Sage chuckled.“You really are a witch wolf, sweetcakes.My witch wolf.”
Then and always, Will wanted to be nothing else.
27
Will
Epilogue
About half a year later.
“Ican’tfuckingbelievehe got himself a human finally,” Sage said as they walked out of Peter’s house far too early in the morning, as Sage had pointed out on the way here, along with a steady stream of curses.
“Can’t believe he has food in the house,” Will said.He looked over his shoulder.He’d come to this very door in the middle of the night about a year ago, scared, ready to sell himself to get free.But Peter had never taken anything from him.He had given him Sage instead.The vampire was a mean alpha, but also a good one, despite all the murder, and Will loved him for it.In a way.“He’s kind of cute though.The human, I mean.Peter’s scary.”
Sage glowered.“He’s—yeah.He’s so fucking…I don’t know.Not innocent, but…”
“Clueless?”Will pulled the driver’s side door open before he rounded the hood to the passenger side of Sage’s car.
“Yeah.Clueless.That’s it exactly.How do you think he’ll react when he figures out Peter is completely in his element when he can bring his totally ethical vampiric justice to people?”
They closed their car doors at the same time.“Maybe he thinks it’s hot?Some people get super turned on by competence, and Peter is hyper competent when it comes to violence.”
Sage considered that.“That’s true.But to be honest, it’s too fucking early to think about this, and too fucking early to deal with the implications of Peter dating someone…so much younger.He had his ghoul friend scare the shit out of me when I was a kid and then denied me ice cream on top of that.I mean, damn.How’s he in a relationship?”
Will eyed his mate.Hismate.The word had slipped out when Kira and Carl had been over for pizza and a movie the other day, but Sage had been surprisingly fine with it, a fact that still made Will’s heart swell.
“Are you jealous, oh mighty wizard?”Will asked.
The slight color rising in Sage’s cheeks gave Will all the answer he needed.“Jealous?Of the kid?Don’t be ridiculous.”
Will giggled.“He’sverycute.I think it makes sense for Peter not to let him go.”
“Peter doesn’t do cute—you know what?Fuck it.I donotcare, and it’s none of my fucking business.All I know is we didn’t have to be here this fucking early, but at least there’s going to be food in the house now.See?I adjust to changing circumstances.”
“How about we change our current circumstances.You drive us back home, and we head back to bed?I want to feel you.”
Sage locked gazes with Will, nodded, and started the car.They drove home in silence, though Will reached across the middle console to take Sage’s hand.
When they crossed the threshold to the house, Will was overcome by a wave of nostalgia, probably brought on by visiting Peter’s home.This witch house had become Will’s home without him even noticing, and the man who’d lived in it alone, the man he loved more than the full moon and either or both of his skins, he had given Will everything: love, a mate, time to heal and find himself again.
What Will felt for Sage was a calm and quiet certainty of belonging, a feeling that complemented the love between them and made it stronger.Sage was his own self, but he was also Will’s, and the same was true for Will in turn.
“You look pensive,” Sage said, one foot already on the bottom stair.
“What do you think Theo would be to you?Your step-godparent?”
Sage narrowed his eyes.“Peter is so fucking right about your manners, you know.”
“Good.Don’t need manners when I’m about to make love to you.”
Sage grinned and sprinted up the stairs.
Will followed the breadcrumb trail of shed clothes, all the way past the room he no longer lived in, up to the attic where he and Sage slept and loved one another.The scent of smiles and sunshine got stronger as Will made it up the last few stairs, and he found Sage already on his back, staring up at him.
“Your step-godparent is a cutie-pie, but you’re just the whole cupcake package,” Will said, and Sage promptly threw a cushion at his face.There were still far too many cushions in this house, even if Will had secretly grown fond of Lemon.The cushion seemed to cherish Will’s feet more than anyone else’s.
“Get in here.”Sage patted the bed, and Will undressed and did just that.
