Page 83 of Freed Wolfsbane

Xander steps up against my back, his arms wrapping gently around my front. “We know what the doctor said, but you just had a chunk of your soul ripped out. We’re going to worry about you for a while, sweetheart.”

Leaning back into his hard chest, I enjoy their embrace for a long moment.

“Are you kids ready to get back?” Vale asks, interrupting the moment.

I look over at him with his one arm that isn’t in a sling wrapped around Abbie. Giving him a genuine smile, I nod. “Yeah, I’m good to go in. I promised Ava and Annabel we could bake cookies for everyone still recovering once we were through here, so I bet they’re getting antsy.”

Ava has taken Annabel under her wing as an honorary little sister, and it warms my heart to see how much they’ve already grown to love each other. It’s like Ava was made to be a big sister with how great she is with Annabel, and I know the extra love is helping Annabel recover from what happened at the facility a little more each day, for which I am so grateful.

Every time I see Vale, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude that he and my mates are still here. Rhys, the other alphas, and most of our forces escaped the confrontation with their lives, but we still lost a lot of great men and women that day.

Pulling out of Malachi’s and Xander’s arms, I start walking toward the house. Bastian catches up with me in no time and snags my hand. “So, what kinda cookies are we baking today?”

I laugh because he and the rest of my mates won’t be doing much baking. Ava and Annabel are both very particular about who they allow to help in the kitchen. My mates will do plenty of taste testing, though.

“What’s this I hear about cookies?” Rory asks excitedly as she bounds over to give me a side hug. Ronan offers me a small smile as he walks on Rory’s other side.

“Ava, Annabel, and I are baking some sort of cookies. The type is undetermined, but I’m sure they’ll tell me when we get in there.”

“Oh, fuck yeah. I love your guys’ baking, so I volunteer myself for the cookie quality assurance team.”

I snort. “I’m not sure how many taste testers we need, Ror.”

She gives me a put-out look before sprinting back toward the house. She calls over her shoulder, “Early bird gets the cookie. See you losers later!” She and Ronan quickly disappear over the grassy hill in front of us, and I can’t help my smile at her antics.

Saint takes my other hand now that Rory’s gone. He gives me a comforting squeeze and a reassuring smile. “How you doin’, little shadow?”

“I’m okay,” I tell him, and for the first time in a while, I actually mean it. Sure, my heart is battered and bruised right now, but we destroyed the curse, killed a ton of Knights and their leadership, put a serious dent in their operations, and allowed female wolves to shift.

My whole life has been ruled by the prophecy. Now that I fulfilled it, my future is up to me, which is simultaneously terrifying and exciting. I know I can handle whatever life throws at me, though, with Malachi, Xander, Bastian, and Saint by my side, plus the support of my family and newfound friends.

EPILOGUE

BRIAR

THREE YEARS LATER

“Don’t trip,” I mutter under my breath as I balance precariously on the ridiculous heels Rory talked me into wearing. “Only a few more steps to go. Don’t fail me now, balance.”

I hear Rory’s muffled laughter behind me, so I must not have been as quiet as I thought I was. Before I can turn around to glare at her, a voice booms, “Briar Ward-Wylder.”

With my heart in my throat, I carefully climb the five steps to the temporary stage set up in the gym. When I make it to the top without falling, I have to resist the urge to fist pump. Instead, I walk as gracefully as I can over to the dean. He hands me my diploma and shakes my hand.

Almost deafening cheers sound from the audience and from Rory and Ronan behind me. I can’t help the giant grin on my face as I look out over my very own fan section. I’m pretty sure my mates and Ava are the ones screaming the loudest, but Vale, Abbie, the Wards, Annabel and her family, Rhys and some other mages, and a whole bunch of people from the pack are whooping and hollering along with them.

I know my face is bright red from being the center of attention, but all the support means the world to me. I never thought I would even get the chance to graduate college, much less have so many people cheering for me when I did. While I have more school before I’ll be an architect, I’m still so proud I reached this milestone.

With my diploma in hand, I walk off the stage and make my way back to my seat. I scream for Rory and Ronan when they walk until my voice goes hoarse. For the rest of graduation, I smile so much my cheeks hurt.

When the ceremony ends, I hop up, more than ready to be out of this crowded gym. Before I can get more than a few steps into the aisle, my mates surround me. Malachi grabs me by my waist and lifts me up. I wrap my arms and legs around him and absorb his campfire scent. Thanks to my shorts under my light blue gradation dress, I don’t have to worry about flashing anyone.

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” Malachi rumbles in my ear as he crushes me against his chest.

This is Malachi, Xander, and Bastian’s last year at Wolves Hollow University, too. Bastian’s been ready for beta training for a while, but none of the Wyldharts wanted to leave me at school alone. Not that there was any threat to me, at least not since we destroyed the curse.

The Knights have still been causing problems for supernaturals sporadically, but they haven’t been nearly as organized since we killed Ryker. Hopefully, the rest of the group will continue to crumble and cease to exist one of these days.

Along with the Wyldharts, Saint is also starting a new job. After doing freelance work for different mage intelligence operations for years, he’s decided to open his own, specifically focused on finding and rescuing missing people. He’s equal parts nervous and excited about the new venture, but I know he’s going to be awesome at it.

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