Epilogue - Cassandra

Two Weeks Later

A stray tear slips down my cheek, but Cyrus is there to wipe it away as he hugs me tighter, his arm slung across my shoulders. Staring down at the grave where my mother lays, I no longer feel the emptiness of her departure from this world.

“There is one good thing that came from your passing, Agatha,” Luna Phoebe muses with a hint of humor evident in her voice. “Your death brought Cassandra back to town and got my son to do the right thing finally.”

“Mother!” Cyrus exclaims with horror.

I touch his arm, unable to stifle my urge to giggle. It was a customary part of our mating ceremony to visit the graves of our loved ones before proceeding. What would have been a painful experience on my own has turned into a lighthearted endeavor thanks to the Alpha and his mother.

“Luna Phoebe is right, Cyrus.”

“Uh-uh!” Luna Phoebe clicks her tongue, turning to me with hands planted on her hips as if I’m about to be scolded. “I’m not the Luna anymore, Cassandra. Or, should I say, Luna Cassandra?” She smirks proudly, and I can’t help but feel that same pride wash over me.

I glance at my mother’s grave, where the brightly colored cactus plants thrive and fill the mound with pretty shades of greens and pinks of their flowery hands outstretched on their sides. We’d already visited my father’s grave and Cyrus’s father’s resting place, paying our respects to both our fathers before the big night.

“Not just yet, Mother,” Cyrus chuckles as he slides his hand into mine. “She’ll have to make it to the altar first.”

“Then we should get going,” Luna Phoebe smiles, offering me a gentle, reassuring pat on the arm before heading into the town hall, where the Moon Shine Pack members have already gathered.

Cyrus turns to me, placing a hand on my tummy over the satin layers of the white dress that clothes me. The bump is hardly noticeable since I’m early into my pregnancy, and it just looks like I’ve packed on some extra curves. While the others haven’t heard the news yet, Cyrus takes every chance he can get to touch the little blip of a belly where our pups grow.

“How are the twins doing?” Cyrus muses with a mischievous grin.

“I think they’re as excited as I am,” I blush. “Though I feel nervous, I can barely feel their hearts beat.”

“I can hear them,” he smiles, taking my hand to press a soothing kiss on my trembling fingers. “You were born to be the Luna of this pack, baby. You’ve made all my dreams come true.”

I smile back, feeling easier now as he takes my hand and leads me toward the hall. After learning everything there is to know about the Alpha, it only made sense that he’d been ecstatic when we found out we were having twins. Thanks to my father’s history of twins in his family, Cyrus has his wish of having more than one child fulfilled.

I have my own wish fulfilled as I walk down the aisle beside Cyrus, my head turned toward him as we embark on this journey together. The members of the Moon Shine Pack stand up to meet us on our way to the altar, but it’s only the Alpha I can see.

Etching every sharp, powerful feature of his into my mind, tracing the way his long dimples slice pathways from his defined jawline to his cheekbones, I settle my gaze on his radiant emerald eyes. The love I feel for him is mirrored in his eyes. They are the gateways to his soul as he stares at me as if I’m the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen.

Overflowing with love, I can barely hear Jarrod speaking as he stands before us, holding out the Moon Shine’s sacred relic toward us. His voice as he speaks aloud the words that praise the Moon Goddess is but a faint sound, as all I can concentrate on is the man in front of me, cloaked in white, one shoulder bearing the satchel of gems on a leather belt to signify his status in the pack.

He’s breathtaking, as stunning as royalty in his own right, as he takes the glistening skull of the Rudolph family’s forefather, polished and gleaming in its glass case. He unclasps the lock, removing the relic from its resting place, then lifts my hand and folds it over the crown of the skull.

As if magically powered by the touch of a live Alpha, the skull feels like it comes to life, gentle pulses of energy flowing into my palm as Cyrus places a hand over mine. I’ve never felt more present or powerful than I do with my hand between the ancient, sacred relic and the Alpha’s hand.

My attention is drawn to Jarrod’s voice now as he holds out a stone mug full of tea brewed from earthly treasures. My free hand goes to the mug, and I hold it between Cyrus and me.

“You may now proceed,” Jarrod bows and steps down from his place behind the altar, leaving only Cyrus and I on the stage.

I’ve never witnessed a mating ceremony between an Alpha and his mate; I only saw pictures and sketches of the past. Yet, somehow, I know what’s to come and what is needed from me. It’s an innate knowledge that has something to do with the relic that has never left its box in my presence.

Until now, of course. When Cyrus was sworn in as the Alpha, I wasn’t in Mysthaven. Now that I’m here, honored to feel the weight of its extraordinarily powerful presence, I’m in awe.

