Epilogue
It was time to see my brother. It had been far too long, and I missed him so. But he needed time to adjust to his new life, and I had enough on my plate to make it difficult to leave.
I was happy for all he had accomplished—breaking through the trauma of being in the military, finding his mate, and discovering a place where he truly belonged. I hated that it had been so long since I’d seen him. When he told me they were fixing up a new house, I jumped at the chance to visit, using it as my excuse.
The team he was part of, the one doing work far better than anything I was involved in, had bought an old farm. From what he described, they didn’t plan on growing much besides typical hobby-garden crops. It was a safe haven for omegas, and I was there for that.
Today was painting day, and I was going to help.
As I drove up to the land, I was struck by its beauty. It had been so long since I’d left our den. There was so much to do there, much of which I didn’t want to do. Most of my brothers were all about the den. Sutton had been the exception. But me? I just played along. It was what I was supposed to do. Who I was supposed to be.
Maybe that’s why I was here. Maybe I wanted to be more like my brother.
I pulled up alongside all the vans and climbed out, dressed for the part. My jeans were already covered in paint, and my shirt had a rip in it. This wasn’t my first time at the rodeo—and definitely not my first time painting.
Before I reached the door, Sutton came out holding a beautiful baby.
“Is that my Nixon?” I called out.
“Nixon? What about me? Shouldn’t you be saying, Is that my brother? I missed him so .”
“Is that my brother? I miss so.” I stuck out my tongue. “Now hand me the baby.”
He laughed and handed the sweetie over.
“Look at you,” I cooed to the baby. “You look just as handsome as your uncle.”
“I’m side-eyeing you, just so you know.”
It was so good to see him more like himself. After his stint in the military, it had felt like he was gone. Seeing the spark in his eyes again was amazing.
“Come on in. It’s a pretty great place.”
There were already people painting in the front room. We didn’t disturb them, but I did get a couple of half waves.
“I’ll give you the tour,” Sutton said. “Then I’ll introduce you to my mate—or the other way around. We’ll see how it works out.”
He was so giddy, so excited that it had me feeling the same.
We moved from room to room until we found his mate in the kitchen. Nixon no longer wanted to stay with the best uncle ever once Raven was in sight.
As glowing as Sutton had been, his joy amplified the moment he saw his mate. Raven was his world. And I couldn’t have been happier for him.
“I’m going to feed this little one,” Raven said, holding Nixon. “Then I want to get to know you. I need to hear all about this guy when he was little. I need to know what to expect.”
“I’ve got you.”
Sutton rolled his eyes. “Let’s go. I’ll show you the second floor.”
We went upstairs. The house was nice. It needed work, sure, but I could see why they had chosen it. There were lots of bedrooms, plenty of bathrooms, and so much sunlight.
But when we reached the third floor, my bear started acting weird.
I didn’t get it. It wasn’t like I was tuned into ghosts or whatever might haunt an old house like this, but something had him on edge. He’d never been like this before.
When we walked into the main room on the third floor—a space that looked like it had been repurposed as an office—there was just one piece of furniture in it: an armchair.
I couldn’t help but approach it.
Ours. Ours. Ours. My bear was claiming a chair?
When I bent down and scented the chair, realization hit me.
“My mate,” I whispered.
“What did you just call that old chair? Your mate?” Sutton asked, confused.
“Not the chair,” I said quickly. “But my mate…he was here. I can scent him.”
It was old and faint, but it was there. My mate had been here. Now what?