Epilogue
Polly
Two months later
I rubbed my bond marks absently. The action was a source of reassurance, and I’d swear the guys could feel it when I did. A pulse almost always came down the bond. It was nice, a comfort that I’d never thought I would get.
Llew had tried to re-bond with the guys during August’s heat, and while the connection wasn’t as strong as it had once been—or even as strong as mine was with any of them—there was a fine thread of bond there that I hoped would grow and strengthen over the years. It was a start, anyway.
Nim sat to my left. “It really doesn’t matter what the report says. Family are the people you commit yourself to, and Henry and I are your family, regardless of what a silly DNA test says.”
We’d all gotten DNA tests to help narrow down who belonged to whom at the Homestead. It really only mattered for the younger kids, because most of the teens had applied for parental emancipation, and given the court case, it had been granted. They all lived together in a house with Jewel now, who was slowly helping them reintegrate into society.
Only one mother had come forward to claim her babies without having to rely on DNA tests, though due diligence had to be done. Sister Eloise was young, barely more than thirty, but she’d been only seventeen when she’d run away and joined the cult with her boyfriend, Brother Frederick. He’d been ten years older than her, a Beta to her Unshown, and life hadn’t been easy for her.
Although she’d lived in a different house, she’d always been kind to me, despite the fact I was an Omega. She’d looked so sad for the last few years, and now I knew why. She’d wanted her babies. The two youngest children were hers, and I was happy they were going into a home with their mom and not into the system.
Sucking in a deep breath, I pulled the papers out of the envelope. But still, I couldn’t look. Henry took them gently from my hands. “Do you want me to get your Alphas?”
I shook my head. I needed to do this alone. Well, not alone, but with people who understood what this moment would be like. The guys had given me the space I’d asked for, but I knew they were probably hovering somewhere close by, in case I needed them.
My Pack. My safety net.
Handing the papers to Henry, I sighed. “You read it.”
He hesitated too, and Nim made an annoyed squeak. “Honestly, you two have to be related with the amount of angst-ridden dithering. Let me do it.” She flipped the pages over, her eyes skimming the words and graphs that made no sense to me. “Congrats, guys. You’re twins.”
I blinked at Henry, who blinked back at me. Twins? I looked at the boy across from me with wide eyes, like I was seeing him for the first time. We didn’t look identical; we had different hair colors, different noses. But maybe there was something in the shape of our brow, in our lips.
I had a twin.
“That’s, wow… Thank god I didn’t have a crush on you, like Nim did. That would have made this really weird.”
Nim gasped, slapping my arm, her cheeks flushed. “Traitor. For that, I should make you both read the rest.” But she kept the papers and continued reading silently. She frowned, and my heart stuttered in my chest. Her face was solemn when she looked up again. “Your mother is Sister Roberta. Your father is Leader Victor.”
I blinked. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel.
Throwing the papers on the table, Nim gripped my hand, and Henry’s too. “You are wonderful people—the best people I know. Your parents mean less than nothing. Neither do mine. We are who we are despite the hell they put us through, do you both hear me?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. We’d been instrumental in putting both of our parents in prison. That was a lot to come to terms with. Just because they were biologically related to us, didn’t make them any less awful. Sister Roberta must have known she was my mother as she’d branded me and sold me to some Alpha she’d never met.
She wasn’t worth the guilt I felt right now. I’d gained a brother, a twin, and that was far more important.
I hugged Nim close. “I hear you.”
Today was sentencing for the Ozark Homestead cult leaders, and I’d purposefully decided to check the DNA today rather than earlier. I didn’t want to know the outcome of the sentencing either. As long as they weren’t a threat to me or any of the people who’d once lived behind their walls, I hoped they all rotted in their misery, whether that be in a jail cell or in a society that was disgusted with them.
Instead of focusing on the negative, my Pack had decided today was the day for a bonding party. Normally, we would’ve had a ceremony, but that seemed a little redundant, given we’d quite thoroughly bonded already. A party was better.
“Polly?” August called from the living room. “Is everything okay?”
My Omega. I smiled softly and stood.
Nim gagged. “I swear, if you could see your face right now… It’s so damn sweet, I’m going to get a stomach ache.”
Henry cackled, and I flipped them both the bird. I loved giving things the finger. It was so satisfying. I could convey so much meaning with that one little gesture.
