48. Epilogue
Epilogue
Calliope
Six months later, Theo is wrapped around me on a blanket beneath the afternoon sun while Idris tries to convince both of us to finish lunch.
Theo’s head rests on my chest, one leg thrown over mine and his fingers tracing the curve of Idris' bite beneath the strap of my bathing suit. I run my thumb around Sloane’s mark on his shoulder in return, careful of the skin even though it healed months ago.
Idris sits beside us with a container of cut fruit balanced on one broad palm. He holds a strawberry near Theo’s mouth until Theo takes it, then offers the next piece to me without waiting for me to ask.
“I already ate,” I tell him, opening my mouth anyway. Idris watches me chew before his gaze drops to the untouched half of my sandwich.
“You ate three strawberries and kissed Theo through most of the fourth.” He brushes his thumb over my lower lip, then brings the sandwich closer. “Finish this, princess.”
The order settles warmly through me. I take another bite while Theo tips his face up for a kiss, and Idris lets us have a few soft seconds before putting two fingers beneath Theo’s chin and directing him back toward the food.
Theo smiles as he chews. His fingers return to my shoulder, brushing over the bite again before he leans close and presses his mouth to the mark.
Idris' pleasure moves through the bond at the sight of it. He cups Theo’s cheek, kisses him slowly, then turns and gives me the same attention until the container begins slipping against his thigh.
Farther down the beach, Dash and Sloane are carrying chairs toward the cabin while they argue over who gets stuck with the umbrella.
Dash says something I can’t hear. Sloane turns toward him with an expression that warms the bond, then bumps his shoulder against Dash’s before they continue across the sand.
Idris follows my gaze and closes the container. “I’m going to help them before Sloane drops those chairs on his foot.”
“He can carry two chairs,” I say, though I make no effort to release Theo when Idris begins gathering the empty wrappers.
“He can. He will also try to carry the cooler, the umbrella, and Dash if no one stops him.” Idris bends to kiss my forehead, then presses another kiss to Theo’s hair. “Finish eating. Both of you.”
Theo nods solemnly against me. I manage the same expression until Idris stands and starts toward the others with the food container beneath one arm.
We wait until he is several yards away.
Then I reach beneath the folded corner of the blanket and pull out my phone.
Theo lifts his head immediately. His eyes widen when he sees the screen, and he twists around until his shoulder is pressed tightly against mine.
“Hurry,” he whispers. “It should be there by now.”
I open the court page we have been checking since breakfast. Zana told us the sentencing update would post sometime this afternoon, then instructed us to stay away from our phones and enjoy the beach.
Idris agreed with her. Sloane took my phone twice before lunch, and Dash only gave it back after I promised I would not spend the entire day refreshing the page.
The promise lasted nearly twenty minutes.
Theo pushes closer while the page loads. His fingers close around my wrist, and I feel his anticipation through the bonds a moment before the update appears.
The first line gives Garrett’s name. The next confirms the sentence.
“Fifteen years,” I say, my voice catching around the number. “He got fifteen years.”
Theo grips me hard enough to make the phone shake as I keep reading. Fifteen years. Permanent disbarment. A Bellwether ban. The older pack transitions are still under investigation.
“He can't practice again,” Theo says. His voice is soft, but it does not disappear. “He can't do it to anyone else.”
I turn and kiss him. Tears slide down his cheeks beneath my hands, and he makes a small sound against my mouth before wrapping both arms around my neck.
I feel Idris stop before I look up. Sloane’s attention turns toward us a second later, followed by Dash glancing between them and immediately understanding what we have done.
Idris starts back toward us with the lunch container still in his hand. “Calliope,” he calls.
Theo freezes against me. I lower the phone between us, but Theo pushes it back toward my chest as though being caught without it in his hand will make him innocent.
“You told me to hurry,” I whisper, trying to slip it beneath the blanket. Theo shakes his head and presses both hands over mine, which makes the screen flash brightly in the sunlight.
Dash reaches us before Idris does. He holds out his hand, waiting until I surrender the phone, then reads the update quickly before sliding it into the pocket of his shorts.
His face softens when he looks at us. “Fifteen?”
I nod. “Fifteen.”
Dash bends and kisses me, one hand cupping my cheek while Theo stays wrapped around my side. When he pulls back, he brushes his thumb beneath Theo’s wet eye before turning toward Idris.
“They found the update,” he says.
“I can see that.” Idris sets the food container on the blanket and looks at the sandwich still sitting where he left it. “I can also see that neither of them finished eating.”
Sloane reaches us with the chairs still balanced over his shoulder. His gaze moves from my face to Theo’s, and the bond fills with such sharp relief that my own eyes begin burning again.
“He got fifteen years,” Theo tells him. The words come faster now, and Sloane drops the chairs into the sand before crouching beside us.
Sloane gathers Theo into both arms and kisses his face until Theo’s tears turn into breathless laughter. Dash takes advantage of the distraction by catching me around the waist and lifting me from the blanket.
I squeal when he throws me over his shoulder. My hair falls across my face, and I reach back toward Theo while Dash starts carrying me toward the cabin.
“Put me down,” I tell him, although I am laughing too hard to give the demand any weight. Dash tightens one arm around my legs and keeps walking.
Theo scrambles to his feet and runs after us. He only makes it a few steps before Sloane catches him around the waist and lifts him off the sand.
Theo laughs and reaches toward me from Sloane’s arms. I stretch back until our fingers catch, joining us between the two men carrying us up the beach.
Idris follows with the abandoned food, towels, and one of the chairs Sloane left behind. He catches up long enough to swat Sloane across the ass, and Sloane turns with Theo still held against his chest.
“You left everything,” Idris tells him, though his mouth is already softening. Sloane leans closer, and Idris catches him by the back of the neck before kissing him hard enough to make Theo laugh between them.
The cabin door stands open ahead of us. Theo’s laughter mixes with mine while Dash carries me up the steps and Sloane keeps Theo close enough that neither of us has to let go.
~ Keep reading for some of the outtakes that didn’t make it into the book but bring all the feel goods of pack life! ~