Bonus Chapter
A FEW YEARS LATER…
Zera stood at the doorway of their back patio, her heart thrumming like her own wings as they fluttered behind her.
The purple glow of her wings cast shadows against the glass pane—the only thing between her and her destiny that lay beyond.
Today, underneath the dwindling light of the sun as it set behind the mountains, she would marry her bonded mate.
Her love that she had found when she'd least expected it.
A flurry of butterflies swarmed her insides, but it only made her smile broaden because there in the backyard, at the end of the white carpeted aisle lined with white garden chairs filled with her closest friends, a few family members, and Ryker and the rest of the Haven Moon Pack, stood her forever faeboy.
Zera couldn't keep her gaze off of Maverick as he fidgeted with a cuff or readjusted the blue rose pinned to his lapel. The wolf looked nervous, and Zera's cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him look truly nervous.
Everything was perfect. Except…
Her smile faltered. A pang of sorrow swept through Zera as she thought about the family that were missing. Her parents wouldn't be among the guests. She knew that, though her eyes still swept over every chair visible to her from this angle.
Zera wasn't by any means traditional and didn't need a man to walk her down the aisle. She had asked her half sister Jade to do the honors, and Zera couldn’t imagine anyone else better for the job.
But the desire to have one's parents beside them on such an important day still tugged at her heart.
At the same time, she knew better than to think the queen and king of Pixie Hollow would grace her with their presence.
Not after the way she left things. The fight she'd had with her parents all those years ago still echoed in her mind.
When Their Royal Highnesses found out that Zera—their firstborn daughter and heir to the pixie kingdom—was a traitor, allowing her heart to fall for a werewolf, they forbade her from ever seeing him again, and if Zera ever did see him again, she would never be welcome back to Pixie Hollow.
Of course, Zera had been young, and the threat hadn't seemed like that big of a sacrifice at the time.
But that was before she got pregnant and the werewolf she’d fallen for left.
Now, though? Things were different. Sometimes she longed for home, and the blossom-scented wind called to Zera's pixie wings. She was glad Cole, at least, had been welcomed there when Jade and Sloane had taken him while she went hunting with Maverick. It had been a terrifying moment in her life but one she wouldn’t trade for the world.
Though, she would’ve taken Cole’s life not being put in danger at all if she’d had the choice.
Perhaps one day, Zera would try to make amends with her parents and the kingdom of Pixie Hollow, though she didn't think marrying a different werewolf—and not just any werewolf, but an ex–Lunar Moon Pack alpha—would help her odds of reconciliation.
But Zera's heart still yearned to share this moment with her parents, yearned for them to know their grandson better and, hopefully one day, their future grandchildren.
Zera blinked back the tears. She wouldn’t cry.
Not on her wedding day and especially not when so much hope and beauty lay before her.
Truly, Sloane had outdone herself transforming the backyard into a true fantasy.
From the bouquets of flowers to the white flickering candles dancing in the air and the sparkling fairy lights strung up between trees, it was like stepping into a scene from a fairytale.
Even the Haven Moon pack had contributed to the ceremony, providing the altar, made of wood that a back member had intricately engraved with little pixies and werewolves frolicking among ivy leaves as a symbol of their united truce—thanks to Pixels, Zera’s synthetic pixie-dust drug that was now on the market and doing very well.
So much so that she’d fulfilled her debtor’s promise to Kraven the crime lord in record time.
Though she still supplied him pixels now, it wasn’t out of fear of him collecting payment.
Maverick and Zera rarely saw him anymore, as he’d moved on to other projects, and that was the way they liked it.
Neither of them trusted the incubus, but at least he was helping them stop the hunting of pixies thanks to her synthetic drug.
It was a victorious achievement in the Fae Realm.
And yet, even though the hunting of pixies had nearly become extinct due to the popularity of her synthetic pixie dust, Zera hadn’t received a single word from the pixie nobles.
Not even Jade, who was still on relatively good terms with their parents even after declining to inherit the throne, had heard from them about anything except for surface-level pleasantries.
It wasn’t like Zera thought things would go back to the way they were before she’d run off with the wolf.
