Nine Months Later

“Remind me what the point of this is again?” I ask, glancing down at the three-month-old beast sleeping in my arms. “By the way, Carter, your youngest heathen needs a diaper change. I’m pretty sure he just pissed on me.”

Down on the ice, Nixon barrels into Huxley as they fight for control of the puck, smashing against the glass with a loud boom that has the four little girls in front of me loudly cheering, “If you can’t beat ‘em, beat ‘em up!”

Navy, Lola, Olive, and Juliette’s little girl, Charlotte, are bloodthirsty little wenches. Considering who their mamas are, can’t say I’m all that surprised. Wyatt stands just behind them, a silent sentinel waiting to fight off anyone who dares come close. Of course, they follow him around like little ducklings until the urge to wreak havoc hits again, then they run off to pursue it. It’s adorable.

“Other than some manly flexing contest? There isn’t one,” West quips, passing Drew off to Ezlyn who coos down at the identical second sleeping beast. “Here, hand him to me.”

West takes little Finn and lays him on the bench. With efficiency I can’t begin to fathom, she has him cleaned up and changed in a matter of seconds.

Cadie grins. “Someone’s gonna get hurt out there, and all I’m gonna say is, ‘I told you so.’”

Maxim skates by, waving at the girls, and Santiago trails after him at a much slower pace.

All five of our packs are out on the ice, some of the guys having learned to skate just so they could participate in…whatever this shit show is. They always play some weird game with rules none of us women really understand.

The one thing we do know? Men never really grow up.

“Guess all of my guys’ practice has paid off,” JJ says, arms crossed over her chest. “Last time, they looked like a bunch of fish outta water. Bless their hearts.”

Over the last six years, our packs have grown close. The way JJ and Ez fit in like they’ve always been here is proof that this is how it was always supposed to be. We’re like one big cohesive unit, and while JJ, her pack, and little Charlotte still live a few hours away in Northern Arizona, and Ez and her pack continue to tour around the world, we always find time to get together a few times a year for what we call family week . They’re always some of my favorite moments—time spent with the people I love, doing nothing and everything. It’s great, especially now that I have a family of my own.

Wyatt and Olive settled into our home and never looked back. Their bond is a tight one—built from years of mistrust and fear—and it took time and a lot of patience on our part before they truly felt like they could let us in. Wyatt never lets Olive leave his sight, and Olive doesn’t agree to anything unless she checks with Wyatt first. So when they finally opened up to us, those fragile pack connections flickering to life, I swear it was the most heartwarming thing I’ve ever experienced. To have the trust of these two little humans, knowing that they feel safe and loved enough to let those connections form? Priceless.

Navy, Lola, Olive, and Charlotte giggle, looking back at poor Wyatt who just rolls his eyes, but I see the grin he’s fighting to hold back. The four little girls became fast friends since they’re roughly the same ages, and Wyatt took on the role of their protector as naturally as if he’d always done it. Any time we get together with Bexley, Arden, Reese, and their packs, it’s good to see him be able to let loose a little with Lathan, Bexley’s son.

“This brings back so many memories.” Cadence sighs, looking down at the girls as three-month-old Theodora chews on the lace string from her mother’s Phoenix Heat hoodie.

I can’t stop my grin. “You mean all those times we sat here, drooling over hot muscles and imagining what their knots looked like?”

West laughs. “Those were the days, right?”

Shaking my head, I look out at the rink to watch Nash and Porter team up against Barrett and Flint. “Except now we know what’s really under there, and it’s so much better because we can touch ‘em whenever we want.”

All the girls laugh.

Ziggy and Sy skate by with surprising speed, passing the puck between them as Gabe and Rafferty give chase. Ezlyn’s entire pack is lined up near the goal, guarding it much like they’re used to guarding their famous Omega.

Ezlyn groans. “What do those boys think they’re going to accomplish against men who’ve been around this shit for years? They barely put on a pair of skates for the first time a year ago.”

