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“Oh shit,” Daemon says happily.

“Yeah,” I laugh when my mates suddenly get excited. “So… I mentioned how a witch did some sort of spell to force the guys to hurt me.”

“Is this the part where we murder them or something?” Volis grumbles.

“Son, give her a second,” Dad laughs.

“So, I was accurate about that. It was a witch, but the soul in the body didn’t match who the body belonged to. Long story short, Grandma, Leli, and I were able to remove the intruder and allow the owner of the body to come back.”

“So now the right soul is in the right body?” Brenna asks.

“Yes,” I confirm. I glance at everyone, and while my mates look positively giddy, everyone else is confused. “I can say with certainty that the right soul is attached to this body now.”

“Well, let’s see who it is then,” Striker says.

I look at Mom, who is already crying, and smile. “Take a deep breath.” She nods and takes a deep breath, so I snap my fingers to let the spell disintegrate.

“I don’t understand,” Volis says.

“Yeah, you do,” I say. “You just don’t want to believe it.”

“Mom?” Striker stays, his voice cracking. He is the first to stand. Mom tries to keep her composure, but when Striker finally accepts what he is seeing and wraps her in a hug, she falls apart. Volis comes up and waits for Mom to turn and hug him next. She reaches up and cups their faces as they cry.

“My baby boys,” she says tearfully as she pulls them both into a hug again.

“I can’t believe it,” Striker says as he pulls back to look at her, then me. He steps to me and pulls me closer to hug me.

“Oh, don’t do that. You’re going to make me cry,” I say tearfully as he squeezes me.

“Thank you,” he whispers to me.

“I did it for her,” I say, “And, Dad.”

“He’s just staring at her,” Volis says as he hugs me next. Mom is hugging Aunt Sana and Brenna, leaving Dad for last. He is stuck in a state of shock.

“He just needs time,” I say. “Worth waking up in the middle of the night for?”

“Yes,” Volis says as he kisses my forehead.

We turn back to Mom, and she goes over to sit on the coffee table in front of Dad. “I felt you die,” he says with a shaky voice.

“I know,” Mom says simply. “That was my soul leaving my body, but my body was still alive.”

“I prayed for this moment every night for twenty-three years, and now that it’s happened, I can’t wrap my head around it,” he admits.

Mom reaches up and wipes away his tears as they fall, and her touch breaks him out of his daze. He grabs her and pulls her into his lap to hold her as close as he can as they both fall into more tears. They’re both reliving the pain of their separation.

“Fuck, I hate crying,” I say as I wipe my face.

“You did well, sweetie,” Daemon says as he hugs me.

“I’m just glad it worked. I was afraid we’d mess something up and never get her back,” I say.

“Ashara,” Dad says. “I need to tell you…”

“I know, Maz. I know you and Brenna are mates also,” she says, cupping his cheek. “I always told you that I wanted you two to be closer, so I guess I got my wish. Now you’re stuck with the both of us.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Dad says before kissing her softly. Mom gets up to go over to Kira, Maple, and Vash while Dad comes over and hugs me.