‘Fine,’I lied.
“Aye,” the dark fey said. “Ifwe hunt down the other fugitives.”
The witch rolled her eyes at the dark fey’s comment. “Aye.” She looked to the troll councilwoman.
“Aye.” The troll tipped her head in my direction and then stared at the light fey.
“Aye.” Then the light fey glanced at the vampire.
“Nay,” he seethed, eyeing both Sawyer and I.
The witch shook her head at the vampire. “Majority rules. They are now freed of all crimes against them.”
Cheers erupted outside the bubble, and Sawyer relaxed beside me. The witch snapped her fingers and both collars fell from our necks.
We … we were free. The protection bubble popped around us and the witch councilwoman stepped forward, bowing slightly. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
Hah. That was the fucking understatement of the year. But if I hadn’t gone to the Dark Woods for so long, and I’d been able to testify at Sawyer’s hearing, we probably could have avoided all of this.
I gave her a nod and she made her way out of the crowd, the rest of the council following her as the pack parted with glares and growls.
Turning to face me, Sawyer pulled my face to his and pressed a firm kiss on my lips.
“Marry me,” he breathed.
I laughed. “I already did!”
He pulled back and gazed at me. “A real wedding, with our son and every fucking person alive watching. We’ll televise it for all to see. I want big. Huge. Celebrity worthy.”
I grinned. “Our venue got blown up, and most of Wolf City is in ruins. I’m pretty sure fancy is out of the question.”
He looked around Paladin Village, out at the cornfield and the giant weeping willow that was nestled in the meadow. “We’ll get married here.”
My throat tightened with emotion and the rightness of that statement, and I nodded as a single tear ran down my cheek. This man right before me was the best life partner I could have ever dreamed of.
I couldn’t wait to grow old with him. Together, we would lead my people, his people—our people. This pack would grow into one pack, and become the most powerful werewolf pack the world had ever seen, and we would never fall prey to a takeover again. Mark my words.
Epilogue
“No, put them in the center!”Willow called to a pack member who was setting a centerpiece at one of the hundreds of tables that sat in the meadow beyond the cornfield. I’d just married Sawyer in the little Paladin church. People had packed the space and then spilled out into the town. I’d walked down the aisle holding Creek, before handing him off to my mom. And it was perfect.
It had been two weeks since we’d won the war. Walsh had to escape into Spokane and stay with Luka for a bit to lay low, but they all said they would risk it and come for the wedding. I looked now at Sawyer standing by the outdoor open bar we’d set up. He leaned against it, handing out shots from the bartender to his boys. Walsh, Luka, Bennett, and Talon, they all made it.
The sun set deeper into the skyline as the white Christmas lights flicked on and lit up the meadow. The boys pounded their shots and then asked for another, getting louder by the moment. I grinned, pretty sure I was the only one sober right now.
“You know my favorite part of this amazing wedding?” Sage said.
I turned to face my redheaded bestie. She pointed and I followed her gaze with a mischievous grin on my face. Meredith sat at one of the dining tables, two wolf security guards standing behind her to make sure she didn’t run. She scowled at the cornfields and sipped on her glass of water as the silver cuffs on her wrists glinted in the moonlight. I’d invited her mother too, but she couldn’t come on account of the fact that Sawyer had found her alive and well and living in hiding with the vampires and then had her imprisoned.
“I can’t fucking believe you put her in the front row at church. I thought Meredith was going to leap forward and strangle you to death.”
My grin grew wider. “Front row too petty?”
Sage tipped her head back and laughed. “Not at all.”
Did I care? No. Meredith was forced to watch me marry Sawyer in front of everyone, and after she and her mother tried to ruin our relationship, she deserved a lot worse.
I glanced to Marmal, who was chatting up Talon and totally flirting. It was so nice to see that she was happy here. I’d put her in charge of the stables, and we were building Pearl her own giant barn. Not many people could say they had a dragon in their pack, but I did. Pearl and Marmal were bonded in a way, and a package deal. My gaze then bounced to Astra. She’d fully healed and was now dancing with a younger teenage Paladin male named Steel. He was a good guy, though I suddenly felt protective over Astra as his hands went lower on her hips.
