Page 65 of Betrayed Kidnapped Mate

We continue walking around the cabin, looking at the little pieces of Percy that are here—a collection of leaves, lined up along the wall. A few tufts of golden hair that Percy must have kept from his last shift before the serum.

A board creaks under my foot, and I step back, before moving forward and putting weight on it again. It creaks once more, and I bounce a little.

“Aris,” I say as I crouch down and pull the door open. The rancid smell rolls out, and someone inside lets out a gasp.

Under the cabin, there are roughly two dozen humans staring up at us.

Despite the fact that they’re being held captive, they don’t look as bad as I would have thought, and as we help them out, they explain that Percy seemed to think he was rescuing them from something, feeding and watering them frequently. When he left and didn’t come back, they could ration the remaining water with the hopes that someone would come and find them.

“Bigby,” Lisa says, falling forward into a hug with me. I rub her back as she cries, her loud, heaving sobs echoing off the trees when we get everyone outside.

Ado took Percy back to the pack center when we told him what we had found. It wouldn’t be helpful for the humans or for Percy to see each other.

“Hey,” I say, giving her an encouraging pack. “Let’s get you home, huh?”

Epilogue - Bigby

“Take a deep breath, man,” Aris says, nudging me to the side.

“I’m trying,” I say, my heart absolutely pounding out of my chest. Of everything we’ve gone through together, this is the most nerve-wracking day of my life. It’s more important than any battle, any fight, any rogue alpha we’ve had to take out.

Rosa appears at the top of the hill, and my stomach drops to the ground.

Deep breath, Aris urges, as I struggle to breathe. Rosa turns the corner, taking Hector’s arm, and I can’t tear my eyes from her.

She’s a vision of beauty in her dress—a modified version of her mother’s dress, with more pearls sewn in to show her love of the ocean. Kaila and Araya are in the front, completely turned around in their seats, their empty baskets from throwing flowers at their feet. They giggle and gasp to themselves at the sight, murmuring about how beautiful she is.

And she is. The most beautiful woman I’ve seen in my entire life.

My heart palpates as she walks toward me slowly, steadfastly, like she always is in everything she does. The strongest, most intelligent woman I’ve ever known.

We’re on the lake. As far as I see it, it’s where everything started, and it’s the most beautiful option in Rosecreek for a ceremony. I can’t go for my morning run around the lake without thinking about heading to Aris’s for the first meeting about Rosa, or bringing Kaila here to swim for the first time. The lake was a core element in my reunion with my girls, and I know it’ll be a key player in our future, living here in Rosecreek.

“Bigby,” she had said, a few months before, “I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I would like to take your last name. Justine is from my father, and I don’t want to carry on that name, that tradition. Your family’s name is about kindness, it has a reputation here.”

“Are you saying that you want to marry me, Rosa?”

She’d hit my arm, but her face lit up, and I knew I had to plan a proposal to her. Given my tie to the human community, we decided to go with a more traditional human-esque wedding, with a few extra shifter traditions thrown in.

Rosa and I obviously decided to forgo the blood-bonding part of the ritual due to Kaila, and any future kids, but she was very excited about having a wedding. Araya and Kaila picked out the flower girl dresses together. We had Percy as our adorable ring bearer, with the adult Percy to assist.

Olivia stands in a pretty pink dress as Rosa’s maid of honor. Linnea and my sister are her other two, all waiting for Rosa to get to the arch.

Now, in her wedding dress, walking toward me confidently, her head held high, Rosa is impossibly radiant, her hair curled down her back, her veil pushed back so we can see her face. As per usual, her makeup is understated but elegant, and her smile is radiant.

My classic summer beauty.

When she comes to a stop in front of me, Aris has to remind me to breathe again, or I’m going to pass out here, in front of all these people.

In the front row, next to our flower girls, is Rosa’s mother, who is fanning herself, desperately trying not to cry. She decided to move to Rosecreek after learning of Amon’s passing, wanting to join a new pack and jumping at the chance to rekindle her relationship with her daughter and get to know her granddaughter.

My parents are next to her, holding hands and beaming at me, and Hector takes a seat with Rosa’s mother, standing in place of her father.

It’s a full house, with everyone from the pack, and in fact, pretty much everyone from Rosecreek, in attendance. Lisa made our cake and the other desserts. A local restaurant catered for the event, and the flowers are from Linnea’s friend and florist from the square.

I blink when Rosa winks, pulling me out of my trance. It’s hard to believe that after all these years, after all the strife and battling, I’m finally settling down with my girl and family, in the place where I grew up, with nothing but a bright future in front of me.

Hey, she projects, grinning at me.

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