Epilogue

Rome

Six Months Later…

"Waverly? Waverly? Where are you?"

In the far field, the weather was finally just right for an early spring picnic. It didn't matter that the ground was still soft and wet from the snows melting away and drying up or that the wind carried a chill to it. They were so excited after so many months of seeing white that their land was starting to wake back up. They'd brought a tarp, an old quilt, and packed a lunch.

He and Seren started discussing where they could put the garden, looking back on their land and pointing out potential spots, and suddenly, Waverly was gone. She'd been skipping around, running and laughing and exploring. Typical things for an almost six-year-old.

Now, she was gone.

Seren's panicked blue eyes crashed into his. She leapt up immediately. The acreage was treed in on all sides, built for privacy and also to keep the relentless winds at a minimum in the yard.

"Waverly?" Seren called. She took a step, ready to start for the trees.

Excited yips, one long bray, and a howl made them both turn to the left.

Seren reached for his hand automatically, grasping his fingers hard. "Oh my god! Rome!"

He nearly collapsed. Waverly. His little girl… she was running full tilt towards them, gray fur streaking through the wind, an adorable and awkward wolf pup.

The Ranger pack he'd obliterated had a rule. Utter loyalty. Lila broke that when she returned. When she'd loved him. It was a sin that was no sin at all. They'd taken her life and he'd taken theirs. He'd put them to ground and he'd sworn that from that day, his soul would remain with her. Buried on his family's pack lands. He'd died that night.

Possibly, he had, but he'd been reborn when he'd met Seren and when Waverly came into his life.

They both froze and let Waverly come to them.

Out of all the moments she could have shifted when she'd been with his family, during the training they'd all given her, all the times when his brothers and sisters and parents came to do private runs on his own land, she chose now. Now , when it was just the three of them on a chill but sunny spring day. Her wolf chose this as a private moment as a family and he couldn't be prouder.

"Waverly!" Seren couldn't stand it any longer. She had to rush to the wolf before she reached them.

Rome ran at her side. Seren still got there first. She dropped down onto her knees and Waverly rushed into her arms the same way she always did. Full tilt, with the assurance of someone who was loved past all reason. Seren hadn't just given him her heart. She'd given Waverly all of it as well. She was there for her as any mother would be when Waverly was sick, if she had questions, in play and in seriousness.

"Oh my gosh, Waverly, this is amazing! Your wolf is so beautiful!"

The wolf stepped back and stared at them with her solemn soft green eyes. She dipped her head and pawed the ground, accepting the compliment and ready for play.

"We're so happy, Waverly." Rome set his hand on top her head and left it there for a moment.

Waverly sat down and waited. She panted softly and it looked like her wolf was beaming.

"This is such a wonderful day. Thank you for choosing right now," Seren said. "I love you so much. We both do."

"We do," Rome added. "Very much. With everything we have."

He was slowly learning how to make that known to Waverly and Seren. They were both so patient with him. They'd been meant to come into his life, not just to teach him something or to help him find happiness again. He hadn't done a single thing to deserve their entrance into his existence. He knew he wasn't worthy, but he was learning how to let them know that they were in his heart.

They knew. He just wanted to make sure he was able to say it and show it so they never had a doubt.

It didn't mean he was fixed or not flawed. He'd been born half a monster in reality, but he'd learned that monsters could be loved and could love too.

When people grieved, they mourned the past, but they raged against what would never be. Lila's death stole her future from her, from him, and from Waverly. He'd finally realized that he wasn't just hurt, destroyed, and shut down. Through talking about it with Seren, he'd been able to understand that he was still burning with anger. It was hard to make peace when someone you loved was murdered. It was the kind of violent death that would never, ever be okay. Part of him would never move past losing her or loving her, and for Seren's sake, he'd been filled with guilt.

She'd helped him realize that she wasn't jealous and that the parts of him that belonged to Lila were natural. She'd told him with exceptional patience and compassion that it didn't mean that he would love her any less. He was her mate in every way, but it was okay to have a past.

