Page 95 of We Will Rise

“Camilla, when you came into our lives, we thought we knew what happiness was. We thought we had it all figured out. But we were so wrong,” Bishop starts.

“And then you showed us what it meant to really live,” Kaos adds. “And little by little, we became better versions of ourselves.”

“You settled the beast inside me and gave me purpose other than making people bleed.” Kovu reaches out and brushes a stray tear from my cheek.

“I thought I knew what love was, Camilla, and I promised myself I would never fall again because it hurt so much to lose it. But when I held you as you said goodbye to me, I realized something. Love can hurt. It can tear your heart out and stomp on it. But in just a few short months, you had given us something we never had before. A life. Peace. Happiness.”

Tears drip down my cheeks, and I cover my mouth to catch the sob that threatens to escape my throat. This isn’t real. It can’t be real.

“Will you marry us, Camilla? Will you spend the rest of your life with us and fill our home with love and laughter and kids?” Crew’s smile is brighter than I think I’ve ever seen it, and I find myself nodding before I can think to form the words.

Because of course I’ll marry them.

Of course I’ll spend the rest of my life with them.

“Yes,” I sob. “Yes.”

They descend on me all at once, their huge bodies wrapping me up in theirs in the middle of Crew’s office floor, as they each murmur promises to me, and I know they’ll deliver on every single one.

Especially the filthy ones.

The ring finds its way onto my finger, and although it feels foreign, it also feels right. Everything about life right now feels like it’s exactly as it should be.

“Quick question?” I say through my tears. “How does one marry four men?”

“Bribe a priest,” Kovu answers immediately.

“And the city clerk,” Kaos adds.

Crew shakes his head as he presses a kiss to my forehead. “We’ll have a ceremony for all four of us, but legally you’ll marry just one of us.”

My face falls as I look at each of them. “I don’t want to choose between you.”

“You won’t have to, love,” Bishop assures me. “We’ve already decided because we knew you wouldn’t want to.”

“Oh.” I let out a breath. “So who will I legally be married to?”

“Kovu,” Crew answers with a smile, and my chest tightens as I look up at my scarred man. His wild blue eyes shine with happiness, a world away from the first time I ever stared into them.

“Okay, so when are we getting hitched?” I ask.

I don’t care that our lives won’t be conventional or what people will think of our relationship.

All I care about is starting the rest of our lives as soon as possible.

Together.

EPILOGUE

CAMILLA

The estate is covered in a thick layer of snow, and I can’t help but spend any free time I have as I prepare for our first Christmas together sitting in the bedroom window staring at the white that blankets the usually green landscaping.

We moved into the estate a few months ago, and it kind of feels like we’ve always been here. The move was seamless, and even though when I came back here on my own to distance myself from the guys all those months ago, I thought this place didn’t feel like home anymore, I realized it wasn’t the house that was the problem.

It was the absence of my men.

Because it’s not a building that makes a home, it’s the people that reside within it.

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