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“Please, don’t be mad,” Virginia begged. “I wanted to—I just couldn’t—well, he—”
I touched her shoulder, calming her immediately. “It’s alright. You had no idea how I would react. But now that we’re together, it’s time.”
“For what?” the twins asked simultaneously.
I would never get tired of them matching up like that.
With a wide grin, I held out my hands for them to take. “I’m your real dad.”
Anthony and Adhara blinked at the same time. “What?”
“I’m your father,” I repeated. “I’ve been your father this whole time. You know, when your mother and I were seeing each other way back when, we sort of, uh…” I squinted at Virginia. Had she done that talk yet? “We loved each other so much that we had you two.”
Silence.
Who could be mad about that? These kids had gone without a father for ages. And thenpoof. Here I was.
I cleared my throat. “I know it’s a lot, but I hope that you’ll accept me.”
Adhara released my hand and stood up. She brushed some invisible dirt from her pants, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and folded her hands together in front of her. “On behalf of Anthony, who is currently battling his inner demons through silence, we accept you as our dad.”
I stared at her.
She waved her hand in front of my face. “Hello?”
“That’s great news, honey,” I blurted. I tugged her into a hug, feeling a million things at once, wondering when in the world I had started crying and how to make it stop.
Within a few minutes, Anthony joined the hug. He apologized for being so quiet. I told him it was fine, I didn’t care. I just wanted them to be happy.
And they were happy. Because I could feel it. My own flesh and blood were here in my arms. I could sense their happiness, and mine doubled as a result.
I swore on my life that I would never let them out of my sight again.
Epilogue - Virginia
Cheers filled the air as Slater bent to kiss me. In just a matter of hours, our lives had changed for the better. Both of us had physically changed as well, sporting the white attire routinely attributed to traditional mate rituals. While ours was quickly thrown together, it didn’t bother me in the least.
We were both impulsive creatures. It made sense for us to speed everything up. And honestly, after how things had gone lately, I didn’t want to risk waiting another second.
Patrick Sharman, a lanky man with a goofy grin, stepped aside so we could greet the pack as an official mated couple. Applause continued throughout the open field, reminding me of just how big the properties were that were shared by the pack. Laurencia clapped excitedly next to Francine who was crying. No one seemed to be hiding their emotions.
That was the benefit of living in truth. Because giving my secrets to Slater meant being able to see the truth in everything—and the beauty that came with it.
Once the activity died down a bit, I trailed in the direction of the food table. All that celebrating had given me a huge appetite. Adhara and Anthony came barreling toward me with those light-up spinners that they loved so much. Archie was close behind them with a kazoo. The three of them danced around me while I held a plate of biscuits and gravy.
I laughed and shook my head. “Looks like somebody gave you candy.”
The three of them stopped at the same time and pointed at each other. That just made me laugh even more. After I assured them it was okay to indulge for the evening, they ran off to find Francine.
A man with dusty white hair and green eyes stepped up after they took off.
“Hi, Fred,” I said with relief. I yanked him into a side hug. “So, you got the text.”
“And the security dudes,” he squeaked while pointing to Isaiah and the others. “Real friendly buds if you ask me.”
I chuckled. “They wouldn’t take no for an answer, huh?”
“Your alpha is nice. Bloke, right?”
