EPILOGUE
Of course Dorian flirted shamelessly with Ria at her and Emmett’s mating ceremony. But Emmett didn’t carry through his threat to eviscerate the younger man. Because Ria was his now, and Dorian, like every other man in DarkRiver, would rather die than cross that line.
His leopard smiled indulgently as the blond soldier danced Emmett’s mate into a whirl, then caught her laughing form. Her eyes met Emmett’s over Dorian’s shoulder and she blew him a kiss. Smiling, he decided he’d shared his mate quite enough. “Go find another partner, Blondie.”
Dorian released Ria with a mournful smile. “But I like your mink.” Dodging Emmett’s swipe, he walked off with a cocky grin.
“Is your pack always like this?” Ria asked, looking up at him, her arms wrapped around his waist.
“Crazy?”
“That, too. But so . . . like family.”
“Yep. Pack is family.”
A frown gathered between her brows. “What about my parents, grandmother, my brothers, Amber, and Joy—will they be shut out now?”
“They’re family, too,” he told her. “Sometimes, they might wish they weren’t.” Grinning, he directed her gaze to where poor Amber and Joy were being “looked after.” The changelings weren’t touching either mother or baby, but it was obvious they wanted to. Then Ria noticed the beautiful handcrafted baby blanket being held out to Amber. Her sister-in-law looked stunned . . . before a slow smile crept over her face.
“We like kids,” Emmett whispered in her ear.
Pressing herself to him, she stood on tiptoe to whisper back. “Me, too.”
He squeezed her close.
“How come you took so long to find me?” she asked.
“Stupidity.” A nip of her ear. “But now that I have you, I’m never letting go.”
Ria smiled and kissed the edge of his jaw. “Who says I’d let you?”
Laughing, Emmett spun her off her feet and around in a dizzying circle. Ria met her grandmother’s eyes halfway through the first rotation. Miaoling was holding court with the young ones, but her smile was just for Ria. And Ria knew her grandmother understood.
Emmett was it for her. Forever. No matter what.
It was, she thought, looking down into eyes gone cat in joyful play, perfect.