Epilogue
Gavriil
Four months later…
My steady footsteps echo up and down the hallway as I walk to the meeting room, passing spots where burn marks and bullet holes used to scar the walls of the house’s second floor.
A lot has been repaired during these last few months, and even more things have changed.
The Bratva’s grip on this territory is firmer than ever before, and that strengthening began with Dominik officially becoming Pakhan upon the Council’s approval and with my blessing.
He rules fairly, not through fear, but through loyalty, earning devotion instead of demanding obedience.
The Italians got their warehouse as promised, but they haven’t cashed in on their favor yet. Hopefully, they won’t have to for a very long time.
Dominik asked me to be his second, and I accepted. I used to lead so that I could have an excuse to have control over everything, but that left me miserable and lonely.
What once felt impossible now felt inevitable.
I haven’t become a better man. Never that. But I’m finally able to admit that my pride nearly cost me everything that mattered.
Letting go of control has brought me more peace and contentment than I’ve ever felt before. My brother and I have a connection forged in blood and survival. It’s always been that way since the beginning, but we’re even closer now.
There’s no rivalry between us. There never should have been, and any damage done is on me.
I pause outside of my bedroom and peer inside to see the cage still sitting there. Of course, it hasn’t been used, but I’ve kept it standing per Alina’s request.
It lost all its power the moment she chose me without locks.
Now, it’s a good reminder for me that love only exists outside of cages. Outside of handcuffs.
Love can’t survive behind bars.
Control felt like safety to me, but all it did was cost me. I almost lost the two people who ended up choosing me on their own. The two people who mean more to me than anything else in this twisted world.
Honest love is far more dangerous than manipulated affection because it requires vulnerability. And for the first time, I’ve chosen it anyway.
I don’t pretend I’ve been completely forgiven for my past mistakes. I’m just grateful Alina and Dominik found me worthy of another chance.
I tear my gaze away from the cage and continue on, lightness spreading throughout my chest as I hear their familiar voices up ahead. I have a very important meeting to attend right now, and it sounds like I’m the last to arrive.
When I step into the meeting room, my eyes fall onto Dominik and Alina as they sit at the closest end of the long table.
They stop talking and look over at me, warmth filling their faces.
“There you are,” Alina says from her seat at the head of the table. She’s still here, steady, unflinching, choosing us both, making me feel worthy of her love each and every day.
“We were about to start without you,” Dominik adds, playfulness glinting in his eyes as he sits to her left.
Alina swats at his arm. “We would never.”
A smirk crosses my face as I walk over to her, resting my hand on the top of her chair as I lean down to peck her on the lips. “I know.”
I take a seat to her right, directly across from Dominik. I nod to him. “The Italians want to meet next week.”
“For?” Dominik asks as he lifts an eyebrow.
“Something about the warehouse. I’ll find out more at the meeting.”
Alina motions for us to stop. “No work talk right now. This is a family meeting.”
Dominik and I share an amused look with each other. We’ve resorted to calling our personal, private meetings “family meetings” to avoid any confusion. Too many meetings with too many topics happen day to day.
It helps to keep our personal lives separate from our work lives as much as we can.
Alina has handled all of this change without fear. She accepts every part of our life and doesn’t try to separate herself from the work that we do. She even helps where she can and offers sage advice.
She’s grounded herself in this life that we’re building together, and Dominik and I have done everything that we can to ensure that she remains protected and loved.
“We’re ready to begin when you are,” Dominik says, gesturing for Alina to take the floor.
There are a few scrolls in front of her. She smooths one out, revealing a blueprint and sketches of the final reconstruction plans that we’ve discussed for the estate over the past month.
“So, we all agree on a brand-new gate and surrounding fence, right?” Alina asks as she gestures to the sketch of it around the property.
“I want it made out of something that can’t be easily blown up or driven through,” I say as I lean back in my seat.
We learned a lot from the fight at the estate. There were weak spots that we didn’t even realize until our enemies exploited them. Now, we know better, and this place is going to be impenetrable.
“Noted,” Alina replies. “And we also agree that there needs to be another way to get from the first floor to the second aside from the staircase in the foyer?”
“Definitely,” Dominik says. “I don’t care if it’s a secret passageway through the wall or another flight of stairs. We need alternate routes so that we don’t get pinned down so easily.”
“We should put a sentry gun mount on the roof,” I suggest.
Alina narrows her eyes at me. “I still want the house to look like a house. Not a military fortress.”
Dominik can’t stifle his laugh. “If Gavriil has his way with the design, we’ll look like an army base.”
“I’m trying to prevent repeating past mistakes,” I say pointedly.
“We can balance aesthetics with efficiency,” Alina replies. “Why don’t you add an armory to the bunker? Weapons can be transported as needed through the tunnels.”
I tap my fingers against the table as I consider her proposal. Admittedly, it’s a pretty good one. She’s better at navigating our world than she believes.
She’s a decent strategist herself.
“Fine.”
Alina brightens, making Dominik chuckle.
“You can never tell her no,” he teases me.
“As if you don’t crumble all the same,” I reply, able to think of plenty of times when he gave in to her.
I’ve done the same.
“Both of you have told me no plenty of times,” Alina replies, waving her hand dismissively. “You’ve already said no to a pool.”
“We can’t have our men being drowned in our own pool during the middle of a fight,” I tell her.
“If you train them well enough, they’ll be drowning our enemies in the pool instead,” Alina says.
That sass drives me crazy in the best way. It makes me want to throw her over my shoulder and take her to my bedroom. It should be my night tonight anyway.
Ever since moving back into the estate once it was livable again, Alina has alternated nights with each of us in our own bedrooms. Sometimes, she goes off with Dominik to the city to stay in his penthouse. Other times, she stays with me, and I take her out for date nights as promised.
