Chapter 32

OLIVE

Zeke’s strong arms wrap around me, pulling me close. His familiar scent fills my senses, making me feel safe and loved. He lifts my chin gently, his eyes meeting mine.

“You’re amazing,” he says, his eyes filled with admiration. “How did I get so lucky to have you?”

I snuggle into his chest, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his presence. I look up at him, my smile genuine and full of love. “I’m the lucky one,” I tell him, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw.

Suddenly, I pull away, my eyes scanning the crowd. I’m searching for a specific pair of eyes, ones that mirror my own. When I find them, warm and chocolate brown, tears well up in my eyes. I break away from Zeke and rush towards my mom.

I wrap my arms around her, careful not to squeeze too hard. She’s lost so much weight, she feels fragile. “Mom!” I cry, burying my face in her hair. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

She laughs, though it’s weak. “All thanks to you, my Livi.” Her hand strokes my back, soothing me. I soak in her presence, a presence I feared I might lose today.

A soft cough interrupts our moment. I turn to see a man standing awkwardly next to my mom. He looks unsure of what to do. I study him, realizing that I resemble him more than I thought. His lips and eyebrows are fuller, just like mine.

He doesn’t look anything like Asmodeus. Asmodeus was cold and cunning, like a rat. But my dad, he looks warm and inviting. He’s handsome, the complete opposite of Asmodeus.

~He must take after his mom,~ I think to myself.

His hair is as dark as the night sky, his eyes a deep onyx. I guess his eyes would turn a vibrant green when he uses his powers, just like mine.

I stand there, taking him in. The man who sacrificed so much for my mom and me is standing in front of me for the first time in eighteen years.

Without thinking, I pull him into a hug. He stiffens at first, then relaxes into my embrace. Tears of joy stream down my face.

He strokes my hair, telling me how much he’s missed me and how much he loves me.

I can’t believe it; my mom and dad can be together again! My heart swells at the thought of seeing my mom with her mate, finally being whole again after all this time!

I spend some time catching up with them before telling my dad to take my mom to the pack healer.

Looking around, I see others reuniting with their loved ones. Idris is on his knees, his head resting on Dinah’s stomach. He holds her and his little sister close, kissing the top of her head.

Daisy and Max are locked in an embrace, Daisy comforting her mate. Max clings to her as if she might disappear at any moment.

My heart aches as I realize that I may have eliminated a threat, but that threat was his sister.

Max looks in my direction, as if sensing my gaze.

~“Don’t you dare say it,” he says firmly.~

~“But, Max, I—” I start.

~“No, Olive. You did what you had to do. It had to be done. Don’t apologize for that. She was a monster.”~

I don’t respond, just nod slightly and offer a sympathetic smile.

I can tell he’s torn. His mind knows the crimes his sister committed, especially the betrayal against her own twin. But his heart remembers Alice as the sweet, loving little she-wolf she pretended to be. And it’s that memory that’s breaking him, even if it was all a lie.

I turn to Zeke, exhaustion seeping into my voice. “Take me home?”

***

We arrive back at the pack house.

The streets are a mess, lampposts broken and benches and trash cans scattered. The ground is torn up from the battle that took place here.

We lost a few pack members, but not as many as we could have. I think Max’s excellent combat training helped keep our losses low.

In the conference room of the pack house, some members are bandaged up. Amber’s face is half-covered in bandages.

When Beta James had mind-linked, he was trying to tell us that Amber needed help.

Amber had tried to stop Alice, but her love for Alice held her back. Alice left a deep gash on Amber’s face that will likely scar.

Eddie stands behind Amber, his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder.

Turns out, Alice was not only causing Amber’s hatred of me, but she was also coming between Amber and her fated bond.

Alice couldn’t stand the thought of Amber being happy with her mate, especially since her mate was Eddie—a hybrid.

Alice was eaten up by jealousy, which had tainted her soul…or maybe she was born evil. We’ll never truly know.

Now, all we can do is rebuild.

^SIXTEEN YEARS LATER^

I sit in Zeke’s lap on the palace’s garden terrace, thinking back on the past sixteen years.

A lot has happened. We returned to the palace so Zeke could resume his kingly duties and I could start my own as queen.

The royal pack welcomed me with open arms. They were thrilled to have a hybrid queen, especially since about 70 percent of the pack were hybrids who had sought sanctuary here.

Zeke assigned me his most trusted royal advisors to help me with my duties and teach me how to be a queen luna.

At first, it was overwhelming, but I loved every second of it.

I loved being able to help people.

Zeke and I regularly visited the town and participated in community events. We helped build new homes for pack members and visited the orphanage for the young pups who had lost so much.

Zeke, despite his imposing presence and power, led with kindness and respect for his pack members.

I think some were initially wary because of the rumors he’d spread about himself.

But as time passed, those rumors faded, and his father’s memory remained intact, just as he’d wanted.

My father took over the underworld at my request. I knew I wasn’t meant to be the next ruler, and being a queen already, it just wouldn’t work.

My father has been ruling justly with my mother by his side all these years. The lands weren’t meant to be as barren as they were. That was all due to Asmodeus’s rule.

