When did he even have time to do this?!
Carefully peeling back the tape, she found herself at a thick layer of tissue paper. Judging by the way the contents moved, she guessed that there were two objects inside.
She looked up at Pierce. His face was carefully schooled into an expression of encouragement, but there was the slightest hint of apprehension in the corners of his eyes. It dawned on her that Pierce Hardwicke – who faced down krakens without a second thought – was scared that she wouldn’t like his present.
It was touching, but also unnecessary. She knew she’d love it, no matter what.
Carefully pulling back the layers of tissue paper, she gasped when she got to the presents themselves – and then she laughed delightedly. Of all the things!
Gently, she pulled out the mug that she had made at Mrs. Shelby’s pottery studio, cradling it in her hands. It had been fired and glazed, and… okay, it still looked pretty silly, but she didn’t care. Shelovedit.
Placing it down on the bedspread, she reached in and pulled out Pierce’s espresso cup. It still looked like it might fall apart in a stiff breeze. It was perfect.
Looking up at Pierce, she couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “I love them! How did you evengetthem?”
Pierce visibly relaxed, a smile spreading across his face. “I called up Mrs. Shelby the other day and pulled some strings. Let’s just say that in exchange for there being two fewer mugs than there were supposed to be, the school now has more than enough funds to cover their expenses.” He coughed. “Also, I think she was glad to be rid of them.”
“Well, it’s her loss,” Celeste said, admiring the mugs. “I’ll just pop them over here on the dresser for safekeeping, but seriously, thank youso much– I can’t think of a better Christmas present. I just wish I’d thought to get you something.”
“You got me everything I could have ever wanted,” Pierce said seriously as she sank back down onto the bed, stroking his fingers through her hair. He pulled it gently up toward his face, admiring the silver strands, and Celeste felt love surging in her heart.
It was almost unbelievable, how they had found each other again against all the odds. How they had loved each other more than ever. How they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, even after all these years. The fact that she was a shifter’smatewas just the icing on the cake, really. They had so much to catch up on. So much about each other that they could explore together.
Bringing Pierce’s face in toward hers for a searing kiss, she thanked her lucky stars that he had come back into her life.
For twenty-two years, seven months, two weeks and one day, she had counted each day with a kind of weary resignation. But now, she had a new counter that had started fresh at zero, and each day was a new adventure just waiting to be experienced.
She couldn’t wait.
Epilogue
Five months later
“Retiring?!”
Pierce looked at the five – slightly horrified – faces in front of him in turn as they chorused out the word he’d just said, as if they couldn’t quite believe their ears.
“To tell the truth, I thought I’d see a little more relief on your faces than this,” he said, frowning. “Aren’t you always saying what a tyrant I am when you think I can’t hear it?”
To their – slight – credit, his team of agents at least looked a little sheepish as they glanced at each other. Pierce knew them all well – Rowan, the griffin, Garrett, the dragon, Beau, the hippogriff, Declan, the unicorn, and Noah, the hellhound – and he knew they’d be fine without him. They were all competent, accomplished agents, and if he’d been hard on them at times it was only because he knew they would be able to withstand it and become better agents for it.
Hmph. We were never hard on them. We simply had realistic expectations,his pegasus said with a toss of its head.
That, Pierce decided, was something that he and his pegasus could agree on.
“I don’t think any of us ever saidtyrant,” Beau finally managed to get out, after an extended pause. “Well,Ididn’t.”
“Hardwicke is retiring, you don’t have to suck up to him anymore,” Declan laughed, before shooting a small, panicked look in Pierce’s direction. “I mean… that’s effective immediately, isn’t it? When you say retiring, you mean right now, and not in six months’ time, right?”
“Luckily for you, yes,” Pierce said coldly – but really, he was having to hold back the smile that was threatening to tug at the corner of his mouth. “So no, you don’t have to suck up anymore, as you put it.”
“But who’ll be taking over your role?” Rowan broke in. “I feel like I’ve gotten used to you now – I mean, I hope you won’t take it the wrong way when I say you’re a hardass, but you always got results. And you gotusto get results. I don’t know who could take your place.”
Pierce had to admit, it was just alittleheartwarming to hear them say these things. Even if hehadbeen a hardass at times – well, most of the time – he knew he had his agents’ loyalty, and they had his. He supposed springing his decision to retire on them like this must have come as a shock, but at the same time, Pierce didn’t really believe in sugarcoating things. It was best to just get these things done.
And besides which, he’d given the last twenty years of his life to this job. He thought he’d earned a little time to himself.
Well, not entirely to myself….
