Page 32 of Into the Dawn (The Devil’s Claw #3)

EPILOGUE

BEN

T he courthouse steps feel symbolic somehow as Nessie and I descend, hand in hand. Behind us, the heavy doors close on Jed's snarling face as he's led away to begin his hefty sentence.

"You okay?" I ask softly, drawing her closer as we step into the autumn sunshine.

She takes a deep breath, squeezing my fingers. "Better than okay. It's really over."

The trial passed in a monotonous series of testimonies and evidence that did nothing to portray the craziness of that night itself. It dragged on and on, and quite frankly, I’m just thrilled for it to finally be over and done with.

Watching John recount his captivity, seeing my mate face down her brother as she testified about years of abuse, it took everything in me not to leap across the courtroom and finish what we’d started at the compound.

But Nessie was magnificent. Strong. Unbreakable. Even when Jed tried to blame her for everything, tried to paint himself as the victim of a conniving sister, she didn't flinch. She just told the truth, her voice, clear and steady. Killing her father was ruled self-defence, as was my dispatching of Chuck after he threatened to assault her.

Her mother's testimony was the final nail in his coffin. Margaret Stone, no longer cowed by her husband's shadow, laid bare decades of violence and manipulation. When she detailed Jed's involvement in John's kidnapping and the attacks on women in the area, even his remaining supporters looked away in disgust.

"Mom's really going to do it," Nessie says now, pausing at the bottom of the steps. "Clean house completely. Make the clan what it should have been all along."

"A real family," I murmur, pressing a kiss to her temple.

A happy squeal draws our attention to the park across the street, and Vanessa rushes toward them, needing to see some friendly faces. Evan and Holly wait there with little Sarah, now a sturdy toddler, with her father's dark curls, and her mother's bright smile. She breaks free from Evan's hold and toddles toward us as fast as her little legs will carry her.

"Careful, princess," I call, but she's already launching herself at Nessie's legs.

“Mames," she says excitedly, pointing at the bundle in Holly's arms: our son, James, barely three months old, is already the light of our lives.

Vanessa laughs, scooping up our niece. "Let's go see him then."

We cross to join our family, my heart swelling as Holly passes James toward his mama. His tiny fingers curl around Nessie's hair as she coos at him, his eyes already showing hints of amber, fixed adoringly onto her face.

"All good?" Evan asks quietly, clapping me on the shoulder.

I nod, unable to take my eyes off my mate and son. "It’s done. No parole."

"Good." His voice carries the weight of an alpha's satisfaction. No one threatens his family and walks away. I have no doubt that if Jed ever did get out, Evan would be waiting for him. And I’d be right by his side. "John wanted to be here, but…"

"But someone had to keep the café running," Holly finishes with a smile. "Though I think he just couldn't stand to revisit it all again. He did his part. He wants to move on."

"He's earned that peace," Nessie says, shifting James to her hip as Sarah demands "up" from her father. "We all have."

I wrap my arm around her waist, breathing in the mingled scents of our family, my mate, our son, and our new house that we finally moved into last fall. "Ready to go home?"

She tips her face up to mine, love shining in her eyes. "Always." She turns to Holly and Evan. “You want to come by? I’ll cook.”

Evan doesn’t need to be asked twice. We part ways, promising to reconvene at our cabin just down the road from theirs, once Sarah has her nap.

While I tidy up and start dinner back home, Vanessa sneaks off, but before long, my beast demands to be close to her, so I go and see where she’s hiding, half expecting to find her asleep, exhausted after the emotional rollercoaster of the sentencing. Much as she knows Jed deserves what he got, it couldn’t have been easy watching her brother sent away for life.

I find Nessie in the nursery. She’s standing by the window, James sleeping peacefully against her chest as she hums softly.

"What are you thinking?" I whisper, coming up behind them.

"Just thinking about how far we've come," she says, leaning back against me. "How different everything could have been if I'd been braver back then. We might have two or three by now."

"Hey." I turn her gently to face me. "No more of that. We took the long way ‘round, but we got here. That's all that matters."

She smiles, that bright, beautiful smile that first captured my heart all those years ago. "You're right. I know you’re right.”

“So you’re saying you’d like to have two or three more?” I murmur, brushing my lips against hers.

“Maybe. I have to admit," she adds with a mischievous glint in her eye, "I wouldn't mind giving James a sister soon. Or a brother. Or both."

My beast perks up instantly at the suggestion, not needing any convincing to add to our brood. "Yeah?"

"Mmhmm." She rises on tiptoes to kiss me softly. "I want everything with you, Ben. Always have."

"Everything," I agree, holding my family close as the setting sun paints our mountain gold. "You've got me, little mate. Forever."

I f you haven’t had enough shifter romance, pop over to Rogue Games , book 1 in the Alpha Games series, where a notoriously grumpy alpha is forced to host a competition on his lands where the entrants could win a pack of their own. The last thing he wants is a bunch of rogues turning up, insisting they should be allowed partake, especially when one has the power to turn his carefully controlled world on it’s head.

Read it here - Rogue Games .