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Epilogue
Harley Ochoa smiled up into her new husband’s dancing golden eyes. It had been short notice, but somehow, they’d thrown together a wedding at one of the many Las Vegas wedding chapels. Zeven was in black slacks and a white shirt. Someone, probably Quinn, had put a sharp black bowtie on him. He looked amazing.
It had only been six weeks since the showdown with the Coyote Clan, but a lot had happened.
Deven and his too serious boss had stepped in and took over the murder case for Dave and Roxie. The primary culprit was captured and executed. Officially he was killed during pursuit. The case was closed, and Harley was no longer a person of interest. She did, however, let her leave of absence stand at the hospital claiming she needed time to recover from the shock.
Donnelly had been arrested for embezzling and was likely to spend the rest of his days in prison. She wasn’t sure if any of the evidence used had been real, but he’d turned out to be such a douche bag that she was completely fine with any trumped up charges they could use against him. Surprisingly, losing Sheila had affected him deeply. He hadn’t fought any of the charges and pled guilty to everything. He’d also signed over all the property to Garcia.
Who had promptly put most of it up for sale. The whole clan had moved back to their former land a little further outside of town. Garcia seemed to be trying hard to rebuild his clan. Though it did look like it was going to be an uphill battle.
Around that same time, she’d started getting morning sickness. The idea of being pregnant had changed something within her, making her far more introspective than she’d ever been before. Being with Zeven was like a miracle. She loved him and they fought all the time. Sometimes it seemed they fought just to have an excuse to make up. Even on the worst day, she was happy. But building a family with him, bringing children into the world and taking responsibility for them growing into decent adults. Guiding them to become strong and honorable werewolves… It was a crushing, very overwhelming kind of blessing.
Thankfully, Zeven had been fearless. He’d been beyond overjoyed from the first moment. She smiled at that very precious memory from the day she’d told him.
“Zeven, I’m pregnant.” After a long, sweet kiss, she had proposed. “We’re mates and I will be with you forever, but I want us to be married too. Will you marry me, Zeven? Will you be my husband?”
With tears in his eyes, he clung to me. I don’t remember him saying yes, but he’d dropped to his knees and pressed kisses over our unborn child.
She knew he’d be happy about it but had been surprised by how much it had calmed him and his wolf down. It wasn’t as if anything too drastic had changed. He still dropped the f-bomb far too often. But his eyes held less anger and pain and had gained a satisfying amount of contentment.
He’d willingly started visiting Division Eight. At first just to meet everyone and see how it worked. Then daily for training.
She folded her fingers through the crook of his arm as he led her back down the aisle.
“Are you happy, Mrs. Harley Ochoa?”
She smiled at the name. “Very. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind giving up the ranch?”
She’d never been serious about the idea of ranching. Neither had he, but he kept bringing it up as if to tease her. “I’ve never been happier. Staying at Quinn’s old Victorian home is perfect.” She’d agreed immediately when Quinn had offered because it meant that she’d be that much closer to Zeven as he started working with the group.
“Don’t let that old corpse push you into working too much.”
“Hey, don’t talk like that. Show some respect for your new boss.” She’d been more than a little surprised to learn that his new boss was a vampire. But Deven had assured her that there wasn’t a finer more respectable man out there. And the more she got to know him, she had to agree. Quinn blasted any preconceived notions about the undead right out of the water.
They stepped out of the chapel into the streaming moonlight. Waiting at the curb was a beautiful black stretch limo. “Oh…”
Quinn and Deven stood to either side of the open door. These men weren’t just work comrades for Zeven. They were quickly becoming irreplaceable family members. Something she’d been needing for a long time. Only once they’d come into her life had she realized just how important they would be.
She hugged Quinn despite Zeven never releasing her hand. “Oh, you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.” He’d arranged the car and the hotel and made sure that there was nothing for Zeven to worry about.
“Nonsense. Who else would I get to spoil? It’s not as if Deven lets me get away with it anymore.”
She never would have considered the possibility a year ago. But now she couldn’t imagine a better grandfather type for their future children than this gentleman vampire. As much as he tried to spoil her, she was sure he would be the doting type when it came to the kids. He’d wanted a bigger setting for the wedding too, but she’d pushed for this smaller place. They only had a few friends to invite, and she didn’t want it to be too stressful.
“Thank you, Quinn. Thank you for everything.”
His cool hand clasped her free one with a gentle squeeze. “I’ve arranged the hotel for a week. Stay that long or leave whenever you want. It’s a small private place outside of town.”
She’d imagined one of the fancy high-rise hotels. Even the thought had worried her. Not that Zeven couldn’t handle being among crowds of humans. He just didn’t know how to let down his guard and relax in that kind of setting. A smaller, more private place would let him be at ease.
“Congratulations to you both.” Deven brushed a kiss over her cheek and then held the door open. Once they were both inside, he closed it behind them.
The dark interior closed in around them. Dim accent lights provided just enough glow for her to see Zeven’s intense gaze.
How had she ever gotten so lucky? After everything that had gone wrong, to have finally reached this happy moment of perfection. It felt almost unreal. She moved her hand and tangled their fingers together, moving it to settle over her slightly rounded abdomen.
“Harley…” His voice was low and rough. He pulled her gently across his lap. “You are my whole fucking world.”
She framed his face and pulled him down into a slow burn of a kiss, pouring all her love and passion into the place where they came together. Would he ever be able to let go of the guilt and understand just how he’d changed her world for the better? If not, she’d just have to keep showing him and telling him every single day. “I love you, Zeven. We are going to be happy.”
“Does that mean you’ll stay with me?”
She kissed him again, this time letting her desire run wild over him until they were both panting with need. Then she pulled back enough to answer with words. She never wanted him to doubt her meaning even for a moment. “Yes, Zeven, I’m staying. Today, tomorrow and forever, I’ll be right here by your side. You just try and make me run.”
He relaxed within her embrace. “Never, your running days are over.”
The End
