Page 110

EPILOGUE

ACE

Eight months later

T he Cole cemetery was a small, well-kept plot of land tucked in the woods behind the clubhouse.

A trail led to it, but most clan members didn’t even know it existed.

The trail wound through the woods, then up a steep, rocky hill, to a small clearing that overlooked the lake.

It was marked by an old wooden fence that was built long before I was born.

Parts of the fence needed repair. Winter was finally beginning to edge into spring, so that’d be a project for the next few months when the world began to warm up again.

Here lay the remains of Cole alphas from the last four generations. My great-great grandfather, my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, and now…

My twin brother.

I looked down at the small, unassuming headstone.

Sean Cole . Son and Brother.

That’s all it said. What else was there to say?

I’d considered not burying him in the family cemetery. After what he’d done, Hawk and Harley would’ve supported me if I’d chosen to just dump his body in the middle of the lake.

But after everything, he was still my brother. I didn’t want to pretend he had never been a part of my life. I didn’t want to pretend I hadn’t loved him.

“I’m surprised you’re here,” Hawk said as he stepped through the rickety little gate. He was bundled up in a parka against the brisk chill, and his boots crunched on the frost still lingering on the grass.

“How’d you know where to find me?” I asked.

“Tammy said she saw you walking towards this trail,” he said with a smile. “You know she’s one of the only ones who comes up to this cemetery other than us.”

“She misses our folks as much as we do,” I said. “That makes sense.”

“You haven’t come up here before now, though, have you?” Hawk asked.

I shook my head. Hawk had been up here plenty of times since Sean’s death.

Though I’d told him plenty of times, I felt like I could never truly show my gratitude for how he’d stepped up while I was in the hospital.

He’d acted like an alpha himself, gathering the clan members to help dig the grave and bury the body.

Now, he stood at my side, one hand on my shoulder as we both looked down at the grave. “I wish we could’ve saved him,” I said.

“Me too,” Hawk said. “I wish that every day. But… I don’t have any regrets, either.” He spoke in a whisper, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“Nor do I,” I said. “We did everything we could.”

“What brought you up here today?” Hawk asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Just a feeling. Remember when we were really young? Sean always loved this kind of weather. This kind of cold, right when spring was about to kick in.”

Hawk chuckled. “Yeah. He always wanted to start throwing the football around?—”

“—And we’d be out there freezing our asses off.”

We gazed down at the grave, smiling faintly. I was briefly lost in the memory. It seemed like another life. How could that kid who had shouted out football plays in that bright, childish voice be the same dragon that was now buried under my feet?

“I’m sorry, Sean,” I said.

Hawk squeezed my shoulder.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t save you,” I said. “I’m sorry you got so lost. So trapped. Life shouldn’t have turned out like this for you. Or for any of us.” I closed my eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “I hope you’re at peace, Sean.”

“I think he is,” Hawk said. “And I think we can be, too.”

Maybe Hawk was right. Maybe it was time for me to let go.

I didn’t have to carry this guilt anymore. I’d done everything I could to try to save Sean. He’d made his own choices, and he’d chosen to let his anger and revenge rot his heart and drag him into madness. I’d done what an alpha should do—I’d defended my mate, my son, and my clan.

If Sean had wanted to change his ways, he would’ve been welcomed with open arms. But his choices had led him here.

At least he’d rest here, with our family. If I couldn’t bring him home in life, at least I could do so in death.

“Come on, brother,” Hawk said. “Let’s get back before it gets dark.”

I nodded. “When it warms up, I’ll come up here and fix up the fence. Maybe get Dylan to help me.”

“I’ll bring Bella, too,” Hawk said. “We’ll make a day of it.”

As we walked back down the path toward the clubhouse, my heart felt lighter.

I’d thought that killing Sean would break me. That it would change something irreparably in me and make me a different man. A worse man. I’d been afraid that the weight of the task would break me, and I wouldn’t be the man—the alpha— that Harley needed.

But she was my rock. It was her love, her heart, that gave me the strength to go through with it.

I came out the other side changed, but not worse.

I was stronger. More sure of myself. More sure of my clan.

I felt like my love ran deeper than it ever had, and I was more grateful for my family than I’d ever been.

My family that would soon be growing by one.

Harley was so pregnant now, to the point where none of her shoes fit and she couldn’t sleep without a pillow propping up her belly.

