EPILOGUE

LUXURIA.

TWELVE YEARS LATER.

I jumped down from my horse, my warriors trailing behind me as I handed my sheath to Jaiya, my Beta.

"Take the day off, Jaiya. You need it," I said and smiled but didn't give her the chance to protest as usual.

Between Jaiya and Niksha, I couldn't tell who was more stubborn than the other.

Niksha, my best friend since girlhood, had insisted on joining my warriors the moment I took leadership. And I'd let her. After what I'd been through, it was clear—women needed to fight. To defend. To never be helpless again. I was living proof of that. So, I trained them myself.

Since I became Alpha of the Ash Mountain pack after the death of Kahel – my mate handed the pack over to me, as it was one out of the numerous packs he had taken from the Alphas he killed in battle – I felt a better sense of responsibility, and I couldn't be more grateful for it. Like the world finally made sense. It felt like I had been born to lead.

"Luna! Welcome back," Rella called, jogging behind me as I quickly made my way to the fortress. "The farmers would be needing new supplies of fertilizers for our crops at the Ash Mountain pack."

I didn't slow down. I had a very important business to attend to in my chamber. The kind of business that made your fingers itch, and your blood stir with something dark and lustful.

I had made her useful. Gone were the days she stood around doing nothing, sneering behind her mother's skirts and constituting a nuisance in the pack. She became the head of my farmers at the Ash Mountain pack.

Her mother, Luna Carli, died mysteriously. I guess she couldn't stand the humiliation from the fact that I, the daughter who they cast away, was now ruler over them.

"Report to Niksha, Rella. I've said this before." I replied, leaving her behind.

"Still plan on killing me, Urik?" I teased, catching sight of Urik strolling outside the fortress with his very pregnant mate. She looked ready to pop, one hand on the curve of her belly, the other tucked into his arm. I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips.

I couldn't wait to see the grin stretch across his usually stoic face when he discovered that the child he was expecting was finally the daughter he had prayed for—after three boisterous sons.

"Luna... I still have my eyes on you, you know?" We both laughed at the joke. But it was funny how this was not a joke when he said it to me twelve years ago.

Urik had promised to kill me if I ever posed a threat or a weakness to Parthe. Back then, I was still a stranger. A liability. A curse waiting to bloom. And Urik had been Parthe's shield, ready to do whatever was necessary.

But time had changed many things.

Our relationship had grown over the years, and now he was more like a friend to me than a Gamma.

The moment I stepped into our chamber, I stopped in my tracks and groaned theatrically. "Don't tell me you're all here!"

Laughter bubbled from the room. Parthe was lounging on the carpeted floor, surrounded by a tangle of limbs and giggles. Xenon had Parthe in a chokehold while Saskia climbed over his back, determined to help her brother 'win.' Parthe was letting them pretend to pin him, chuckling as he tickled Saskia's side, her shrieks filling the room.

My heart swelled at the sight.

Ryhdan just sat secluded, twirling the Amulet on his neck as he watched his father and siblings play away.

Ryhdan, our first son, was growing into a fine young man. He was only twelve but carried himself like he was already grown. So much like his father—quiet, guarded, thoughtful beyond his years. Everything about him bore Parthe's mark: reserved, strong, sense of duty, name it.

I couldn't be more proud of him. Even though sometimes, it gets overwhelming, and I get scared of what might happen if he ever takes off the Amulet, I still trust that he'd keep our word and always have his Amulet on.

Unlike his twin sister, Vayda, Ryhdan had inherited his father's curse, along with the AshBlood powers, while Vayda only inherited Parthe's AshBlood powers, free of the darkness that Ryhdan now carried. But the Amulet keeps the curse locked up for as long as he never takes it off.

Thanks to Kalaril for preparing us for this future.

Even though Parthe's curse was broken, we had already conceived the twins before it happened. So, we knew that somehow, even though we wished otherwise, the twins would inherit it.

Xenon and Saskia, our next set of twins, who we were blessed with three years after we had the first set, were lucky to have been born without the curse. But of course, they inherited their father's AshBlood powers, which was good.

"Mother! You're back," Rayden reached me first, folding me into a firm embrace that made my heart twist with pride. He was tall for his age, his shoulders already beginning to square.

"Mother! Mother!" Came the shrill chorus of voices just seconds after. Saskia and Xenon barreled into me in a wave of limbs and heat and tangled hair, nearly toppling me to the ground.

Vayda peeked in from the doorway, covered in soot and sweat—no doubt returning from the training grounds.

She was more warrior than girl sometimes, her spirit louder than thunder.