There were so many things that reminded him of Lila in Waverly. Her smile and her laugh. Her wild willingness to go out into the world. Her beauty and her grace, her physical features. Her eager spirit, her kindness. While some might be triggered by the similarities, he only ever loved Waverly. Nothing could make him not want to be around her. She was young yet, her emotions still undeveloped fully, but if she ever grew restless or troubled the way Lila had been, he'd do everything he could to be there for her. She'd always be perfect to him. Seren encouraged him to keep Lila alive for Waverly, telling her stories and letting her know her mother in ways she never could because she'd been so young when she passed.

Seren always said that she wouldn't give up what she loved, and she hadn't. She'd sold her condo, but it wasn't her condo that was in question. She'd kept her shop and made chair rental, but it also gave her the opportunity to spend a week every month in Casper with her clients. She worked hard on those days and she'd had to refund some deposits and move clients around, disappointing some inevitably, which weighed hard on her, but she was making it work. She stayed with Becka for the week when she went back.

The rest of the time she spent at their acreage. There were several outbuildings on the property. They'd transformed a few, one into a shop for him and one into a studio for Seren.

There were plenty of wolves who needed mechanical work in the area and plenty who wanted to be tattooed. They didn't trust going into the city for either of those projects and so they easily had steady work and probably always would. He was so thankful that his dad taught him what he knew about mechanics long ago, when he was just a kid, and his interest did the rest. The guys at the garage only furthered his knowledge in the years they were together. Like Seren, he still had profits from the garage coming in.

They lived a little bit like Brooke Wind did. On neutral land, helping everyone, no matter their pack. They didn't charge for their services because money worked differently for the packs than with humans, but they were paid in kind, like Brooke was. He might have charged something if he needed the money, but he didn't. It felt good, taking something broken and fixing it. Restoration was satisfying. Even simple jobs like changing or patching a tire made him feel fulfilled.

He was still banished from his pack, he knew that was something that couldn't be undone. He respected the pack law and knew that for his brother, the alpha, to overturn that ruling could have implications. But he had a life here, he was close to his family, and they would make it work.

"Would you like us to shift so we can all run together for the first time? It's up to you. This can be just your moment if you'd like it to be."

Seren took his hand. "I was just about to say the same thing." She beamed at him, all the beauty and light in the world, the best roadblock he'd ever stumbled into. He'd needed diverting. He'd needed to be stopped and turned around, put on a better path to a life he couldn't have ever dreamed could be his.

Waverly ran in a circle and let out excited yelps.

"That's a yes, then. We'll shift and be right with you."

Waverly barely heard. She was already off and running, eager to explore the freedom and magic of her new body. Rome couldn't even remember his first time, but every single time he shifted, it was still magic to him.

He was a man living a full life when he should have been dead long ago.

What could be more magical?

They were already at the tree line, and finding one large one to step behind was no difficulty. The woods surrounding the acreage were full of them.

"This is so crazy. I'm so freaking excited," Seren said while she stripped off her clothes.

He tried very hard to not be excited by that, but it was never going to happen, even if it wasn't the time or the place. His mate was a goddess and she'd never be anything but gorgeous to him.

She noticed him watching her and swatted him before slipping out of her jeans. "You. Filthy man."

"Always."

"The wolf will set you straight."

"My wolf loves your wolf."

"I love your wolf too. And you."

"And you." He gathered her into his arms so fast that he picked her right off her feet. He kissed her soundly and leisurely before he set her down.

"Waverly is going to start howling to try to help us locate her if we wait any longer."

"I'm going." He tugged his shirt over his head and stripped off his jeans. "Right now."

Seren stood naked for half a second. She tossed her bright pink hair over her shoulder. Even though it was a lot of effort to maintain it, she swore she was never giving it up. "Let's go, lover wolf."

He chuckled. "You're so corny. I'll have to spank it out of you later."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," she tossed back at him, now one of their favorite quips.

She threw herself into her wolf, shifting faster than he'd ever seen her, and raced off. He shifted too, giving himself completely to the wolf he'd once had to hide away.

He hadn't seen himself ever being able to run free again. Not out here, not with his family, not with his mate.

Not with his daughter.

Life did have bleak moments. It was filled with heartache. He knew it firsthand, so he made sure he lived every moment in between those times with everything he had and could ever be.

The End

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