sasquatches broke into calls of triumph. Their hollering thundered off the cubicles, cracking the overhead lights.
The Yeti man continued to speak over the noise. “All are accounted for. Including this prisoner we found in one of the labs.” He curled his finger, gesturing behind him.
As if on cue, Atticus strode into the room. He looked slightly beat up, but seemed fine. The cheering from the sasquatches grew louder at their brother’s safe return.
“Is it really over?” Savannah asked, tears streaming down her face. We embraced, sobbing into each other’s arms.
“I think so,” I said. The Carders’ reign of terror was finally over.
As I released Savannah from my arms, I caught Wyatt’s gaze. Although no words passed between us, his eyes spoke volumes, filled with a tenderness I hadn’t seen before. But now wasn’t the time. There were far bigger things to deal with, and he ripped his eyes away from me, turning instead to the man who had bared the brunt of his wrath. Joe.
He extended his hand, shaking.
My dad accepted the peace offering, grasping Wyatt’s hand.
Wyatt cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to say…”
“It wasn’t your fault, son.” He patted Wyatt on the back, a fatherly gesture, even though Wyatt was the taller and bigger of the two. “You couldn’t help yourself. Besides, I’m the one that owes you an apology; that owes you all an apology. I’m the reason you’re in this mess in the first place.” He reached to the back of his head, and before anyone could stop him, pulled a similar-looking implant from the back of his skull. The sound of ripping hair and skin was more jarring than nails on a chalkboard.
Wyatt gave an approving nod. “How were you able to fight the implant, anyway?”
He stared at the thick chunk of metal in his hand. “It was Harper. Her singing helped me come back. The lyrics must have triggered some kind of oxytocin release in my brain, one that their chips couldn’t hold up against. I guess it’s true what they say. The love of family is stronger than anything.”
His words settled around me like a thick, cozy blanket. Family .
He was right. In the end, family was what mattered. Just like I was able to save my father, it was Jax who was able to get through to Wyatt when it mattered most. Jax was Wyatt’s brother, in the truest sense of the word – loyal, supportive, and steadfast.
“Fiona,” Wyatt barked.
Fiona straightened, bracing herself for reprimand. “Yes, Boss?”
“Can I trust you to get them back to Seattle?” He gestured to Savannah, Dad and me.
“You got it, Boss.”
As Wyatt continued to bark out orders, I grabbed Dad’s hand. He had regained some of his features now that he wasn’t being controlled by the implant, but he was still a sasquatch. I had to accept that even though the Carders’ reign had ended, some things were forever changed. In my other hand, I gripped Savannah’s. My family , I thought, following Fiona out the door, past the bumbling Carders.
I paused at the doorway just long enough to catch Wyatt’s eye. “See you at home,” I mouthed, catching a glimmer of hope spark in his eyes before I disappeared down the hallway.
Throughout the evening, the mansion grew louder and more rambunctious, as more sasquatches and Yeti joined the festivities. It was a night of celebration, and the upbeat rhythms of the samba music blasted at full volume. It felt like the entire house was shaking, but for once, I didn’t mind. They had good reason to celebrate.
My dad was treated like a hero. Word had spread about his sacrifice in exchange for Atticus, and he’d spent most of the evening pounding back vodka shots with the Yeti, exchanging stories about the Amazon rainforest with the South Americans, and challenging some of Wyatt’s more youthful crew members to arm wrestling. It was refreshing to see this side of him, a side that I barely remembered from my own youth.
Savannah had gone home to piece together the apartment. Connor would be back soon, without the extra ammo – or any of his comrades. Bannon and the wolves were staying in the Dakotas, though it sounded as though the sasquatches and wolves had come to some kind of agreement should either side ever require backup. While they’d never be friends, they’d learned to co-exist in the world.
The true star of the night was Wyatt. I watched from the shadows as he conversed throughout the mansion with ease, the Wyatt Westwood charm that had made him so infamous on full display. Although ultimately, it was Jax who’d saved the day. But Jax didn’t seem to care for any attention or celebration. He was completely smitten with his new fiancée, who straddled his lap passionately on the couch by the fireplace. As she tugged her fingers through his thick hair, I had to turn away, blushing at such a public display of intimacy. Phoebe and Atticus were passionately kissing in the opposite corner, and I left the room before it could turn into a big sasquatch orgy.
I kept bouncing from room to room, not really fitting in anywhere, and trying to avoid the one person I truly despised – Valentina. I still hadn’t had a moment alone with Wyatt, and my mind raced with all the words I longed to say. But as the clock ticked closer to midnight, I felt myself yawning, the exhaustion finally catching up to me. I would go hide out in the library, where I wouldn’t be missed.
Without Savannah, it was lonely. I was an outsider, the only human in a house filled with supernatural creatures. Even my dad belonged more than me.
