Epilogue 1 Rowan
One Month Later
There are certain things I never thought I’d do in my life.
Join a fucking Pack again.
Let another Alpha tell me what to do.
Fall ass-over-teakettle in love with a woman who could literally set my ass on fire.
Become a father.
Make dinosaur-shaped pancakes at six-thirty in the fucking morning.
Yet here I am.
“Dad!”
My heart still skips a beat when he calls me that, but I’m trying not to show it. Gabby cried the first time he did it.
Hell, I did too.
Fuck you, real men cry when it counts.
I glance over my shoulder.
Matteo is sitting at the kitchen table in his pajamas, hair sticking up in six different directions, watching me with the kind of judgment only a six-year-old can deliver.
“What?”
“That one doesn't look like a dinosaur.”
I look down at the pancake.
“It has four legs.”
“It has five legs.”
I count.
Fuck.
He’s right.
“So it’s a mutant dinosaur.”
“There aren't mutant dinosaurs.”
“You don't know that.”
“I read books.”
“So do I.”
“About dinosaurs?”
“No.”
He sighs.
Actually fucking sighs.
Monster chuffs inside me.
Pup.
Yeah.
Our pup.
That still gets me every damn time.
“Why don't you go get dressed for school and let me worry about breakfast?”
“Mommy said I have to eat first.”
“Your mommy is sleeping.”
“No, she isn't.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Nope.”
Small arms suddenly slide around me from behind.
I grin.
Fucking kid.
“Traitor.”
“I told you,” Matteo sings.
“Good morning,” Gabby murmurs against my back.
I turn immediately.
There she is.
My Honey Girl.
Barefoot. Hair a mess. Wearing one of my old A-Feral shirts that hangs almost to her knees.
And yeah, she’s pregnant.
My eyes drop automatically to her belly.
There's nothing to see yet.
Doesn't fucking matter, Monster pipes up.
And yeah, I know. He’s right.
Our baby.
Monster practically rolls over and shows his belly every time we think about it.
Some terrifying beast.
“You should be sleeping.”
Gabby's amber eyes narrow.
“I'm pregnant, Rowan. Not dying.”
“Same difference.”
“Not even remotely.”
“You need rest.”
“I slept nine hours.”
“Could've been ten.”
“Rowan.”
“Honey Girl.”
She stares at me. I stare back.
Matteo crunches loudly into a piece of bacon.
“This is when they kiss.”
Gabby's mouth twitches.
“Go get dressed.”
“But you said I had to eat first.”
“You're done.”
“I still have bacon.”
I reach over, steal it off his plate, and shove it into my mouth.
“Now you're done.”
“Hey!”
“Alpha tax.”
“That's not real!”
“Extremely real.”
“You always say that!”
“And yet you keep leaving bacon unattended.”
He gasps like I've personally betrayed him, then runs toward his room.
“I'm telling Uncle Sparky!”
“Go ahead. He invented Dragon tax.”
Matteo freezes. His eyes widen.
“There’s Dragon tax?”
I grin. Gabby starts laughing.
“School clothes,” she tells him.
He takes off. I turn toward my mate.
She's still laughing when I grab her around the waist and pull her against me.
“Morning, Honey Girl.”
“Morning, Alpha.”
Fuck, I love when she calls me that.
My mouth finds hers.
Soft.
Slow.
Nothing urgent about it. We've got plenty of time now.
That's another thing I'm still getting used to.
We have fucking time.
I kiss her once more before dropping to my knees.
“Rowan.”
“Shh.”
I push the shirt up just enough to uncover her stomach. Then I kiss it.
“Morning, Baby.”
“You know it's the size of a poppy seed or something, right?”
“Still my kid.”
“You are ridiculous.”
I kiss her belly again.
Mate. Pup.
Monster's happiness rolls through me. A month ago, I thought I was dying on the forest floor.
Now I have everything.
And it is all because of this woman.
My woman.
I stand and narrow my eyes at Gabby.
“Sit.”
“Don't Alpha-voice me.”
“I'm not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“Sit your gorgeous ass down and let me feed you.”
“That wasn't better.”
“Wasn't trying to be.”
She smacks my chest on her way past.
I grin.
The past month has been fucking insane.
Ethan's dead. The remnants of the Suicide Cliff Wake scattered after losing their Alpha and a hell of a lot of their males.
Gabby's a fucking Phoenix. Yeah, I’m still wrapping my head around that one.
