Chapter 20

The world was fuzzy and gray when Melody opened her eyes. She couldn’t remember how much time had passed since she’d closed them and…had she died? She felt like she’d died. There had been so much pain and so much blood, she’d felt her life slipping away.

But she was looking at a wall in a house with gold-framed pictures in a line above a desk. As her vision sharpened, she recognized the female in the pictures as Reese, the pack healer.

Sitting up abruptly, she called out her mate’s name, worry for him overriding the aches in her body.

Running feet echoed in the hall, and then her mate came through the doorway. He was at her side a moment later, holding her gently and growling softly.

“You’re awake.”

“And you’re okay,” she said as happy tears stung her eyes. “I’ve passed out like three times recently. That’s the most I ever want to pass out in a day again.”

He chuckled lightly and leaned back to kiss her. “You’ve been out of it for almost a day.”

“Really? Geez.”

“Reese said it was part of the healing process with the poultice she made; because it was forcing your natural healing abilities to accelerate, it naturally kept you asleep so you weren’t dealing with the pain of that process.”

She was wearing a hospital gown. Lifting the gown that covered the part of her body that still ached a bit, she saw that her torso was wrapped with white cotton that had a strange herbal smell to it. It reminded her a bit of the way the air smelled salty at the beach and also when her mom hung a bunch of eucalyptus in the shower so the room always smelled heavily of it when the hot water was running.

“How do you feel?” Jasper asked.

“Okay. Alive.” She smiled at him. “It hurts a little, like a dull ache.”

“If it’s still aching, it means you’re not entirely done healing yet, so maybe another hour or two,” Reese said as she walked into the room.

“Thanks, Reese,” Melody said.

She handed Melody a coffee mug. Melody sniffed at the steam from the clear liquid and arched a brow at the healer. “It’s a medicinal tea for the lingering aches. I put some honey in it, but it should taste lemony.”

Melody took a sip and hummed. “It’s good.” She sighed and looked at Jasper. “You’re okay?”

He glanced at Reese, who excused herself. When they were alone, he gave her a long look and snarled. “You nearly died pushing me out of the way, Melody.”

She took another sip of the tea, the hot brew soothing her throat. “It was instinct. I saw Ludo about to strike, so I acted. You would have done the same for me.”

“Yes, I would have, but I can also shift and heal myself. You… nearly died.”

“You said that already.”

“It bears repeating!” With an angry scowl, he planted his hands on his hips, but he looked so freaking adorable that she wanted to do a lot of fun stuff to him.

“I won’t apologize for saving you. I’m sorry I nearly died, but in the moment I only cared that I might lose you. And I worried that I hadn’t told you I loved you that day. I tried to say it before I passed out.”

“We did tell each other that in the morning,” he said. His face softening, he put his fists on the bed on either side of her hips and moved in close. She looked at his lips, tracing the gentle curve with her gaze.

“Good,” she whispered. “Because I do.”

“I love you too,” he said. He kissed her just once, and then said, “Let’s not go getting each other into danger like that again, okay?”

“Definitely.” She put one arm around his neck and kissed him again. “Is everyone else okay? My parents? Ellie and her mom? Your friends?”

“Everyone is okay. We didn’t lose anyone, thankfully.” He sat next to her on the bed and sighed. “Ludo is dead and a few of his buddies died in the battle. The others are in the prison, and your dad is figuring out their punishment, since he killed Ludo and is officially the new alpha.”

“My dad’s the alpha. That’s pretty cool.”

Jasper smiled. “It is. He’ll be a great alpha. And Ellie and her mom are waiting to hear you’re up. They were able to shift and heal themselves, and I did too. I stayed out in the hall because Reese wouldn’t let me in here in my shift. She said I’d get fur everywhere.”

“I’m glad that everyone is okay and that asshole is dead.”

“Me too.” He paused, then added, “We can stay here if you want.”

“What?”

“Your dad offered me the second-in-command position again. He said he’d like to train me to eventually take over as alpha.”

She took another drink of the tea and let her thoughts roam for a bit, but she didn’t need to think too hard. “Do you want to be second-in-command of the Northbelle pack and eventually lead it?”

His eyes were sincere when he met her gaze. “I just want to be with you.”

“That’s not an answer.”

His mouth quirked up at the corner in a wry smile. “I never wanted to be alpha. It’s a lot of pressure. Plus Grimes died because he was alpha.”

“Well, I think he died because he was an asshole, just like Ludo. But yeah, it’s a big job. You’d be a great alpha.”

He hummed. “I only want to be here in Northbelle if you want to be here. If you wanted to stay in the pack with your parents, I would move here in a heartbeat. Your happiness is the most important thing to me, and if being here would make you happiest, then that’s what I want.”

