“And I could not have done any of this without a very talented librarian,” I added, smiling at Artemis. “She was integral in saving our people. In saving me.”
She met my gaze. “Proud of you,” she sent into my mind.
It hit me right in the chest.
When the cheers came, they felt like sunlight. They wanted me. Not the myth of me. The real, flawed, trying version.
I had never been the kind of alpha my father was. And for the first time, I knew that had saved us all.
The moment the last words of my speech faded, the world shifted.
Music rose from somewhere near the café, soft at first and then louder, carried on fiddles and drums and voices that had been waiting all night to be let loose. Laughter followed it, spilling out across the clearing like a released breath. Shifters pulled friends into spinning circles. Lanterns bobbed overhead, their light glinting off the mist from the waterfall so the whole place shimmered like it had been dusted with starlight.
Artemis took my hand without hesitation.
“Come on,” she said, already tugging me forward.
We found a space near the edge of the clearing where the stone was still warm from the day. We swayed together and laughed when our steps went crooked. Her hand rested on my shoulder, mine at her waist, and everything about it was exactly right.
Nearby, Caliban and Eloise were locked in what could only be described as a determined attempt at dancing. Eloise was clearly leading. Caliban was clearly pretending he was notbeing led. They looked ridiculous. They also looked strangely perfect, moving together in sharp, earnest bursts like two people who had already decided they belonged.
At some point, Eloise had become an unofficial member of the clan. She knew all our secrets now. More importantly, she had befriended Caliban, which was a far rarer thing. No one objected. No one questioned it. The clan had a long history of recognizing inevitability when they saw it.
Artemis leaned closer to me then, her head tipping back as she laughed. The sound of it went straight through me, bright and certain, and I knew without doubt that this was what we had been fighting for all along.
I turned her gently toward me and kissed her under the lanterns. I could feel the bond between us, like a quiet promise humming beneath my skin.
Around us, my people danced and celebrated and existed without fear for the first time in generations. No thinning magic. No quiet dread hanging over every future.
They were whole.
And as Artemis rested her forehead against mine, smiling like she had just stepped into the life she was meant to have, I knew I was too.
EPILOGUE
ARTEMIS
Six months later, my life had settled into something unreal.
I lived with Arthur most of the time now at his home, among his people. We still used my apartment when we went into the city, but it had started to feel more like a favorite hotel than a permanent address. Every morning, he flew me to a field near the library, then walked me to the building. It wasn’t a long-term solution, but it was working. For now, it was enough.
I had plans, though. Big plans. A library of rare antique books with my name on the door. A place where history and wonder could exist without being hidden or hoarded. Arthur listened to me talk about it with complete fascination.
That morning, the front desk called to say I had a package waiting.
It wasn’t the only package I’d received that week. Three days earlier, an oversized envelope had arrived at the house, cream paper thick enough to feel ceremonial. I had stood inArthur’s kitchen staring at it for a full minute before opening it, convinced it contained another polite rejection.
It did not.
The university had formally accepted my dissertation revisions. Approved. Signed. Filed. No further edits required.
Doctoral candidate no longer.
Doctor.
I had read the letter twice. Then three times. Then handed it to Arthur because my hands had started shaking and I needed someone to tell me it was real.
He had read it once, then very calmly, said, “Of course they approved it.”
