Epilogue

One Month Later

Braiden stood staring at the hotel. It looked almost completely different and like an actual hotel. His mate walked over to him, holding a glass of lemonade. He took it and drank it all in one drink. He handed her back the glass and she laughed.

"Are you thirsty?" she asked.

"Only for you," he teased.

"It's looking amazing, Braiden."

"It took a lot of work, but we're making this a home." Braiden turned his full attention on his beautiful mate. "The kids have already picked out their rooms and Greta is preparing a nursery for Sara's baby. I'm so glad that she and Brady are going to have another pup. They need someone to cheer them up and keep them busy."

"I know," Temperance's tone changed. Braiden pulled her close. It was sudden and Temperance dropped the glass.

"I'm not worried. I don't have to have any kids," Braiden told her. "I know you feel like you need to have a kid, but we don't."

"I want one," Temperance sobbed.

"If we find out that we can't, we can always adopt. I know that you want one of your very own, but we will fill the void inside of you anyway we can." Braiden kissed her. "We can keep trying."

"Thank you. I never considered adopting."

"Mom's coming up this weekend. Trent and May are joining her. They want to see where I've been living and meet you. I'm sorry we haven't made it down to visit them and introduce you to everyone."

"It's fine."

"They're going to love you, don't worry," he told her.

"I just want to make a good impression," Temperance admitted. "I want them to like me."

"They will, babe. What's not to like?"

"Hey guys," Sara called. She came over, Cherish following close behind.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Temperance asked Cherish.

"No, I got the day off," Cherish smiled.

"Aren't you lucky? Your mom hiring more workers really pays off."

"That's the truth," Cherish laughed.

"It's starting to really look like a home," Sara told Braiden.

"How are you and the baby?" Braiden asked.

Sara ran a hand over her belly. "We're fine. It's only two weeks old. I'm thinking its a girl, but Brady says its a boy."

"I think it would be nice to have another girl running around," Cherish spoke up. "There are too many boys."

"That's because girl werewolves are hard to come by!" Braiden told them.

"Hey, what's wrong with humans?" Temperance teased. "We're a pretty good lot."

"Well you were a great human, but you are human no longer. You're on our side now," Braiden explained.

"Oh is that it?"

"I'm gonna go finish painting the nursery with Greta. Temperance, Cherish, you want to help?"

"Sure!"

"Be there in a moment."

Temperance watched Cherish and Sara walk off, a little envious of Sara's condition.

"I promise that no matter what happens, I'll always love you."

"And I will always love you. I really think we should look into adopting," Temperance told him. "It's actually a great idea if we can't have kids."

"That sounds like a plan. Why don't we look once we get the hotel done?"

"Sounds perfect to me."

Cole studied Uriel. "How do you know these people?" he asked.

"One of the guys is almost as old as I am. He actually made the vampire that made me," Uriel explained.

"How do you know we can trust them?" Mandy piped in.

"Because I'd trust him with my life. That's saying something."

"You said him, not them. How can we trust the other's with him?"

"You rescued me for a reason. So I can stop this war. There are others of our kind out there killing vampires. We have to stop it. We can come together as a species. We have to make people see this."

"Fine, we'll believe you this time. But you better not be lying to us," Mandy spat.

"Excuse me, who the hell put you in charge?" Cole spat. "Shut the fuck up and stay out of this."

Mandy hissed, but did as Cole said.

"When do we leave?"

"We can leave now. They won't be expecting us, but who doesn't like surprises," Uriel said shrugging his shoulders.

"What's his name?" Cole asked.

"Who?" Uriel replied.

"The man you trust. The man we're putting our trust in."

"His name is Jax."

Andreas was pissed. It'd taken almost a whole month to find a new place to live and get his pack back under control. He was furious that he'd lost his vampire and could no longer make werewolves. He'd have to find another one, no matter how young or old it was.

"Andreas, we have a problem," one of his wolves called. Andreas didn't take the time to learn their names. He had too many wolves to know all of them. It was beneath him.

"What is it now?" he snarled.

"We caught two wolves on our property," the same wolf replied.

"Did you kill them or capture them?"

"We captured them. I thought you may want to hear what they have to say."

"And why did you think that?"

"Just trust me," the man said.

"Would you place your life on that? Because if I don't care for what they say and it's really pointless, I'm going to kill you," Andreas threatened. "Lead the way."

The wolf turned, looking a little nervous. He led the way down the corridor and to the room they were using to hold prisoners. He opened the door that led to two cells. One made for wolves, the other a vampire. Andreas was the only one to know about the true purpose of the special cage.

"What are your names?" Andreas got right down to business.

"My name is Baylor and this is my beta, Nick."

"Why are you here?"

"I've heard that you're looking for the wolves you turned and the alpha responsible for taking them in," Baylor replied.

"You heard this, did ya?" Andreas looked back at his wolf. He raised a questioning eyebrow and the wolf shrugged.

"Sorry sir. We thought you wanted to find them so we posted some rewards."

"Well if this pans out and you really know where my wolves are, then we'll see about a reward." Andreas turned back to Baylor. "Who is the person taking in my wolves."