“I…” Cyrus begins, his eyes remarkably soft as he stares at me. “... Alpha Cyrus Rudolph, accept you, Cassandra Asuka Chikara, as my mate and Luna of the Moon Shine Pack.”

A wave of enormous power washes over me when the declaration leaves his lips and fills the air, which becomes so silent that the drop of a pin can be heard in the hall. As his hand smooths the top of mine where we hold the Moon Shine relic together, the words I’m meant to say in response come flowing out naturally.

“I, Cassandra Asuka Chikara, accept you, Alpha Cyrus, as my mate.”

The hall erupts into applause and hooting from the Alpha’s soldiers, who stand against the wall in spritely formation. Jarrod comes over to take the relic back into its case, whispering his surprise.

“ You’re Asuka?”

Blushing sheepishly, it’s Cyrus who murmurs a threat to him, not to breathe a word about my private endeavors. Once the Beta steps down from the stage again, Cyrus pulls me forward, crushing his lips to mine in a kiss so passionate that the world around us fades while my toes curl against the wooden floorboards. When he pulls away, it’s only to gaze lovingly into my eyes as he wraps a hand over my nape and tilts his head to one side. His kiss-swollen lips parted, revealing gleaming canines, and his eyes enlarged as he gazed at the pulsating scent gland.

“Mine…” he rasps huskily before dropping his head at my neck, his sharp teeth puncturing my skin and taking my breath away.

The warmth of his mouth soothes the pain of the intrusion, leaving only a tingling sensation to travel from my neck and disperse into every fiber of my being. When he’s done marking me, he removes his mouth and licks his lips delightedly.

“Mine…” the Alpha smirks as his pack—

No.

Our pack cheers us on.

“I love you…” he professes, his arms folding around me to draw me flush with his solid frame. The promise of what tonight holds for the two of us is evident in the prominent bulge that stirs awake against my thigh.

“I love you too,” I giggle mischievously, seeing a glint of darkness pass through his eyes.

***

“This looks stunning on you,” Cyrus appreciates as he circles a smooth fingertip around the fresh mark on my neck. With his head braced in one hand, he stares down at me through the heady eyes of satisfaction.

“It feels empowering,” I admit shyly.

“As if you needed more of that,” he quips with a playful roll of his eyes.

Sinking to the pillow, he pulls my naked body over his and smooths his palms down my spine. It’s been a long night after the mating ceremony, spent celebrating between the sheets in his bedroom.

“Hm… Cassandra Asuka Chikara…” he hums. “... You’re really something else.”

My heart overflows with love for my Alpha, and I just want to stare into those eyes so I can lose myself. But there’s a glint of seriousness in those eyes that’s impossible to ignore.

My intuition screams that he’s not telling me everything.

“I know that look,” I remark with a raised brow. “What are you not telling me?”

Cyrus sighs, but the smile doesn’t slip from his face. “This comes at the wrong time, but there’s another Council meeting tomorrow. Simon has some updates for us.”

I smile nonchalantly. “It’s fine if you go. I’ll be right here, waiting for you.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he replies, pecking me on the lips. “But…” He pauses to tuck my hair behind my ears. “... I don’t wanna attend by myself this time.”

“Jarrod usually goes with you.”

“He’s not my Luna…” Cyrus chuckles, to which I frown.

“You want me to be there? At the Alpha Council meeting?”

Cyrus nods. “I think it’s time you joined the Council as my Luna. I guess it’s just something else to add to your already impressive list of accolades.”

“Gosh, there’s just so much!” faking a frustrated sigh, Cyrus laughs at me as he swiftly flips me over, and pulls me under him.

“For tonight, you’re just gonna be my lover…” he drawls, leaning in.

As I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling his erection growing between my legs, I blush. “That might be my favorite alias.”

“Of course, it is,” he husks, grinding his hips into my core and turning me pliant, thoughtless as I let wanton need take over.

Before I completely lose my mind, I ask, “When do you plan on announcing the pregnancy?”

“Not now,” Cyrus affirms with a heated kiss on my lips. Before, I might have contested his decision, but I’ve come to realize that every decision the Alpha makes is a good one, and everything always works out for the best.

“... I want you all to myself for now…” he breathes against my lips, confirming what I already suspected.

Once his mother finds out that I’m pregnant, she won’t let any stone go unturned, as she dotes on me.

For now, I’m meant to be the alpha’s lover.

It’s the only thing I could care about right now as he sinks into my depths while peppering kisses on my neck as sweet declarations of his love. While my body reaches new heights, it’s my soul that speaks to the Moon Goddess, thanking her for bringing me back to the small town of Mysthaven, where my new life has begun as the Luna of the Moon Shine Pack.

*****

THE END