“Peggy,” I whisper, and I pull her into my arms. “There isn’t always a happy ending, love, and that’s all right. Sometimes, the best we can do is just give it our all. We all did our very best and we lost David.”
“Cameron, I’m scared.”
“Why?”
“There are more of these groups, aren’t there?”
I don’t want to tell her there are. I don’t want my mate to live in fear. I don’t want her to be scared. I can’t lie to her, though. We aren’t through the darkness yet. We still have a long way to go.
She’s my mate, though.
I can’t lie to her.
I know that no matter what happens next, Peggy is going to be by my side. She’s strong and determined, and brave as fuck. She’s not going to back down just because she’s afraid. No, that’s not Peggy. Peggy is the girl who’s going to look death in the face and then she’ll spit at him.
“There are more,” I tell her. “Thunderstorm destroyed the other facility. It was almost identical to the one we attacked.”
“So when Ellie said they were coming?” Peggy asks.
“She said that when she first broke into the facility to save David and Daisy, she saw a memo about Fablestone. It was just written on a piece of paper, but they had notes that made her think they’d found her base. They spotted her with Daisy before she could finish reading the memo. She ran, escaping, and that’s how she found you.”
Peggy shivers. “What happened next?”
“They caught her shortly after she gave you Daisy and returned her to the facility. They didn’t speak to her or any of the other shifters, but the scientists did administer medication that made shifting impossible.”
Peggy shakes her head. “Seriously? Those fuckers.” Then she pauses. “Even though we lost him, I’m glad Ellie got to see David again, one last time.”
“Me too,” I tell her.
It’s no consolation.
Not really.
But I’m glad my brother in law got to see his beautiful wife before he lost everything.
Chapter Seventeen
Peggy
One.
One second is all I need.
One second is all I’m asking for.
One second and my entire world can change.
That’s all it took for David to make the choice to save Cameron.
That’s all it took for me to decide to kick Cameron and steal Daisy at the stone tower.
That’s all it took for Cameron to save me from the wolf.
One second.
One second can change your future.
I’m snuggled on Henrietta’s couch between Ellie and Cameron. Daisy is asleep in the play pen and Mocha and Frappe are curled up in front of the fireplace. Henrietta and Luther, Cameron’s father, are asleep upstairs.