She wasn’t naive enough to think they’d give her firstborn right back, to announce her the heir to Pixie Hollow.
Zera didn’t want the title anyway. It was too much of a responsibility, and she’d always wanted her own life.
But she wanted her family, and she wanted her son to know his grandparents.
“Here. Wear these,” Jade said, pulling Zera’s attention back to the present by thrusting a box into her hands
“What’s this?” Zera asked, opening the box to reveal a pair of elbow-length lace gloves so delicate and fine they looked to have cost a fortune. She gasped at the gorgeous fabric, how the diamonds that dotted it glittered in the light.
“It’s your something old,” Jade said with a wink, sliding her hands into the black tux she donned. “Our grandmother wore them to her wedding.”
“But how… how did you…” Zera trailed off, her heart stuttering as she whirled back to face the backyard. “Does this mean they’re here?”
“You mean mom and dad? Yup.” Jade grinned. “They arrived just a few minutes ago. They didn’t want to bother you, but wanted you to have it. Guess they figured out what you did.”
Zera swallowed back a sob. Tears again welled in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy.
Her heart had never felt so full as she watched her parents gracefully take two seats near the front that magically appeared.
Her stepfather sat tall and proud next to her mother, who shared Zera’s same lavender eyes and purple wings.
With his noble brow, lavender hair, and golden wings, he stood out in his navy tux complete with a purple pocket square.
Though he wasn’t her biological father, who had died before she was born, Zera considered him her true father, as she’d never known anyone else.
“I can’t believe it,” Zera gasped, turning back to face Jade just as the front door swung open and a woman cursed.
They turned in time to see Quinn stumbling in, yanking off a work shoe and shoving on a lavender high heel that matched the silk bridesmaid dress she donned.
“Don’t worry! I’m here,” Quinn said breathlessly, tossing strands of pink hair out of her eyes. “The blasted Ryker had me work the last shift before closing for the evening. Can you believe it?”
Zera chuckled, and Quinn froze, gasping as she took Zera’s appearance in.
“You look gorgeous, Zera!” Quinn exclaimed, finally with both heels on, and pulled Zera into a hug. “I’m so happy for you. And I’m especially happy to have a new outsider as a member in the pack.”
They all laughed, knowing it was a huge step.
For too long had the werewolf packs been ruled under archaic laws.
Now, Ryker was leading the Haven Moon Pack into a new age, one that would honor those who had been marginalized or ostracized altogether.
Zera couldn’t help but worry what the recourse would be from the surrounding packs, but for now, she would revel in this victory.
Cole suddenly shimmered into the room in a puff of purple sparkles with Sloane hot on his heels. He had come into his half-pixie magic quicker than Zera had anticipated, and it made this stage all the more entertaining and challenging.
“Momma!” He shouted, his brown curls framing his face. He donned a half-buttoned-up shirt, a diaper, and his shoes.
“My baby!” Zera called, kneeling down and opening her arms for her son, who had grown so much over the last two years. She really needed to start his potty training, but she would tackle one problem at a time.
“Sorry, Zera,” Sloane said with a soft chuckle, donning a matching dress to Quinn’s. “He just won’t put his pants on and only wants to eat crackers.”
“Is this true, my little one?” Zera grinned, encircling her arms around Cole as she hoisted him off the floor and spun him around even though he was over thirty pounds.
Cole’s laughter was infectious as he squealed in delight. Zera sat him down and kneeled in front of him. “Now, is everything okay?”
The toddler nodded, stuffing a peanut butter cracker in his mouth.
“Then can you please put your pants on?” Zera asked.
“Why?” Cole asked between bites.
Zera smiled, knowing he was testing his boundaries and wanting to practice his newfound independence.
It was a trying season for her as well as her sister and sister-in-law who helped take care of Cole, but Zera tried to face every season from a nurturing perspective.
Zera knew she didn’t get it right all the time, but Cole was her son, and she only got one chance to raise him to be the kind of man he should be.
“Because you know that when you do, we can go outside and see daddy,” Zera said, and Cole’s eyes instantly lit up.