I skipped out to meet my lover, my bondmate, my Omega. I ran into his arms, because the way he picked me up and spun me made my heart race every single time.
Rufio was in timeout in the mudroom after screaming out, “Feathery Fuck Face,” so loud, the neighbors had probably heard it. “GIVE ME MY FUCKING CHEERIOS! RUFIOOOO… WHERE’S MY MONEY? HERE BIRDY BIRDY.” He was on a tirade, so everyone in a one-mile radius knew he was mad about being stuck inside while there was a party going on.
August shook his head at the bird, then gave me a soft smile. “My family’s here. Are you ready to meet them?”
I nodded, even though I was nervous as hell. It was reassuring that my Alphas were just as nervous, like this feeling was… normal.
I was normal.
The squeeze of August’s hand in mine chased away the last of the nerves, and I drew strength from him. August’s family were in the backyard, along with OJ and her Pack. Max’s parents too, who were just as sweet and wholesome as he was. They’d accepted me so easily that I’d cornered Max to ask him if they even knew my history, and didn’t want some normal Omega for him. Someone like August.
He’d kissed me and told me of course they knew. Everyone knew. It was still a hot topic, even after all these months, but my history wasn’t who I was, and they knew that. Rio’s foster parents were both deceased, but Max’s parents loved him as much as they did Max.
August’s family were turned away from me, and I took a quick moment to appraise them before they appraised me too. His dad and two older sisters were all tall, definitely Alphas from their scents. But his mom and youngest sister were both Unshown, which was a surprise. He’d never said anything, and I’d never thought to ask. Actually, I’d never asked about any of their families’ designations, because it didn’t matter to me.
August smiled at them with so much love pouring down our bond, I was shored up by his belief that they’d adore me. He led me over, and his dad turned first. “There’s my boy.”
August grinned at the man, who was an exact replica of August in thirty years’ time. “Polly, this is my dad Paul, my mom Delilah, and my sisters Shell, Autumn, and Lisa. Family, this is my Omega, Polly.”
His dad was a big, brawny guy with a kind face and lines around his eyes. His mom was shorter, with a full colorful skirt, and wild, dark curls like August’s.
But it was the youngest, Lisa, who stepped forward and hugged me. “There’s a sentence I never thought my brother would say. Welcome to the family, Polly. Though you could probably do better than this bonehead. Do you know I once caught him drinking toilet water?”
August gasped. “I was two! ” He looked at me with wide eyes. “Jesus, Lisa, could you at least wait five minutes before you pull out the embarrassing stories?” They bickered like siblings, and I found myself grinning so wide that my cheeks hurt.
Later, as Max’s dad operated the grill, and August dragged his folks around, introducing them to everyone, I watched the backyard filled with people who just loved. Without guilt. Without rules. With kindness and empathy.
The doorbell rang again, and by the process of elimination, I knew it had to be Llew’s mom. He came over and gripped my hand, pulling me along gently to the front door, and Doodles scrambled toward it first. Somehow, even with three legs and zero coordination, he managed to beat us there.
Llew kissed my temple. “Be prepared. I think she’s been cooking for a month for this occasion.” I didn’t even have time to be nervous, because he was throwing the door open to a huge stack of Tupperware containers.
“Llew, is that you? Take some of this Tupperware, son, before it all ends on the floor for the ants.”
Dutifully, Llew took the containers and revealed a tiny woman. Honestly, it was difficult to imagine someone as big as Llew could have come out of someone as tiny as his mom.
“Oh gosh, look at you. You’re a beautiful little thing.” Before I could blink, she had her arms around me in a hug, her cheek to mine. “Thank you for saving my boy.” She held me tightly, a wealth of feeling in her shaky breath and the slow drip of tears onto my collarbone.
I stood frozen, but eventually, I lifted my arms and wrapped them around her, rubbing her back in slow circles, in what I hoped was a soothing manner. “He saved me too,” I whispered back.
Pulling back, she sniffed a little, wiping her forearm across her damp cheeks. “That’s good. That’s how it’s supposed to be.” She cleared her throat, smiling at me brightly. “Now come, I’ve made you some tiddly oggies, and if you don’t try one now, they’ll be gone as soon as those boys smell them.” She held my hand, squeezing it reassuringly as I followed along behind her like a little puddle duck.
This must be what family really felt like. What happiness was. Because I couldn’t imagine any moment that could be better than this one.