Justin has become disturbingly interested in her history, which annoys Monster, but Gabby says the Dragon is helping her understand what she is.
Fine.
Whatever.
As long as Sparky remembers she's mine.
And Matteo?
The kid bounced back faster than any of us.
There are still nightmares. Sometimes he wakes up and crawls into bed with us. Sometimes he needs to know exactly where his mother is.
I understand that better than anyone.
So we let him. No questions. No bullshit.
He needs us, we're there.
That's what family fucking does.
Gabby sits while I put a plate in front of her.
Eggs.
Toast.
Fruit.
Bacon.
Two pancakes.
She stares at it.
“Rowan.”
“What?”
“This could feed Wreck.”
“No, it couldn't.”
“Okay, fair.”
“Eat.”
She picks up a strawberry.
“Yes, sir.”
My dick twitches. Her eyes sparkle.
“Don't start something you can't finish before school drop-off.”
“Who says I can't?”
“Me.”
I kiss the top of her head.
“Eat.”
Another thing that's changed? Gabby doesn't work at The Joint anymore. And she sure as fuck doesn't bartend at Dick's.
Turns out my Honey Girl had some concerns about quitting both her shitty jobs.
Mostly involving money. Which led to an interesting conversation.
Specifically, the one where I finally told my mate I'm independently wealthy.
She thought I was joking.
Then she saw my bank accounts.
The look on her face?
Fucking priceless.
What the fuck did she think I'd been doing with my paychecks for the past sixteen years?
I live in a cabin in the woods, for fuck’s sake. Didn't have family to spend money on. Never wanted any fancy shit.
So yeah, I invested.
Duh.
Apparently doing that consistently for sixteen fucking years adds up.
Who knew?
Well, me obviously.
So after several arguments involving phrases like I can contribute and I'm not living off you, I finally got it through my stubborn mate's head that we're a family.
There is no my money. There's ours. And right now, she's contributing plenty.
She's growing our fucking baby. She's taking care of herself. She's there when Matteo gets home from school.
And for the first time in years, she isn't working herself into the ground to pay off some asshole who was selling her out anyway.
Does that mean she can never work again?
Fuck no.
Gabby can do anything she wants.
If she wakes up tomorrow and decides she wants to open a fucking bookstore, I'll buy her the building.
But she doesn't have to do anything. Not anymore.
And knowing my mate and pup are safe and cared for? That makes me the happiest fucking Wolf in the world.
My phone rings. I glance at the screen.
Well, fuck me.
“Who's that?” Gabby asks.
“Alpha of the Macconwood Pack. Rafe Maccon.”
Her brows rise.
“Your old Pack?”
“Yeah.”
“Answer it.”
I grunt and swipe the screen.
“This is Cross.”
“Well, good morning to you too, Havoc.”
“It's early.”
“It's almost seven.”
“Exactly.”
Rafe chuckles.
“Just checking in. Heard things got a little interesting out there.”
I glance at Gabby. She's stealing bacon from my plate.
I slap her hand. She steals it anyway.
“That's one fucking word for it.”
“Your mate and boy alright?”
My chest warms.
“Yeah. They're good.”
“And you?”
“Still ugly.”
“Nothing new there.”
“Fuck you.”
Gabby snorts. I grin.
It's weird talking to Rafe again. Weird, but not bad. Maybe because I don't feel like the same Wolf who left New Jersey all those years ago.
Or maybe I'm finally starting to understand I never was the Wolf I thought I was.
“Funny,” I mutter, “I guess I actually turned out all right despite that fucking prom thing.”
Silence. Not the reaction I'm expecting.
Then Rafe's voice changes.
“You don't blame yourself for that, do you, Rowan?”
I go still.
Gabby notices immediately. Her amber eyes lift to mine.
“What?”
“Prom,” Rafe says. “You don't actually think that was your fault?”
My hand tightens around the phone.
“I lost control.”
“No, you fucking didn't.”
I frown.
“What are you talking about?”
“They spiked the punch, Rowan.”
“I know.”
“No. I don't think you do. That wasn't beer or some stupid teenage prank. It was a magic brew. It riled up a bunch of Shifter teens that night. Aggression. Territorial instincts. Mating instincts. Everything got amplified.”
I don't move. Gabby's hand slips into mine. I grip it automatically.
“And your girl was deliberately trying to make you jealous,” Rafe continues. “She knew exactly which buttons she was pushing. Shit, I didn't know you blamed yourself all these years.”
