“I am yours,”he told her.“And you are both mine. I will love both of my females until my dying breath.”
“And even after,” she said into the quiet room.
“Yes, my Kara, even after.”
Epilogue
“We don’t know what tomorrow holds. We might not even wake up and see another day. So we have to be thankful for every second we draw breath. We have to rejoice in even the smallest of victories. We may shed tears. We may suffer hurts that threaten to rip us in two, but that’s when we hold tight to the ones we love and give thanks we have someone to bear our burdens with us. We have each been given a purpose in this life, and we will help each other stay on our path. That is friendship, that is family, and that is pack. Don’t be like me and learn that lesson the hard way.” ~Peri
Peri stood with Lucian in the large room given by Andora to the Romanian pack to use as a home base. Lucian stood beside her, his arm around her waist. For the first time in months, she felt whole. She knew they had a long way to go. The road to healing and forgiveness between Peri and her mate would not be easy. And the healing she must do with the others would take time. But she was finally back where she belonged, and that was a start.
“All will be well, beloved. The beauty of choosing to love is that people are also willing to choose to forgive.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and nodded against him. Words were too hard to speak at the moment.
“I’m not going to lie…” Jen said. Apparently, words werenottoo hard for her. Ever.
“I’m going to call BS on that before you even finish that sentence,” Jacque said from where she sat on Fane’s lap. The alpha held his mate close to him, while his other hand rested on the back of his son, who slept on a blanket on the couch beside them.
“Nobody asked you,” Jen said and then continued before Jacque could respond. “I miss these little powwows being at home in Vasile’s office.”
“Agreed,” Jacque said. And Peri silently agreed as well.
Jen snorted. “I thought you called BS.”
“I spoke too soon. But to be fair, there was at least a seventy-five percent chance BS was about to fly out of your mouth.”
“She’s not wrong,” Sally said. She sat on the floor with her back against a couch in between her mate’s legs. Costin sat on the couch behind her, looking as content as a fat cat, running his fingers through her hair. Titus had his head in Sally’s lap, and, like the other kids, he was sleeping soundly.
“Are we going to address all the elephants in the room?” Adam asked. “Or just do our usual character-bashing banter?”
Crina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Really, dude. You had to go there?”
“It’s my job to rock the boat, babe.” Adam winked at her.
“I’ve spoken to Drayden.” Fane spoke up, and the mood of the room changed abruptly. Peri tensed as she waited for him to continue. “He said Nick and Kara are good. But they need some time before seeing people.”
“Understandable,” Peri said. “They’ve been through hell.”
Nods went around the room. Peri’s eyes fell on Sally, who wiped a tear from her eye. She hadn’t taken the news well when Jacque had explained what had happened. Jen had, predictably, requested to go vamp hunting so she could decapitate something. Peri was beginning to wonder if they might need to consider an intervention. Jen’s fascination with decapitations was getting out of hand. That or they could just get her a T-shirt deeming her the queen of hearts.
“What about Skender?” Jen asked, her voice filled with venom.
“Jennifer,” Decebel rumbled as he patted Thia’s bottom. She was slung over his shoulder, gripping a sippy cup but sound asleep.
“What? Adam asked about the elephants in the room. He is one big ass elephant. Let’s discuss.”
Peri saw Fane’s eyes meet Costin, and his third in charge gave the alpha a sharp nod. “He and his mate and son will stay with Lilly at the warlock mountain. For now,” Fane said with a finality that made it clear there would be no further discussion concerning the prodigal pack member.
“Oookay,” Jen said, drawing the word out. “Onto the next big-eared, long-trunked being. Peri-fairy.”
“Bloody hell.” Zara sighed. “For you, Jen, I threatened to gut a djinn warrior, who, by the way, could kill me with her pinky. Could we just let the elephants lie for now?”
Peri smothered the grin that threatened to stretch across her face. It seemed Zara had grown into herself and her place while Peri had been gone. It looked good on her.
“You better be glad I like you, Z,” Jen grumbled. “You’re getting as mouthy as I am.” She sighed. “Who am I kidding? I’m dang proud of you. So threaten away, my little protégé.”
“Peri.” Fane turned to look at her over Jacque’s shoulder. “How are the healers?”
