My dad is here.
He shrugged, like he couldn’t give less of a shit about that, butbefore he could haul me into his arms, I thrust the gift into his face. “Happy birthday, Golden!” My voice was higher than usual, but only my pack knew what was going on, as they drifted in the quintet essence.
The blue of Kellan’s eyes was light as he gently removed the box from my grasp, hefting it up and down. “It’s weighty,” he mused, eyeing it closely as he turned it side to side. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to open a gift.”
He tore through the shiny blue paper to reveal the ornate box below. It was similar to mydagger box, but his had its own unique spin, with sapphires and diamonds embedded in the carved wolf. Kellan’s eyes were wide as he stared between me and the box. “Oh, Shortcake. You didn’t!”
He lifted the lid slowly, and when the contents were revealed, he stared down like he couldn’t believe his eyes. The pair of long blades were nestled inside the navy velvet lining, and when he brushed his fingers over the glinting steel, he released a small rasp. “Best birthday ever.”
Making his day a little special was exactly what I’d hoped for.
“Plenty more where this came from,” I informed him, and when Kellan looked at me, it was with even more reverence than the blades.
Best birthday ever.
EPILOGUE PART THREE
SLADE
After the events of the last few weeks, it was hard for me to be away from Emmeline. Eventually, as life returned to normal, we all started to resume our regular life and duties, so I relied more on our bond, cameras, and her tracking necklace.
During training today, my phone remained open on the page with her location and the camera that was in her vicinity, watching her play in the pool with my twin.
Safe at home.Safely out of the hands of any who would think of harming or touching her.
Every night I relived the endless hours we spent flying toward Golden Claw, not knowing if Jewels had destroyed my reason for existence. It had been a day which fundamentally changed me, and it was only on the nights she slept in my arms that I was able to relax enough to even sleep.
The sole reason I was even at training today was that Talon was with her, throwing her across the pool as she shrieked in laughter. Emme was generally very good at not keeping me out of our bond, but she was holding it tighter today, and I couldn’t bring myself to force my way in. Leaving me to rely on Talon and the video feed. The flashes of her in a red bikini had me really fucking distracted, and for the first time my enforcers almost kicked my obsessed ass.
When we were done for the day, my muscles burned in the way that let me know I’d pushed my limits. On the feed, Emme was lounging by the pool, so I did a quick flick through the cameras toscan the perimeter. My alarms hadn’t triggered, but I no longer relied on just one source of detection.
The street looked fine, the guard hut functioning as per usual, the front and back of the house unremarkable. Then I checked room by room.
In the main living room, I paused as a flicker of a shadow in the corner caught my eye. When I adjusted my view, there was nothing there, and I shook my head, worried that my paranoia had finally reached its pinnacle. Moving through the various room feeds, I found those shadows in almost every single one.
What the hell?
When I dialed Hunter, his phone rang out, and I left a short voicemail to call me. Next, I tried the rest of my pack brothers, but with the same results. Tapping into the bond didn’t help either, with my twin telling me there was nothing his dragon could sense, and Emme was still safe with him by the pool.
Unease settled in my gut as I raced through the training facility, ignoring alphas as they called out goodbyes. When I slid into my car, I flicked through the cameras again, pausing when a grotesque face briefly appeared in a shadow before disappearing just as quickly.
The SVJ took off in a squeal of tires, and I risked everyone’s lives as I zoomed in on the cameras while flying along the street, only to find there was no longer a white-faced and red-lipped visage in the shadows.
Emme!I pushed against her wolf in the bond, and when her beast startled, I cursed my roughness.Sorry, Snow. But I need you to stay out of the house. There’s something weird happening inside. I’ll be home in ten minutes. Don’t leave Talon’s side until then.
Her beast shuddered. I wasn’t the only one who held fresh memories of our last attack.What’s wrong, Scary? We’re by the pool. Talon just did a quick sweep of the area, and there’s nothing amiss here. My wolf can’t sense anything either.
Fucking hell!
It might be magic again. I can’t be sure. Just don’t move from that spot. I’m only five away now.
I pushed my car to its absolute limits, harder than even on the racetrack. When I screeched to a halt out front, I opened the cameras to find that every room in the house was filled with shadows now, though at least none of them had that fucked up face in them.
Crashing through the front door, I examined the front entrance, which looked normal andshadowless. Stalking farther inside, I expanded my senses, but couldn’t pick up on any intruders either.
There was no sign of anything amiss as I headed for the pool area, finding Talon crouched protectively over Emme’s lounger. “Brother,” I called, and he took a step toward me. “We need to search the house.”
Emme scrambled up to follow and my gaze slid over her curves. If this situation wasn’t so dire, I’d be stripping the red bikini right off her perfect body. “Did you find someone inside?” she asked, her eyes widening as her scent flooded the area.