He drained the life from the lands and creatures to maintain his youth.

My father restored balance and life has been flourishing there ever since. He’ll continue to reign until the next king or queen reveals themselves.

Amber moved to the Royal Pack to be with her mate, Eddie. They have twin girls, Ali and Anya, who are now thirteen.

They have Eddie’s deep copper hair and Amber’s stunning blue eyes.

Daisy and Max were blessed with their own children: a girl and a boy. The girl, Fleur, is seven, and Daniel is two.

Fleur is the spitting image of her mother with her platinum hair and Daniel is just like Max, already showing signs that he’ll be a powerful alpha someday.

We still see them as often as we can and have remained close friends over the years.

It turns out that during our battle with Asmodeus, Dinah was hiding a secret. She was pregnant!

Lycans can only have one pup in their lifetime, which means Dinah and Idris will never have another pup.

But Dinah gave birth to a handsome lycan, Rex, who is now fifteen. He’s already as tall as Ezekiel!

Rex has the most intriguing amber eyes. It’s a color I’ve never seen or heard of anyone having in my lifetime.

They’re absolutely captivating. His brown hair sits on top of his head in a shaggy, messy style, and he has bronzed skin just like Dinah’s.

When Rex first opened his eyes, Idris turned pale. He buried his head in books for a while after his birth, until he found the answer he was looking for.

He’s always been a very involved dad and has barely let Rex out of his sight most of his life.

Then there’s Zeke and me. We have a daughter, Mae, who is fourteen.

She has my chestnut hair, Zeke’s silver eyes, and his dimples. She looks a lot like me, but I can definitely see her dad in her too. She’s truly beautiful.

Ever since the day she was born, we’ve had trouble keeping Rex away from her. He would cry and throw a fit every time Dinah and Idris took him away.

He would stick his little chubby hands into her bassinet to hold her hand while staring at her with pure adoration.

It got to the point that we set up a bed next to hers so he could stay close. You see, we suspect they’re mates, though a wolf can’t know for sure until they turn eighteen.

A lycan is different. They can shift into their lycan form from birth and their lycan determines who their mate is from the day they’re born.

Of course, only time will tell, but watching these two grow up, they’ve been completely inseparable.

A few years later we were blessed again with twin boys! They’re seven now, Hunter and Ozzy. Although they look identical, their hair and eye colors are very different.

Hunter has sandy hair with my chestnut brown eyes and Ozzy has his grandfather’s raven hair and onyx eyes.

Ever since I had the twins, the hellhounds have been spending more and more time at the palace. They’ve become their personal guards, playing, eating, and sleeping in the twins’ room.

Zeke is eager to find out if either of our boys will be the next king. Mae transitioned into her beautiful silver wolf, much like her father’s, last year.

Her wolf has the same eyes as mine, which means Mae is likely to have some more demon powers at some point, though these haven’t shown up yet.

If either Hunter’s or Ozzy’s wolves have golden eyes like their father’s, they’ll be the next destined king.

I watch as Mae and Rex walk hand in hand to the forest, probably heading to their favorite meadow.

I smile at the thought of my daughter being mated to someone like Rex. Just like his father, he’s a gentle giant.

I’ve never seen him lose his temper, but I know he’d do anything to protect my girl.

After giving Zeke a quick kiss, I get up and start walking through the palace halls, reminiscing about old memories.

I pass Mae’s room and remember catching the king himself playing tea parties while sitting on a tiny chair, sipping from a tiny cup, our daughter laughing and squealing with delight at her guest.

I laugh to myself. He’d mind-linked me, making me promise not to tell anyone. It would ruin his reputation, he’d said.

I continue my walk and imagine Mae and Rex skipping down the halls together as young children, whispering their love and promises to marry each other in each other’s ears.

I stop in the master suite and remember the home birth I had with the boys; they were born in this very tub in the most beautiful of births.

I walk through Zeke’s and my room.

I remember lying on the bed with the twins in both arms, Mae curled up next to me and Zeke on the other side of me, telling me how proud he is and how happy I’ve made him.

That memory is one of my favorites. I don’t think my heart has ever felt so full.

I smile to myself. After everything we’ve been through, we really have had a happily ever aft—

Suddenly, a monotone voice—Mae’s voice—comes through the pack link, weakly.

~“Help. Help,”~ she repeats over and over.

Screams start to echo through the halls—the sound of a mother’s heart breaking.

I race through the halls until I reach the main lobby.

Mae stands there in shock, a significant amount of blood staining her clothes.

Her tears stream down her blood-stained cheeks.

She stands and repeats the same words over and over.

“Rex. Gone. Rex. Gone.”

I rush to my daughter and pull her to my chest, trying to reassure her that everything will be okay.

Idris, his own heart shattering, is doing his best to comfort Dinah.

Her voice, laced with agony, echoes through the air as she cries out for her missing child. “My baby! My baby!” she wails.

Zeke moves to stand beside me, his eyes wide as he tries to make sense of the chaos that’s unfolded.

“We’ll track down whoever did this, I swear it. You can count on that,” he pledges.

^End of Book One^