Everyone was talking and laughing because exams were finished and we were going home to our families. Atticus hovered on the edge of the group, and Jack dragged him forward. I couldn’t blame Channon and Bardoul for disliking Atticus, but if that was to change, it was on him.
Jack had a huge family, and she’d asked Atticus to stay during the holidays. He was estranged from his folks—shocker—and she was a good friend. I hoped that was all they were, because they were a “been there and done that” relationship. In the years ahead, Jack had to concentrate on her studies, soccer,and her art, and Atticus faced a huge hurdle of working out who he’d been and who he wanted to be.
We’d agreed the pair would come to my in-laws the day after Christmas for a meal. I couldn’t forget the past, but perhaps, slowly slowly, we could forge something new. As the council head said, that we were born of the same parents mattered little now. But the future was a blank canvas, and it was up to us to shape it.
“I’m sad we never figured out what happened to Sasha.” Mika’s family got their answers, painful as they were, but Sasha’s death was still a mystery.
Bardoul got all jiggly and said, “Maybe we can revisit that again next semester. We made pretty good detectives.”
Phelan put his hands on my shoulders. “Can we put the super-secret squirrel society to bed, please? We’ve had enough drama in our lives.”
“Maybe.” I averted my gaze from my mate.
Speaking of squirrels reminded me of Coach. There had been sightings, but being a squirrel shifter helped her hide in the forest and blend in with her wild cousins. She could stay there forever. Her bank accounts had been frozen and her car repossessed, and now the sports center was finally going to be finished.
Jack kissed Eira and shoved our daughter at Atticus, much as she had done that day they first babysat. He tried to smile, but Eira grinned at him. His cheeks flamed, and he waved. Apparently he did the same thing the day I met my wolf, so one of the other students told me, but I’d had a lot on my mind and hadn’t noticed.
My bestie tried to get Atticus and I to hug. We sort of patted one another’s shoulders awkwardly. Maybe we’d be able to do it at some point but not today, though I was glad Jack's family would be taking care of him over the holidays.
Once our daughter was in her car seat, I hugged everyone, and we drove out the Sombertooth gates. I looked back at the turret reaching into the sky and remembered my first sighting of it the day of my arrival.
“I thought we might take a detour.” Phelan didn’t look at me, and I assumed he was talking about going to my home, the one I’d shared with Rawlins.
We had planned to go there during the vacation, but I didn’t see the need to return today.
“A surprise?” I couldn’t think what it would be.
“Mmmm, but it’s kinda bittersweet.” He reached out and took my hand.
That had to be about the past and my parents. When I first learned they weren’t my biological parents, I’d used the word adoptive. But then I changed to just saying parents because that was what they were. They saved me when my biological ones dumped me, leaving me to a possibly cruel fate.
As Charlie had been a shifter, the shifter council finagled paperwork and compensated the family living in the house that used to have a yellow door, the one Charlie and Arnie had owned. They’d found my parents' remains and removed them, waiting for me to decide where to bury them. And I’d asked for them to be placed with Rawlins.
I supposed it was fitting in the professor’s eyes that he buried them there, the place where they’d lived as a married couple and where they’d brought me to from the orphanage.
“I hope I haven’t made a mistake, but I thought we should do this now so it wasn’t weighing on you over the holidays.”
“Okay.”
Phelan pulled up outside the cemetery, and he got Eira out of her seat and put an arm around me. I remembered Rawlins’s funeral and how I’d been numb, unable to comprehend how he was gone from this world.
But as we walked toward his burial place, my mate pointed out how peaceful it was. The trees were stripped of their leaves, but come spring they’d blossom, flowers would grow in the garden beds, and birds would be chirping and laying eggs in the trees.
Our feet crunched over the snowy ground—this area rarely had snow—and though I disliked the cold, it was as though the weather had put on a white coat and blocked out the background so it was just us.
When we reached my godfather’s headstone, I studied the inscription. It not only contained my godfather’s name but also my parents.
“You did that?” I traced over each name with my finger. Phelan had added, “Beloved parents and uncle and godfather of Rawling,” and I told Eira who they were and how much they would have loved her.
“I hope I didn’t overstep. But we need to put the past behind us while keeping the memories close to us.”
“Thank you. I love it. I’m glad it’s done.”
Standing side by side with my mate, I spoke to my parents and godfather.
“Thank you for saving and loving me. Because of you, I’m happy and secure and in love with my mate and daughter.” I didn’t attempt to blink away the tears. Placing a hand over my chest, I said, “You’re here, for always.”
Christmas morning was somuch fun with Eira, even though she was too young to understand. My in-laws spoiled her with books, clothes, toys, a tricycle she was too young to use, anda ride-on car. Our daughter did have fun ripping off all the paper and trying to stuff it in her mouth.
