Epilogue - Rissa
Two Months Later
“I can’t believe you kept this around.” I shake my head in disbelief, with a hint of surprise in my voice as I stare at the Ferris wheel.
“I just had to,” Brooks chuckles. “We didn’t get to go full circle on this thing the last time we tried, and I didn’t have the heart to have it taken down until we finished what we started.”
Still shaking my head, I giggle as Brooks leads me toward the ride. Now that the season is making its retreat, the summer festival came to a close this past week. Brooks has been busy tending to his work, so it’s our first time spending a date night together since closing the demons’ portal.
Though it’s a temporary fix, there haven’t been any demon sightings in the area for months, so tonight does feel less stressful than our first date since Aurora binded this part of town with a protective spell to prevent an incidents like the one Brooks and I faced a few months ago It’s even better now that Brooks and I have been bonding at home whenever we can, and he doesn’t miss an opportunity to tell me he loves me in between.
Brooks helps me onto the carriage, and he’s about to climb in when he stops and shakes his head.
“You’re not gonna use magic to switch it on,” he says as he steps back and makes sure the safety gate remains open. “We're not taking any chances.”
“What are you doing?” I ask with a frown as he proceeds to walk toward the controls.
“I’m turning it on,” he says with a casual shrug before flipping the lever that kicks the Ferris wheel into gear.
It jostles to life, and I instinctively grab the rail that surrounds the cart, frowning in confusion when the cart begins its steady ascent, and Brooks doesn’t immediately return.
“Brooks!” I squeeze my eyelids shut as fear lodges in my throat, when suddenly, a loud bang rumbles through the cart with vibration. Brooks jumps in and shuts the safety gate behind him, then turns to throw me a charming smile as if he’s oblivious to the fact that we’re moving.
“You’re crazy!” I wail as I grab a fistful of his T-shirt and pull him onto the bench beside me.
“Crazy about you,” he teases as he leans in and whispers his lips under my earlobe.
Just as I’m about to lean my head to the side and give him full access to my neck, a strange, distant ringing enters my eardrums. I frown and straighten up, a trickle of fear running through my spine when I suspect that I’m sensing the demon.
But as I stare ahead, the vast, open night sky suddenly turns blindingly bright, a warm orange glow warming my face.
I gasp and turn toward Brooks, but he isn’t seated in the Ferris wheel carriage with me anymore. He’s standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders, nodding with gentle encouragement for me to keep my eyes ahead.
That’s when I realize we’re not on the ride anymore, but we’re standing in the forest, surrounded by our friends while an open fire burns in the center.
Alpha Dawson carries over a cauldron and sets it on the fire before Aurora throws a bag with a mixture of herbs and plants into the pot. It erupts with a puff of vividly colored smoke, and Yvonne begins chanting some words in a different language.
Though I’ve never heard that language before, I understand the words she’s saying as she calls upon the Moon Goddess’s presence to bless the potion that will seal the gate to the underworld.
That’s when I realize that I’m standing in the vision Yvonne had a few months ago. She described her vision to me before—the one that prophesied me emerging as a witch and my mate bond with Brooks.
But her vision ended when she turned her eyes to me. This one is different because even when Yvonne completes her chanting, she glances at me, and the vision continues.
Her eyes flicker to the left, and she nods, so I follow her gaze to find a pair of green eyes staring into the pot. It’s Alpha Thane, but he’s not alone. He lifts a ladle in front of him and passes it to the woman standing beside him.
I look up and meet the woman’s blue eyes, gasping when I recognize them.
That’s when I’m sprung out of the vision, and I’m back on the Ferris wheel with Brooks.
“Rissa…?” Brooks strokes my knuckles with his thumb. “Are you okay?”
Glancing at my hand, I realize he must have been able to see my vision if he was holding it.
“You saw that too?” I ask with a frown, to which Brooks nods.
“You had your first vision,” he says with a proud smile.
Taking a deep breath, I nod and allow the overwhelming sensations to pass.
“I recognize her…the fourth witch that we need to help Emile defeat the demon for good. She’s gonna be Thane’s mate…”
“You recognize her?” Brooks frowns. “Who is she?”
“I don’t know her name, but I’ve seen her visit the clinic before. She was probably Cynthia’s patient, not mine. But it’s been years. I never saw her again.”
“You think she left this pack?”
“Probably.” I shrug. “What do we do now? How do we find her?”
