And still, I am coming, pulsing, sparking.
Beric growls against my throat. “Let her feel us… all of us.”
“Little mate,” Ranulf growls, affection, pride, and love. “Brace yourself, for we are a long way from being done with you.”
Heat.
Breath.
Need.
“There,” Ranulf whispers lowly. “There she goes.”
“Ours.”
“All of ours.”
Epilogue
EVANTHE
The dressing chamber is warm and softly lit, but my nerves still flutter. I stand before a polished bronze mirror, staring at a gown that can only be described as regal… and the first clothing I have worn in many days.
Layers of deep forest green, embroidered in delicate gold thread. A bodice fitted perfectly to my waist. Sleeves of cascading silk. It is more luxurious than anything I have ever worn in my life.
“Are you sure this is appropriate?” I ask, smoothing imaginary creases from my skirts for the tenth time. “It looks like something a noblewoman would wear. Or a princess. I’ll look ridiculous.”
A low male chuckle sounds behind me.
Beric is leaning on the doorframe with a wicked gleam in his eyes. He is dressed in naught but hide pants and presents a captivating sight. “You do not look ridiculous. You look like every wolf’s dream.”
Alden strides past Beric, likewise wearing only pants. He stops behind me, all towering male beauty, and circles his arms around my waist. “It was made for you. And much as I prefer you naked…” His eyes follow the passage of his hands in the mirror as they slide up to cup my breasts. “Human clothing definitely has an allure.”
“Made for me?” I ask. “By whom? Where did you even get something like this?”
Ranulf’s mouth curves with amusement as he arrives at my left side—to my shame, I am disappointed that he too is in a state of partial dress. “We believe you know the seamstress very well.”
“Mistress Nina?”
Beric pushes away from the door and comes to stand to my right. “Aye. She insisted on sending it. Said her sweet former assistant deserved only the best.”
Tears prick the back of my eyes. “She… made this? For me?”
“She has always been respectful of the lore, and of the part we play in Merrywood’s protection. More than most. She sends gifts to our pack queen often. I get a firm impression that she will not miss you out.”
“She summoned you,” I say, thinking back to that night.
Ranulf nods. “She has our blood, but keeps it quiet, for though she was once mated to a wolf shifter, he was a cruel bastard by all accounts. Not behavior we condone. But it happens on occasion. After Torric’s predecessor outcast the rogue, she left the pack, mated to a human alpha, and never shifted again. When he died a few years back, she had no desire to return to the pack life.”
Beric adds, “She visits us on occasion. And summons us when there is need.”
Well, that explains much… and the perfect fit of the gown. “She gave me a charm,” I confess. “Told me not to go into the forest.”
“It seems you did not heed your mistress well,” Ranulf says, running his knuckle down my cheek. “Going into the forest after dark.”
“I left the charm in my dress pocket… then the raiders came and… you know the rest.”
“The Goddess’ work,” Alden says reverently. “You were always destined to be ours.”