My throat feels strangely tight.
“I went fucking crazy.”
“No, you didn't.”
“Rafe—”
“Rowan, listen to me. You did not go crazy and try to hurt them.”
Monster is utterly silent.
“What?”
“You were pissed. Your Wolf came forward. You scared the shit out of a few people, but you didn't attack anybody.”
My chest feels strange.
Like something that has been sitting there for years just...shifted.
“I remember—”
“You remember being drugged with a magical substance designed to fuck with Shifter instincts. What you apparently don't remember is controlling yourself.”
I stare out the kitchen window.
Sixteen years.
Fuck.
Longer than that.
I've carried that night with me everywhere.
Proof.
That was what I made it.
Proof Monster was dangerous.
Proof I couldn't be trusted.
Proof eventually I'd hurt someone I loved.
“You really didn't know?” Rafe asks.
“No.”
“Jesus Christ.”
I swallow.
“I thought Monster—”
“Havoc, you've got some of the best control I've ever seen in an Alpha.”
I almost laugh. Almost.
“You're full of shit.”
“I'm really not. You were a teenage Alpha Wolf dosed with magic designed to provoke exactly the instincts you were already struggling to understand, and you still didn't hurt anyone.”
Something burns behind my eyes.
Fuck that.
I blink it away. Gabby's fingers tighten around mine.
“You've always had control,” Rafe says. “Maybe it's time you give yourself some fucking credit for it.”
I don't know what to say to that.
So naturally—
“Fuck you, Maccon.”
Rafe laughs.
“There he is.”
“Thank you.”
The words nearly kill me. His laughter stops.
“Anytime, Havoc.”
We talk another minute before hanging up.
Then I just stand there.
Gabby doesn't push. Doesn't ask. She gets up from the table and walks over to me.
Her arms wrap around my waist. I bury my face in her hair.
Woodsmoke.
Crisp autumn mornings.
Home.
“You okay?” she whispers.
I think about it.
“Yeah.”
And fuck me.
I actually am.
Maybe Monster was never the thing I needed to fear.
Maybe I spent half my fucking life punishing both of us for something we didn't do.
We knew, the bastard mutters.
I almost laugh.
“Of course you fucking did.”
“What?” Gabby asks.
“Monster's being smug.”
“So, a normal morning?”
“Pretty much.”
She smiles against my chest.
Then little footsteps thunder down the hallway.
“I'm ready!”
We turn. Matteo stands there with his dinosaur backpack, one sneaker untied, and his shirt half tucked into his pants.
I stare at him. At Gabby. At the soft curve of her belly that doesn't show our baby yet but will soon.
My family.
The one fucking thing I never thought I'd have.
For a long time, I didn't think I deserved them.
Maybe Rafe's right.
Maybe I need to stop looking backward at every mistake I've ever made for proof that I'm a monster.
Because I know one thing now with absolute fucking certainty.
I might not have believed I deserved Gabriella when this started. But I know now that I'm the only male for her.
Her Alpha.
Her mate.
Her Rowan.
And she is the only one for me.
She's my Omega.
My Honey Girl.
And Matteo?
That's my son. Not by blood. By something stronger.
Choice.
Soon there'll be another little heartbeat in this cabin too.
Wolf?
Phoenix?
Some combination that will probably give Justin a fucking research obsession?
Don't know. Don't care.
Ours.
And that's enough.
“Rowan!” Matteo points accusingly at the stove. “My mutant dinosaur is burning!”
“Shit!”
“Eight!”
“Fuck.”
“NINE!”
Gabby starts laughing. I grab the spatula.
“Kid, we're resetting the swear jar when the baby comes.”
“No way!”
“I'm the Alpha.”
“Mommy!”
“Don't drag me into this,” Gabby says, still laughing.
I look around my kitchen.
At my pregnant mate stealing another piece of bacon.
At my son arguing that unborn babies absolutely get to inherit existing swear-jar totals.
At the burned mutant dinosaur pancake smoking on my stove.
Monster settles inside me with a contented rumble.
Home.
Yeah.
Home.
This loud, ridiculous, beautiful fucking family is everything I never knew I wanted.
Everything I thought a monster like me could never have.
But they're mine.
And I'm theirs.
The Fates brought Gabriella to me. Gabby and I chose the rest.
Every fucking day, we'll keep choosing it. And anyone who ever thinks they're going to take this family away from me?
Well, Monster and I finally agree on exactly what we're capable of.
Just fucking try me.