“I love you.”
She gasps, making that pleasure sound I know oh-so-well.
My wolfish instinct flares, howling, as I kiss her again.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
Ruby
I sit on the porch with Samantha in my arms, rocking her softly back and forth.
Samantha was my grandmother’s name; Mom told me. Her mother died when Mom was only a teenager. I remember how Mom’s eyes watered when I told her, and then how she beamed when she finally met her granddaughter.
Mom sits across from me in a flowing summer dress.
She’s fuller than she was even at the wedding, five months ago. She’s been going to therapy and doing her exercises, and now she’s working part-time at a florist, and she’s talking about possibly studying something at college.
She catches me looking and returns my smile.
“What?” she asks.
“Just you, Mom. I’m so happy.”
Mom smiles, her whole face lighting up.
Life’s only gotten better since the showdown at the barn. Liam and Ramsey were able to clean up the mess, even going so far as to anonymously offer to rebuild the farm owner’s barn, which was enough to keep him quiet.
None of the hunters have returned.
To be safe, we moved apartments a month after we discovered I was pregnant, but there’s been no sign of danger. And, of course, we have our place out here.
They’re staying away.
For now, a nasty voice hisses but will be ready if they ever come back.
“I’m proud of you,” Mom says. “You’re going to be an incredible nurse.”
A smile touches my lips as the sun blazes down at us, as though reminding us of how far we’ve come.
“One day,” I say. “I hope so.”
“I know you will.”
I smile, looking down at Samantha, shaded from the sun by the umbrella I sit beneath. She sleeps most peacefully in the shade, her eyes closed, with hints of Ramsey in her soft smile. I stare down at her and feel the love bursting out of me, so much it’s difficult to believe, so much I sometimes cry to release some of it.
It was the same on our wedding day, walking down the aisle.
I didn’t feel silly with Mom doing it. In fact, I think it made it even more special.
My man stood at the altar, looking dashing in his suit, his eyes giving away a flare of red before he behaved and controlled himself.
“I wonder how far he’s gone,” Mom says.
We moved out into the countryside, Mom living down the road in the nearby town. It’s only an hour’s drive into the city, where we also have our apartment. We still stay there sometimes, but it feels so much more peaceful out here. It’s incredible that we even have the freaking option to choose where to stay, the incredible luxury of it.
“I’m so glad he’s gone,” Mom says.