AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat back in my chair, enjoying the sounds of my pack all fitting in with each other. Everything was perfect. It was all falling into place. I didn’t know what the rest of my life had in store for me, but I sure was excited to find out.
Epilogue - Riley
Ten Years Later
Seeing my girl up on stage, speaking to the younger generation of omegas, always filled me with pride. It hadn’t been a smooth road to get to where we were today. We had fought tooth and nail against societal norms for years, defending our love and our rights, that two omegas could indeed be together.
There were a few close-minded individuals that still attached a stigma to us. But now, more and more people realized that fate and love didn’t care what someone’s designation was. If it was meant to be, it would be.
Storm wrapped up her speech and the auditorium erupted in cheers. I saw a few faces with tears running down them. Obviously, her words had moved them. I hoped that meant that if they had been hiding who they loved, for whatever reason, that they had a little more confidence to stand up for what they wanted.
My beautiful omega made her way down the side of the stage. Several teachers came over to shake her hand and the students started crowding around her. She was in her element. Storm was made to be a public speaker, defending those that she felt needed help.
I caught her eye overtopa young omega male’s head and winked at her. She gave me a small smirk back and then someone else grabbed her attention once again. Shaking my head fondly, I slipped out the back door of the auditorium. I wandered the halls, surprised at how similar everything looked, even though it had been years since I had stepped foot in the ORA.
Much of the school was the same: the same marble floors, the same tiled walls, the same classrooms with their doors standing open, just waiting for the omegas to come in. Down the hall from me, I could see the sign for the office still hanging above the door. Across from there was the infirmary where Storm had gone to get the heat suppressant pills all those years ago.
My hands trailed along the walls as I walked, and I thought how different my life might’ve been if I hadn’t been given that scholarship to the school. If I hadn’t met Storm that first day I arrived or if we hadn’t been scent matches . . . Fate had a funny way of making sure everything worked out for the best, I guessed. If even just one thing had been different, my life, Storm’s, Ryan’s, Victor’s, and Declan’s would’ve all differed completely from where we were.
As the years passed, we had gotten closer and closer. Even now, knowing they were at home and Storm and I were here, I couldn’t wait to get back to them. Every day with them was like the best day of my life. It just kept improving.
I turned the corner and wandered down another hallway. In front of me was a room that made me pause. It was the old headmistress’s office. The one where Storm and I had been torn apart from one another when they had decided we didn’t belong with one another.
Thankfully, when we came back to town after becoming a pack, Storm and I had told them everything that had happened to us. Our alphas were furious. Along with Storm’s parents, they had gone on a warpath against the ORA.
They went all the way to the school board council. All the teachers that had been a part of the treatment that Storm and I had faced, including the headmistress, had been charged and fired for negligence. And the alpha that dragged me from the closet got charged with assault. He was currently rotting away in jail. I hoped he stayed there.
Alpha Brown evaded the police for several months, but he got his comeuppance in the end. I didn’t feel bad for him in the slightest.
Moving toward the door, I knocked lightly, hearing a kind voice answer, “Come in!”
I pushed open the door and took a step inside, surprised to find my teacher from Heat Expectations behind the desk. She looked up, not recognizing me at first, until I said her name. Instantly, her face transformed into one of surprise. She leapt up from the desk and came around to give me a hug.
“Oh my gods, how are you, Miss Druman? Is it still that? Silly me, of course it’s not. I know that. It’s been so long! When I heard what happened to you, I was so worried, but no one would give me any information. Are you all right? Clearly, you are. I mean . . .” She paused to take a deep breath. “How are you?”
I laughed at her enthusiasm. “I’m doing well. Storm and I found a pack, as I’m sure you know. Pack Birmingham has been the best thing to happen to us.”
“Oh, that’s absolutely wonderful. I’m so glad to hear it! You know, I knew from the moment we talked that you and Storm were destined to be matched. It was just something about the way you talked about her. Like she was your everything already and you hadn’t even realized the depth of those feelings.”
“Yeah, I should have known, to be honest. Everything about her called to me. I’m pleased to see you are the headmistress here, Ms. Ginger.”
“Thank you. It was never my intention to take this position, but after what happened last time, everyone was too scared to fill this role, worried that someone would evict as well them. I volunteered to take it on temporarily. That was ten years ago,” she said, laughing.
“The students need someone like you. I’m glad that you took the position. I can tell what a great job you are doing here.”
“Thank you so much for that!”
Before either of us could say anything else, there was a quiet knock at the door behind me. I turned and there was Storm, smiling at me from the doorframe. I motioned for her to come in, and she and Ms. Ginger talked for a little, going over all the changes that had happened since we left the school.
A few minutes later, Storm and I were making our way out of the ORA. We gave it one last look over our shoulders, happy that we had the experience of coming back and that this time around was much better than our first.
We got into Storm’s car and made our way back home. On the way, we stopped to get some fast food for dinner. Neither of us felt like cooking, and I knew the boys were out working all day and would be tired when they came home.
Not for the first time, I thought about how wonderfully everything had worked out. My younger brother had been thriving as an electrician, having completed his apprenticeship a few years after he moved here. He had even met his pack thanks to his job.
Drew had worked things out with his pack. He was now settled down a few miles away from our home. My mom and dad were getting closer to retirement, which was now a possibility for them thanks to Victor and Declan’s hiring of my dad. Previously, my parents had thought my dad would work until the day he died. Now, it was a guarantee that they could stop and enjoy their old age. They were planning on moving somewhere tropical and warm. My mother couldn’t wait.
As for myself, I had taken up a job as a teacher at the local omega school. They had offered me one at the ORA, but I felt I would be better suited to the local districts. I knew I could offer more help there. I taught a brand-new class on scent matching.