I miss her on the nights that aren’t mine, but it’s a fair arrangement. Dominik and I both have plenty of time with her, and it’s not like we never spend time together as a trio.
A few nights a week, the three of us sleep together in one bed instead of apart, and we share most meals, go out to the city, and relax together as well.
Our relationship may be unconventional but it’s unshakable.
“We’ll discuss this again at a later time,” I tell her, deciding to argue about this another day. I’m sure I’ll lose, but we need to focus on the house and the defenses before the amenities.
“Fine,” Alina replies before rolling the blueprint up. She grabs another scroll and unrolls it, displaying detailed floor plans for the house. “There’s something else I want to discuss.”
She points to the room between Dominik’s bedroom and my bedroom. Currently, it’s empty because it sustained some fire damage and had to be gutted. “I finally have an idea for this one.”
I quietly glance over at Dominik, and I can tell that he’s thinking the same thing. She probably wants her own bedroom.
There’s nothing wrong with her wanting her own space, but I can’t help but wonder if she’s growing tired of spending so much time with us.
Maybe she’s not sleeping well with us anymore.
“What are you thinking?” I ask her.
Alina smiles as she folds her hands in front of her on the table. “It would be the perfect place for a nursery,” she says softly like she’s offering us a future instead of asking for permission.
Her words make my pulse spike. I share a shocked but happy look with my brother, completely speechless at first. I’ve imagined a family more times than I ever admitted but I never dared assume I deserved one.
I wasn’t sure what that looked like or if Alina even wanted something like that with us.
I guess this answers my question.
Dominik stands up from his seat and leans over to embrace her, kissing the top of her head. “You’re serious? You want to have a baby?”
“Absolutely,” Alina assures him. “I’ve thought about it for a while now.”
When Dominik releases her, I hug her, pecking her on the cheek. “It’s a great idea, printsessa.”
Alina smiles with a gentle blush on her cheeks. “We haven’t exactly been careful, but I’d like to actually start trying soon, if you’re both comfortable with that?”
Dominik and I both offer our eager agreement.
“I want to be the father,” he blurts out before I can get a word out of my mouth.
Narrowing my eyes at him, I say, “Obviously, I should be the father.”
He scoffs. “Your stubbornness combined with hers would be a bad combination in a baby.”
“As if you’re not just as hardheaded,” I counter.
Alina waves her hand for us to stop our bickering. “I haven’t decided who is going to be the father.”
“So, how do we decide? Rock, paper, scissors?” Dominik suggests.
I’m more than willing to leave it to chance.
I used to not want kids, especially after how Dominik and I were raised. But so much changed when I fell in love with Alina. A happy family actually seems like a viable thing for me to have. I’ve already started falling in love with the thought of that.
I want a family so badly now that it makes my chest ache.
“No, no rock, paper, scissors,” Alina says, shutting the idea down just as Dominik lifts his hands to get into position. “I have an idea to propose to the two of you.”
She has both of our undivided attention.
“Whoever isn’t the father is the man I’ll marry,” she continues as she glances between us. “I know that you’ve been secretly arguing about that. You guys suck at whispering behind closed doors.”
“He’s the loud one,” I mutter, giving Dominik a pointed look.
“She was going to find out, eventually,” Dominik replies. “So, what do you want, dikaya koshka?”
It feels like an impossible decision because I want both. Regardless of which honor I receive, she’ll still be mine and I’ll be there to also raise our child.
For the three of us, the future is limitless.
We’re already a family. We’re just adding another member.
Hell, maybe we’ll add more than one.
Either choice will make me happy in the end. But one option begins to stand out in my mind, so strong I can already see Alina wearing white…
“I’ve always wanted to make you my Moya Koroleva,” I admit causing Alina to smile. I want her to be my wife, to be mine. Not because I need to claim her but because I want to stand beside her.
Dominik cracks a grin as well. “I’m okay with that, as long as I get to be the baby’s father,” he adds, already certain, already steady.
Alina reaches out to take our hands, her face glowing with happiness. “That sounds…perfect.”
“I’ll start planning the wedding,” I tell her.
“I want to help you decorate the nursery,” Dominik remarks. “What colors are you thinking?”
Alina’s blush deepens. “Maybe cream and sage green? I want to decorate soon, so I want neutral colors.”
“Whatever you want,” Dominik tells her as he squeezes her hand.
I nod in agreement. “Anything for my queen.”
“I love you,” she says as she peers at both of us. She smiles warmer when we say it back. “Thank you for not fighting over this. I think that’s why I was nervous to bring it up...”
“It’s another change, and it’s a big step,” I reply, my thumb stroking her knuckles as our hands remain joined.
“But we’re in it together,” Dominik adds.
Alina nods. “We should celebrate. I mean, I know we haven’t really done anything yet, but…I’m happy. This feels like a happy moment.”
“Then, we’re going to celebrate it,” Dominik says. “Want to go out to the city? Get dinner? Watch a show?”
“Actually…I was thinking that we could stay in tonight,” Alina replies as she stands from her seat, releasing our hands. “Maybe we could drink some wine and stay in bed.”
Her teasing tone ignites something within me that’s hard to contain.
“I’ll get the wine,” Dominik says as he gets up from his chair and heads out of the room.
I stand and scoop Alina up in my arms to carry her out. “And I’ve got you.”
Alina wraps her arms around my neck, sharing a warm look with me. “You’re really ready for this?”
Marrying her and growing our little family are big decisions, but it’s exactly what I want. The timing is perfect. In fact, it feels meant to be, so why drag our feet? Why hold ourselves back when we all finally know what we want?
So, there isn’t a trace of doubt in my mind about the path that’s ahead of us. I’m just eager to go down it and see what awaits us.
“As long as we’re all together, I’m ready for anything,” I assure her.
The End