Epilogue - Silas
The late summer sun hung low in the sky, coloring everything in golden hues as Silas stood on the elevated platform looking down at his pack’s gathering. Wolves from his pack interacted freely with other wolves from the Clearwater pack, looking more united than ever before.
It’d been three months since they raided that warehouse and freed fifteen women from their trafficking ring. Three months after they had killed the auction head and given a crippling blow to the network that had been scaring the human women throughout the region.
Three months have passed since Elle told him that she was pregnant with their child.
Silas tracked her with his eyes through the crowd.
She stood close to the food tables, laughing at something Sara had said, one hand unconsciously touching her stomach where the baby was growing.
She was showing now—a mild swell which Silas found beautiful.
Her hair was styled all the way down her back, and she looked happy and ethereal.
She was everything. His wife, the mother of his unborn child, the woman who changed his whole world.
“You are staring.” Rael appeared by his side with two glasses of what seemed to be whiskey. He offered one to Silas.
“I can’t help it,” Silas took the drink. “I mean, look at her.”
Rael followed his brother’s gaze to where Elle and Sara were now being joined by some of the Clearwater pack’s women. “She’s doing well. The pack has really taken to her.”
He was right. The change had been slow, though irrefutable.
Since the rescue mission, once the news got out about Elle and her magical powers of tracking and her courage in confronting the traffickers, the attitude of the pack had changed towards her.
They had begun to see her not just as a human, but as their Luna.
The Alpha’s mate, who saved Starville’s reputation.
More importantly, telling the pack about Elle's Omega designation had stunned them into silence—three generations was a long time, long enough that most of them had stopped believing it was possible.
But the shock had slowly, and not without resistance, settled into something closer to reverence.
It was still a long way from easy. But it was a start.
Then the news of the pregnancy made everything better. It melted even the hardest hearts at the promise of a new generation and the Alpha’s bloodline continuing.
Elle was now getting gifts, advice, respect, and love she had never expected from them all.
Even her old bullies never even looked at her, due to the fact that Silas had also threatened anybody who so much as glanced at Elle wrongly.
“Alpha Killian looks satisfied,” Silas nodded in the direction of where the leader of the Clearwater pack was busy talking with some of his pack members.
“He should be. We have shown that we are innocent, we have only tightened our partnership, and that we are determined to protect humans instead of treating them as inferior.” Rael took a sip of his whiskey.
“The evidence taken in that warehouse, and the testimony of the rescued women, have cleared up our pack’s name. ”
That was another good thing that happened in the last three months.
The shifter Council had been shown the meticulous paperwork Elle had prepared, the photos and eyewitnesses, the names of the buyers they had photographed, all of it.
Their reputation got fixed, and the case about Silas’s pack’s reputation was closed.
“Have there been any new auctions?” Silas asked, even though he knew the answer.
“None that we’ve detected. They are silent. They are either reorganizing after losing so many key players, or they have closed down totally.”
Silas was not sure about the latter. Organizations like that did not just disappear. They changed, evolved, discovered new methods of functioning unnoticed.
However, the trafficking had ceased in the meantime. For now, women were safe. And that was the victory Silas had to take.
“All fifteen ladies got home safe,” Rael said. “The last one got reunited with her family two weeks ago. Cristina’s rehabilitation worked like it was supposed to.”
Silas wondered about those women—the things they went through. What they saved them from. That was what they were fighting to achieve. That is what made the risks worth it.
“And Carter?” Silas asked.
Rael smiled. “Thriving. He has basically been adopted by August. The child is in school, his mother’s medical bills have been taken care of, and he is talking about training to be a pack enforcer when he is older.”
A smirk pulled at the corner of Silas’s mouth.
He had gambled with Carter, but he had earned his way into that trust by giving them useful information.
More so, Carter was now a part of their bizarre, extended family.
It was a reminder for Silas that people could be saved, and one wrong decision didn’t make up your whole life.
“Speaking of,” Rael said, his tone turning teasing. “Have you not settled on names yet, two?”
