Epilogue - Kenzie

The winter had come on quickly, and before I knew it, Grayson and I welcomed our daughter into the world, Ryme Williams. Everything about her was a dream; she was born wide-eyed and ready for the world, with a heady of icy blonde hair and her father's crystal blue stare. She was as fair as me and so very wise already. Each aspect of her was like this perfect moment crystallized into reality.

I loved her with all my soul, and her father was absolutely wrapped around her finger.

She was still able to communicate with us once she was born with her telepathy. Still, I had to admit that her powers had diminished now that she was Earthside. I'd been reassured by both Forrest and Willow that Ryme's gifts would develop as she did. The kiddo just needed to get the hang of this being a baby thing.

It was still remarkable when it did happen, usually when she was particularly emotional—which encompassed everything from ecstatic to sad to angry, and angry happened its fair share as it did in all babies.

And damn, could she eat.

I was thrilled when she took so well to solid food because if I had to put up with having her strapped to me for nearly every hour of the day for a moment past that four-month mark, I had a feeling I was going to lose my damn mind.

She's amazing, though. And so smart.

And we'd learned so much from her birth. Forrest and Willow were able to collect her DNA and compare it to what they knew. It proved without a shadow of a doubt that V?lva shifters, or as we had taken to calling them, V?lva magic users, were not a disease to cure, not a fluke or mistake. They were another strand of shifter and human DNA that mixed to create something incredible.

All the babies got along incredibly well, and Senna could sense Ryme's powers and potential better than anyone. She was an incredible Godmother to have on our side, and I had taken advice about how to raise her from everyone I could.

Her DNA and that of the other kids—Kit's and Senna's—had also shown that they carried the markers to pass on genes for wolf shifters. They could create V?lva or wolves. It was remarkable. It also proved that mixing the genes around, including with V?lva and humans, was the right thing to do for our packs.

The time of isolation was coming to an end, and the Alphas were doing everything they could to bring the packs together.

"Honey," Grayson called out. "We need to get going."

I flicked my attention to the door, grabbing the baby monitor so that I could keep an eye on Ryme while she napped. We were having a meeting with the council of Alphas to discuss some new information about those hunters, and it was an understatement to say that I was nervous.

"Okay, okay," I whispered, leaving Ryme's nursery, which we'd created in the room next to ours, and closing the door behind me. "Let's go."

Grayson and I met the others in the large dining hall in the compound. The entire place had been scrubbed free of any sign of Eli, and it was incredible what the work of those dedicated wolves had done.

The place wasn't this gloomy stone fortress anymore. It was homey and secure and clean, and it finally didn't smell like those damned drugs.

As we filed into the room, Grayson took his place at the front alongside the other Alphas, and I took mine. At the front with the mates and V?lva, who were being treated as equals. It was such a tiny little thing, but damn, I knew how much we all appreciated it. Senna, Kit, and I had been through a fuckton for our mates, and it was fantastic to be getting the recognition we deserved.

The entirety of the wolven packs associated with each Alpha were gathered in the massive dining room. We had them all here to learn about the situation with hunters. Because we all deserved to know, to understand .

Since being in their fortress, Rowan and Cade had taken a particular interest in tracking down the hunters and learning as much as possible about them. They were clearly a well-funded, well-established group, and that was more than a little concerning.

"Thank you all for coming," Grayson announced. "You all know why we're here. I haven't kept the truth from you or stopped you all from exchanging theories and delivering them to your Alphas because I fully believe that it's imperative that we all cooperate. As such, we have new information that Rowan and Cade were able to unearth during their last foray into the human world. You have the floor."

Grayson gestured outward toward the room, and the two Alphas stepped up.

"Hello," Rowan spoke, which was usually the case since Cade hated these kinds of things. "We have learned some rather important details about the hunters during this trip. As much as it pains me and Cade to rely on human intel and history, they've proven to be the only source of information about them."

The room was hushed, a massive weight pulling the entire vibration of the space down. We could all sense the gravity of what was coming next, and I looked down at the monitor to see my sleeping baby, completely unaware of what was going on.

"We've identified them. The hunters here are a branch of a secret organization known as the Order of Reclamation. They've sold themselves, it seems, as ‘rogue shifters' to other wolves. But according to human records, which match our own, they are actually a group of humans who've become aware of wolves and have been tracking and killing them for the last thousand years or so."

"Umm, not to be the Debbie Downer, but thousands of years ? Are you fucking serious? Who the hell are these guys?"

Brooks had a point, unfortunately, and Grayson eyed him, nodding subtly.

"Yeah, Brooks, how dare you. You're usually the one we can count on to keep the mood light."

Adler chuckled as he nudged Brooks in the ribs, doing his best to lighten the mood. But we were all freaked, a thick char coating every scent in the room.

"No, it's not good. I'll be the first to tell you that," Cade added. "But need I remind everyone that wolves have existed since the dawn of time, and these assholes have yet to exterminate us. Yeah, it's been rough. Probably going to get rougher. But we also have this new cooperation. If they can band together to fuck us up, we can band together to kill them."

It may not have been Cade's intention to ease the worry in the room, but he did. Rowan put a hand on his shoulder, stepping forward again.

"Likely, the only reason the hunters didn't kill Reginald and Leon, our actual rogue wolves, is that they wanted to use them to infiltrate us and take us out. It's a guess, but I can assume that they likely promised to keep Leon and Reginald alive after all is said and done."

Grayson nodded, stepping up near Rowan to address the entire room again.

"These hunters, this Order of Reclamation, is still out there and must be dealt with. I know that. I will not risk our lives needlessly, but I assure each and every one of you that the Alphas Council is up to this task. We will find them, and we will avenge what they have taken from us."

The room howled in agreement, and I walked close to Grayson, slipping my hand into his and giving a gentle squeeze. This was far from over, and there was a long road ahead of us. But somehow, I just knew we'd make it through.

After all, we had V?lva magic, shifters, and a human on our side. Together, united , we were about to show this Order just who they were messing with.

*****

THE END