Epilogue

EPILOGUE

MALACHI

T he last view I get of Briar is her mouthing I love you with tears running down her pale face. Her red-rimmed eyes are filled with regret and desperation as she sacrifices herself to save us. She doesn't feel remorse for forfeiting herself. No, my mate regrets upsetting us in the process because she doesn't have an ounce of self-preservation.

"I love you too," I whisper as the portal closes.

I should've told her sooner. I've loved her since the first time Briar gave me attitude, my heart irrevocably belonging to her from that moment forward. But I've never loved anyone outside my family before. I was too scared to examine the unfamiliar feeling, and now my brave little mate is going to die without knowing how much she means to me.

"No, she fucking isn't," my wolf snarls. My eyes widen in shock that my wolf can now talk to me. "We will find our mate and save her. There is no other option."

His conviction is enough to snap me out of my spiral. He's right. We will figure out a way to find Briar, because we have to. I refuse to let this be the end. She deserves so much more out of life than the constant pain and cruelty and hopelessness she's known so far.

Clenching my jaw in determination, I look at my brothers and Saint. The three of them have tears streaming down their faces as they stare at where the portal used to be with a soul-deep grief that mirrors my own.

I open my mouth to shake them out of it when my dad comes storming into the room. He must've heard my enraged howl when Briar first forced me through the portal. While I don't agree with her actions, I can admire the strength it took for her to keep us safe. My wolf puffs up his chest in pride at how strong she is before baring his teeth at me to get on with finding her.

Dad looks between the four of us with worry before settling on me. "What happened, Kai?"

Swallowing past the emotion clogging my throat, I tell him, "Briar's gone." I hang my head because it feels like it's my fault. I'm the alpha. I'm responsible for my little pack's well-being and safety. I should've noticed the Knights of Aeneas tailing us. I should've gone into the vault without her. I should've been strong enough to resist her command.

I should've done a lot differently, but regrets are useless now. All I can do is fix my mistakes and try to make up for it all.

My dad's brow furrows in confusion. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"The Knights took her." Xander's voice is hollow and his eyes vacant. While his cheeks are wet with his tears, he doesn't seem to notice it. He stands there like a phantom. It's like he's only here physically, his soul having vanished when Briar forced him through that portal.

Worry churns in my gut for my younger brother. He hasn't been himself since she burst into our lives. Then again, he hasn't been himself since he found out what happened to Bastian.

A crushing feeling of failing him tries to creep in. I never realized how much Xander was hurting. I was happy to turn a blind eye to his well-being because I was overwhelmed with what Bastian needed. I didn't try to get to the bottom of why Xander changed. I was just thankful he wasn't going off the rails like his twin. In essence, I let him suffer because it was expedient for me.

Before the emotion can overwhelm me, I ruthlessly smother it, like I do all the other feelings that get in the way of doing my job. Being an alpha has its perks, but it also means I have to do many things I never wanted to do to people I never imagined I would. Slack faces and hollow eyes flash in my mind before I'm able to shove them down.

I need to fucking focus. Briar's life depends on it. When we find the Knights, I'll be glad for all the skills I've picked up during my alpha training. I'll make them suffer a hundred times as much as they've hurt her.

"What do you mean the Knights took her?" my dad asks, his voice rising in alarm. "How?"

"Patrick found us. He was working with them, and they followed him to us. We were hunting down leads with the prophecy when they cornered the five of us. Briar sacrificed herself to get us out safely, and now we need to find her." I clench my fist at my side as I admit my failures.

I also wish I had been the one to kill Patrick. He got off way too easily for all the years of suffering he inflicted on my mate.

"Fuck." My dad rubs his hand over his beard as he processes everything and starts to come up with a plan. I can see the wheels turning behind his eyes. "All right, here's what we need to do. I'll speak to all my contacts to narrow down which base they took her to. Kai, Xander, and Bastian, you'll track down Knights for capture and interrogation. Saint, you'll speak with your mage contacts and Elemental Security to track her that way. Then we'll get an interspecies team together to go get her. We will fix this, boys, and bring her home. I promise."

Saint is shaking his head before Dad finishes. There's a cautious optimism in his gaze. "I can find her." We all turn to stare at him in shock, wondering what he's kept from us. Before I have time to jump to any conclusions, he continues, "We completed the mate bond. I can find her through that."

Hope surges in my chest at the mage's revelation. It won't be easy to get our mate back, but we at least have a shot.

Hold on, Briar. We're coming for you.