Page 285 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

Elias and Adrien had adopted Rowan at the end of last year, and he was still trying to find his spot with the kids. He was a quiet little guy who’d been through a lot. Thankfully, our kids were used to having a loud, big family and took to him quickly. We offered to help try to bring him out of his shell a little, so we told Adrien to join our after-school shenanigans.

As we watched our kids play, I sensed a mood shift in Bells. I looked over at her and noticed her fiddling with the dog tags around her neck. She still missed Adam like crazy. The research into the Forbidden Plane wasn’t going well, but she and Cade refused to give up.

“It’s his birthday today,” Bells whispered with a quiver to her lip, when she noticed me staring. I put my arm around her and hugged her tight.

“Want to go home, eat some ice cream and tell some stories? Chris got me snickerdoodle cookies sandwiches.”

Every one of our children knew about Adam. We made sure of it. They knew he was their cousin or sibling, but had to go away so he could get better. Bells showed them pictures and told them about him every so often, though, I knew it was still hard for her. I think in a lot of ways, Adam had saved her that year she was alone trying to juggle the world, and she was determined to save him back.

We all coped in our own way. Our traumas never quite left, they just got easier to deal with. But, we were Chantico’s children, and we don't break. We bent under the heat and stood back stronger. We evolve into something better.

Tezcatlipoca was still out there, and when he finally came for us, we were going to be ready. We had a lot of pain to reciprocate.

Epilogue Two

Adam

-Twenty Years Later-

The delicate clinking of metal against metal was the only thing I could hear, aside from paws hitting the hard ground.

Stop toying with him and let's get this over with,I growled at Axel, my wolf.

He huffed, but his speed increased, and we easily caught up to the wolf we'd been chasing. He jumped on the wolf, a ball of jumbled limbs as they tumbled together. It wasn’t long beforeshe submitted to us, and Axel retreated to let me deal with the rest.

“Shift,” I ordered. Somehow, despite not being born an alpha wolf, the woman obeyed. “When is the next meeting taking place?”

“Fuck off,” she spat, trying to fight my command.

“I’d love to, darling. I left my hat behind when I shifted. Where is the next meeting,” I growled, pushing the command further.

She fought it, but not successfully. They never could. Every wolf has a base desire to be part of a pack, to have someone to follow. For some reason, after I was taken from Mom, I didn’t become a rogue, making me the only wolf with an aura they felt the need to follow.

It didn’t make sense to me. I knew we were on our way to join another pack. Redmon Moon no longer existed. At the end, it was just her and me as a two-man pack, waiting to go to Cresent Moon. Somehow, my connection to a pack was still there, helping keep my wolf sane and strong. Vesta and I didn’t know if this was the reason why I could command other rogues.

In a realm of unhinged rogues and monsters, I was uncharted territory.

“Tomorrow. In the cave by the Thieves’ Thumb, at two,” she finally answered, hanging her head.

“That’s a good little rogue,” I cooed, making her spit at me, which I easily dodged. I bound her arms and legs, then picked her up and took her to the closest tree. I tied her against it and started walking away.

“Wait, wait. You can’t just leave me here, asshole! Come back. I’ll die!”

“I’m not letting you go so you can go tell the others I know about the meeting. I could kill you, but I don’t want to get my hands dirty today. It’s my birthday. You have a fightingchance this way. Figure out a way out of those bindings before a chimichanga comes and gets ya.”

“Chimi-What?”

“Chupacabra,” I corrected.

I’d never been able to call them by their real name. I wasn’t sure why. It always tickled the back of my brain.

“Look. It’s your birthday. Let me help you out? Let me go. I won’t tell anyone, and I’ll make you feel good,” she purred out, making Axel gag in the back of my head as she looked down at my naked body.

“You’re not my type, but thanks for the offer. Good luck with those binds. They’re spelled not to tear, so you’re going to have to get creative.”

I turned and shifted, running back to the spot where I started chasing her. I shifted back and pulled on my clothes, setting my Stetson back on my head.

Cade’s hat was old and a little frayed now. It was twenty years old, but I couldn’t part with it. Vesta had already fixed it once, when I was eleven. It was one of the few things I had left of my previous life.

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