I hated seeing her in pain, but I loved doting on her, feeding her all the foods she craved, massaging her sore shoulders and hips, and braiding her long, shining hair. She’d never been more beautiful.

“What are you thinking about?” Hawk asked as we emerged from the woods and into the clubhouse backyard. “You’ve got that dopey smile on your face.”

“Eh, you’d be sick of hearing it,” I said.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I fished it out and answered. “Dylan? What’s up, bud?”

“Dad!” Dylan shouted. There was a frantic edge to his voice that immediately put my dragon on high alert. “Something happened with Mom. She’s making all these weird sounds, and it looks like she peed herself.”

“Sounds like her water broke,” Hawk said. “You’re about to be a dad again!”

“Mom’s gonna be okay,” I said to Dylan. My heart started thumping hard, and anticipation, excitement, and anxiety swirled within me. My emotions would have to wait, though. Right now, the one thing that mattered was getting Harley to the hospital. “Just stay with her, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

Hawk and I rushed back to my house, with Hawk on his motorcycle and me in the truck. As soon as I pulled up, the front door opened. Harley waddled out of the house, Cassidy and Striker supporting her on both sides. Dylan was behind them, his face pinched with anxiety.

I leaped out of the car and rushed to take over Cassidy’s side. “Hey, gorgeous,” I said as I looped my arm around Harley’s waist. “How do you feel?”

“Fucking bad,” Harley said through gritted teeth. “Forgot how much this hurts.”

“You’re doing great,” I said. “We’ll get through this.”

She met my eyes. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she was a little pale from the pain, but there was a steely determination in her eyes. She gave me a shaky nod.

As Striker helped her into the backseat, I rushed to Dylan and scooped him up into my arms. I squeezed him hard enough to make him complain a little, wriggling against my hold.

I set him down, then knelt so we were eye to eye. “You did a great job today taking care of your Mom,” I said. “We’re going to go to the hospital. Auntie Cass will bring you a little later to meet the baby. Okay?”

Dylan nodded. He still looked anxious, but he had that same look of determination in his eyes. That Founty blood in him… He was unflappable. “Don’t take too long, okay?”

“That’s up to the baby,” I said with a grin. “Say bye to Mom.”

“Bye, Mom!” Dylan shouted. He waved both hands over his head and bounced up and down, excited now that he knew this pain wasn’t anything catastrophic.

“You better drive fast,” Harley said from the backseat. She was lying supine on the backseat, propped against the door with one foot on the floor. “This baby is coming .”

“Yes ma’am!” I said.

I drove as fast as I could to the hospital without putting anyone’s life at risk.

The last time I was at this place, I was being wheeled into the trauma bay with a bullet in my chest. This time, I was rushing through the front doors with my truck still idling at the curb, shouting for someone to come out with a stretcher.

The next few chaotic minutes felt like hours.

Nurses whirled out like a hurricane, wrangled Harley into a wheelchair, and rushed her up to the maternity ward.

I ran behind, trying to catch the nurse’s instructions and pay attention to the doctor’s too.

From there, there were doctors, nurses, curtains, a mask over my face, a hairnet, even covers on my shoes, my hands washed, an IV put in Harley, and her face pinched in pain as she cried out at each contraction.

I stood at the head of the hospital bed, her hand in mine. “Breathe,” I said, just like we’d practiced in the birthing classes months prior. “Deep breaths, baby.”

“I’m breathing!” she snapped.

“The baby’s already crowning,” the doctor said. “Keep pushing, Harley.”

“I am!” She gripped my hand so hard, I was sure she was cutting off my circulation, but I didn’t care. Her pain was so intense it vibrated through our bond, pulsing through me like a throbbing bruise.

I leaned closer to her and wiped the sweaty hair from her forehead, whispering encouragements as she gritted her teeth and pushed. A few more breaths, a few more guiding words from the doctor, and then one more shout of pain and strength and then?—

A high-pitched cry rang through the room.

When Dylan was born, I wasn’t there. I didn’t even know. I hadn’t been there to support Harley through the challenges of pregnancy. Hadn’t held her hand in the delivery room. Hadn’t heard Dylan take his first big breath and cry out.

I wasn’t going to miss another moment.

“Congratulations,” the doctor said. She placed the infant into Harley’s waiting arms. “You have a daughter.”

“A daughter,” Harley echoed in a small, awed voice as she cradled the baby to her bare chest.