Epilogue

Karter - 4 months later

Koran: What time will you be here?

We’ll be there in an hour.

Kason: Thank Fates. I’m starving and Kylian and Dinah have banned us from the kitchen. They said we were too messy to help.

Don’t you have a stash of food at the cabin?

Kit: That’s not the point. Kylian is torturing us, and now she has help. I think Dinah is enjoying it almost as much as Ky.

Kade: Watch how you talk about my mate.

Kit: I didn’t say anything!

Koran: Are you sure you want to come home? There’s still time to turn around.

LOL. Yes, we’re ready to come home. Amazingly enough, I actually miss you terrorists.

Kason: That’s it. He’s under duress. Blink twice if you need help.

Rolling my eyes, I set my phone down and glance at my mate who insists on driving the last hundred miles home. I think she wants to memorize the landscape, which I’ve been told has changed with the remodel of the old warehouse.

She smiles. “What did they say?”

“Apparently Kylian is starving them.”

“Awww, poor boys. Don’t they have food at the cabin?”

“That’s what I said.” I reach over and squeeze her knee.

Valery doesn’t know this, but Kylian insisted on throwing us an engagement party when we got home. This, coupled with the fact that Kade and Dinah are getting married in three weeks, prompted us to wrap up our winter drive through the western half of the United States. We did a giant loop and hit multiple national parks, venturing as far south as Mesa Verde before heading west and bypassing New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California. To be honest, I think it’s too hot down there for my furry ass to handle the heat—even in the dead of winter.

Kade pointed out that he and Kash have survived being deployed in the middle east during the hottest summer months, so if my mate wants to venture to Arizona, I can suck it up.

Speaking of Kade, we’ve had a couple of deep conversations over the last few months, clearing out some old shit that I’ve been repressing over the years. I honestly thought I was okay with my lot in life—not happy about it, but not necessarily resentful either. Boy, was I wrong. With my mate by my side, I’ve done a lot of talking and a lot of soul searching, working through abandonment issues I never knew I had. The same abandonment issues we all felt on one level or another when our mother left and our father checked out. In a community of shifters, we don’t talk about stuff like this. Although we can’t change the past, Kade has allowed me to vent about the years while supporting Koran as he steps into my role as Fortune Falls Pack Alpha. We haven’t discussed if this will be permanent or not, but I refuse to dump it on him if he doesn’t want it. Honestly, there is still a lot for us to figure out.

Meanwhile, the wolves have been relatively quiet in my absence, which of course raises my hackles. I’d rather Siren be vocal and visible than slinking in the shadows, and his silence makes me wonder what the hell he is up to.

“I’m excited to be going home.” Valery rests her hand on mine.

“Are you?”

“Yeah. You’ve missed them, right?”

“In some ways.” I shrug.

“But?” She prompts.

“Something tells me they’ve been hiding things from me while letting us have our time, and I’m worried we’re walking into a shit storm.”

Her lips twitch and she shrugs. “If we are, we’ll deal with it. Just like we talked about.”

“I don’t deserve you.” I lean over and place my lips against her neck, a sudden urge to pull over and take my mate again before we have shifter hearing and telepathic thoughts ruining the mood.

She giggles. “Yes you do, almost as much as I deserve you.”

“We should pull over and take a break.” I grin when she glances over at me with pure mischief in her eyes.

“We took a break this morning.”

“Exactly, it’s been almost six hours.”

“You are insatiable, you know that?”

“I wasn’t before I met you. If you think about it, this is your fault.” I trail kisses down her neck while sliding my hand between her thighs. “If you weren’t so damn delicious.”

Valery moans, her legs parting. “You’re going to make me drive off the road.”

“Then pull over.”

She jerks the wheel and hits the brakes, pulling onto the shoulder off the two-lane highway. “You have ten minutes.”

I chuckle, unfastening her seatbelt and pulling her into the back. “Twenty.”

Thirty minutes later I’m driving because Valery’s legs are shaky and unsteady. My bear and I are extremely satisfied with ourselves.

She rolls her eyes. “You can wipe that smile off your face now.”

“I really don’t think I can.”

The rest of the drive flies by and I’m shocked to slow down and find the hidden entrance to Fortune Falls gone. All the bushes and trees camouflaging the warehouse have been cleared, and the road has been grooved and widened into two lanes. “Fortune Falls Trading Post” is painted in big bold letters on the roof, and they established a makeshift parking lot with a gravel base.

“Wow.” Valery whistles. “They’ve been busy.”

Outside with paint brushes in hand are Lana and her cousin Leo. I honk the horn and roll down the window.

“Looks good.” I say out loud, but also project telepathically.

Lana waves. “Thanks! Welcome home!”

