A promise.
The druid approached, bowing their head slightly. “The Hollow is…pleased,” they said carefully. “It feels the balance returning.”
Diesel snorted. “Feels like we’ve been rebuilding since the day Wolfe got here.”
“Then build better,” the druid said simply.
I huffed a laugh. “That’s the plan.”
Diesel and I exchanged a look. We hadn’t spoken about the fact that we were blood, both descendants of the Grumps. I didn’t know how to talk about it, or even if it needed to be said. He’d always been as close as a brother, which was why he was my beta. The blood between us just reinforced that my choice to name him beta had been a good one.
Killian unfolded a rough map, spread it across a nearby stump, and cleared his throat. “We’ll need new patrol routes.With everything that’s happened, and the Pack Council all to shit, we’re going to have to expect all our defenses are now open to everyone. We need to strategize.” He looked thrilled at the thought. “Plus, we have empty territories below us. Emberfell is rebuilding, and we’re going to have a lot of interest being shown in the land south of here. Our territory needs to be secure.”
“Meaning,” Diesel said, “we’re about to get very, very popular.”
I muttered under my breath. “Which is why you’ll set boundaries, Killian. Which is why Diesel and Cody will start training our patrols, and why no one steps foot into Blueridge Hollow unless Rowen or I approve it. We’re not repeating history.”
Killian nodded. “Agreed.”
Rowen slipped her hand into mine. “And the elders? And the children?”
“Will be fine,” I said. “Our pack will feel safe again.”
She smiled faintly. “It will.”
A wind swept through, rustling branches and carrying the scent of pine, soil, and the faintest echo of shifting magic. The Hollow acknowledged my promise.
Rowen leaned into me, her voice soft but certain. “This is a fresh start.”
I looked out at the wolves who’d bled beside me, at the land that had chosen me without ever explaining why, at the mate who had stood between me and darkness more than once.
“No,” I said softly. “This is the beginning.” The Hollow pulsed beneath my feet, warm and steady. I wrapped myarm around my mate and gently rested my hand on her belly.
We weren’t just surviving anymore. We were rebuilding—for us, for our son, and for our pack.
For the future.
Epilogue
The tent was too warm.
Too still.
Too full of shifters who believed they hid their agendas better than they actually did. I ducked inside anyway, resenting that I was here.
The shaman sat cross-legged at the end of the dais, poking at a steaming bowl of something that smelled half like soup and half like swamp rot. He gestured lazily at the empty seat across from him.
“Sit, Alpha,” he said. “Or stand. You loom better when you stand.”
I didn’t move.
He sighed dramatically. “Yes, yes. I know that face. You think I lured you here with a promise for diplomacy and justice.”
I glanced at Killian, who was watching everyone around us. “Get to the point,” I told him. “Why did you insist I come here?”
A grin split his weathered face. “Good. Direct. Saves my old bones time.”
He tapped the ground. “The Pack Council we knew is gone. Which means something new must replace it.”
