Epilogue II — Trinity
EPILOGUE II
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TRINITY
THREE MONTHS LATER
Element felt different this time around. Another masquerade, but the context was entirely different. Last time I felt like an alien. Now I felt like I belonged.
We all wore what we’d worn that night, apart from Aiden. It was a lovely reminder of how we met, and nicely full circle.
I wore my hand chains and the collar. No leash. We’d all agreed that was too much. I belonged here, but I still wasn’t used to the environment.
They claimed we had plans and a reserved space. I had no idea what or whether we’d end up in the same room where I’d been punished, but it didn’t matter. I trusted them.
“Well, well, this is a surprise. Hello, Trinity.”
Mistress Amber stood in front of us. The article about Element had been published a month ago. According to her it had helped business. I’d left everything else as a surprise.
“We owe you one, Amber,” Logan said. “Trinity is our scent match.”
Her mouth twitched into a smile. “I wondered. You looked like you’d been struck by lightning.” She looked at me again. “Seems I was right. I left you in very good hands.”
“You did. I was wondering… do you know if the couple I interrupted is here tonight? I’d like to apologize again, in a better way.”
Her eyebrows rose. “They are here. I saw them a few minutes ago, if you’d like to follow me.”
Bastian stayed close, hand on my lower back. They knew I was nervous for this, but it had been bouncing around in my brain since they suggested coming back to the club, and I knew my mind wouldn’t let it go.
I recognized the man when I saw him. He sat in an ornate armchair with a woman at his feet in electric blue lingerie. She leaned against his leg with a look I knew. Complete bliss.
“James,” Amber said, briefly glancing at me. I saw her gaze catch on Aiden’s bond mark. “This is Trinity. Pack Breaker’s Omega and submissive. She wanted to speak to you.”
My mouth had gone dry. I wasn’t stuck, but I was nervous. Bastian moved to stand directly behind me so I could feel his warmth.
“Hello, Trinity,” he said with a warm smile. “How can I help you?”
The woman at his feet looked up too, also friendly.
“I was the person who interrupted your scene a few months ago. I wanted to apologize to both of you again. It never should have happened, and I’m so sorry. I also wanted to thank you.”
The man froze and broke into a bewildered smile. “We appreciate the apology. Like I said, I do understand, even through the frustration of the moment. But I’m not sure why you would thank me.”
“You could have had me expelled from Element, but you didn’t. Because you didn’t, I had the opportunity to meet Pack Breaker, who punished me that night.” Now I couldn’t stop my smile. “They’re also my scent matches.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open. “Holy shit.”
James looked down at her with an amused smile.
“Yeah. So thank you for being lenient. You changed my life.”
He laughed. “That is so far from anything I expected, but I have to say I’m glad. That’s a lovely thing to be a part of.” Standing, he stepped forward to shake the hands of my Alphas, and I said hello to his partner, whose name was Bridget.
Amber placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m needed elsewhere, but I hope to see you and your pack here more often. It’s clear they’re bewitched by you.”
“If they are, then so am I.”
“Congratulations,” she said, and then glanced between me and my pack. “And good luck.”
“Good luck?” I asked, but she was already gone.
Bridget giggled. “Five of them? You might need it.”
“I always need it.”
“Brat,” Brooks said in my ear, appearing out of nowhere.
I jumped and swatted his arm. “I need to put a bell on you.” Then I smirked and tilted my head. “You’d look cute with a matching collar.”
Bridget laughed again. “You do need your luck. I hope I’ll see you again.”
There wasn’t a chance to say goodbye, because Brooks was walking me backward, a dangerous glint in his eye. “Good to see you’re in full form, baby. You’re going to need all the strength you’ve got.”
“I promise I’m not being a brat when I tell you that all the hints are making me more nervous than not. Can you please tell me something? Because it’s starting to scare me.”
He stroked a hand over my hair. “Take a breath for me and give me a color.”
I did. “Yellow.”
Brooks waited a moment longer, listening to what he could feel through our bond. “We’re about to go where we need to anyway, so I don’t see why you can’t know.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled and kissed me softly. “I’m not going to say we won’t ever scare you, but there’s a difference between scaring you in a scene and you being scared. We don’t want that. But the scene you interrupted?”
“Yeah?”
“We have the rooftop garden and plenty of time. We’re all going to hunt you, baby.”
The puff of perfume around me was so thick and immediate it might as well have been visible. Bastian approached with a sly smile. “You told her?”
“I did.”
“Ready to sneak?”
I nodded. “But please don’t rip this dress. I like it.”
The others joined us and bundled me into the elevator.
When the doors opened, everything was how I remembered it, other than the cool autumn air.
The roof was soaked in moonlight with a daunting hedge maze.
Plenty of secret corners to sneak in, and plenty of clearings for them to catch me and do… whatever they wanted.
“There’s a very easy solution to the dress problem,” Brooks said, spinning me so my zipper faced him. He lowered the zipper so my dress fell and pooled around my feet. “The roof has been cleared.”
I took my bra and panties off. All that was left was my mask. The way they all looked at me felt like fire beneath my skin. Not the heat, but close.
“You’ll have a head start,” Aiden said. “So use it wisely.”
Logan looked at the others. “I think five minutes is good enough, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Bastian answered.
“Time’s ticking,” Theo looked at his watch.
“Wait,” I stepped into the middle of them. “I… I’d like you to hold me first.”
They converged around me, holding me together and somehow all managing to touch me individually. “I love you,” I said. “So much.”
The words didn’t have to be said out loud for me to hear them clear as a bell in my chest.
“We love you too, baby.” He pulled back and kissed my shoulder. “Four minutes left.”
I gasped. “That doesn’t count.”
“Yes,” Theo said, sliding his hands into his pockets. “It does.”
Staring at them, I tried to see if they were kidding. They weren’t. And they were letting their instincts rise.
I turned and sprinted into the maze, needing to hide, but never more excited to be found.
The End.
Thank you so much for coming to live in the world of Clarity Coast!