Home. It feels different from what I thought it would to come back here. Until this moment, I thought coming home would be temporary. The first hint of a threat toward my mate would send us back on the road. But it looks like change is coming to Fortune Falls. Maybe we can make ourselves a home here?

We drive down the street, passing the diner and the general store, and roll past the garage to our house. Gone is the tattered roof with missing shingles and peeling navy blue shutters. In their place is a shiny black metal roof, new windows, and stained wood decorative shutters.

The boys came clean with the family about their entrepreneurial endeavors before I left town, and promised to keep it a secret from the rest of the pack. We agreed that flashing their asses all over the internet would cause the wolves and the elders to call for a lockdown. But it’s their money that paid for all of this, and while I knew they were planning some renovations, I had no idea they’d got them done.

“Are those new?” Valery says and pulls my attention from the house to the woods beyond where three small cabins sit side by side.

“Yes.” I cut the engine and open the door. “It looks like the boys have been busy.”

“Hey!” A cacophony of hoots and hollers come running out of the house as all three run toward us. “You’re late.”

“You’ll survive.” I chuckle, surprised when Kason grabs me in a bear hug and hauls me off my feet. They’ve never really rough housed with me like they did Kade or Kash, but maybe that was my fault.

“Holy shit. Did you grow an inch while we were gone?”

Kit shrugs. “Two, but more importantly we’ve been lifting. Behind the house is a new metal shed. We bought a full set of weights and have a second channel going in our human forms. The women swoon over three identical shirtless ripped guys.” He waggles his brow.

Koran rolls his eyes. “It’s obnoxious, but unbelievably popular. We’re pulling in a completely different crowd from our bear videos.”

“Are you still anonymous?” I raise my brow.

Kit shrugs. “As anonymous as we can be. The Internet gave us a nickname though.”

Kason snorts. “The thirst-trap triplets.”

Valery walks up beside me after Koran lets her go and grabs my hand, giggling. “That fits you.”

“What’s a thirst trap?” I ask, as a man with no social media and limited online interests.

She waves her hand in the air. “All of you. Hot, huge, hungry, hopefully horny, men. Women drool over that shit.”

“What women?” I pull her into my side and squeeze her hip.

“Not me, baby. I have my thirst-trap.”

“They really like us, especially because we never talk. We just flex and pretend like we’re not putting on a show for the camera while lifting weights.” Kit raises his arms, flexing his biceps which are admittedly a lot bigger and more defined.

I roll my eyes. “Sweet Fates. You are ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously rich.” Koran adds while smacking my shoulder. “Come on. We have an engagement present for you.”

Valery and I follow the boys to the garage. “How did you guys get three cabins built in four months in the middle of winter?“

“Dinah’s brother Jimmy turned us on to prefab cabins that we were able to put together in a weekend. He helped us contract the concrete slabs, but they’re really bare bones right now and have no running water or electricity. Right now they’re for sleep only. We’re going to add luxuries this summer.”

“Any members of the pack questioning where the money is coming from?”

“We told them Valery was a billionaire.” Kit cackles. “Now they all want their own human mate.”

“That’s…” I glance at my mate who shakes her head with a smile.

“Brilliant.” She finishes for me.

“Or very dangerous. How do the wolves feel about my rich mate?”

“Don’t worry about the wolves.” A voice says from behind me. I turn around to find Kade and Dinah approaching us, my brother walking with his arm around Dinah’s waist, his mate with a million-watt smile on her face.

“Hey.” I clasp palms with him as Valery and Dinah exchange hugs. “Three weeks until the big day.”

“Yeah, but today’s about you two.” He nods at the garage as my father opens the giant bay door.

“Holy shit. What is that?” I walk into my father’s embrace, my eyes glued to the full size Class-A RV / motorhome with all the bells and whistles parked in the third bay. It’s so big, it barely fits in the garage.

“Well, we figured you were tired of bumping your head inside V’s van and could use something bigger, especially if you’re heading back on the road.” Kason says and leans against a pole with his arms crossed over his chest.

Kade places his hands on my shoulders and squeezes from behind, pushing me forward. “If not, you can sleep in it and have some privacy until we can build you and your mate a home.”

“If you’re going to stay.” Koran adds.

I glance around at my brothers, seeing them as capable young men who are handling shit just fine without me. “Do you really have this kind of money rolling in?”

Kit shrugs. “WE do, for now. Why not spend it?”

“But we’re investing too. Kade connected us with a lawyer and financial manager type in Great Falls that he knows from the club—both of whom are shifters.” Koran hands Valery a set of keys. “It’s used, but it’s in perfect condition. Check it out.”

Her jaw hangs open as she shakes her head. “This is too generous, you guys.”

