Epilogue

EPILOGUE

A couple of weeks later…

Warm breath kissed the side of my neck and I curled into it, not bothering to hide the delighted smile spreading across my face.

Atlas pulled me closer, pressing his lips against the spot where my neck met my shoulder.

I squirmed in his grip until I could see his face properly.

He groaned, eyes still closed, before burrowing closer to me again—a cat reluctant to leave the warmth.

I would never get tired of seeing him like this—hair mussed with sleep, words abandoned for a groggy rasp, cheek indented with the lacy pattern lining my camisole.

Atlas hated mornings.

Or, rather, he hated getting out of bed on mornings when I was sleeping next to him. Even more so since the ritual.

They hadn't let me out of their sight since the moment I woke up, doting on me at all times while my strength came back.

No one allowed me to help around the town, despite the fact that Charlie was due any minute and was being equally monitored and bed-ridden.

Still, situational clinginess aside, I never would've guessed that the perfectly cold, arrogant leader of Six who I'd met my first day at The Guild was a complete cuddle bug.

Sun streamed through his window. It had to be late morning, maybe even noon, but he didn't seem to mind.

Normally, I wouldn't either, but we were leaving today.

Not that anyone would tell me where we were going beyond, "it's a surprise."

"Atlas," I whispered, burrowing down under the covers until my nose met his, only mildly self-conscious about my morning breath. "I think we're late."

One eye popped open, the familiar sight of gold and brown shadowed by a few loose strands of dark hair. My stomach flipped at the sight, and I was now fully convinced that my body would be forever shocked by the effortless effect they all had on it.

One look—hell, one eye—and I was a puddle of goo.

"We're not late. They won't leave without us." His voice was raspy and heated, like hot chocolate syrup, and he roped his arms around me, pulling me so close that my leg had nowhere to go but between his. "I'm not ready to leave this spot yet."

I bit my lip, a poor attempt to hide my smile.

He inched closer, his teeth lightly tugging on my lip until my own released it. He soothed the soft indentations with his tongue.

"Atlas," I said again, this time far less convincingly.

He swallowed whatever else was going to follow that with his tongue sliding against mine, until the only sound I could make was a needy, aching moan.

Fuck it, I was now thoroughly convinced. They could wait another few minutes before we got on the road.

I was suddenly grateful we'd said our temporary goodbyes to the group last night, especially if it had given me an excuse to linger in Atlas's arms for a little longer.

He pressed me closer, a feverish need suddenly taking over him as he pulled me onto his lap. HIs fingers combed through my hair, the pads rough and soothing as he tugged at the loose bun hanging at the base of my skull. He tilted my head and went deeper.

"I haven't brushed my teeth," I said, gasping as he kissed my jaw, down my neck.

"I don't care."

He was hard as a rock, and my head felt dizzy with heat as I shifted forward, sliding against him—slow, teasing.

He hissed as I ground myself against him, giving him just short of what he was really hunting for.

With an arched brow, he gripped me, shifting us around until my head fell back on his pillow and he hovered over me.

Slowly, torturously, he slid his hand down the front of my pants, my skin aching at every inch of his touch. I soaked his fingers as he ran them over me, his thumb circling my clit, which was already throbbing.

I hummed in assent, shifting forward, desperate for more pressure, but he pulled back slightly, teasing and pinching me as I gasped and started spinning out of control.

Every inch of my skin tingled, my body impossibly sensitive as pleasure raked through me.

His eyes, wild with barely-contained restraint, told me all I needed to know—he was on the edge too, my pleasure his. Each of us starving for the other in a game we'd both lose—only to both win. Massively, massively win.

"Tell me what you want."

"I want you to make me forget my own name," I said, crying out when he slid two fingers into me.

They'd all been so careful with me since I'd woken up, but this was the exception. Sex was one of the ways I grew stronger, and they'd all been so very willing to help with those…training exercises.

Atlas pulled his hand out of my underwear, stare filled with challenge, unflinching from mine as he tasted my arousal on his fingers.

"Unless," I teased, heart pounding wildly, "you want me to just go take care of things myself."

When I turned away slightly, like I was off to do just that, he snapped.

He flipped me until I was on all fours, arm bracing me as he ripped off my underwear leaving me bare to him.

One, firm slap echoed through the room as the sting of his palm shot through my body.

In one fluid motion, he sheathed himself inside of me from behind, arm still firm on my hips as he set the pace.

I was grateful for his steady hold as my body melted against him, waves of pleasure shooting through me at his rough, possessive pace.

His free hand traced up my thigh, inching forward until he found my clit.

I hissed, my vision blurring at the edges as I chased a climax I had no control over.

"You're mine, Bentley," Atlas whispered in my ear, voice ragged and demanding.

"Mm," I agreed, unable to form words as the orgasm washed over me, my body turning boneless in his arms as he finished too.

He held me to him, shifting until my head rested on his chest.

"Okay," he said after a minute or two of peace that had me halfway back to sleep again, "I guess we should get ready now."

"Ready for what?"

"Did you forget?" he asked. His chuckle rumbled against my cheek where it pressed against his chest. "We were already late before we started."

Fuck. My eyes widened and I shot up, frantically tossing one of his shirts over my head.

His eyes latched on the hem of it where it kissed my thighs, no underwear in sight.

He grabbed me, pressing a kiss against my hair, his dick stiffening again.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" I asked, filled suddenly with a renewed giddiness at what life could shape up to now.

"What feels good?" he trailed a hand up my thigh, under the hem of the shirt, drawing tantalizing, teasing circles that traveled closer and closer to where I craved them. "This, you mean?"

