Epilogue

"Ha. I win!"I crowed, bouncing up from the couch, game remote in hand.

"Only because you kept waiting for me to spawn so you could shoot me again," Aidan grumbled from beside me on the couch, where we'd been playing Call of Duty for the past two hours.

"Not my fault you put yourself in a bad spot." I grinned, and he returned it.

Things had evolved in the wake of the Huntsman Murders—the name given to the documentary that spawned within weeks. Aidan's name got cleared when the truth came out, and as an added bonus, his handyman side business had more work than it could handle. I'd gotten a key to the city from a mayor, who was thankful I'd put an end to the killings, and even better, I wasn't currently on my boss's shit list despite having bent some regulations.

While the woods around my mom's place disappeared, Regent Park's forest remained intact and became a hot spot for thrill-seekers. A search of Walden's house turned up all kinds of trophies from his kills, including some from murders in other states. His dog, Rambo, though, appeared to have disappeared. Since nothing dog-related was found in the house—no food, bed or toys—everyone assumed Walden borrowed the pup for his charade.

Mom and Grams remained living in the cottage, but in a surprise twist, both women had decided to stop dwelling on their past loves and get out there again. In other words, Grams was dragging Mom out to bars and clubs, trying to find her a man now that Mom knew Roland wouldn't be returning.

But you're probably wondering about me and Aidan. Things were going well. While we were a couple, we hadn't yet moved in together, but that was only a formality seeing as how we spent every night in one or the other's bed. His mostly, since his king-sized mattress had more room.

"Shit, look at the time. We gotta get ready." I tapped my watch.

"Do we have to?" he groaned. "You know I'm not good with people."

"Yes, you have to, and no whining like a pussy about it. Today, you meet my mom and Grams." I'd waited a month. A month of my mom curious about the man in my life—and time for her to adjust to me loving a wolf. A month of exploring this exciting relationship, which had yet to wane. On the contrary, seeing Aidan made me smile. We laughed. We played. We fucked. We talked. Being with Aidan made me quite simply happy.

Only one test remained.

Meeting my family. I'd held off on it, worried I'd jinx it. Not to mention, I just knew Mom would go overboard once she realized I'd found the one. However, I couldn't keep Aidan hidden forever.

An hour later we stood outside the cottage door, which opened to my beaming mother. "Baby girl! So glad you could make it with your beau. I knew you couldn't resist my homemade egg rolls and stir-fried chicken rice."

My stomach gave a happy lurch, and I leaned close to Aidan to whisper, "I swear if you leave me for my mom's cooking, I'll skin you alive."

He snorted. "I'm sure it's not that good."

It was. But I trusted him to not leave me over food. "Mom, I'd like you meet Aidan. Aidan, this is my mom, Charlene."

Mom eyed him up and down before saying, "My what big hands you have."

"All the better to fix things with, ma'am."

Mom tittered. "I love a man who's handy. Won't you come in."

We entered, and it was Grams next who eyeballed my man. "My what big shoulders he has."

I rolled my eyes and hip-checked him before he could reply. "Are we done with the Red Cap puns?"

Grams and Mom eyed each other before giggling, "No!"

And so the evening went.

Aidan's big appetite. All the better to do justice to Mom's cooking.

His big laugh, which even I couldn't resist. All the better to keep the mood light.

But it was on our way home in his truck, with his hand on my thigh when he murmured, "I see where you get your big heart from," that I blurted out, "All the better to love you with."

Yup. I said it.

First.

And what did he reply?

"I love you too, Red, forever and always."

Finally, while it wasn't noticed at first, it turned out Red Riding Hood falling for the Big Bad Wolf put a permanent end to that particular curse. Although, that still left the Grimm Effect with plenty of other stories to pervert.

I'd keep fighting to save those cursed. After all, I knew it was possible to find a happily ever after.

* * *

Agatha crossedher arms and glared at the pile of glowing books. It had been decades since she'd found the stone that changed the world. Decades of not aging and trying to reverse what she'd done.

To no avail. The Grimm Effect kept spreading, and now it was mutating. Her fault, of sorts. She'd thought to confuse or dilute the stone's curse by giving it other books. Nicer fairytales, so to speak.

It worked and didn't. The Grimm Effect gobbled up the new words, some of them alternate versions of the original. But did that lessen the effect?

Nope.

The magic grew stronger.

The stories more varied.

Those that remained, that was. Recently, the words to The Little Red Cap tale had reappeared alongside a few other tales in the book. Those that did get inked back had their cursed effect disappear from the world. A glimmer of hope when it came to breaking the Grimm Effect.

Alas, the stories that had been broken hadn't helped Agatha yet. However, she kept hoping because being a fairy godmother to all the budding Cinderellas and Sleeping Beauties of the world was exhausting.

And speaking of… As the magic sucked her into a vortex, which would spit her out somewhere random, she could only hope someone, somewhere, would put a stop to at least one of those stories.

Poof.

As she appeared suddenly in someone's kitchen, a petite blonde woman stopped feeding a troupe of mice chunks of cheese to say, "Oh no, not you, again."

"It has been a while."

"Not long enough," she muttered.

It took Agatha a bit to recognize the woman since she'd last seen her as a young girl. "Most people would be happy to have a fairy godmother whose task is to make your wishes come true."

The blonde frowned and shook her head. "I already got my wish. I graduated from the Fairytale Academy with honors and have a great job with the bureau."

"But you're still single," Agatha pointed out.

"I'm aware, but that doesn't mean I want or need a prince."

Agatha smiled. "In that case, I've come to the right place."

Are you ready for the next Fairytale Bureau story? Cinder's Trial features Agent Jones, followed by Belle's Quest.