Page 36

EPILOGUE: MAGNOLIA

The community center hums with warmth, the scent of woodsmoke and supper lingering in the air as the den settles in for the evening. Children dart between benches, laughter echoing off the rafters, their bare feet thudding against the floorboards. Near the hearth, a few of the elders murmur to one another, rocking slowly in their chairs. The room is alive, buzzing with the kind of comfort that only comes when a family— a pack —gathers together.

I rest a hand over the swell of my stomach, feeling the gentle flutter of movement beneath my palm. Our baby. His baby. The thought still makes my breath catch, even after months of getting used to it.

Charlotte shifts beside me, adjusting little Daisy where she’s tucked against her chest. “She won’t sleep unless she hears people talking,” she says, running a soothing hand over her daughter’s tiny back. “If it’s too quiet, she thinks something’s wrong.”

Peaches hums, her lips pressing together. “That makes sense, I guess.”

I glance over at her. “You okay?”

She shrugs, rolling her shoulders. “I don’t know. Just a feeling.”

Charlotte raises a brow. “What kind of feeling?”

Peaches exhales, pressing her fingers against her temple. “Like…I don’t know. Like I should be running toward something, but I don’t know what. Or maybe running from something. It’s probably nothing.”

A strange ripple of unease moves through me, but I shake it off. Peaches has always had good instincts, but sometimes even she can’t make sense of them. And tonight is supposed to be good.

I rest my hands on my belly, rubbing slow circles over the curve of it. “You’re probably just tired,” I offer. “You’ve been running around like crazy lately.”

Peaches rolls her eyes. “Yeah, well, someone’s gotta keep this place interesting.”

Charlotte grins. “Speaking of keeping things interesting—how are you feeling?” Her gaze flickers down to my belly, her voice soft with curiosity. “Everything going okay?”

I smile, warmth spreading through me. “So far, yeah. I’m feeling good.” I glance down at my stomach, smoothing my hands over the fabric stretched over my bump. “The baby’s kicking up a storm lately. Colt swears they’re practicing to be a boxer.”

Charlotte laughs. “That tracks.”

Peaches smirks. “You sure they’re not training to be a menace like their daddy?”

I shake my head, chuckling. “That too.”

Charlotte tilts her head, watching me with quiet affection. “You look happy.”

I meet her gaze, and the truth of it settles deep in my chest. “I am.”

Peaches sighs, leaning back on her elbows. “Well, I hope this baby takes after you. The world can only handle so much of Colt Morgan.”

I laugh. “You say that, but you’re halfway done with that baby blanket. You love him.”

Peaches scoffs, but there’s no heat behind it. “That’s just because you keep giving me those big, pregnant lady eyes whenever I mention putting it off.”

Charlotte grins. “I want to see it when it’s done.”

Peaches waves a hand. “Give me another week. I’ve got the main part finished, just need to add the border. I figured I’d do something moon-themed, since, you know, wolves and all.”

My heart squeezes. “That’s perfect.”

Peaches winks. “I know.”

I glance toward the front of the room, searching for Colt, and find him by the projector, crouched low as he fiddles with the ancient thing. He’s surrounded by kids, all of them watching with wide-eyed fascination as he mutters under his breath, tweaking the dials, adjusting the reels. His hands are steady, deft, the same hands that spent months proving himself, earning back what he almost lost. Earning me.

And he has. God , has he.

As if he can sense me looking, Colt lifts his head, his blue eyes finding mine across the room. A slow smile tugs at his lips, and my stomach does a little flip, same as it always does when he looks at me like that—like I’m his whole world. Peaches nudges me, smirking.

“Where can I get one?” she asks.

I laugh. “What?”

“Someone who looks at me like that.”

“Well…given that he was a bounty hunter, I’m not sure if you really want my advice,” I tease.

I look back as Colt stands, dusting off his hands, and makes his way toward me.

“What are you up to?” I ask as he reaches for my hand.

His grin turns secretive. “C’mon, angel. Just trust me.”

