Page 114 of Always A Villain

“We’ll behave,” Axe cuts in, shooting Griffen a look that saysbehave or die. He sets Lucas down and whistles for Kane, who stalks out of the room like this is the last place he wants to be.

“Bye, Mommy! Bye, Rosy!” Lucas waves, practically vibrating with excitement. “I’m gonna be like Daddy and Uncle Griffen when I get big!”

Axe leans down and whispers something in Lucas’s ear before lifting him into the truck. Whatever he says makes our son’s eyes light up like fireworks. The truck door slams, the engine roars to life, and just like that, my house is quiet.

Too quiet.

Rosa pats my shoulder. “I’ll get you some tea.”

Watching the taillights disappear down the driveway, I nod.

Later that night, after the baby kicks calm and I finally settle into bed, I roll over and stare at the empty spot beside me. I miss him. Every time he leaves, no matter howimmortalhe says he is, some part of me feels like I can’t breathe until he’s back.

But this life—the peace, the laughter, the family we’ve built—it’s everything we fought for.

I glance at the framed photo on the nightstand. Lucas, grinning with a black eye and a chocolate mustache, holding a sign that reads “First Day of Preschool.” The kid’s trouble, top to bottom. Smart as hell. Brave. Too brave. And he’s got Axe’s eyes.

Axe never thought he’d make it here—to fatherhood, to contentment.To us.

Lucas Alexander Hawthorne. Named after the only person Axe ever called a brother.

Axe carries the past with him, always will. But watching him be a father, seeing the way he looks at our son like he’s the whole goddamn world—it heals things in both of us.

He’s still the Reaper. Still ruthless. Still dangerous.

But he’s also the man who holds my belly at night and hums our unborn daughter made-up lullabies off-key. The man who teaches Lucas to ride a bike, only to threaten to break it when Griffen turns it into a dirt racer with nitrous.

He’s the villain who got his happy ending.

And I’m the siren who never stopped loving the monster under the mask.

In a week, they’ll come back muddy, exhausted, probably missing half the gear. Kane will bite Griffen, Lucas will be thrilled, and Axe will hold me like the world starts and ends in my arms.

And the moment I feel his hands on me again, I’ll know—we made it.

We survived.

We won.

And I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. Not even peace. Because thisispeace—raw, real, chaotic, and ours.

Forever.

The End.