Page 109 of Knot the Last Chapter

“Let’s get you to the car,” Tyler says, one arm supporting me as we make our way through the murmuring crowd.

“Show’s over, folks!” Rhys calls with a bright grin, waving to the curious guests. “Time for the author to write her greatest chapter yet.”

Despite the contractions, I laugh.

It’s surreal. The bookstore, the applause, the book with my name on it—and now, the beginning of something even bigger.

We make it to the car, and as I settle into the backseat, flanked by Tyler and Rhys while Corwyn drives, I look down at my belly.

“Not just a launch,” I whisper. “A whole new story.”

And I know, with them beside me, it’s going to be the greatest one yet.

Chapter sixty-four

Epilogue: The Next Chapter

Lila

The hospital room is softly lit, the overhead lights dimmed and the curtains pulled back just enough to let in the glow of the early morning. Snow is falling outside in slow, lazy flakes, dusting the world in quiet.

Inside, it's anything but quiet.

Soft coos. Whispered voices. The rustle of blankets. The low, husky hum of Corwyn reading aloud from one of the children’s books he picked up from his shop.

I’m wrapped in a cocoon of warmth—both physical and emotional.

I rest against Tyler’s side, exhausted but floating. My legs are curled toward Rhys, who sits at the edge of the bed, one large hand curled gently around my ankle. Corwyn is across from him in a rocking chair, the baby cradled in his arms.

Our baby.

She’s so small. Perfect, too—dark hair that sticks up like a cowlick, long fingers that already know how to curl tight around mine. She made her entrance into the world just after midnight,with Rhys whispering encouragement against my temple, Tyler holding my hand like it was the only thing anchoring him, and Corwyn coaching me from the foot of the bed like a calm, focused general.

They were a mess, the three of them.

And they were perfect.

Tyler cried before I did. Rhys kept repeatingYou did it, you did it, you did itlike a mantra while he cut the cord. Corwyn took one look at her, let out the breath he’d been holding, and whispered,She’s going to change everything.

And she already has.

She’s nestled now in Corwyn’s arms, eyes closed, one fist by her cheek.

“I think she likes your voice,” Rhys murmurs to Corwyn.

“She has excellent taste,” Corwyn replies, glancing up at me with a smile that still steals my breath.

“Hey,” Tyler says softly, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “You okay?”

I nod. My throat is too full to speak for a moment. I look at all of them—my pack—and feel something so enormous it’s hard to hold inside my chest.

“I never imagined this,” I say finally, voice thick. “Not even in the wildest chapters I wrote.”

Tyler kisses my temple. “That’s because real love doesn’t follow outlines.”

Rhys chuckles. “Not without a few revisions.”

Corwyn, still watching the baby, adds, “The best endings are the ones you didn’t see coming.”

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