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My stomach twists, and I swim closer to the gate. On the tail of the boy are the initials S.C.
Salvatore. Our Baba made these.
Yes. She nods. Aren’t they amazing?
Yes. I turn back to Nico. Did he know? He shakes his head. He had no idea either.
Next stop is outside the hospital. There in front of the entrance is a large sculpture of a merman holding up two others. It’s massive. Sure, I’ve seen it before, but I never really looked at how amazing it was. Then I see it. The face of the merman on the right—it’s Alder. Salvatore put Alder in the piece. We swim around it in awe. Or at least, I’m in awe, but when I look over at the others, I see they feel it too.
The next one is freshly reset into its base. There are other sculptures around it too. But Belle knows just which one to direct us to.
It’s called “Mother Justice.”
I recognize Richeal’s face immediately. I take Belle’s hand to kiss it, but when I do, the glove floats away. I kiss her palm, but when I open my eyes, I see that the circle is complete. I hold it up to her. Her eyes widen, and she shows it to the rest of the guys.
When you’re ready, and it’s up to you, I say, there are things?—
I know. Kai told me.
Thank you for showing us this. I can’t believe she planned this for Nico and me.
Oh, there are more. She laughs and takes off with a kick. Turns out, three of the sculptures in the sculpture garden outside our secondary school were by Salvatore too.
Nico hides behind a statue. Like we used to when we were kids.
I see you, Castor calls out to him. You’ve always stunk at this game.
The night lights of the city are on before we swim the rest of the way home.
The sharks are out, and Mickey comes racing at Belle. He’s loving all the attention and guarding he’s been able to do since Marlee moved in. But the wag on that shark’s tail—I understand. I feel the same way every time I see Belle too.
EPILOGUE
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AGO
“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do, but we just can’t accept your application.”
I stare at the woman with the heavy bangs. She’s human. What does she know of the pain my mate’s going through? What does she know of the need we have for a pup? We need pups. Even human ones will make my mate happy.
A tear rolls down Jennifer’s cheek. Alphas don’t cry, but she is.
“I know this is hard. And I shouldn’t do this because, honestly, I don’t understand where these babies are coming from. But I know she’s placed children with shifters before. You could try this agency.” The banged woman pushes a business card across to Jennifer.
“Sea Haven Adoption Agency,” I say.
“Yes, the woman who runs it is... flamboyant. Can I say that? She’s loud and dresses rather... oddly. But she might be able to help you. She also seems to place a lot of twins, and you said you would like a large family.”
“Pack,” I correct.
“Yes, pack. Give her a try.”