“Not up for celebrating?” A striking Yeti woman caught me as I was halfway up the stairs. With haunting blue eyes, and her long white hair tied in a fishtail braid, she looked like a real-life version of a character from Frozen .
I paused with my hand on the thick marble banister. “I didn’t think I would be missed,” I admitted.
She nodded. “Where I come from, humans and Yeti live amongst each other, and have for generations. Maybe one day, you will too.” Her eyes softened. “Forgive me, though. Your attention is needed elsewhere.”
Before she could explain herself, Wyatt appeared at the bottom of the stairway. Dressed in a collared shirt with a clean-shaven face, he looked more like the billionaire businessman I’d fallen in love with – and still loved.
“Can we talk?” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke. He seemed nervous, his hand darting in and out of his pocket. The Yeti woman disappeared back to the festivities.
I nodded, and he followed me up the stairs and down the west wing, past his bedroom, to my favorite room in the mansion, my library. I paused outside, my hand frozen on the doorknob, my brain shouting at me to stop. But my heart, that damn illogical beating machine, propelled me forward.
Wyatt followed me inside, to where the soft glow of the chandelier bathed the room in sparkles. “Harper,” he began, “I—”
I placed my finger to his lips and he moaned lightly against the contact of my skin, his lips parting slightly. “I thought I lost you today,” I whispered.
“I thought I lost myself.” He kissed the tip of my finger then brushed his lips against my knuckles. His breath felt warm on my skin, bringing all my senses alive. “I thought that being a sasquatch was all there was to me – my only purpose, my only identity. But then I met you.” His hand shook as he reached into his pocket. When he pulled it back out, his fingers were curled tight. “You changed me, Harper. For the better. I want to be a man who deserves you, a man who’s worthy of you. I want to spend my lifetime making you happy.”
As he slowly uncurled his fingers, my heart raced wildly, pounding against my rib cage. But instead of the sparkle of a diamond, a chalky white circle appeared. My brow furrowed slightly as I searched his face for answers.
“I want to give you the world,” he continued, “and that includes having a family.”
I frowned at the small white pill. “I don’t understand,” I whispered.
He smiled nervously. “Tim finally perfected it. The gene reversal,” he said, unable to hide the excitement from his voice.
“You mean…” My voice shook as the pieces came together. “You want to become human,” I whispered, afraid to say the words out loud – afraid of what they meant.
He swallowed hard and nodded, closing my hand over his. Underneath our skin, lay the solution to all of our problems.
“Wyatt.” I shook my head forcefully. “You can’t. You said you’d rather die than live as a human.” My lower lip trembled.
“That was before. The decision is mine to make.” He leaned his forehead onto mine. “And I’ve already made it. I choose you , Harper. I choose us. Just like you’ve chosen me, time and time again.”
“No, Wyatt.” I shook my head, harder this time. “I don’t want this.”
He pulled back as if he’d been stabbed, his face falling into a mask of pain. “As you wish.” His voice turned cold as stone. He slid the pill back into his pocket and turned to leave.
I grabbed his bicep to stop him. “No, wait. Please.” Even with his face turned away from me, I could see that my words had hurt him. “I love you. But I don’t want you to be anyone other than yourself. I love you for who you are; for what you are. And that’s not being human.” I gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Wyatt, look at me.”
His face was a heartbreaking blend of confusion and pain. I reached for his cheek to caress it. He leaned into my fingers and closed his eyes, sighing heavily, his breath warming my skin.
“Wyatt,” I whispered. “I realized today that family is the most important thing. You need your sasquatch family, just like I need my parents and Savannah. Family isn’t blood, it’s the people you choose. Like Jax, your chosen brother, who was able to bring you back to us when no one else could. So… I choose you, Wyatt. I choose us . But as we are.”
“But…” His head hung low. “I can’t give you the one thing you truly desire. I can’t give you a baby. If I was human…”
I let the silence sit heavy between us. “If you were human, you wouldn’t be Wyatt Westwood. And he’s the man I fell in love with; the man I want to grow old with, for as long as we have together. We’ll find other ways to be a family, whether it’s through adoption, or by just being amazing aunts and uncles. I don’t need an ordinary life. I’ve got something far better – you.” Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. For once, it felt like everything made sense.
Wyatt brushed the tears away, kissing me softly at first, then more urgently, until our hands were everywhere. Without warning, he wrapped my legs around his waist and spun me around, our laughter echoing through the library as the bookshelves spun by in a whirlwind of pages and color.
“You’ve made me the happiest man, Harper. I promise I’ll spend my lifetime, and yours, making it worthwhile. Starting tonight.” His eyes bore into mine with such intensity, I could feel the familiar ache between my thighs begin to grow. As he laid me gently on the rug, his leg pressing into my thighs, forcing them apart, I sighed with pleasure knowing that I had a lifetime of this to look forward to.