“We are still on it,” Silas took a sip of his drink. “Elle prefers old-fashioned names. I want something that will dignify both sides of our child—the wolf and human side.
“Good luck with that. You’re both stubborn as hell.”
Silas laughed. “Don’t I know it.”
A movement in the crowd attracted his attention. Killian was coming toward the platform with a huge smile. “Alpha Silas,” he climbed the platform to join them. “This is quite a gathering. Your pack has outdone itself.”
Rael quietly slipped away, giving them privacy.
“Alpha Killian. I’m glad you could make it.” Silas gripped his forearm in the traditional greeting between pack leaders. “Your presence honors us.”
“The honor is mine. After all that your pack has accomplished, revealing that trafficking operation, saving those women, clearing your name, and keeping the innocent safe, it is a privilege to consider you allies.” Killian glanced over where Elle was standing.
“And congratulations on the pregnancy. A child is a blessing.”
“Thank you. We’re very excited.”
“I imagine you are. A new generation, a new beginning.” His face suddenly turned serious.
“There is something that I would like to discuss with you. The Council at headquarters is in the process of establishing a task force that is specifically aimed at fighting human trafficking. They desire an experienced person to head it. Proven that they could get results.”
Silas’s eyebrows rose. “You mean they are asking me to be the leader of this task force?”
“Or someone from your pack. You have established a team of people who can work well together, who can successfully do this kind of work, with the necessary skills and commitment.” Killian paused.
“And it won’t be the only operation you are taking down.
There are others. And the Council would like to take the initiative in preventing them before they harm more women. ”
It was a huge responsibility. A huge investment of time and resources, and precisely that sort of thing that Silas’s wolf got excited about—fighting on behalf of those who could not.
But it was not a decision that he could make on his own. Not anymore. Not at this time, when he had a pregnant mate.
“I will talk to Elle about it and with my brothers, too. This would affect all of us.”
“Of course. Take your time. The Council is not seeking to establish this task force immediately. But they wanted you to know.” Killian smiled. “Between you and me? I think you’d be perfect for it. You already demonstrated that you’d rather do what is right and not what is easy.”
Then Killian patted him on the shoulders and left.
Silas watched him as his mind went over the implications of the offer.
It was an opportunity to create a tangible impact, to destroy the activities of trafficking systematically in the region.
But it would also take him away from home often, putting him in danger.
He needed to talk to Elle.
As if summoned by his thoughts, she appeared at the base of the platform stairs, looking up at him with those eyes that never failed to make his heart skip a beat.
“Is everything okay? You look tense.”
“Everything’s fine. Just thinking.” Silas went down the stairs and grabbed her hand. “Dance with me?”
Elle giggled. “There’s no music playing.”
“Then we’ll make our own.”
He took her to a more secluded corner, far from the main party, where they might enjoy some privacy. And then he pulled her closer and started swaying.
“There’s no music,” Elle muttered, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I do not need music when I have you.”
They swayed under the sky, tuning out the noise around. Silas dropped his forehead against hers and inhaled sharply, enjoying the way their bond pulsed with contentment and happiness.
“Alpha Killian gave me something. A role at the head of a task force in headquarters to prevent trafficking within the region.”
Elle drew back and looked at him thoughtfully. “That’s a big deal.”
“It is. It would imply additional missions, additional time away, additional danger.” He lifted his hand and caressed her face. “I wanted to discuss it with you first. This affects you, too. Affects our baby.”
“Do you want to do it?”
“Part of me does. I don’t want what happened to you or those other women to happen to another human. And there is another side of me, which only wants to give attention to our family. To be here. To be present for our child.”
“You can do both,” Elle gave him a small smile. “Silas, you are a great Alpha. You are a powerful, competent, and empathetic person. That’s not going to change because we are expecting a child.”
“But the risks—”
“Are they the same as the risks you have already. The responsibility as the head of this task force would not be more risky than what we already do. It would only be better structured, more official.” She gently interlaced their fingers.
“I know you’ll make the right call. Whatever you do, I’ll stand by you. ”