Epilogue

Whenever Greta holds an event, she tends to go all out, so I wasn’t entirely surprised when she woke up at the crack of dawn to make the necessary arrangements. As for Bree, I couldn’t tell if she was stunned, mystified, or a bit of both.

“Is she always like this?” Bree asked as she watched my sister flit from one end of the property to the other, lining the fence surrounding my yard with streamers, bows, and lights.

“Energetic, overly excited, and impossible to keep up with?” I asked with a laugh. “Pretty much. She gets super excited whenever we do something like this.”

“And where are you when it happens?” she asked with a sly grin on her face.

“Probably hiding in my office and avoiding the crowds.”

She took me in her arms so my back was to her, then placed her chin on my shoulder as she spoke. “This is one crowd you won’t be able to avoid.” With that, she kissed the nape of my neck, smiling into my skin when I shivered from her affection.

“Good thing it isn’t very big,” I said as I leaned my head back enough so I could meet her in a single kiss.

“Yeah,” Greta agreed as she came over to join us. “Otherwise, she might not come out of hiding for a week. I would’ve told Mom and Dad, but—”

“I’ll tell them in time,” I said. “I haven’t quite figured out how to explain everything to them yet. They’re aware of shifters, but their generation isn’t as…”

“Accepting?” Bree offered.

“That’s one way to put it,” Greta agreed. “But I’m sure Mom and Dad won’t mind. It’s just those outsiders Dad doesn’t like.” She wrinkled her nose, then went back to what she was doing.

“Outsiders?” Bree asked, unable to hide the smile in her voice.

“Like the one that came into my yard.” At least, that’s what I hoped my sister meant. “My folks are gonna flip once they find out we did this without them. They’ve been pushing me for years—”

“Today isn’t for them,” Bree said, turning me around so I was facing her again. “This is for us. If you’re having second thoughts—”

“I’m not.” In fact, it was just the opposite. “This is right,” I told her. “This feels right. I can deal with my parents’ backlash later. Today is ours.”

“As it should be,” Aaron said as he casually closed the distance between us. “We’re ready for you now.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“What’s so funny?” Bree asked him as he turned away.

“The way Carley’s sister has gone about positioning everything is a big eff you to the other packs that had their eyes on this territory.” Then, with a huge grin on his face and a sparkle in his eyes, he said, “I approve.”

Looking at one another, Bree and I joined him in his mirth, then followed close behind the shaman to a small space he’d set up in front of a white and slate gray gazebo. It wasn’t the one from the center of town but made Bree smile the moment she heard about it, anyway.

Greta had thought of everything. From the streamers placed all along the fence to the photograph of Bree’s parents currently positioned under the gazebo. Everything was in place.

As for Aaron’s approval of the silent gesture my sister had inadvertently sent to the other packs? That made it even better.

“With all family and spirits accounted for,” Aaron began as Bree and I took our place in front of him, “we begin. Years ago, long before any of us were born, wolves would court one another in the usual way that most wild packs do. That was a time before humans encroached on our land, hunted more than they’d ever need, and killed any wolves they found. However, instead of going into hiding, our ancestors had a better idea. Why not make ourselves known?

Yes, some saw us as monsters and made it their right to hunt us down, but when we didn’t flee and refused to fight back, things slowly started to shift.

Fast-forward hundreds of years, and we now live in a world where humans and wolves co-exist. We might stick to our territories, and our wolves growl in protest whenever we venture too close to a human city, but we’ve made a bit of progress. Some humans might deny we exist, and some might still carry fear in their hearts, but there are a select few who push aside our differences to truly see the human hidden beneath our pelts.

We’re fortunate to have two such humans with us today, one who has proved, time and again, that while she might not be a wolf, she still has the soul of one.”

He smiled at me then, waiting until Bree took my hands in hers before speaking again.

“As many of us know, a wolf sheds its clothing whenever they shift. Because of this, the use of rings isn’t commonplace. However, because Carley is unable to shift, I thought we might leave it up to her before we continue.”

With everyone’s eyes on me and Bree’s palms sweating as much as my own, I squeezed them tight and hoped my voice didn’t sound as scratchy as it felt. “The rings aren’t important to me. I know where Bree’s loyalty lies, same with her wolf. If not for them, we probably wouldn’t even be here. But if it would make your wolf feel more at ease, I can wear something of yours. Something she’ll recognize no matter how far apart we are.”

