Bonus Series Epilogue
Ryan
Ten years later
Peals of laughter from Ben and Daniel, my eight-year-old twin boys, cut through the chatter of the adults gathered together for the Summer Solstice celebration.
Warmth settles in my chest watching my dad throw them back in the lake as soon as they climb out.
He used to do the same with me, Jackson, and Luca when we were their age.
It’s so good to see him back to himself again.
He no longer lives in the pack since finding out Pippa was his second chance mate and moving to the city to be with her, but he comes to visit every couple of weeks.
They all do. And now that Maddie is older, it’s easier to manage, seeing as we’ve been able to share the truth with her about what we all are.
“You sure you don’t want this?” I ask Sofia when I notice she’s also watching Dad playing with the boys and smiling at the scene.
“Absolutely,” she says with a chuckle. “I’m so much more suited to being cool Aunt Fia. I prefer playing with yours and then handing them back again.”
“Hey, don’t go trying to convince my mate to have pups,” Luca interjects, throwing an arm around Sofia’s shoulders and pulling her into him. “It’s bad enough I have to share her with the pack because you decided being Alpha was overrated.”
“Not exactly how I remember it,” I say with a laugh.
“You’re ridiculous,” Sofia says, rolling her eyes at her mate, which has him glowering at her. “I remember a time when you used to complain I didn’t take things seriously enough. Now you’re complaining about me having a job?”
I shake my head and walk away, leaving them to their bickering and the inevitable make-out session and swift exit that always comes next.
They’ve been together for over eleven years, and they still haven’t learned to stop winding each other up.
Honestly, I think they both enjoy it too much to ever stop.
They’ll be too old to shift and still be the most intense couple in any room.
I walk closer to the lake's edge. Closer to where my mate is chatting with Emily and Jackson. I wrap my arms around Maya’s waist as I join the group. She leans back into my embrace, and even after more than a decade together, it still blows my mind that she’s mine.
“They’re talking shop again,” Jackson informs me, grinning with pride.
He drops a kiss on his mate’s head, then turns to kiss the chubby cheek of their two-year-old, Oliver.
Emily was Maya’s first trainee after she went to human university and studied to be a therapist herself.
Together they built something magical: a shifter counseling service for survivors of the Keepers' trafficking ring and others like Emily and her mom, who were victims of fake mating bonds.
Demand has been huge, and it fills Maya with so much fulfillment that she is able to do what she loves without hiding who she is.
Pride swells in me listening to them talk about the funding they have secured through the new shifter council to help them continue to offer pro-bono support where it’s most needed.
The Keepers’ victims were more far-reaching than any of us ever thought initially, and it took overturning the council to get them the justice they deserved.
Seeing the old council being overhauled was incredible. The corruption that had been allowed to fester for so long needed to be ripped out at the source. Now that there’s a more balanced group—not just made up of males or wolves—and they are doing what they always should have.
But that’s a story for another pack to tell.
“Mom! Dad!” Lily calls out as she runs toward us. My wolf’s hackles rise as soon as I see the tears in her eyes. If someone made my baby girl cry, I will tear out their fucking throat.
“Put him away. Those smell like happy tears,” Maya says through the mindlink before speaking aloud to Lily. “What is it, sweetie?”
“Mom, I felt her! I can hear her!” Lily screeches as she throws herself at Maya. “I’m a tiger, just like you!”
“Oh, baby.” Maya squeezes her and looks back at me, her eyes shining with emotion.
We would love our children no matter what, even if they weren’t shifters at all, but secretly I had always hoped at least one would be a tiger like their mom.
It seemed unlikely with only one grandparent providing the tiger gene, but we suspected Lily since she was born because her scent was different to most wolf pups.
We were afraid to say anything, though, just in case.
None of us knew what tiger cubs smelled like.
It was different with the boys; they were obviously pups from the moment they were born.
Still, we didn’t want Lily to be disappointed either way. So, we told her to wait until her animal started to communicate with her and let her know for sure.
And it sounds like it has.
“You’re not mad, Dad? That I’m not a wolf?”
“Absolutely not!” I assure her, joining the hug with my girls. “I love how strong you’ll be. Just like your mom. I’m so happy for you, baby girl.”
How could I ever ask for more? My children are happy and healthy.
My mate is perfect. The pack is in great paws with Sofia at the helm, and she doesn’t have the same pressure I did because we’ve learned to share the load.
I still run the pack investments, so I still have a purpose here.
My best friends all found their mates. Even Dad is happy.
Everything worked out, and I’ll never stop being grateful to my friends and family for not letting me give up when my life was falling apart.
When I thought there was no future for me.
Giving up might have taken away the pain, but if I had stopped fighting, I wouldn’t have known how good life had the potential to be.
I wouldn’t have had the chance to find my happiness.
And I’m so glad I got to see it. That I get to live it.