Epilogue
TWO YEARS LATER
AVA
“We’ll need to get Fitz Global in on the agreement,” I said, leaning back in my chair. The men around me typed on their laptops, documenting all the instructions I’d given so far. “And ensure DuBois is aligned.”
“On it,” my director of investments said, nodding.
“Perfect,” I said. “Anything else?”
When no one said anything, I ended the meeting and let everybody go five minutes early.
See? I can be generous sometimes.
My executive assistant caught up to me as I walked back to my office.
“Scott Fitzgerald called,” she said. “Again.”
I sighed. “Christopher will reach out to him later today.”
“He asked to speak with you,” she said.
“Fine.” I pushed into my office on the tenth floor of Vanderbilt Holdings and rounded my desk, sat down, and picked up the phone to wait for my EA to dial the number for me.
“Lonnie! Wonderful to hear from you.” He sounded entirely too happy for ten a.m. Though it was early afternoon in the UK, so I let it slide.
“Scott,” I said. “What is it?”
He went through his objections to the latest pass of our new amendment to the contract, and I talked him through the rest of the particulars, negotiating with him in the same tone I’d always used. All these years gone by, and that hadn’t changed. Wouldn’t change.
It was the one thing about me I’d grown to love. I used to be ashamed of it, afraid of how the world painted me. The Vanderbilt bitch, carved from the same ice block as her sister. Now, I wore it as a badge of honor because I knew better.
I was cold. I was frigid. In this corporate hellhole, I had to be.
People like Scott would walk all over me if I weren’t.
But…that wasn’t all I was. I was a wife.
A mate. A shifter. A powerhouse of Vanderbilt strength that I’d inherited from both of my parents.
My father taught me the value of discipline, and my mother taught me the force of love and sacrifice. Both could exist. Both could be true.
After we hung up, I finished my work for the day and headed down to the ground level, where Poe greeted me with a huge hug and a big kiss.
“There she is,” he said, scooping me in his arms. “My beautiful badass.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to pick me up every day. We employ drivers for a reason.”
He shrugged. “I like being the first one you see when you get off work.”
“Hmm.” I sensed a game afoot, but let it slide, glancing down at his motorcycle with my helmet hanging off the back. It was the second anniversary of marrying Lycan today, and based on how things went last year, I figured those two were in cahoots.
Of course, last year, I’d gone into heat right afterward, and the three of us were locked in our cabin for a week. It didn’t take, but that was okay. We weren’t sure if we wanted pups. Maybe one day.
“I thought you were bringing the Range Rover.”
“The weather’s nice,” he said, nodding toward it. “Get on.”
“I can’t ride a bike in this.” I gestured down to my flowy skirt and heels.
“Oh, come on,” he said with a grin. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid.”
“I’m not,” I protested, rather weakly. I lived with a motorcycle club. I’d been on the back of a bike plenty of times. “The wind will blow up my skirts.”
He widened his goofy smile. “I’m planning on it.”
Deciding I could use the fresh air, I put my helmet on and stretched a leg over the pillion seat, wrapping my arms around his midsection while he kicked the beast to life. I watched the skyline zoom by us on the ride home, safety and security settling in my gut.
I loved my life. I loved my mates and my home and my family, both found and given at birth.
I thought back to the girl I used to be, the timid, lonely thing who worked herself ragged and gave everything she had for everyone else.
I understood how she came to be that way, how she had to differentiate herself from those around her: her twin, her sisters, her father.
But now, two mates and two years later, with forever spanning out before me, I loved that I’d never be her again.
I didn’t have to earn their affection. I didn’t have to earn my place in their life.
I may still be that cold Vanderbilt bitch, but for the right person, and in my case, the right two people, I melted and thawed. I knew who I was, who I truly was, and I embraced her with every part of my soul.
With Poe and Lycan by my side, I’d never be lonely again. They completed me, made me whole, just as I did for them. I didn’t know what awaited us on this wild ride of life, but as long as we were together, we’d face anything that came for us.
LYCAN
I used to think I ruined everything I touched. I used to think I’d never settle down, that knowing I had a spouse at home waiting for me would make me want to hurl myself off the closest cliff. I could never imagine allowing myself to be that emotionally available to anyone, much less two people.
But on the second anniversary of my wedding to Ava, I sent Poe to pick her up on the back of his bike. I took the afternoon off Bastard duties and went back to our cabin early. I had a whole plan in place, one that would quiet my Trouble’s mind and force my Poet to break before he submitted.
