More warriors. More Warlords. More drama.
I did not care about the noise or chaos around us. I cared about the woman in my arms—the warmth of her body pressed against mine, the sacred cuffs circling her wrist, the bond between us, anchoring me, finally complete.
We had done it. We had caught the monster the human way. Honored the contract so the warriors of the Colony would have their chance to find their mates. And claimed each other before the entire world.
Inside me, the beast rose. For the first time in years, his laughter rolled through my mind—deep, thunderous, triumphant.
MINE.
Epilogue
Tori
* * *
My apartment looked smaller than I remembered. I stood in the middle of the tiny living room and slowly turned in a circle, trying to see it the way Egon must. The cracked ceiling above me still carried the faint brown outline of an old water stain. The carpet was worn thin where years of pacing had carved pale paths through the fibers. The window by the couch never sealed properly, letting humid Florida air seep in along with the distant murmur of traffic and the occasional shout from the street below.
It was objectively terrible. But it had once been my entire world. And somehow… that still mattered. Now that the bounty, or whatever Derek had offered on my head, had officially been lifted—per a call from Special Agent Chen this morning—I wanted to share it with my mate. Needed him to see where I came from.
Behind me, Egon shifted in the doorway. Even the smallest movement from him changed the atmosphere of the room. His size alone overwhelmed the space—broad shoulders nearly touching both sides of the narrow hallway, dark hair brushing dangerously close to the low ceiling. He looked like a powerful creature accidentally trapped inside a dollhouse.
"This is where you live?" His voice rolled through the room, deep and careful, as though he were afraid the walls might collapse if he spoke too loudly.
I turned to face him. "This is where I lived," I corrected. "Before everything." Before alien Warlords. Before reality TV. Before Derek lost his mind. Before I found my mate.
Egon stepped inside slowly, his golden gaze absorbing every detail—the sagging thrift-store couch, the crooked lamp I'd bought for ten dollars, the photographs taped to the wall of college friends, stray animals I'd helped rescue, the life I'd been building piece by fragile piece.
"It is…" He hesitated, clearly searching for the right word, his brows knitting in concentration. "…cozy."
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. "It's a dump, Egon."
He studied the room again, then nodded solemnly. "Yes. It is a dump." Then his eyes returned to mine, warm and steady. "But it is your dump." His mouth curved slowly. "And that makes it beautiful."
My chest tightened in a way that had nothing to do with the apartment. I crossed the small distance between us and slipped my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek against the solid wall of his chest. His body radiated heat through the thin fabric of his shirt. The familiar scent of him—smoke, wild air, something uniquely Egon—wrapped around me until the rest of the world faded. The mating cuffs on my wrists caught the dim light as I moved, alien metal glimmering softly against my skin, etched with elegant sigils that represented his bloodline. Permanent. Unbreakable. Ours.
And for the first time since this madness began… we were alone. No cameras. No producers. No federal agents hovering nearby. No security. Just us.
Egon's arms came around me slowly, carefully, as though he still couldn't quite believe I was real. "I do not wish to live here." The blunt honesty made me grin against his chest. My head tilted back so I could see his face. His expression held no judgment, only quiet certainty. "We are very wealthy, mate," he continued simply. "I have lands and homes on Atlan. Estates on several worlds. We could live on The Colony, if you prefer. At the Beast Compound where I stay, or in a home of our own." He said it the way someone might offer coffee. Casually. As if entire planets were normal housing options.
I laughed, the sound bubbling out before I could stop it. "Can we maybe visit all those places before we decide?"
His answering smile was slow and devastating. "Anything you want, mate. I will provide." His hand lifted to brush a strand of hair from my cheek, fingers surprisingly gentle for someone capable of tearing steel apart. "I would give you the world, Tori," he murmured. "Every star in the galaxy. Everything I have… everything I am… is yours."
My heart squeezed painfully in my chest. "What if," I asked softly, "what I really need… is some love from my beast?" The change in him was immediate. The air between us thickened. His breathing deepened, chest expanding under my hands.
"And I want a real wedding," I added quietly. "Not on television. Not for ratings. A real one. With people who love us. With you waiting at the end of the aisle." My fingers curled into the front of his shirt. "No drama. No cameras. Just us."
His eyes darkened. "Whatever you want." The words vibrated through his chest like distant thunder. "Whatever you need. I am yours. Forever."
"Promise me."
His hands tightened slightly at my waist. "I promise you everything."
Then something shifted. I felt it before I saw it. The air seemed to pulse with energy. Egon's body tensed beneath my hands as if something vast had stirred beneath his skin.
"Egon?" I whispered. His breathing roughened. The golden glow in his eyes deepened, brightening until it looked almost molten.
"Your eyes…"
