"You never hurt me. All you did was protect and give. And look at the gift it became." She smiles in the direction of Nolan's room.
I stroke her curls back from her beautiful face. This time I kiss her softly. "All I did was rut and mark. You-" I stop because my eyes suddenly burn, and I have to blink. "You healed me."
Denali wraps herself around me, tightening her hold until our bodies become one living, moving thing. I breathe in our mingled scents. We're one now, an entity all on its own. There's an us. A we. After a lifetime of being alone, of pushing everyone away, I'm connected. To Denali. To Nolan. To my rag-tag motley pack of misfits. To their extended circle of friends who came through for me-no, for us-in our most dire hour of need.
It's unbelievable. And beautiful.
Living-my life-is a joy.
Thank fate. Thank God. Thank my lion. Thank Denali. Gratitude tumbles through me and out of me as I slip into my first peaceful night's sleep in ages. Maybe ever.
I am whole again.
EPILOGUE
Denali
A BREEZE BLOWS through my kitchen, carrying the scent of wildflowers. They wave on the slope, thousands of them, multi-colored blooms that blossomed overnight, after the rains.
I stand barefoot at the counter, shifting my weight from side to side as I stir a batch of peanut butter cookies. The timer dings-the first batch is done. I set it out and give the dishcloth a little wave, sending the scent wafting out the screened door-a scent no man, or lion, can resist.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, two figures appear, striding back toward the house. Halfway down the slope, Nash stoops down and picks up our son. At four years old, Nolan's gotten big, but his dad has broad shoulders. Broad enough to bear my mark. Broad enough to bear our son... and soon, our daughter.
I smile wider as Nash pauses, bending carefully to pick a handful of wildflowers.
"These are your mother's favorite," he tells Nolan, handing them up for our boy to carry. I lean too close to the counter and Nadia kicks in protest.
I drop my hands to my rounded belly.
"Not long now," I whisper. Her father already calls her princess, just as he calls me his queen.
The pack calls Nolan the little prince, and they still call him king of the beasts-but only to tease him. He barely allows the pack calling him Alpha, though I think he likes it more than he lets on. But no, he insists he's just Nash. Or Denali's mate. Or, to Nolan, and soon Nadia, daddy.
He takes care of us all-his family and his pack.
We all continue to operate under the radar, just in case the government decides to come looking for any of us. But they've turned The Pit into something slightly more attractive-a biker bar style tavern called The Jungle-to serve as better cover for the fight club.
Nash fights, but only once a week. The rest of the time, he's handyman to me, the tavern, and now much of the neighborhood.
He's garnered fame as a fighter throughout all of North America and gets invited to all kinds of shifter games and events. Most of them he turns down. He won't leave me and Nolan again, not even for a night or two.
He and Nolan bump into the cottage, and Nolan presents me with the wildflowers. Nash sweeps around behind me and puts his hands on my belly, his lips on my neck. I lean back into him.
It's times like these I miss my family-my grandfather and aunt who raised me. I would've liked them to know how happy I am. How much of them I see in the way I parent. The way I view life. But I can't dwell on my losses. Because my gains are too big.
I have Nash.
I have Nolan.
Soon, I'll have Nadia.
And together, we're our own pride.
No one will keep us down. Not ever again.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Lee here. I have to give a huge shout out to Renee, co-writer extraordinaire and awesome friend. This series wouldn't exist without her, not to mention this book. I pretty much handed over a bunch of scenes and an idea, and she did the rest. I read the results with tears in my eyes; she made the book what it was meant to be. She's magic.
I'm so incredibly grateful for this series. In each book I think we pushed the limits of our writing and storytelling abilities, while having more fun that should be legal. We have ideas for a lot more bad boy shifter books, so I hope you enjoy reading them half as much as we love writing them.
I want to dedicate this book to our kids, who make life amazing fun, challenging, and so much richer.
Thanks to the BAD authors, especially Gwen Knight, for inviting us to the group and for making Nash's cover. Aubrey Cara, Alexis Alvarez, and Miranda for beta and editing services. Melissa for helping with my newsletter and Nanette helping with ARCs and the Goddess Group. Our hubbys for helping with the kids while we write!
And huge thanks to Renee Rose for being an amazing writer, confidant, friend-you complete me!
XOXO
-Lee