I took my time preparing the space, cleaning our toys, setting up the equipment. There was a certain peace in doting on my mates, in going through the ritual of making sure everything was just right. That was my job, my duty, my greatest honor.
If the Lycan from three years ago could see me now, he’d be horrified.
Honestly, the feeling was mutual. I looked back on that younger version of me with a sneer and wondered what the fuck his problem was.
How could he have let Poe go? How could he have not noticed what was standing right in front of him? The fucking moron.
Alas, things happened when they should have, as they always did.
Footsteps and giggles echoed from outside, the mating bond humming in my soul as my wife and husband came closer. I took one last glance around, ensuring everything was set.
Are the chains too much?
Fuck it. I’d run out of time.
I put on my boots and went out to the porch, leaning against a beam as Poe carried Ava on his back, trudging through the undergrowth.
“Did your legs stop working?” I asked.
“She didn’t want to get her heels muddy,” Poe said.
I shook my head and crossed my arms. “Spoiled princess.”
She laughed as he put her down on the lowest step, and I raked my eyes over her.
I’d watched her get dressed this morning, salivating as she slipped on her lace underwear and groaned when she covered it with an expensive white skirt and blouse.
But every time I saw her was like the first time, and my heart nearly skipped a beat.
“Hello,” she said, climbing the last two stairs so she could kiss me.
“Hello, Trouble,” I said. “Have a good day?”
“Of course.” Her grin lit up my world. “You?”
“Hmm.” I turned to Poe, leaning in to greet him with a quick peck before returning my attention to her, pulling her waist closer to mine. “Happy anniversary.”
“Happy anniversary.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and pushed her lips against mine again, another quick connection to reaffirm our continued affection for each other.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Do you need anything? Hungry?”
“No, I had a snack not too long ago. I’m good.”
Perfect.
She tried to play it cool as she moved around me, but the thick wave of her suspicion coiled around my gut. I grabbed her wrist to stop her, and she raised one perfectly manicured brow. “Yes?”
I shifted my attention to her dress again. “How…attached are you to those clothes?”
Poe snorted and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Ava tilted her chin up and narrowed her eyes. “I could be persuaded to part with them.”
I liked the sound of that.
“Good.” I nodded down to her heels. “Those?”
“Not a chance.”
“Some things never change,” I muttered. “Take them off, pet.”
She widened her eyes at the use of the honorific but stepped out of them, bending to pick them up and place them by the door. Now standing barefoot, she put her hands behind her back, trained to await further instructions.
My wolf howled, pleased with her willing submission. How had I ever gotten so damned fortunate to have her, to call her mine?
“You get one minute head start. When I catch you, I’m going to ravage you, no matter where we are.”
She balked and looked around. We were farther out on the property, surrounded by woods, but we still had neighbors. Talon’s cabin wasn’t too far away, certainly close enough to hear her if she screamed, and Moose lived just on the other side of the treeline.
“The pack…won’t someone see?” She bit her bottom lip.
“Better make sure you run in the right direction,” I teased, stepping closer so I could lean down to her ear. “The rest of the pack is up at the main house. No one will hear you.”
It was both a promise and a threat. No one was coming to save her, not from me, not ever.
“What’s your safeword, pet?” I asked.
“Paris,” she said.
I looked to Poe. “And yours?”
“Fiver,” Poe replied.
“Good. Now, go.”
She hurdled down the steps and raced into the woods, the fabric of her dress billowing behind her.
“You,” I said to Poe, and he raised his eyebrows. “If you catch her first, I’ll do whatever you want. Tie me up, edge me, torture me. If I catch her first, I’ll make you earn it.”
Poe licked his lips, the flush in his cheeks revealing just how much either scenario appealed to him.
“Do I get a head start, too?” he teased.
“Hmm, so greedy.” I grabbed his chin with my fingers on one cheek and my thumb on the other, forcing his face up to me. “But I am a merciful wolf, and you’re such a pretty boy. How can I resist?”
He nearly wilted, his pulse pounding against my palm, his loyalty and arousal spilling over our connection.
“Do you think you can win, pretty boy?” I growled.
“I sure hope not,” he whimpered.
With a little shove, I released him and jerked my chin toward the treeline. “Go.”
He pressed up to give me one last kiss before turning on his heel and taking off after our wife.