Epilogue

Amanda woke up feeling different. She had never felt so connected to someone before, and now they were bonded to each other forever. She looked over at Hudson and smiled. Amanda smiled as the night of entertainment went through her head.

Amanda winced a little as she got out of bed. Her body was a little stiff and sore from shifting, she assumed as she got up to prepare for the day. When she came out of the bathroom, Hudson was awake, leaning his head against the hand that propped him up in bed.

“Good morning, my beautiful wife,” he said to her as he watched her move across the room.

Amanda blushed but recovered quickly, “Good morning, my handsome husband,” she responded.

Hudson closed his eyes as a hungry growl came out from his chest.

Amanda giggled at the reaction.

“It’s too early to be up right now. Why don’t you return to bed, and we can cuddle?” he asked her with a deep voice and waggled his brows.

As much as Amanda wanted to get back into bed, she felt she was needed.

Amanda walked back over and pressed her lips gently against Hudson’s before she said, “I’ll be back soon. There is somewhere else I need to be.”

Hudson pouted at his mate, hoping she would change her mind, but when she lifted her finger to tap her head, he nodded in understanding.

Amanda blew Hudson a kiss and walked out of their bedroom.

***

Deak woke up to a pain shooting up his arm. He tried to get up without waking Vita but failed to do so.

“Deak? Is everything okay?” she asked as she reached out and touched his back to offer her calming energy to him.

“Igen. My love. Go back to sleep,” he told her quietly.

Vita nodded as she lay back down.

Deak crept out of the room and headed downstairs.

“Good morning, cousin,” Amanda said to Deak as she watched him enter the kitchen.

Deak shook his head as he walked to the coffee machine and poured himself a strong cup.

“What are you doing here, small girl? Shouldn’t you be back in your room with your mate?”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, but something told me it was important for me to be here instead.”

Deak let out a grunt. “Don’t rub it in.”

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.

Deak rubbed his hands over his face as he tossed the idea of whether or not to talk to her about it. “I killed Tristan, but before I did, he cursed me with stupid spell.”

“And?”

Deak huffed before continuing, “And my uncle left his entire empire to me, deeming me the new Lycan King.”

Amanda knew how Deak felt about his uncle, and this was one more way of controlling him again, even from the grave. She watched her cousin as he drank his coffee.

“Deak...” she started.

But Deak had his hand up to stop her from saying anything more. “I’ve accepted the title. If I hadn’t, someone else would try to buy it and cause chaos between the wolves and witches again. At least with me in power, we can hopefully work on building peace between all of us.”

Amanda nodded to his diplomatic statement. “And the spell?”

Deak stayed quiet as he looked at the stupid trinket dangling from his wrist.

Amanda sucked in a breath.

“Bastard stripped me of what little magic I had inside me. That small bit helped me stay connected to my mother and locked away the darkness inside me. Now nothing is stopping me from turning into them.” He sneered as he threw his cup across the room. Amanda caught the mug before it shattered and woke up the entire house.

Deak gave a crooked smile and said, “Nice catch.”

Amanda walked over and placed her hands on Deak’s arms. “We will find a way to get through this; there has to be a way without you having to reject Vita. I promise.”

Deak let out a defeated sigh and nodded his head.

“That’s why we’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and head to the faction council in Silver City,” Vita said from behind.

Amanda dropped her hands and walked over to Vita to hug her.

“We missed you at the reception last night,” Vita added.

Amanda moved back and playfully narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You left before we came down to join the party.”

Vita shrugged. “Touche.”

Amanda sighed as she tried to suppress her anxiety about them leaving. “Do you think you’ll find answers with this faction council?” she asked hesitantly.

Vita rubbed her forehead, walked over to her mate, and kissed him. “Couldn’t hurt,” she said with a shrug.

Amanda sat back at the counter and wrapped her hands around her cup. She didn’t like the feeling she had about this Silver City and the faction council.

Deak leaned over the counter, resting his arms against it. “I would like to keep what we talked about discreet. I’m not ready to let others know about this.”

Amanda ran her fingers across her lips. “My lips are sealed,” she said as she exited her chair. “I better head back to the pack house before Hudson hunts me down.”

Vita laughed as Deak rolled his eyes.

***

The SUV’s were packed and ready to go, as Amanda watched her loved ones and friends get ready to leave.

She walked over to Ruby and Zachary first. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” Amanda whispered as she hugged Ruby.

Ruby pulled back, placed her finger under Amanda’s chin, and said, “We’ll be back before you even know it.”

Madeline was next.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this place?” she asked Madeline.

Madeline smiled as she rubbed Amanda’s arm. “Because you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on them.” Madeline said with a wink.

Amanda turned to Tabitha and Marco.

Amanda was about to say something but stopped.

Tabitha: Don’t worry, we will be careful and watch out for everyone and let you know what we find out.

Tabitha spoke through their mind link.

Amanda smiled as she grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed it. “Marco?”

“You don’t have to tell me, Luna. I know what I need to do,” he confirmed.

Deak and Vita were the last to say goodbye.

“Here,” Deak said as he placed a set of keys in her hand. “While you are here, maybe you can read up on our family’s history.”

Amanda smiled as she wrapped her arms around her cousin. “I’ll find a way.” she breathed out. There was a growl that came out from behind her. Amanda pulled away and looked at Hudson. “Seriously?”

Hudson just shrugged, unashamed for being possessive of his mate.

Vita was last.

“Be safe,” they both said to each other and laughed.

They had an unspoken bond, and both understood how the other felt.

Hudson pulled Amanda into his arms as they watched the vehicles embark on their journey.

Amanda sighed.

Hudson lifted her chin and said, “Now, we can finally focus on us.”

He lowered his lips onto hers and kissed her deeply.