Epilogue

EMBER

"So, you don't miss the mountains?"

I pull down my sunglasses and look over at my mate.

We're lying on a beach. The very beach, in fact, that Leander's parents own, and that they say they'd like to give to us once they finish building us a little house on it. The sun is about fifteen minutes from dipping below the horizon. The waves lap gently against our toes, and the sounds of the rest of the pack filing in to join the beach party are slowly getting louder as the start time gets closer.

Leander is grinning at me, a cold beer halfway to his lips. I put the glasses back on and lean back in my chair, letting the sun's rays sink into my skin.

"I mean, the mountains are great, but they're really fucking cold," I say finally.

Leander laughs. "Sure. The cold. That's what you don't miss."

I honestly don't miss much. Oakwood is great. Fort Meyers is better.

"I miss Terra."

That's the truth. Terra and Rylan came for the big reveal of me as my father's daughter to the whole Fort Meyers pack, at which time, my dad, who seems very keen on surprises, had a big one.

Honestly, it was good that Terra and Rylan were there, because even Leander struggled with the crowd control after what my dad said to the gathered crowd of nearly a thousand wolves who align to the greater Fort Meyers area pack.

Even now, I kind of get chills when I think about it. Because, even though I am who I am and I know what my strengths are, it was still a big surprise.

A month ago, my father declared that I would succeed him as alpha when he retired.

It caused quite a stir. To say the least.

When all the dust settled down, we did some homework around the issue. Apparently, there have been female alphas before. Four of them. Two of them are still alive and sent me phone numbers, email addresses, and flowers. One is a jaguar in Mexico City, and the other is a lioness in Cape Town.

They promised to help me get used to my new role. I'm the first wolf female alpha that there's ever been on record, but they were the first in their areas, too.

If I think about it too long, I know that I'll start to get a little anxious. So I try not to think about it.

Truly, though, I'm not that worried about the whole situation. My father isn't going to retire for another year, while he spends time building me up as the next alpha and supporting me with running the pack. The day-to-day stuff isn't all that hard, especially Leander's help as beta and the team of enforcers I'm building. As the other female alphas pointed out, it's the challenges that get annoying.

That, I'm kind of excited about. If someone feels like they want to challenge me, they're welcome to it. I'm stronger and a better fighter than any of the males in the pack. Hell, I'm better than most males in the country, a fact that I'm completely certain of after my time training with Rylan.

When my dad made the announcement, however, Rylan still insisted on private coaching for both Leander and me. He and Terra come to visit once a month for that, and in between, Leander and I spar.

We end up having sex about half the time, but that's neither here nor there.

"Terra's flight is landing a little later," Leander notes. "Looks like there was a delay coming out of Denver."

"As long as she's here, that's all that matters."

We're having our first Blue Moon Bash tonight. I'm hosting it as the future alpha. Leander's mom is doing all the decorating and party logistics, which is fine with me. She's great at it. I'm not.

Eventually, the sounds of the party increase to the point that we can't ignore them any longer. Leander and I get up, and I throw on my loose cover-up dress to join the party.

"You ready?" Leander whispers in my ear.

Hell yes.

Usually, we mill around, getting to know pack members. The Fort Meyers pack is much larger than Oakwood, so there are plenty of faces that I haven't seen before.

"Oh, no!" I hear a kid's voice call.

A football flies at my head, but I deftly snatch it out of the air. A girl, probably somewhere around four, screeches to a halt in front of me. Her eyes go wide. "Um. Sorry."

I laugh. "Is this your ball?"

"Yeah. The boys told me I couldn't catch it…"

Oh, I understand that. "Go long, then." I smile.

She moves, but something about her reminds me of someone I know in Oakwood…

I throw the ball. When she leaps up to catch it, I realize who she looks like.

Orion.

He's another one of the enforcers back in Oakwood. Quiet guy, keeps to himself, and he has been a real sourpuss in the last few years. He always had a thing for my friend Calista…

"Ember. Hi," I hear.

I spin. Wow. Speak of the Devil.

"Calista! What the hell!" I fly forward and wrap her up into a huge hug. "What on earth… How are you?"

Calista pulls back, looking back toward the little girl. In that moment, it clicks for me.

"Holy shit," I breathe. "That is Orion's kid, isn't it?"

Calista grimaces. "Yeah. Um. I guess I have a lot to tell you."

"I'll say! How long have you lived here? Does he know?"

I hate that I have to ask. But, given my own situation, I feel like I need to.

Calista sighs. "After Orion… I moved back here. My mom is from the Fort Myers pack. I met Orion when I was in college. And I moved to Colorado, but it didn't work out with him. And no. He doesn't know," she says.

I look my friend over. She looks tired. Sad, in a way that I don't remember. She and Orion really were good together, or so I thought.

Apparently, though, I was wrong.

"I missed you," I said quietly. Calista had been a lot of fun to hang out with, and she definitely tempered Orion from being a huge grump, which he's definitely fallen into lately. She and I have texted a few times in the last few years, but it never got deeper than that.

Calista smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I missed you, too."

I wince. "Listen. We have to catch up. But for the record… I think he'd want to know."

"Yeah. Maybe. I'd love to talk later," she whispers.

I get her number, then watch as she goes to gather her kid, who really is the spitting image of Orion.

Watching them walk away, I shake my head. I hope she tells him.

Maybe I can…

"Trouble?"

Leander puts his hand on my shoulder, and I lean into him. I shake my head. "No. Just… old memories. People I knew. People I don't know. All that good stuff."

Leaning in, he presses a kiss on my temple. "You're going to make a hell of an alpha, Ember Greene."

"I know." He laughs, and the sound soothes me. I turn and press a kiss on his lips. "None of it would be possible without you, Leander Payne."

"Oh, I think?—"

I cut him off, shaking my head. "Seriously. I never really felt like I belonged. Until I met you."

"Amnesia and all?"

I laugh. "You could forget every single thing, Leander, and we'd still have this between us."

"Hell yes, baby."

I hug him as we watch the pack start to laugh and eat around us. I meant what I said.

Without Leander, none of this would be possible.

With him, I have a pack. I have a home. But most importantly, I have him.

With Leander, I'll always belong. He's mine. And I'm his. Together, we can take on the world.

I'm going to need it, but I know that Leander has my back.

Together. Forever.

Just like fate intended.

Read Calista and Orion's Story!