“You’re our family, and we take care of our own.” My father says, his eyes coming to me. He looks different—stronger, more confident, and dare I say, younger. I know Kade has come out every full moon since I’ve been gone, forgoing his duties with his Broken Falls pack and walking away from his Sergeant at Arms position within the MC, but I wonder if my father has also joined them? That would be a miracle, and everything I could hope for.

We walk around to the side door, and I smile at the words—“Karter & Valery’s Van-Life”—painted under the window. “This is a big surprise.”

Kit playfully punches my bicep while Kason escorts Valery inside the new rig. “You’ve always taken care of us. Now we can take care of you.”

Dragging in a deep breath, I tamp down my overwhelmed emotions, nod, and glance around at my family with misty eyes, meeting each of their gazes. “Thank you.”

“No problem, bro.” Koran shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels.

“Where’s Ky?”

Dinah, who is snuggled against Kade’s chest, smiles. “She’s waiting for you inside.”

Yeah, that tracks. She wouldn’t talk to me before Valery and I left, even though we were a mated couple. Over the months she reached out to Valery, forging a friendship, and then slowly started sending me messages about what was going on back home and all the changes for the better happening to the family. She told me she was looking at classes in Great Falls starting in summer, so she could be close to home but with a bit of freedom. My instinct was to warn her against it, but I stopped that nonsense in its tracks, and encouraged her to reach out if she needed us. It’s been four months, but our relationship has been irrevocably changed. Not necessarily for the worse, just different. I guess that’s what finding your fated mate means, all of your other relationships have to shift to make room for the one person you can’t live without.

“Hey, babe.” I poke my head into the rig, overwhelmed with how spacious it is. “I’m going to grab Ky.”

“Okay.” Valery nods encouragingly. She knows Ky and I need time during this trip to talk and hopefully heal. “We’ll be here.”

I turn to leave and realize Kade is following me, matching my gait until we’re outside and away from our brother’s shifter hearing.

“You’re staying around for at least three weeks, right?”

“I think we’ll stay around as long as I feel that Valery is safe, but I know there are things you haven’t been telling me about the pack, and eventually you’re going to have to bring me up to speed so I can make an informed decision.”

Kade rubs his neck. “Honestly, the pack has been quiet lately. Not that I trust the wolves anymore today than I did before, but Siren and crew haven’t been hanging around Fortune Falls much. I’m not sure what they’re doing or where they’re spending their time, and they always come home for the full moon, but the rest of the month they are MIA.”

“Hmmm. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing.” I frown and glance across the yard at the new and improved house. Could they have realized that their plans to kill us off or drive us out won’t work and gave up? Doubtful.

“Knowing Siren, it’s probably bad.” Kade bends his head and speaks low so only I can hear him. “Look, I didn’t want to tell you while you were on the road, but… I found Kash.”

“You did?” My head snaps back as a queasy ball of dread builds in my stomach. If my twin was good, Kade would have told me immediately. “What’s wrong with him?”

He sighs. “It’s not good. He’s trapped in his bear form. They think he has a traumatic brain injury.”

“Where is he?” I urge, ready to hit the road now—damn the engagement party.

“He’s at a secure military medical facility in Colorado.”

“Let’s go.” I turn back to the garage.

Kade snatches my arm, turning me back to face him. “We will. Tomorrow. Trust me, Kash isn’t going anywhere and if you bail on the engagement party Kylian has put her heart and soul into, she’ll never forgive you.”

“But…” I shake my head. It’s been over a year since I’ve heard from my twin, and part of me had lost hope he was still alive. In some ways, I’ve been grieving for him for years, ever since he left for bootcamp. To know he’s alive… I have to get to him. “Did you tell the family?”

“No. I only found out a few weeks ago, and I didn’t want to tell anyone until we brought him home.” Kade wraps his hand around the back of my neck and brings our foreheads together. “And we will bring him home. I went and saw him last week. Physically, he’s good. I tried to reach him telepathically—I couldn’t get him to shift for me—but I think you’re who he needs to find his way back. Colonel Packard is picking us up via helicopter in the morning at Babb airport. Tonight, we celebrate you and your mate. Tomorrow, we will go get our brother and make our family whole. Got it?”

I take a deep breath through my nose and let it out, my eyes going to the house as Kylian walks out the front door and waves. “Got it.”

I hope you enjoyed Karter and Valery’s story. Want more, check out their bonus epilogue .

Karter and the rest of the Barrington pack was introduced in Kade and Dinah’s story: Riding with the Kodiak which kicked off both the Fated Mates of Fortune Falls and Fated Mates of SpecOps Sierra series release 2025 and 2026.

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