Could that be Snow? It looks like him from a distance, and that white hair is impossible to mistake. If it’s him, then the person beside him holding babies must be Summer. The last time I saw him, he was a terrifying dark monster tearing the city apart, and a small shiver runs down my spine.
Um, okay, maybe I’ll skip saying hello for now.
Feeling anxious, I head toward the main house, my fingers damp.
When I reach the door, my heart is thudding hard in my chest.
I can’t believe it. I’ve come full circle. I’m back where everything started, where I walked in with a backpack, grateful Bay took my side against the bullies. This is where my lovefor him started, and where my dreams first began to take shy shapes.
I stand there for a moment, then take a deep breath, raise my hand, and press the doorbell.
There’s a short silence, and then I hear footsteps, light ones, so I know it isn’t Bay or Aiden.
The door opens and my heartbeat stutters.
Lake is standing in front of me.
I can’t believe it. His beautiful, delicate face is still young. He really hasn’t changed that much in ten years. His platinum hair frames his face and gives it a soft glow, and his eyes lock onto me, widening in surprise and then… in this huge rush of joy.
"Whoa!"
Lake grabs me and pulls me into the tightest hug ever, squeezing me so hard he almost crushes me.
"Alex," he whispers, emotional, "Alex…"
I cry. I just do.
I sob like a kid, because itdoesfeel like I’ve come home. After all those years of being no one, belonging to nobody, living on the edges of other people’s lives, forgotten by everyone, I’m back and greeted with such deep and heartwarming joy.
"Hi," I whisper. "I came to tell you that your son and I are True Mates."
Lake lets out something between a laugh and a sob. "Oh, honey, I know. I always felt it deep in my heart, even when the facts seemed to prove otherwise. From that day, the accident, I knew you had to be his True Mate."
My voice cracks. "I went through a special long-term therapy Blue Lowen created for me," I say softly, "and it removed the cause of my allergy. Bay and I can be together."
I hear footsteps behind Lake, and in the hallway light Bay appears, staring at me with wide, shocked eyes.
"Alex, you came?"
"Yes," I say, my breath shaking as I pull away from Lake’s arms. "No more hiding, no more secrets. I’ve missed your family for so many years, and it’s time for me to stop being invisible. I want to be part of… you all again."
Lake wipes his eyes, his breath hitching like he’s the one with asthma. But mine is gone. Ever since Bay and I entered the Joining, I haven’t had a single trace of it. And I’ve dropped the glasses too!
Bay steps up to me and hugs me tight, so tight… and Lake wraps his arms around me from the other side.
Only now do I really feel it. Only now does it becomereal, something I can touch. I have come back, and I’m here to stay.
ALEX
A few months later
I swear I have never seen Bay in a suit before, this is the very first time, but definitely not the last, because he looks downright lethal. The suit fits his muscular body perfectly and it highlights how handsome he is, that classic quality he shares with all the Nolans, the flawless symmetry of his features and the striking proportions. They seem even more defined in this kind of elegant clothing, and I have to admit I cannot stop staring at him even though this day brings me so much stress.
A sharply dressed butler leads us into a gigantic hall, and my fingers tighten around Bay’s.
The dining hall in the Lowen patriarch’s home is enormous, it truly resembles one of those feasting halls from the days of kings, the table is round and massive, big enough for the entire Lowen family, and this is not a small group. The patriarch’s sons are here, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren running around the table.
My heart pounds like crazy when such a huge group of people turns their eyes toward me.