She set the empty mug on a side table and twisted on the bed to face him fully. He mirrored her, the bed creaking as he resettled his weight on it. She took his hands and linked their fingers. “Jasper, I love you so much. I want you to be happy too. I think with both of us wanting the other to be happy that we’re going to have a great life together.”

“Definitely.”

“But I don’t want to stay in Northbelle. I mean, if you wanted to be second-in-command and take over eventually, I’d be right here by your side. But if you’re asking me where I want to start a family with you? It’s in the park with your pack.”

“I’d stay here for you, but I’m glad that you don’t want to. The park has been home for me for seven years, but now that you’re back in my life, it feels even more like home.”

“Then we’re staying in the park,” she said.

“Yes.”

She smiled and hugged him, loving the way his wolf let out a happy growl whenever they touched. The part of her that was wolf growled in response.

He cupped her face and smiled, his eyes shining with happiness. “Sexy female, light of my life, I’m so glad you’re mine.”

“I’m glad you’re mine too.”

Melody stood near Jasper as he spoke to her dad about their desire to return to New Jersey.

“Thanks for the offer,” Jasper said, shaking Finn’s hand. “I appreciate your trust in me, but our home is in the park.”

“I understand,” Finn said. He smiled at Melody. “I’m not going to exile you because I want you to be able to come back anytime to run with us for the full moon or just visit.”

“What about Jasper?” she asked.

“I’m going to reinstate your membership in our pack, Jasper,” Finn said. “You and your children will be welcome anytime.”

Ellie stepped up next to Melody and put her arm around her shoulders. “Babe, you gotta get working on the rugrats, I need some nieces and nephews to spoil.”

“You’ll be the best aunt on the planet,” Melody said.

“Man, I need to get me a mate,” Ellie said with a sigh. “I could use a sexy male around the house. And in the bedroom.” She wiggled her brows suggestively and Melody laughed.

“You can come to the park and visit,” she suggested. “There are lots of unmated shifters.”

“That would be awesome.”

“I’m going to miss you, sweet girl,” Viola said when Melody turned to give her a goodbye hug.

They’d spent two hours packing up her things with help from the park shifters, who’d stuck around for a whole day to make sure she and Jasper had an escort back to the park. They’d been instrumental in helping to clean up from the fight and not only pack Melody’s things, but also move her parents into the alpha’s home.

“I’m going to miss being here, but my heart is wherever Jasper is.”

“I get that,” Viola said. “I felt the same way when I met your father. I would have followed him to the ends of the earth.”

She hugged her dad and mom one more time, then hugged Ellie and found Chantal in the crowd hanging around in the alpha’s backyard and thanked her for her help.

“You can come visit the park with Ellie anytime,” Melody said. “Maybe you both could start a new life there. It’s pretty freaking awesome.”

Chantal smiled gently. She really was a kind soul. “Thanks, honey. Take care.”

Melody made her way to Jasper where he stood with his friends and alpha near the edge of the yard. He drew her close with a low growl. “Ready to go?”

“Yes. Home is calling.”

She looked over her shoulder at her parents and waved. Her mom blew a kiss and her dad lifted his hand to wave, then dropped it over her mom’s shoulders and pulled her against him.

“I didn’t think I’d feel sad about leaving, but it’s a weird happy sadness,” she said. She turned her attention to the woods ahead and hooked her arm through Jasper’s.

“It’s nice to know we can visit whenever,” he said.

“I can’t believe you didn’t want to be the future alpha,” Lucius said.

“Too much responsibility,” Jasper said. “Plus, it seems like people are always trying to kill you for the job title. Right, Joss?”

“To be fair, I’ve only had one person try to kill me to take over,” he said.

“Still,” Jasper said, “I’ll take being a regular pack member without the chance of someone trying to take me out.”

That sounded like a good idea to Melody too.

They reached the line of SUVs and Jasper opened the passenger door of the lead one for her. “When we get home, I’ve got some ideas,” she said as she climbed in.

“About what?” he asked.

“About how to celebrate us building a life in New Jersey.”

“Do the ideas involve a lack of clothes and every flat surface in the house?”

“Yep.”

His eyes darkened and he growled softly. “I’ll drive fast.”

“You better.”

He shut the door with a laugh and walked around the front of the SUV. In moments, he was behind the wheel and they were on the way back to New Jersey, where a home decorated with stones to look like a den waited for them.

She couldn’t wait to get her things moved in and get settled.

And she couldn’t wait for the full moon, when Joss said they could have a mating ceremony and she would become an official pack member.

“It’s really weird to think that the best thing that ever happened to me was Ludo killing Grimes and imprisoning the high-ranked males,” she said.

He snorted. “It’s a strange silver lining, but I’m thankful for it too.”

“Drive a little faster, Jasper,” she said, leaning on his shoulder. “I’m ready to be home.”

The engine accelerated as he pressed on the gas. “Whatever you want, Mellie-mine.”

“Just you. And all the flat surfaces.”