Epilogue—The Cavalry

“Come on in!” a very happy looking man said to us when we showed up at the menagerie. He’d opened the door and invited us in without hesitation.

My nerves all stood on edge the entire way up. I knew we would be safe here, and taken care of. I still had worry for another new place, and one with so many people. I had a family to think about now. A soon to be husband and the girl we would raise as a daughter. I couldn’t be afraid. Not anymore.

Dahlia had no worry at all as she sang to herself and the dog. Nicky grinned at her before he surveyed the house. It was… fucking huge. Icarus owned a massive property with open land, several houses, and this main one. A few people wandered about, minding their own business. So I guess people showing up didn’t seem odd to them.

The man was named Courtland called for Levi and Icarus, and my heart started racing as I looked up at Nickolas. I whispered, “Oh fuck!”

He smiled and kissed my temple. “Stay calm, Cupcake.”

I glared at him.

They came down the stairs then, a very pretty woman, looking a few years older than Nicky, and her mate. Icarus was… fuckin’ tall, which made me want to laugh because Levi couldn’t have been more than five feet tall. Icarus beat out Nickolas by a few inches in height, and a lot with his bulkiness. His little mate walked down the stairs, blond hair hanging down her back, and kind blue eyes on us as I whispered another curse at my mate.

Icarus watched his mate as she walked, running a hand through his brown hair as he hit the bottom of the stairs.

“Welcome to the madhouse,” Levi said to us with a smile. “I am Levi Griswold.” She turned her smirk to Icarus. “Still sticking with that.”

“Do what you will,” he said, flat but amused.

It took me a second to catch that, but I remembered that she and Icarus weren’t married. She must have felt like Nickolas did, feeling already married at the point the mate thing happened.

Looking pleased, Levi walked forward, extending her hand to me first. “I’m the co leader person with my pretty mate over there.” I took her hand and shook it once before dropping. “Our second is named Henry, or Winnie. Whichever you prefer. He’s upstairs. That,” she said after shaking Nickolas’ hand and then pointing behind her, “Is Albert. My best friend. The pretty lady at his side is Ramsey.”

I noticed the two new people, one being a stunning woman with strawberry blond hair and a scowl, and the other being a kind looking man, happily at her side.

The smile I had left my face when I heard the way Nicky said, “Ramsey?”

“What? You okay, Nicky?” I asked. His face looked too thoughtful and blank at the same time.

Nickolas scrutinized the woman, studying the features in her face, searching. “My dad had a sister named Ramsey. A long time ago.”

Whoa… Nah, not a chance. Not a fucking chance that this was the same—

“Yes,” Albert said, taking Ramsey by the shoulders when she started to look away. He pointed the woman at us so she couldn’t avoid it. “She is very happy to meet you.”

“Well fuck me…” I said in a breath. Maybe I should have seen something like this coming. The world wasn’t all that big when it came to our kind. Especially since both of Nickolas’ parents were from around here.

I could see it better when I looked at Ramsey now, how she had subtle features that matched up with Nickolas. The way her lips curved and the hard edge to her eyes… Nickolas took a lot after his father, and I guess Ramsey must have too.

Nickolas inhaled before finding something safe to say. “Um… hello.”

Ramsey nodded coldly at him. “Hello,” she said awkwardly. “You look like him.”

Nickolas nodded back at her. “So I’ve been told.”

From Nickolas’ hip, Dahlia looked at the woman. When she’d had a good long look, she patted his shoulder. “She was Daddy’s sister?”

Nickolas nodded in conformation… and Dahlia lost her mind.

“Ahh!” Dahlia decided that she wanted to go and meet her aunt, so she tried flying out of Nickolas’ arms and at the woman. It worked, and she went through the air, barely being caught by Ramsey.

“Dahlia!” Nicky and I shouted at her while she made her move. She didn’t care about what we had to say.

“Aunt Ramsey!” Dahlia yelled, hugging a very stiff Ramsey. “You wanna meet my coyote? She likes to run and Nicky’s wolf chases me.”

Oh, I didn’t want this to end badly, but Ramsey didn’t look at all like the type that liked being touched. Albert got away with it before, but he was clearly her person, so she wouldn’t mind him. But this was a stranger…

“Nice to meet you, Dahlia,” Ramsey said flatly at the little girl.

Dahlia didn’t notice the issues here, so she smiled wide. “You’re very pretty.” She turned her head to see Albert while he watched with joy on his face. “Are you her mate? Posey is Nicky’s mate.”

Seemingly caught by surprise, the man’s eyes widened. “Um, I’m not her mate.”

Huh? But… the way he looked at her, and how she let him stand closely… This wasn’t right.

While the rest of us were standing around awkwardly, Scully decided she wanted to look around her new home. She sniffed around, and Icarus took the long trip down to pet her and give her a little attention. At least he seemed to like her.