“Tattoos,” my sister chimed in, her peppy voice catching us by surprise. “He said you lose clothes when you shift, but what about tattoos?” She was vibrating with energy and practically bouncing in place as she spoke.

Bree looked from her, to me, then to Aaron again. “Are there rules against such markings?”

“Not that I can recall,” Aaron replied. “A mark as small as a band on one’s finger is more than acceptable. It’s also something I can do, woven with magic, that will be of little to no cost to me if that is the path you wish to take.”

Bree didn’t hesitate. “We do.”

“Carley?” he urged with the lift of his eyebrows. “This is a partnership, so I need your take on it as well.”

Looking at Bree and seeing the huge grin on her face, I agreed. “A small band,” I said as I held Bree’s hands between us. “Plain and simple, but just as symbolic.”

“Very well.”

Placing a hand on either one of our wrists, Aaron closed his eyes and said something I couldn’t quite understand. At first, all I felt was the warmth of his touch and the energy he sent to me from Bree, much like we’d done when she was injured. The only difference now was that instead of the cooler colors and an ache in my chest, a flash of red and gold filled my mind as a surge of warmth quickly worked its way up my arm.

Bree might not have been in her pelt, but there was no mistaking where those images had come from.

“There,” Aaron said a moment later, stepping back so we could admire the thin bands for ourselves.

Barely visible, the bands were a true mark, one we could never wash away and something no one else could ever remove.

“If there are no refusals on why this bond should happen,” Aaron began, “you may take on your pelts and find a secluded place to be with your mate.” Then, realizing he slipped up, he said, “you may kiss your mate.”

Bree didn’t wait, taking me in her arms while as she smiled against my lips. Her hold on me was firm but gentle, her chest pressed close enough to mine so I could feel her heart beating against my own.

Vaguely aware of my sister and Jackson cheering in the background, I lost myself in Bree’s kiss, rolling under the waves of excitement, love, and warmth that Bree sent through me. Whether those feelings came from her or her wolf, I couldn’t say.

In the end, it was just Bree. My friend. My mate.

My wolf of mine.

 

 

“What will you do now?” Greta asked once she got me alone.

She wasn’t asking me to come home. Instead, she was asking me about my time here, living as a part of Bree’s pack.

“I need to stay here,” I said to her as well as myself. “There are things I need to take care of—”

“Like that safe house idea you mentioned?”

My cheeks warmed under her intense gaze, especially once I realized Bree had overhead.

“What is this about a safe house?” she asked, looking slightly amused.

“Remember how I said I wanted to do more with our app?” When she nodded, I continued. “When you mentioned how rare your safe houses were, it got me thinking. Why not work on safe housing? It isn’t something we can openly advertise without getting outsiders involved, of course, but if you and Jackson would be willing, I thought we might build the first one here.”

“And replace your home?” Bree frowned. “Carley—”

“You said so yourself. It used to be a safe house, and seeing as we were planning to make a few renovations anyway—”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Jackson said as he came over to join us.

“You do?” Bree looked right at him. “But where will she live?”

“With us,” Jackson said before I could do the same. “She’s part of the pack now, so there’s no reason why she couldn’t.”

“Jackson,” Bree began, looking at her brother with a hint of amusement and something I couldn’t place, “there are times when we’ll need our privacy.”

“And I love running in my pelt,” he argued. “What’s the problem?”

With a sigh, Bree met my gaze, then smiled. “Are you sure? Because we could always—”

“This is what we’ve been working toward,” I said before she could finish. “The three of us, together. Sure, it might be a little awkward at times, but I can’t live without you, and you can’t live without your brother, even if he’s only one house away. We belong together.” I reached out for Jackson’s arm. “All three of us.”

“And if you ever decide you want a fourth,” Greta began, laughing when we turned to her in surprise. “Kidding. Kidding. I can still visit, right?”

Bree considered her question a moment, then opened her arms so Greta could join in our group hug. “Any family member of Carley’s is a family member of mine. Just call before you do. Jackson doesn’t keep the tidiest of rooms.”

We all laughed at that.

Full of love and warmth, and as a soft melody started to play over the radio, there was one more thing I needed to do.

“Let’s dance.”