AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The room is silent except for pants and gasps as our bodies recover, but there’s no need for words. Love pulses down the bonds like a telegraph, unyielding and powerful. I can feel my Alphas around me, their skin against mine, protective of what’s their own. I’m just as protective back, especially now that I’m strong. This is our family—our Pack—and finally, we’ve got a future together. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
EPILOGUE
R I L E Y
Five Years Later
My heels clipthe laminate floor as I pace back and forth in the small break room in the back of the large chain bookstore.
There is no reason to be nervous. I’ve done this dozens of times before, even more so in the past few years, but every time, I get that anxious, fluttery feeling in my stomach. I might as well call it stage fright because in a few minutes, I’ll be up on a platform in front of nearly a hundred people, reading an excerpt from my latest novel.
Arms wrap around me from behind, squeezing me against a broad chest. “You’re going to do great,” Levi murmurs.
“Thanks, Doc,” I say. It’s been my nickname for him ever since he graduated and received certification to become a practicing psychologist. Watching him walk across that stage, dressed in a blue gown and cap, was one of the proudest moments of my life. Of our lives, really. The entire Pack was whistling and cheering as he took his diploma and shook the university dean’s hand.
Now, Levi is part of a private practice with another Alpha, and a Beta husband and wife team. He specializes in counseling Omegas suffering from PTSD and trauma. The job is hard on him sometimes, listening to all those horrible stories, but he comes home to us and we soothe him until he’s ready to face the next day. And on the days when one of his patients has a breakthrough? There’s no one happier in the world than Levi.
“Now, why can’t I go out there and rile up the crowd again?” grumbles Fox, who is poking around a box of extra stock on one of the shelves.
Kelli, the bookstore manager, sighs for the millionth time and swats his hand from the box. “Because this isn’t a football game,” she reminds him. “And quit touching stuff.”
Fox sticks his tongue out at her and when he’s caught her glare, he slowly takes his index finger and runs it over another box of inventory. She throws her hands up in the air and goes to make herself another coffee. I think it’s her third one since we’ve been here.
“Behave,” I mouth to him across the room, and he winks at me before heading to the folding chair where he’s supposed to be sitting and waiting patiently. He limps a little on the way, but it’s barely noticeable to anyone outside of the Pack.
Two years ago, mid-way through the season, Fox took a tackle to his right side that left him with a career-ending leg injury. It took six months for him to heal, months that I spent by his side, as he had spent by mine during my recovery. The leg was never going to be the same. Fox went through a grieving process and came out the other end of it excited for where life was going to take him next. Soon after, his coach told Fox that he was looking to retire and wanted to start training up a replacement. Fox came on as assistant coach, and the job suits him even better than his time as a player. He loves the team like his own family and has soaked up every bit of knowledge he can from his coach. Next year, he’ll be taking his place as head coach of the Ravens, and I’ll be at every game, cheering him and his team on.
At that moment, Miles walks through the door, a big grin on his face. “It ispackedout there, Riley,” he says, taking my hand and squeezing it. “Everyone is so excited to hear from you. The table is all set up for signing afterwards.”
Knowing that Miles has it all under control calms my nerves a little. While Miles has continued his coding work as an independent contractor, he also works as my manager, taking care of all the administrative and publicity work while I focus on writing. He loves it—there’s still data to be analyzed, even in publishing—and I like knowing he’s there, supporting me in every endeavor. Books brought us together in the beginning, so it’s only fitting that we continue to work on books together.
“I’m hungry,” Fox calls from his seat. “What’s the special tonight, Thane?”
Thane grins at him from his own chair in the breakroom, where he is patiently waiting and not touching the inventory unlike his fellow Alpha. “We’re serving a new dish of the day. It’s called ‘Calm the Fuck Down and Be Patient and You’ll Find Out.’”
“That’s a really long name for a dish,” Fox mutters, flipping his middle finger at Thane, who bursts into laughter.
The stern, grumpy Alpha who didn’t want me in the Pack all those years ago is unrecognizable now.
Thane is still the quieter Alpha of the group, but his calm reserve bolsters the rest of us. He really is the perfect Leader, supporting us and challenging us as we grow together. But there’s a mischievous side to him now, and has been ever since he left the medical field. He smiles more, laughs more, even jokes around more.
After I was done with my treatment, he enrolled full-time in a local culinary academy. Like everything he does, he tackled it with his usual dedication and concentration. Once he graduated, he opened a restaurant namedNorth Woods, a play on our Pack’s and my last name. It was instantly successful, and he’s looking to open another one in the next few years. Even his parents, who were once hesitant about his new career choice, are proud as can be and talk up their son’s culinary achievements even more than their own medical legacy.
“It’s time,” says Kelli, looking at her watch before nodding to me.
I take a deep breath and glance at my Alphas. Each one gives me a bolstering smile, and I feel the love pinging through our Pack bonds. Once again, I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found them.
I push through the break room door to the sound of applause from the fans sitting in rows of folding chairs, waiting for me. My Alphas come behind me and take their own chairs, supporting me from the audience. A podium with a microphone is at the front of the room, and I make my way there with a nervous smile on my face. The crowd looks even bigger from up here, but I know my guys are out there. I can do this.
“A lot of things have changed in the past five years since my first book was picked up by a publisher,” I begin, speaking into the microphone. “Not just in my career, but in my life.”
My eyes water a little as I look over at my Alphas. Levi is wiping his own eyes, and Miles winks at me. My cervus hasn’t resurfaced once in the last five years and we’re immensely grateful, even if the road to full recovery will still be long. There were lasting effects. Damage from the disease that we thought may have permanently prevented my ability to conceive, but through Thane’s old connections, even that may soon be solved. Within the next year or two, we could welcome our very first baby Woods into the pack.
“My relationship with my Alphas has only grown since we first met. While it still isn’t the norm in our society, we treat each other as equals—Alphas and Omega alike. My books are, and will always be, based on this dynamic because that’s what love is and should be. Seeing the other for all their worth, no matter their failings, and choosing them. We complete each other in every way, and that’s the kind of relationship I will always write about.”
I clear my throat for this next part, finding and meeting the eyes of a few Omegas I see in the crowd with their chaperones.
“I want to point out that in the program you received for today’s event you will find my personal email. If you are an Omega being mistreated in your Pack, you can email me, and we will get you the support you need. Please, don’t be afraid to reach out.”
This is something Miles and I started doing a few years ago when I began booking more readings and signings. Along with Levi’s practice, we work with the Omegas to find resources and ways for them to get away from the daily abuse they go through. We only get a few emails per year, as many Omegas are still afraid to ask for help, but we’ve been able to help those individuals find a better life and almost nothing else brings me more pride.
The crowd murmurs, and I clear my throat again, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ears as I peel back the cover of my latest release and smooth out the first page.
“Now, I think it’s time for a story,” I say with a smile, and the crowd bursts into a smattering of applause. Somewhere in the back, I hear Caroline whoop and glance up to see her with her two thumbs up, a radiant smile on her face as she leans into her Beta husband Thom, her hands wrapped around the handle of the baby stroller she pushes back and forth.
With that, I smile, take a deep breath, and begin to read.