I nudge her with my elbow. “They’re the smart ones here. They posted up in the one position where skating isn’t a necessity.”

“Huh. Guess they have some brains after all.”

We all hold our breath as Sy pulls back and takes the shot, somehow managing to slip it in an empty hole right down the middle. The puck hits the net, and half of the guys cheer while the other half groans. We share knowing looks, already anticipating another rematch.

The next thing we know, the four little girls start chanting, “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

“Oh boy. That can’t be good.” West shakes her head.

Our gazes turn in unison, watching all of the men line up along the far side of the rink. Maxim stops a few feet away from the end, waving a white towel in the air.

“They’re not seriously going to try to race each other, are they?” Cadie asks.

“So much for those brains,” Ez mutters, rocking Drew a little faster.

JJ rolls her eyes. “If brains were leather, they wouldn’t have enough to saddle a junebug.”

“This is going to end badly.” West grimaces, patting Finn on the back.

“I’m just gonna laugh my ass off when they pull a groin muscle or break something and can’t have sex until they heal.”

The towel drops, and Maxim yells “Go!” The entire line of men race across the ice. It’s a trainwreck waiting to happen, but it’s impossible to stop watching.

At first, it looks like everyone just may make it out unscathed, and then it’s like that classic romcom moment when the couple is suddenly in slow motion, but way less romantic this time.

Ziggy loses his rhythm, his legs wobbling before he goes down, sliding across the ice. His whole body slams right into the board. Hard.

Sy stumbles but manages to maintain his balance.

Gabe almost loses it when he starts laughing.

West gasps, leaning over the wall of the bench with Finn’s feet dangling over the ice to try to get an idea of the damage.

The guys are cracking up so hard, some of them are bent over holding their knees.

Guess it can’t be that bad , right?

Nash, still laughing, offers his hand to his packmate, helping Ziggy to his feet.

“I’m okay, pretty girl!” the Beta shouts, brushing off the ice on his pants, and his words only make all of the guys burst into a new round of laughter.

A collective sigh of relief fills the bench.

“How did we get here, you guys?” I shake my head, smiling. “I still remember us in our early twenties, solidifying our careers, collecting packs like they were candy, living our best lives. It feels like I blinked and woke up with this as my new reality. What the hell happened?”

“Life happened,” West murmurs while watching the guys as they all skate over to Zig to make sure he’s really okay.

“It goes by so fast, doesn’t it?” Cadie says, her eyes misting as she watches Maxim, Barrett, Santiago, and Gabe talk to JJ’s pack.

“It really does,” I agree, watching Flint and Raff laugh at something Ez’s pack says.

“Would you change any of it?” JJ asks, big doe eyes meeting mine. “Because I wouldn’t. Even with all the struggle and heartache and chaos, I’d do it all over again if this is where I end up. With my pack, my little girl, and friends I never knew I needed.”

Ez shakes her head. “I wouldn’t. I’d battle through every day of my parents’ insufferably controlling behavior if it meant I ended up right here with you guys.”

“I wouldn’t either. I am who I am today because of the girl I was yesterday. My pack has loved each version of me, and I can only hope that continues on until we’re old and gray and their dicks don’t work anymore. Because real romance lies in the acceptance of flaws, not the denial of them.”

“And you said you weren’t a romantic,” West says, sparkling blue eyes connecting with mine.

“I am now, thanks to them.”

“Thanks to them ? Thanks to us, bitch. You never would’ve gone to that island if Cadie and I didn’t push your ass. Give credit where credit is due.”

My laughter catches my guys’ attention, and their stares are filled with so much damn love, it doesn’t even matter who’s responsible.

But I can give her this one.

“You’re right. Thank you, ol’ wise ones, for setting me on the path to romance and the pack of my dreams. Wherever would I be without you?”

“She just called us old,” Cadie gripes.

West shakes her head. “She did. Not even the SinBin is enough to find forgiveness for that.”

“You can, and you will, because you love me too.”

“Always,” they say together.

The End.