Page 165 of Cost of Courting

“Are you happy?”

“Here, doing this? Yes. When Charles started teaching me, it felt right. I was good at it. I thrive here. Are you sure you’re all right with me doing it?”

“Of course! This is what makes you happy, Bailey. I just want you to be the happiest version of you.”

“I am the happiest.” His fingers strum over my exposed back. “What about you? Is this your happiest?”

I think about our lives together and lean back so he can see my eyes.

“Bailey Raines, this is the happiest version of me, and I want you to know something really important.”

“What’s that?”

“I love you.”

He grins. “Oh, crazy girl, I know that.”

I tilt my head to the side. “You calling me that, too, now?”

“Well, I am one of Pack Dread’s alphas, aren’t I?”

I smirk and lay my cheek on his chest.

“You are. You are one of my alphas.”

Chapter forty-four

Epilogue Selene

One Year Later

Once upon a time, I had a mother, but she died.

I’m still not sure if my dad did it or not, but the point is that she’s gone.

I grew up, and I never expected to have a family again. I thought once you lost one, you didn’t get a chance with another.

But August Raines is a force of nature. She sits down, holding my hand, and, somehow, I word vomit my entire history onto her. This amazing beta just hugs me hard enough to make my bones ache. She feels like a mum.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise. You’re home now.”

The words stop me dead. My eyes prickle, I can’t breathe, and then, I suddenly can.

I hug her back just as tight. Maybe if something in me doesn’t heal, it starts to mend, just a little.

Charles, Wayne, and Sol charge out, ready to fight anyone and everyone. I look at them and hope that my alphas will still love me that much when we’re that old.

“You’re a Raines now, Selene. It’s a life membership. You’ll be stuck with us for a long time to come,” Charles says with a small smile.

“Don’t scare her!” Sol laughs. “Truly, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

Wayne laughs and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“We want you to come visit the farm. You can bring any kids or people who need to getaway.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t-”

“That’s what the farm is for, Selene, respite from the world. So if you know someone who needs it, please take it. It’s your home, too, now.”

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