Vivi’s cake was the centerpiece - a masterpiece of fondant books and chocolate wolves that had everyone taking pictures. It disappeared quickly once cut, werewolf metabolisms and sugar-loving humans making quick work of four tiers.
“Your family is insane,” Sarah told me during a quiet moment, watching the organized chaos with amusement. “All these large, strange dogs wearing suits and attempting the Electric Slide.”
“My family,” I agreed, warmth spreading through my chest at the words. Knox was dancing with Thea standing on his feet while Rowan spun around them in circles. “Thank you. For everything. For raising me, for accepting this, for not running screaming when you realized what you’d gotten into.”
“You were always meant for something special,” Sarah said simply, squeezing my hand. “Even if I didn’t expect... this.” She gestured at Hunt attempting to teach Cole to two-step while Noah filmed it for future blackmail purposes. “Your parents would be proud. Confused, possibly, but proud.”
“Think they would have liked Knox?”
“Your father would have tried to intimidate him. Your mother would have fed him until he burst. So yes, they would have loved him.” She smiled softly. “They would have loved seeing you this happy.”
As the night wound down, pack members approached one by one. Not just with congratulations but with real acceptance, formal acknowledgment of my new position.
“Luna,” they said with genuine respect, some even bowing slightly.
Each acknowledgment felt like another thread weaving me into the fabric of the pack. I wasn’t just Knox’s mate now but their female alpha, their protector, their heart. The human who’d somehow become essential to their world.
“Dance with me,” Knox commanded, appearing at my elbow as the evening shifted to nighttime.
“We’ve been dancing,” I pointed out.
“Not like this.”
He led me to a quiet corner between the romance and mystery sections, where the fairy lights created intimate shadows. The music was muted here, just us and the books and the distant laughter of our loved ones.
“This is home,” I whispered as we swayed together, his arms around me. “This shop, this pack, this family. This is home.”
“Always has been,” he agreed, spinning me gently before pulling me back against his chest. “Just took us a while to find it. To find each other.”
“Worth the wait?”
He tilted my chin up, kissing me with a thoroughness that made my knees weak. “Worth everything. Every letter, every lonely night, every moment of missing you. All of it led here.”
“To my coffee shop?”
“To you as my wife. In your coffee shop. Surrounded by our pack and your books and our children’s laughter.” He gestured to where the twins had fallen asleep in a pile with other pack cubs, all tucked into the reading nook. “This is everything I never dared dream of.”
I looked around at our united family filling my shop. Wolves teaching humans pack songs. Humans introducing wolves to wedding traditions. Mika trying to convince someone to let her braid their fur in wolf form. Vivi collecting phone numbers withimpressive efficiency. Noah and Hunt arguing about who caught the bouquet fairly. Sarah and Serena having what looked like a surprisingly civil conversation over coffee.
Two worlds merged in my little coffee shop, held together by love and caffeine and sheer stubborn determination.
“Worth the wait?” Knox asked again, pressing a kiss to his mark on my neck.
“Worth everything,” I confirmed, and meant it.
39
— • —
Lina
Six months of blissful normal had spoiled me. Running both coffee shops, watching the twins thrive in pack school, standing beside Knox as he led our mixed family of wolves and humans. We’d found the perfect balance between our two worlds, and I’d gotten comfortable in the routine.
This morning I was in Pine Valley, helping Mika train our newest barista. The familiar rhythm of the shop soothed me, grinding beans, steaming milk, the chatter of regular customers who’d known me since I was a kid.
“No, Hugh, you have to tamp it evenly or the extraction will be off,” Mika was explaining with the patience of a saint. “Here, watch me do it again.”
I was reaching for a bag of beans when it hit me. The smell of coffee, my favorite scent in the world, suddenly made mystomach revolt. I pressed a hand to my mouth, fighting the urge to gag.