He helps me up, his palm warm against mine, and leads me toward the front of the room. The den gathers around us, murmuring in curiosity as Colt sits me down in a chair near the projector. I glance up at him, brow furrowing, but he just squeezes my hand before stepping away, heading toward the back of the room where the light switches are.

“Alright, everybody,” he calls out. “Keep your eyes on the ceiling.”

Then he flips the switch.

Darkness swallows the room. A few murmurs ripple through the crowd—soft, uncertain. Someone hushes a whispering child, a chair scrapes against the wooden floor, the low creak of shifting bodies fills the air.

And then?—

Stars.

A thousand tiny pinpricks of light burst across the ceiling, constellations unfurling in slow, mesmerizing movement, stretching from beam to beam. They shift and swirl, a great cosmic tide drawing them across the rafters. The galaxies bloom, nebulas breathing, the vastness of the universe contained within these four walls.

A hush falls over the den, stunned silence giving way to wonder.

I hear it in the way breath catches, in the soft rustle of bodies leaning back in their seats to take it in, in the awed whisper of one of the children, voice barely above a breath— “Look at the stars.”

And they do.

They look.

All of them.

Even Frankie, even Reyes, even Will, who shifts where he stands against the wall, the tension that never seems to leave his shoulders easing just slightly.

Even my parents.

My mom sits near the hearth, her hands clasped over her chest, her expression softened in the way it always gets when she’s looking at the kinds of beautiful things she knew before the Convergence–things she never thought she would see again. Beside her, Dad tilts his head back, arms crossed over his broad chest, and I can practically see the pride there…pride for Colt. River lets his teenage boy swagger drop for a second, and Kate actually stops gossiping with her friends for a second.

And then there’s Lucy.

She stands right in the middle of the room, her curls a wild halo around her head as she tips her face up toward the ceiling, her little mouth slightly open in sheer, awestruck wonder. She doesn’t move. Doesn’t fidget. Just stares at the stars Colt has given us, her small hands clasped in front of her chest like she’s afraid that if she blinks, they’ll disappear.

Then, barely above a whisper, she breathes, “It’s even better than dragons.”

A laugh catches in my throat. I glance at Colt, finding his blue eyes already on me, prettier than the stars.

I swallow hard, my throat tight as I glance around the room, catching glimpses of faces illuminated by the soft glow of the stars. They aren’t just watching the display. They’re feeling it.

Colt did this.

For them.

For all of us.

I turn back to the ceiling, my breath catching, because I know what this is. I know what he’s done.

I know why.

This is way of bringing me the observatory…reminding me of the night we made love for the first time.

The moment our lives changed forever.

Colt steps back toward me, then kneels beside me. He laces his fingers through mine, every touch warming me up and making me feel so, so safe. When his eyes meet mine, I bite my lip, not wanting him to think I’m upset.

Then I remember I’m allowed to be upset around him. I’m allowed to feel things, allowed to cry.

I don’t have to be the big sister anymore…I just get to be Colt’s mate.

“I never forgot what you told me that night,” he says, voice low, meant just for me. “That the stars reminded you that we were dreamers once…and I wanted to do this for you–to show you that our kid will get to be a dreamer, too. That’s the world we’re making for them.”

I press a trembling hand over my mouth, tears pricking at my eyes. “Colt?—”

His fingers brush my cheek, reverent, his smile soft. “I wanted to give you that.”

I don’t have words. Can’t find them. So I do the only thing I can—I pull him down, pressing my lips to his, pouring everything I feel into the kiss. His arms come around me, strong and sure, holding me close.

Around us, the den watches, but I don’t care. Let them see. Let them know .

I love him.

And for the rest of our lives, under every sky—real or imagined—I always will.

THE END…for now

If you loved the tension, heat, and heart of Tempted by the Alpha Outlaw , you won’t want to miss Stolen by the Alpha Hunter ! One-click now and lose yourself in Peaches’ desperate fight for freedom—and a love that shouldn’t be possible.