Epilogue

A little more than 22 years later

My phone vibrates in my pants pocket as I exit the joint conference room. It's the second time this month I have had to come to Colorado to be deposed in the Fallon investigation, and I was tired of answering the same questions I'd been asked since the thing blew up in Detroit a few years ago.

I reach in, pull it out, and read the name on the screen.

Ashley.

I hit ignore and place it back in my pocket, refusing to break the streak we've established of not speaking except at holidays. She may be the only part of my family tree left, but I refuse to extend any olive branch.

The only reason she is alive is because she is my sister.

I would have killed anyone else for far less.

When I returned from Vegas after destroying our alliance, I asked the one question ringing in my mind since my fight with Marcus.

"Where are the letters?"

I asked her without malice and without any room for lies. The guilt that came from the bond was instant, and I blamed myself for not seeing or feeling her betrayal earlier. I always thought the feeling was her trying not to upset me, but it was because she was hiding the truth.

Grace had written me at least four times a year for fifteen years. Some years, there was an extra one or two, but four were consistently written on Christmas, my birthday, her birthday, and August 7th, the day I gave her the promise ring in the treehouse.

71 letters in total.

Ashley had hidden them all.

Part of me wanted to be understanding, knowing how I'd reacted after Grace's mating when I'd set the treehouse on fire or when I heard about her pregnancy and gone off on an international killing spree for weeks, but knowing she kept me from ever mending that relationship was too much for me to handle.

When she handed them over, I'd sent her and Kellen off to live in Boise with Finn's pack. I wanted her safe, but I couldn't look at her. It took four years before I allowed them to visit for the first time, so I could meet my nephew, Kole, and see my niece, Kara. The visit was short, but it allowed us to move past it, and ever since, I have only seen them for the major holidays.

Kara and Kole have joined the Reno pack. Kole's currently on assignment in Vegas, and Kara is finishing law school at Duke before coming on as our new legal council next year.

The buzzing of my phone has me sighing and pulling it out to answer despite knowing I don't want to.

"Pronto," I say, starting in Italian to be more formal.

"He's missing," she says, ignoring the formalities altogether.

"Chi manca?" I ask.

"Kole. We can't get ahold of him on his phone or by email. I reached out to his roommate, Everett, and he hasn't been home in days. Please, Deacon," she says, causing me to stop my stroll and reach out to him through the mind-link.

Deacon: Where are you, nipote?

His response is slow, and his voice groggy.

Kole: Interrogation, Vegas Pack Headquarters.

Deacon: How long have you been there?

Kole: Five days.

That son of a bitch.