"That," I nodded, leaning my head back against him, "and knowing that we're all okay. That it's all over."

"Mmm," he agreed, "It's all over."

At least the worst of it was, I hoped. The world had shifted. A lot. But we were alive, we were together, and from what I could tell, we were obscenely happy.

"We should find the others for breakfast," I pulled away from him, begrudgingly. "I promise we can go for round two after this mysterious surprise of yours."

He groaned. "Why delay happiness though?"

With a laugh, I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the stairwell.

He froze for a moment, hand tightening briefly around mine.

When I turned around, his eyes were narrowed, something unreadable flashing briefly across his features.

"Everything okay?"

He nodded, eyes locked on mine. "Just a weird sense of déjà vu."

"Bad déjà vu or good déjà vu? "

"I don't know yet." His fingers threaded through mine. "Good, I think."

"Good," I agreed, pulling him forward as the others came into view, all of them wearing matching smirks the moment I clocked the scent of fresh bacon in the air. "Personally, I think we're due for some good all around."

"Okay," Dec said. I heard the smile in her voice, even though I couldn't see it. "Grab my hand."

Her fingers were warm against mine as she pulled me out of the front seat, guiding me out so I didn't hit my head.

I gestured to the thick bandanna covering my eyes. "Can I take this off yet?"

"Not yet." Ro said, punctuating the command with the slam of a car door.

We'd taken three vans—enough to house my team, Ro, Arnell, Izzy, and Ralph. Gas and functioning vehicles were difficult to come by these days, but Mer and Charlie swore they'd be okay without these for a while.

I had no idea what ‘a while' meant and no one was giving me any clues regardless.

Teleporting here—wherever ‘here' was—would have been the ideal scenario, but my powers still weren't manifesting. They weren't gone, not entirely. Every once in a while, the gentle hum still flooded my veins, and when I focused, I could almost just sense them rising to the surface. But they felt different. Not bad, but strange, like they were changing or evolving.

Darius yelped behind me, a mess of chaotic grunts and shifty movements—one that sounded an awful lot like him running into the rear of the van. "This damn cat. Remind me why she needed to come again? "

Shadow purred and I grinned, knowing damn well she was nudging her head into Darius's leg.

I could picture the vampire's expression even if I couldn't see it, an attempt at unaffected composure, but equal parts annoyance and amusement peeking through. Shadow was growing on him, but he would never admit it.

A series of four more doors slammed, the voices of the others filtering over us.

"We're all here?" Atlas called.

"Yep!" Izzy this time.

"Okay, ready?" Eli stood behind me, his breath warm on the back of my neck as he gently untied the bandanna. His touch sent chills down my spine, and my body leaned back into him of its own accord. He pulled the cloth down, his hands lingering on my shoulders, like he craved the closeness as much as I did.

"What—" it took a moment for my brain to process where we were.

Only a moment.

A familiar clearing, larger and more manicured than before. A few trees had been removed, but they were replaced by new saplings.

My throat was tight and I fought to take in the scene quickly, before my tears made it impossible.

The last time I was here, it was to watch our cabin burn to the ground.

Now, in its place, was a large, beautiful house. It took inspiration from the rustic original, but even from here, I knew it had to have at least four or five times the amount of space inside.

"I know it's not home. Not like the old one anyway. But maybe we can make it into one, eventually. All of us." Ro cleared his throat, and I turned to find him next to me, hesitation in his brows. "It's okay if you hate it. If this place holds too many bad memories. We can take it down or leave it for someone else to live in. We don't have to stay here. It was just an idea we had while you were," he shrugged, scratching the back of his head, "you know."

"Stay?" It was a miracle I got even one word out, though it sounded more like a garbled mess than English.

"A place to regroup, rebuild, while the world…settles." Ro grabbed my hand, pulling me to the back of the giant house. There was a second one, slightly smaller, but still considerably bigger than the cabin we'd grown up in. Jarrod's fire had cleared more space, and it was evident they'd all put in a ton of work on the landscaping to make everything fit together seamlessly, while still retaining the cozy charm of the original.

There was even a back pavilion already set up for training, our usual obstacle courses and tools shiny and ready for use.

Ro nodded to the second building. "This one's for me and Arnell—and Izzy or anyone else who wants to visit. Plenty of room for us all."

"I've already picked out my room and decorated it," Izzy said, her voice laced with excitement. "There's a theater too. Darius and Dec stocked it with all of our favorites. Movie marathons every weekend if we want!"

Tears carved thick, hurried stripes down my cheeks as I walked towards where we'd scattered Cy's ashes. It felt like years ago.

The tree was gone now, no doubt burnt to a crisp. But there was a small plaque there with his name etched into the surface, the writing remarkably similar to Ro's chicken scratch, along with the words "beloved father, brother, and friend."

"Did we fuck up?" Darius's nose scrunched in concern, and for a moment, he looked like he was debating whether or not he wanted to punch something. Or someone. "Are those good tears or bad?"

I smiled, my vision now just a mess of liquid until all I could parse were splotches of blotchy colors and concerned faces. "Good. I—" I swallowed, struggling to find words to shape the warmth flooding my chest, "thank you."

"What do you think?" Ro asked, brows bent, hesitant.

Ralph dropped his red ball at my feet and went hopping off towards the trees, ready and eager for a round of fetch, like he'd been waiting a lifetime to play in this forest, here and now.

I picked it up, slippery with his slobber, and beamed, my heart impossibly full. "I think we're finally home."