“We’ll have to take this to the elders,” Brooks says, sliding his arm across my shoulders. “Thane will be happy to hear about this.”
“You think so?” I ask as I settle my head on Brooks’s shoulder and stare at the night sky as we ride the Ferris wheel.
“Yeah…he mentioned wanting to settle down, especially since all of us have our mates now. I mean, it won’t come as a surprise that your vision will tell him who his mate will be. I think we all expected it.”
Sighing heavily, I close my eyes and relish the comfort of Brooks’s arm, enjoying our time together while also relieved that I had a vision, and it wasn’t a signal that the demons are coming again.
The comfortable silence that falls over us allows me to open my eyes just as we make another one-eighty-degree turn, and we’re at the peak of the ride. Seeing the village from up here without any interruptions makes me realize that I’m exactly where I need to be.
I’m glad Brooks brought me back to Girdwood, even if we had our fair share of complications in the past. We’ve since overcome all the challenges we faced, and I couldn’t be happier while I get to practice my magic and do what I love the most, and that’s helping people.
When I first thought about becoming a healer at the clinic, I only did it to help others, not realizing that one day, I’d play an important role in saving the entire pack from the greatest threat we’ve ever faced.
What’s even better is that I get to do it beside the man I love, and my lips lift with a warm smile as I turn to him. But he has his eyes closed, and I frown.
“What are you thinking about, Brooks?”
Brooks opens his eyes gently, the pools of silver-gray lighting up with warmth that betrays his usually cold and stoic demeanor. It’s because I know that the man underneath the layers of tough alpha fur is the most loving, caring man I’ve ever met.
“Nothing,” he says earnestly as he absentmindedly strokes my arm. “For the first time in my life, I don’t have any thoughts in my head. No worries. No concerns. Everything just feels…right,” he chuckles. “It’s a strange thing…feeling… ”
Smiling warmly at him, I reach out and cradle his cheek, and his eyelids drift closed as he nuzzles his face into my palm.
“Is it a good thing?” I whisper.
Brooks nods. “It was overwhelming in the beginning, but I’m starting to understand how important it is. It makes me feel unstoppable, invincible. I’m the strongest I’ve ever been.” He touches my wrist and plants a kiss on the inside of my hand. “And it’s all thanks to you.”
My heart skips a beat as I stare at the man I love, knowing exactly how he feels and feeling the same way. Together, we’ve only grown stronger, and I wouldn’t be able to use my powers in the first place without him.
“You’re right…everything does feel perfect. I love you, Brooks.”
“I love you too, sweetheart,” he responds as he leans in and presses his lips to mine.
The kiss is unrushed, sweet yet toe-curling at the same time.
When he draws back, his eyes twinkle like the stars above our heads.
“The only thing that would be more than perfect would be starting a family with you.”
Smiling shyly, I giggle under my breath, feeling my cheeks heat. “You know…I was thinking about that. I’m ready.”
“You are?!” Brooks exclaims, and his excitement is all the confirmation I need to know that he’d make an excellent father.
It’s not that I had any doubts, but I’ve been thinking about it so much lately.
I nod gently, and Brooks kisses me again.
“We could start now, you know,” he says when he draws back, and wiggles his brows suggestively.
Chuckling nervously, I frown as Brooks slides his arm off my shoulders and proceeds to kneel on the floor in front of me. “Like…right now?”
Brooks stares at me through hooded eyes as he licks his lips. He’s already sliding the skirt of my dress over my knees.
“Yeah…why not?” His voice is lowered and darker now, his hands gliding up my thighs.
“You’re crazy…” I giggle, my thighs parting as a natural response to his coercing caresses.
“Uh-huh…I told you I was crazy about you…” He drawls as he leans in and presses his nose to the crotch of my panties, drinking in the scent of my raging pheromones with a guttural groan.
My head lolls back as I close my eyes and sink into the feeling of rising passion, knowing how good it feels when Brooks worships at the apex of my thighs.
This is utter bliss, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I’m glad I came back. I’m glad I stayed.
And most of all, I’m glad that I get to have all these incredible experiences with the man I love.
Those thoughts have me lifting my head to watch him as ravenous eyes meet mine, dark now with distinctive hunger. Sensation spreads through my body as a natural response to meeting his lustful eyes, my heart racing with anticipation and drumming the rhythm of the arousal stirring between my thighs.