“I don’t know what to do,” I heard Ramsey say while we all stood around. She wanted to get away from my kid...

Albert whispered back to her “Be affectionate.”

“How?” she asked, lost.

Levi moved in to save us all from the mountain of awkward. She patted Ramsey’s shoulder and go the attention of Dahlia. “Hello, sweetheart. We have a little house for you and your family. It’s very nice and you’ll all be close by. We’ll keep you safe.”

Dahlia looked at Ramsey with such bliss. “That means we can play. Are you a wolf like Daddy and Nicky?”

She nodded once.

Dahlia gasped and grinned. “Yay! What are you?” she asked Albert.

“Mongoose.”

Oh, there was indeed a God, and he liked me a lot. “That sounds fucking awesome,” I said. “I bet you can sneak into vents and stuff. Get the drop on people.”

Albert smiled right back at her, matching her enthusiasm “I can try that.”

I must have looked tense, because Nickolas felt like he needed to comfort me and check up. “Feel better, Cupcake?”

“Yeah,” I said after I decided it wouldn’t be a lie. “I’m good. Do you want me to take her?” I asked Nickolas’ aunt.

I tried to get Dahlia to come into my arms, but she gripped Ramsey with pure stubbornness. So… she would have to deal with that.

“Okay,” Levi said slowly, clearly amused by all this. “We can get you all situated now and give you some time to relax before dinner. Is there anything you need for now?”

Nicky declined, shaking his head. “Nothing. Thank you so much for letting me bring my family here. Thank you for helping me keep my kid and my wife safe.”

Wife…

“Oh,” Levi said, her eyes opening a little wider as she glanced at my ring finger. “I didn’t realize you were married. Congrats.”

I flicked Nickolas in the side. “We’re not married yet. I’m seventeen,” she glared at the boy, as if having to remind him.”

Levi waved her hand casually. “Oh, no problem. We have people here who can marry you. We can take care of the paperwork part after you turn eighteen. Not a problem at all.”

Huh? She wanted me to get married right now? Like… have the ceremony immediately? What? Oh, God.

My brain divided into two parts, both trying to eat the other. First was the scared, little girl side of me that said I should push it back. I should wait until we were older, because we’d already been through so much. It would be a mess if we got married today. Then I had the other side. The one telling me that Nickolas and I were already mated, and a piece of paper wouldn’t change anything. He wanted to marry me, because to him, that would complete this. In reality, Nickolas had been my husband since we decided to be together. It didn’t work any other way for his kind. That was fine by me.

From above us, a man showed up at the stairs. Almost as big as Icarus, but with a massive smile and a kinder face. He must have heard us all talking. “A wedding?! I love weddings.” He rubbed his hands together. “Leave it all to me.”

Well then.

“Thanks, Henry,” Levi said to him. Then she turned to Nickolas and I. “What do you guys think? Maybe tomorrow night? It’ll give Henry enough time to throw some stuff together.”

I looked at my husband to be, wondering his answer. We communicated wordlessly, and I smiled at him, indicating he should talk. “Tomorrow sounds great,” he said.

“Whoo!” Henry declared. “Pizza and cake for everyone!”

Dahlia cheered.

****

I sat in my new house, with my husband beside me, our dog asleep on the floor, and Dahlia asleep on him. I curled up on Nicky, staring at the ring on my finger that said we belonged to each other.

All the nerves had gone away the moment I saw Levi’s sister, Newt, standing and ready to marry us. It all felt like it made sense after that. Getting it all written up so that I could call Nickolas my husband. I liked it too much to want to change anything.

“How was Mona?” he asked me. I’d called her to let her know what we were doing. She sounded excited for me, and told me that I had to let her plan my wedding when I got my vows renewed, because she said I had to have a big wedding. I let her think I would.

“Good,” I said. “She’s gonna be just fine, I think. She’ll meet some new friends in college.”

Nicky nodded and kissed the top of my head before lying back.

I wiggled against him and he made a happy sound while I flipped onto my stomach. My chin lined up with his heart, and I settled on him again. “So… we’re married.”

He grinned widely at me. “That we are, Cupcake. Are you okay with that?”

I nodded and kissed his chest. “I am very okay with that. One might even use the word pleased.”

His eyebrow arched. “Pleased? Does that mean I might be in for some special adult time later?”

“Obviously.”

Nickolas snagged me under my arms and pulled me farther up, until my head could rest on his shoulder, and my leg hooked around him. I was perfectly content to stay there for the next week if I could. We deserved a nap.

I lay there, looking around at our new house. Henry and Albert helped us move all of our things in, and we would be putting them away over the next few days. It felt like a home to me, even only being here for a little while. I had my family with me, so how could it not feel like home?

My mind flooded with what our future could be, and I could finally see all the options I used to think were out of reach. I could be happy, and feel whole.

As I looked from Dahlia, to Scully, to my husband, I smiled, and I knew that everything I would ever need was right here in this room.

The End.