"Welcome home, Mother," she said, strolling into the chamber with that usual pride-filled smile she always had when she was up to something mischievous." Father taught me a new trick during training today..." Vayda giggled, and my heart fluttered at how beautiful she was growing up to be. She was identical to Ryhdan, which meant she looked just like her father.

Saskia and Xenon were the ones who took after me.

"That's wonderful, love," I murmured, brushing back a strand of her wind-blown hair and cupping her cheek. "I can't wait to see you try it out."

Saskia tugged at the hem of my tunic with both hands, her wide eyes blinking up at me.

"I'm hungry, Mother," she announced.

I bent toward her and chuckled when I caught sight of the little gap in her mouth where her front teeth had fallen out just days ago. It made her look even more endearing, like something out of a fairytale painting. Her voice, the way she lisped slightly now, melted me.

"Okay, baby. Go on," I said, stroking her head. "Get something to eat."

I turned to Xenon, "You too, Xenon. All of you. Go on."

They didn't need to be told twice.

With Vayda leading the charge, all of them bolted out of the room, their chatter and footsteps echoing loudly through the corridor like birdsong. I closed my eyes for a beat, soaking it all in.

They were my storm and my stillness, and I'll live to cherish these moments for the rest of my life.

I turned, my hand catching the heavy door and drawing it shut behind me.

The moment the door clicked shut, the quiet settled around us like a velvet shroud—filled with warmth, peace, and something far deeper than silence.

I turned, and there he was.

Still seated on the floor but now leaning back on his hands, his coal-dark eyes, which were darker than midnight, fixed on me like I was the only light in the world. The soft playfulness from before had faded from his expression, replaced by something raw and reverent.

"You're staring," I murmured, trying not to blush under the intensity of that gaze. My heart beat a little faster, as it always did when he looked at me like that. Like I was a miracle he still couldn't quite believe belonged to him.

"How could I not?" he said softly, rising to his feet with that grace and poise only he possessed. "Twelve years, Luxuria… and you still take my breath away."

He crossed the room in three strides and stopped in front of me, his fingers reaching up to undo the clasp on my traveling cloak. His knuckles brushed against the base of my throat, and when the fabric slid from my shoulders, he draped it gently over a nearby chair like it was sacred.

Like I was.

"Welcome home, love," he said softly.

I smiled, even as emotion burned behind my eyes. "It is home, isn't it?" I whispered. "Not the walls. Not the fortress. Just… this."

I placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart.

He nodded, lifting his hand to cradle my jaw, his thumb brushing away a tear I hadn't realized had fallen.

"You’re tired,” he said, searching my face. “But you still look breathtaking.”

I shook my head, another tear slipping loose before I could stop it. “I’m not tired,” I whispered. “Not with you. Not with this life.”

Parthe leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. His hands cupped my cheeks, thumbs stroking softly.

"Do you know what you’ve done to me?" he murmured, voice barely a breath. "You turned the monster that was cursed into a man. You gave him a name. A home. A family. And gods, Luxuria… you gave him you."

I closed my eyes, breath catching in my throat.

"You gave me more than a life," he continued, his voice breaking now, just slightly. "You gave me peace. You gave me laughter. And you gave me children who smile without fear."

A small, trembling smile curved my lips.

“I didn’t do it alone,” I whispered.

“No,” he agreed and kissed me. A kiss that was soft, deep, and slow—one that spoke of all the years behind us and every dream we still had ahead. When he pulled back, his eyes glittered. “But you started it. You were the spark.”

I leaned into his chest, right where his heart beat slow and steady beneath my cheek.

“Promise me something?” I asked.

“Anything.”

“Even when we’re old and grey… when the kids are grown, and this fortress is quiet again… promise me you’ll still look at me like this.”

He chuckled, a rough sound that vibrated through his chest. “Luxuria, if I live to see a thousand years… I will still look at you like you hung the moon.”

I smiled, letting the tears slide down my cheek.

"I love you so much, my Luxuria. I will never stop loving you, my life." He kissed me again.

"I love you, too, Parthe. Now and always."

And right then, I knew—

We had survived everything life threw at us. We had survived the curse. And in its place, we built a love that would outlive even the darkest night.

And just like that, the daughter they cast away and the cursed Alpha they feared…

Found a forever no curse could touch.

THE END.

Author's note: Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for journeying with me to the very end of Luxuria and Parthe’s story. Your love and support mean the world to me, and I can’t wait to share more unforgettable stories with you.

Please leave a gem and a review. It means a lot to me.

If you crave something darker and more intense, be sure to check out Mated to My Obsessive Stepbrother. Also, you'll find The Alpha's Third Mistress under my second Author account with the pen name BEST WRITES. Another wonderful dark romance book.

These stories will steal your breath and stir your soul. Until our next adventure—stay wild, stay passionate, and never stop believing in love.