Epilogue

King

One of the things we made sure to do on a fairly regular basis was to bring the omegas from the warehouse to the shelter Jack ran. Plans were in the works to extend the building to accommodate more omegas. As great as the warehouse was, it didn't really have room for everybody to shift, and that wasn't fair to anyone.

My lion hated to be cooped up, and some of the omegas had beasts significantly larger than mine. We had quite a wide array of shifter varieties between the two places. On days when we all shifted, it looked like a mass zoo escape.

Today was one of the days we all gathered together to eat, shift, and catch up on life. I'd spent the first part grilling hot dogs with Hammer. Each of us picked a different part of the meal to make. Hammer and I called dibs on grilling first because, well, it was easiest.

Mav picked salads, Tyrus picked breads and condiments, and on and on it went. We didn't want Jack and the people working with him now to feel like they had to do everything, so this worked. And honestly, it was kind of fun.

One of the best parts about working the grill was that I got to interact with everybody because they all wanted food. Today it was especially great because it helped keep my mind busy and distracted—focusing on something other than the fact that I needed to leave for a mission soon. As in another hour or two.

Jeremy had tried to take the mission himself, saying it was only right, but I laughed so hard. He was the first to jump in and say fathers shouldn't be the ones doing the jobs, and yet there he was attempting to take over again.

"You're the one who's a new dad. It's time to step aside. Let me do it."

He didn't love it—that wasn't who he was—but he agreed. We were the only ones who knew what was about to happen.

I suspected that with all that went down recently, we'd been discovered for our double-crossing. But nope. Jeremy using his fake name worked significantly better than anyone could've imagined. We were lucky the baddies were also too lazy to dig beyond surface level. At least that group had. Who knew what I was walking into.

We'd said we would be more open, not hide what we were doing and, in theory, that was the best plan. But this mission was pretty cut-and-dried and of the variety that it was best to keep it on a need-to-know basis. At least, that's what I told myself as I lied to pretty much everybody. The only reason Pop-Tart knew anything was because he got the call too. I wish he hadn't. This was a burden better carried alone.

Now that the hot dogs were done and I was eating one of the thousands of cookies on the buffet, it was starting to feel real and almost time to go. I didn't love what I was going to have to do, but better me than anyone else.

"Can you hold him for a second?" Clay held baby Dean in his arms.

"Absolutely." I set my cookie down and grabbed my nephew.

"Thanks. I gotta pee."

That had been Clay's new joke ever since that night. There was nothing funny about that evening—it had been terrifying for all involved—but if making little jokes helped him process that trauma, I was here for it every single time.

He jogged away, and I looked down at the sleeping nephew in my arms.

"I'm so glad you're here," I whispered, not wanting to wake him, swaying back and forth to keep him in his peaceful slumber. "You've got some of the best daddies there are."

I remembered some of the other guys, when the first babies were born, joking about how they loved being uncles because they could love on the kids and then give them back. While there was truth in that, something about all these little ones tugged at my heart. It wasn't that I didn't want to give them back, because of course, they belonged with their dads. But I wanted a family too.

That wasn't in the cards for me. Not with my "job." We were getting low on guys to do the ugly part, and I refused to let one of these new dads go in my place.

I turned around and suddenly scented something delicious and new.

"Did we have a new omega move in who I haven't met?" I looked down at Dean, still sound asleep. He wasn't the source of the scent, obviously, but for some reason, I looked down expecting he'd have all the answers. And, if all the answers were in a little snore, then he did.

Unsure what to do but feeling compelled to do something, I walked around, arms full, scenting here and there until I figured out where the scent was coming from. My heart sank. As quickly as I could, I walked the other way.

"Hey, Jeremy, I gotta go." I handed Dean back to him and walked as fast as I could to the car, not giving any further explanation.

It wasn't a new omega I was scenting.

It was Ryan.

Ryan who came here with kids in his care, who had escaped an awful life and rescued them. He'd been barely an adult at the time. Heck, he'd just had a birthday and was still too young to rent a car. But having his scent be different right after his birthday? That made sense. Didn't mean I had to like it.

His life was already so hard—between taking care of the littles, coming here the way he had—and he was young. So very young. He deserved better than the likes of me and who I needed to be.

Goddess, why are you doing this to me? And, more importantly, please don't let Ryan know. He's got his whole life ahead of him, and he doesn't need my baggage.

He could never find out I was his mate. The goddess would send him someone else, someone better, less broken. I refused to get in the way of him having the life he deserved.

"Goddess, fix this. Give him the life he's earned by his sacrifices. Give him someone better than me."

I climbed in my car and drove off to be the monster I was.