"His name is Riven. His pack is attached to mine. I was going to allow you access to my land in order to take your wolves back."

"I may like you," Andreas stated. "If you can take me to my wolves, you will live."

"I'm ready when you are," Baylor smirked.

"You, let them out," Andreas told his wolf. The wolf nodded and released Baylor and Nick "Don't let me down."

"Oh, I won't. I know exactly where your wolves are and I'm going to take you there," Baylor replied.

Michael couldn't help but stare at her as she cooked breakfast. She was an angel on earth and the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Her smiled lit up her entire face and made his cock hard. He wanted to slide it between those lips and feel her suck on him.

He shifted in his seat, noticing that she'd stopped and was looking at him too. He'd done his best to avoid her at all costs, but now the house was almost empty and it was just them and Riven. How was he going to avoid her now?

The reason he avoided her? She was his mate. And she'd rejected him once. There was no way Michael was going to allow her to reject him twice. It hurt him enough the first time and his wolf hadn't been the same. He couldn't chance going rogue the second time she rejected him.

"What are you staring at?" Harmony asked him.

"Nothing, sorry I was thinking," Michael quickly came up with an excuse. He got up, almost knocking a chair to the floor in the process. "I was just leaving."

"You can eat with me," Harmony said softly.

"Sorry, I'm busy," he lied. He quickly exited the kitchen, finding solitude on the front porch.

Leaning against the rail, Michael remembered the first time he set eyes on Harmony. She'd been human then. It was still a shock to find her as a wolf now, and in his own pack. He could remember the absolute terror when he'd changed in front of her. He'd played it off as a dream and it had worked. He'd left her alone, hoping she'd forget him. He knew he would never forget her, but he'd give her space.

"What am I gonna do?" Michael muttered aloud.

Walk your ass back in there and claim our mate. She's a wolf 'll feel the same pull. She won't reject us again. His wolf had been saying this for over a month now. Michael had been taking long trips away from the pack to avoid running into her, but now Riven didn't have anything for him to do. He'd been finding packless wolves that had once been human and bringing them to the pack. Riven had interviewed them, asked them if they wanted to stay and given them a chance at a home.

A lot of the wolves had stayed. The pack was almost full and the third house couldn't be built fast enough. Now that Trent and Braiden were gone, that left more room. They'd either made their own pack or transferred into one. Drew was after Candy and Michael wondered if he'd find her. Candy obviously didn't want to be found, but Michael understood the need to watch over and protect your mate. Even while he was gone, Michael had his mother and older brother watch over Harmony for him.

Speaking of his older brother, Michael had noticed that something was seriously wrong with him. He'd been quiet and had hardly left his room. Even Gale couldn't coax him out and they'd become great friends before he'd gone off to help Braiden. Something had to have happened to cause this, but he wouldn't speak a word of it. Had he met his mate and something happened to her? That was the only thing that Michael could think of because he'd felt the same way after meeting Harmony and finding out she was human.

"I know you said you weren't hungry, but I brought you some food anyway," Harmony's voice cut through his thoughts. Michael jumped, having not even heard her approach. His face blushed red and she smiled at him.

"Um… Sorry I didn't hear you approach."

"I can tell," she laughed softly. The sound was musical and he wished that she'd sing for him. He'd heard her twice and he'd never forget how lovely her voice was. She'd been going to school to be a music teacher and had to drop out because of the whole wolf thing. She'd been wanting to go back, but Michael had told Riven to keep her here. He didn't want her out of his sight. There were too many variables out there that could happen to her. They still hadn't tracked down the alpha that had turned all the humans. Riven was furious they couldn't figure out how he was doing it. If they knew that, it might be easier to stop it.

"Michael?"

He heard his name flow easily off her lips and his cock jumped in response. He swallowed and said, "Yes?"

"Did you hear me?"

"No," he blushed again.

"Do you want the food or not?" she asked, her face souring.

"Thank you," Michael reached for it. Their hands met and he almost dropped the plate in his haste to get away from her. Her eyes widened and then she darted back into the house. Michael watched her go, pulling the front door shut behind her. He set his plate down on the rail and immediately dug in.

Harmony was a good cook. The bacon was crisp, just the way he liked, and his eggs were scrambled. She'd even added salt and pepper. If they ever got together, she'd definitely be doing all the cooking.

After emptying his plate and waiting a few more minutes, Michael snuck back in the house, keeping an eye out for Harmony. She wasn't in the kitchen and the dishes were set on a dish towel to dry. He rinsed off his plate and started washing it.

"You don't have to do that. If you leave it there, I'll take care of it."

Michael swore he'd never been this unattentive. He'd been startled by his mate twice now and it was seriously embarrassing. He acted like he'd heard her coming and turned to smiled at her.

"No worries. I'm almost done. Thanks by the way. It was delicious," Michael told her.

"Thank you," she blushed under his compliment.

She watched him finish washing the plate and silverware and then rinsing it off. He found room on the towel and then turned to leave.

"Michael," she called.

