Epilogue
Everything was on fire.
“Any regrets now?” Nathan asked as Delta glared at Vic.
“A few. Why is Vic carrying a hamster cage?”
“Oh, I asked him, and he said he bought the hamster yesterday as a housewarming gift to himself.”
“It’s not his house though,” she pointed out as she moved to the side to allow Vic past.
“Hey, this was your idea,” Vic told her.
Tabian followed him in, holding a trio of boxes. “Yep. You were the one who offered us the rooms.”
“Temporarily. It doesn’t mean get pets.”
“We will take the pets with us when our homes are delivered,” Tabian muttered as he disappeared into the first bedroom in the hallway.
“And when might that be?” Nathan asked.
“Eight weeks,” Vic called.
“You better mean eight days,” Nathan said.
“Oh yeah, that’s probably what I meant.”
Nathan was standing with his hands on his hips, glaring at the doors the boys had disappeared into. “I have some regrets too,” he admitted.
Delta snickered and pulled on his hand, leading him out of the house. The door was fixed now and didn’t even need a wooden plank to keep it closed. “Look, maybe someday we will look back on these days as the good old days. Maybe Tabian and Vic will be great roommates.”
At that exact moment, Tabian shoved his bedroom window open and the thing shattered. Glass littered the snowy yard just beneath it.
“Aw ball sack,” Tabian said, sticking his head through the hole to look at the damage.
“Seriously?” Nathan barked.
“Well, now it’s easier to sneak out,” he said.
“Why would you need to sneak out?” Delta asked. “You’re an adult without a curfew. You can just leave through the front door.”
“Oh. Right. Can I borrow your shampoo tonight? I forgot mine at the store, and yours smells like apricots.”
“How do you know what my shampoo smells like?” Delta demanded.
Tabian got this goofy smile on his face and said, “Okay you caught me. I used it to wash a hamster turd off my hands earlier.”
“Wait, did you get a hamster too?” Nathan asked.
“Me and Vic got matching ones.”
“Boys like things that match,” Vic sang, opening his own window. His, thankfully, didn’t shatter.
“You’re paying to fix that,” Nathan said, jamming his finger at the broken one.
“What are we having for dinner?” Vic asked, ignoring him as he hung his head out the window.
“Whatever you want?” Delta guessed, since they were adults.
“Okay, I want that cracker crumb chicken stuff that you and Nory made a few weeks ago,” Vic said.
“Oh, me too,” Tabian agreed. “I want that too. With mashed potatoes.”
“She’s not cooking for you assholes,” Nathan barked out.
Vic and Tabian went still and looked at each other outside of their windows.
“This place sucks,” Vic said, and disappeared back inside.
Delta’s eye twitched. “We’ve made a mistake, haven’t we.”
“A big one.” Nathan’s sigh turned into a growl. “If you two annoy us, you have to sleep outside.”
“No can do, Boss. I can’t abandon my hamster,” Vic called from inside. “Earl needs constant supervision. Sorry.”
Nathan ran his hands roughly over his face. “I’ve got a meeting with Liam. Want to go with me?”
Delta pursed her lips against a smile. Things would never be boring around here, that was for sure and for certain. “Yeah, I’ll go hang out with Nory while you two talk.”
She knew what the meeting was about. Liam had a court date coming up for beating that Jackson guy to a pulp, and Nathan had set up a Zoom call with his lawyer to discuss some strategy.
Nory was growing more worried as the court date approached, but Nathan thought he would be in the clear, and Delta had learned to absolutely trust Nathan’s judgement. He did best under fire.
Nathan threw a leg over the seat of the four-wheeler he’d just bought used and offered Delta a hand as she climbed on the seat behind him. She held onto his waist as he turned it on and put it into gear, and they were off, zooming across the clearing toward her best friend’s house.
“Bye mom and dad,” Vic called behind them, and Delta giggled.
Nathan growled and smelled like fur.
Those two were going to annoy the piss out of her mate, she could already tell. Their houses were in the making and scheduled for delivery, she just didn’t know exactly when. Hopefully, for her mate’s sake, it was very soon.
On the other side of Liam and Nory’s home, Dodger’s home had been delivered yesterday. He was still in the process of hauling things from storage, and he offered them a somber-faced greeting nod as Nathan parked in front of Liam’s house.
Nathan nodded back but didn’t say anything. There was still tension there, but Delta didn’t know how to fix it. The boys were going to have to work that out in time.
She raced Nathan up the front steps and to the door and knocked first.
Bridger opened the door, to her surprise. “Whoa, what are you doing here? I thought you were still out of town for work?”
“I got back today,” the giant werewolf said in a growly voice. “I’m just here for a few more minutes and then I’m headed back to the hotel.”
“Oh. You can crash on our couch if you want to,” Delta offered. “What’s one more?” Maybe he would keep Vic and Tabian in line.
“I would rather lick a toilet seat,” Bridger deadpanned, and made his way to the fridge to grab a beer. Geez, there was absolute truth in his voice. Rude.
Right. She pulled a face at Nathan, but he wore a disgusted frown and was staring at Bridger’s back.
“Hey you!” Nory greeted from the dining table, where she was sorting bills, it looked like.
Delta grinned and waited for Nathan to pass.
Liam was coming from the hallway, toweling off his wet hair after a shower, Bridger was leaning on the kitchen counter looking at his phone.
Nory was chattering happily to Nathan, who leaned down to hug her hello, and across the clearing, she could hear Vic and Tabian arguing about whose room was bigger.
Dodger was making another run at unloading his truck outside and everyone was here, in the same territory again.
The Pack was just existing here on this human-owned land that the Elders couldn’t take from them.
Three houses were already on the property, with another three being delivered soon, and this was it.
This was the beginning of the build-up.
This was the real beginning of the Rogue Pack.
Nathan was watching her with a soft smile on his face. “Happy?” he asked.
Delta nodded. “Really happy.”
Sure, they had stuff to iron out. This wasn’t some happy ending, but it was a happy beginning to something that felt so important.
Work was good for both her and Nathan. Her best friend lived nearby, and she laughed a dozen times a day at the dumb stuff the boys did and said.
And Nathan, her Nathan, was here in every moment with her, appreciating right alongside her. He never made fun of her for having mushy moments or getting all choked up.
She didn’t know why she was so emotional about the Rogue Pack, but it felt like she was living in the very beginning of an epic legacy.
Whatever came for them—human justice, the Elders, the rival Pack that would be moving into their old territory soon, fights among themselves—they were in it together, no matter what. They had all chosen this life.
It was the first time they’d ever felt like a real Pack to her.
Nathan came to stand beside her, kissed the top of her head, and hugged her tightly to his side.
“We’re really doing this,” she said through a grin.
He chuckled and picked her up, settled her onto his shoulder, and smacked her ass. “Biggest mistake any of us will probably ever make, but we’re doing this.”
She was giggling by the time he settled her in the chair next to Nory. The guys were chattering in the kitchen now, and Nory was stacking papers while Delta told her about the matching hamsters that were now living in her and Nathan’s den.
Everything was right in her world.
Would it stay like this forever? Maybe not, but Delta had learned to appreciate the moments of peace. No matter what tomorrow brought, today was a good day, and her wolf was happy.
Nathan was in the kitchen with his arms locked on the counter, watching her. Always watching her. She grinned at him and made a little heart shape with her fingers.
He offered her a wink and went back to talking to Bridger and Liam.
He’d said this would probably be the worst decision they ever made, but that was just a joke.
She knew it was the opposite.
She and Nathan were both right where they belonged.