Epilogue

TWENTY YEARS LATER ~ ANNALISE

H owls and yips of joy and pain filled the night as Rebin held me. His arms caged me in, keeping me still. It was a good thing, too. If he let go, I might have run all the way from where we sat to the clearing outside the Alpha’s Den where our girls were going through their first shift, surrounded by their peers.

“Stay put, silver girl,” Rebin growled in my ear. “You promised.”

I let out a grumpy sigh and gazed across the cliffside. It was the exact place where Rebin and I had made love after his first shift, and the darkness was filled with every bit as much expectation. The spring grass beneath us now amplified my own scent, and his petrichor brought to mind rainstorms in the desert, though the night was clear, the full moon sailing above us.

“Can you believe it’s been twenty years?”

“Almost twenty-one years with you, my love,” he said, toying with my silver hair. “And what I can’t believe is how it’s possible to love you more every moon.” I relaxed into his embrace, luxuriating in the smooth warmth of his skin on mine.

We were both naked, ready to shift when the others reached us, and his hot gaze on my bare skin was enough to drive off the slight spring chill.

“I love you more with every hour, Rebin,” I replied, turning to admire his profile in the moonlight.

I’d aged since we first mated, but his eyes shone with even more love than they had in those first days, if such a thing was possible. He disagreed, saying the only thing that had changed was the color of my hair, and insisted he’d changed it by calling me his silver girl for so long.

He might have been right. I was seventy-nine now, but my body hadn’t aged more than a few years to look at it. I was every bit as strong as I had been, and Rebin assured me I was still as sexy to him. Not that he had to convince me; his unquenchable sex drive made it clear I still did it for him.

I listened for our girls again. We’d both decided it would be best not to be at the Den for the change itself. There was nothing worse than seeing your own child in pain, and the first change—even with an exceptional Alpha like Brand—was always painful.

For a long moment, we both stared up at the moon, lost in thought. “Brand really is a fine Alpha,” I commented, when the sounds in the distance changed to howls of pure joy and triumph.

It wasn’t Rebin, but his wolf, who answered, “He is one of ours. Our great-great-great-grandson. Of course he’s exceptional.”

I giggled. “You can’t claim every powerful Alpha alive as one of our descendants from other lives.” It was still hard to fathom, but over the years, Rebin’s wolf had shared details from our lives before this one.We had a surprising number of “descendants” living all over the world, most of them leaders, healers, or powerful members of their packs.

When I’d asked if other shifters’ souls were like ours, being reborn to live together for centuries, he’d been hesitant to answer. Finally, he’d admitted that not every wolf’s soul ran life’s path more than once, only those who chose to do so. “It’s uncommon,” was all he would share.

Since this was meant to be our last life in these forms, we savored every moment we had together. Knowing our journey was ending was bittersweet, but my mate’s reassurance that we would be together after this life was an unexpected blessing. Though he wouldn’t tell me what happened next, no matter how often I asked. The moon keeps her secrets, was all he would say.

“I would never claim every powerful shifter as ours,” he grumbled now. “Especially not that horrible Grigor.”

“Shhh,” I whispered, tickling his side. “You know better than to speak his name. The great shifter boogeyman might come for you.”

I rather liked Grigor, who was one of the most powerful creatures alive, though most of our kind avoided him at all costs. He had a history of creatively slaughtering anyone who looked at his mate without what he deemed proper respect, or for too long, or with any hint of lust in their gaze.

I leaned over and kissed Rebin, since I could feel his wolf’s unease at the mention of Grigor’s name. He returned my kiss passionately, then settled back, pulling me onto his lap until I could feel his rigid cock against my spine.

It’s good to have a younger mate , I thought to myself as I rubbed up against him.

“They’re coming,” Rebin murmured, lifting me as he stood. “We should shift and meet the girls as our wolves.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

We tried not to change in front of the rest of our pack, as it raised questions we might not want to answer. Our changes were faster than they should be, like lightning, and since neither of us was officially an Alpha, Brand had advised discretion.

So we each stood on four feet, a dark wolf and a moon-bright one, as the pack ran to meet us, our girls at the front, leaping with joy in the night.

Our Mother Moon shone down, Her face glimmering with laughter and love for Her children, the darkness around shimmering with mystery. The wind filled with howls of delight, and promises of belonging and protection.

It was good to be loved. To be pack.