He stopped but didn't turn to face her.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

"I can't right now. I have to find Riven."

Michael had lied twice to her in one day within an hour. His heart hurt and he wished that he could take it back. Walking away from her was as hard as it'd always been. He could have sworn she muttered something under her breath, but he couldn't be sure. It had sounded almost like she'd said Sorry.

Walking toward the back door, Michael shifted and took off into the woods. He'd find Riven later and make something up. Right now he just needed to let go and let his wolf take over. It was the only way that he knew he wouldn't go back to his mate. His wolf understood that he needed a moment and decided to hunt instead of tracking his mate. Catching the scent of a rabbit, all other thoughts disappeared and only the thought to kill crept into his mind.

"What's wrong?" Chance asked, pulling up a seat.

"Nothing," Janet replied, smiling.

"You can't lie to me," Chance's face darkened. "Are you thinking of that dog again?"

"He's not a dog, he's a wolf. And no, I'm not thinking of him. I'm wondering what this man will be like that we're going to go meet. If he's as old as Uriel says he is, then he's bound to be powerful. I just hope we can trust his men."

"We'll be fine," Chance reassured her. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Janet smiled halfheartedly back at him. "Get some rest. You look tired. Have you eaten lately?"

"I ate a couple days ago," Janet lied. It'd been almost a month since she'd eaten right. She'd drank a little bit of blood to keep going, but everything tasted sour.

"Why don't you take some of mine. I can go hunting tonight," Chance offered.

Knowing he'd keep pressing the issue, Janet noDded and got to her feet. Chance pulled her into his arms and tilted his neck to the side. He braced for the pleasure that normally followed the bite.

Janet bit into his neck gently, sending thoughts of pleasure and seduction into his mind. As soon as the blood hit her tongue, she thought she'd be sick. She jerked back, breaking the connection to Chance's mind almost harshly. She choked on what blood was in her mouth and threw everything back up.

Chance's mind was still clouded with lust and then he seemed to realize she was no longer drinking. Blood dripped down her chin and her eyes were stained red. She collapsed in his arms and he cried out.

"Janet? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding frightened. Janet's eyes closed, the sound of blood gurgling filled her ears. Was that her? Would she die, choking on her siren's blood? Was this the penalty for having feelings for another?

The last thing she remembered was hearing Chance scream for Uriel and Cole.

Was she close? Her wounds hadn't been healing right. She was aching all over and had no idea how she managed to stay on her feet. She stumbled over a tree root and hit the ground hard. It jarred her entire being. She sucked in air and rolled over, staring up at the trees. Stars sparkled between the tree limbs and she wondered if she'd join them that very night.

She was going to give up. There was no way he'd want her. Not after what she'd done. She was worthless and had made a huge mistake. She'd been blinded by revenge and had missed her opportunity. He'd reject her and right now she wouldn't be able to handle it.

Was that a growl? Had she miscalculated? Was she really that close? Rolling over to her side, she glanced at the darkened forest. It'd been her imagination. There was no scent of a wolf and nothing moved. She got to her knees. That'd been enough to motivate her to get her ass moving. She was pitiful.

She placed one foot in front of the other and stood at her full height. Her joints ached and her body screamed to rest. But she was almost there. She had to be close. She took one step and then another.

Again, the sound of a growl echoed around the forest and she knew she hadn't imagined it. She froze. Was this wolf friendly? Surely they wouldn't kill her?

"Hello?" she called, though it was probably only a whisper. She'd long lost her voice after screaming and begging for them to stop. At least they'd spared her life.

A huge wolf stepped out of the trees and growled at her. This was how she'd die. Taken down by one of her kind when she was defenseless. What a cruel way to go. Why did she deserve this?

Giving up, she collapsed back to the ground on her knees, her legs tucked under her. She threw her hands out to the side and closed her eyes. She could hear the wolf approaching her and wondered who it was. The scent was familiar, but yet the identity escaped her.

Then a voice shattered the silence. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

She knew immediately who it was. "I'm passing through."

"Like hell you are. You failed us. Now you must answer to the pack."

"Please, just let me go."

"You sealed your fate."

A distant voice called out. "What is it?"

"Come here, you're never going to believe who stumbled onto our land."

"Who?" another man joined the first.

"Just take a look."

The first man moved to the side, leaving her to be seen. The second man growled. She sighed and looked up into Baylor's eyes.

"Do your worst."

"Awe, honey, you ain't seen nothing yet. I think I'll turn you over to Andreas. He'll like you."

The second man stepped forward.

"Hello Nick," she sighed.

"Welcome home Deziree."

A/N

OMG! That ending left sooo many things open! Michael and Harmony are due a story, but that will be after I finish Abeline's! I get distracted too easily when I have a lot of stories going on at once! But damn! Deziree is back and now being taken back to Baylor's pack! I have high hopes for her :)

Everything that I mentioned here will be explained or explored later on! Don't worry :) And Drats that Andreas isn't dead!

Hope you enjoyed this long journey with me! Let me know your last thoughts and help motivate me to get writing in Ranger and Abeline's story!

Midnight