Page 71 of Wolf's Claimed Mate
Declan shrugged. “I was sixteen; it was the worst thing I could think of quickly where I wouldn’t get myself into too much trouble.”
I snorted and shook my head.
“When I’m better,” Declan said, “You know, after my wolf mauling—” I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to punch you so hard,and then we’ll be even.” He opened his eyes, tilting his head to look at me. “You messed me up good, big brother.”
They weren’t words a brother wanted to hear, but I accepted that I needed to hear them.
“I won’t even block the blow,” I promised.
“Damn right you won’t.” He paused. “Oh, I should probably warn you. Aidan’s going to chew you out. I finally told him what happened between us. He kept demanding to know, and I have never told him until now. He’s pretty big on family, so he’s sort of pissed, you know, as the leader of the pack I’m part of.”
“Yeah, yeah, stop rubbing it in what I did wrong.”
“Hey, can I ask you about Sasha? Are you two, like,togethertogether? There’s talking going ‘round the packs. Some people keep saying you two are keeping up thenothing between usline. Others are saying you’re together.”
“Why’d you ask?”
“Just want to know if I should get you matching couple pajamas for Christmas or not.”
I couldn’t help the burst of laughter at that. I patted the hospital sheet. “Yeah, why not? It’ll make Sasha’s day.”
I could guarantee she’d both love and hate it, but I didn’t tell him that.
Instead, I stood up. “Rest up, okay? We have a lot of ground to cover. I want to work to get us back to being proper brothers who don’t want to kill each other. Kind of ironic we’ve been like that, and yet it was you nearly dying that’s brought us back together.”
Tiredly, he nodded. “And Conall? I’m sorry for what I said about you and Sasha. It really was out of order. And for the comments I made about you being a beta. You’re not—you’re not any of what I said.”
I nodded, my jaw tight. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Now fuck off and let me rest, yeah?”
“‘Course.”
It was still slow going and stilted, but at least we weren’t launching threats at each other anymore. I ducked out of the hospital room and headed down the corridor, into the fresh air. I smiled, knowing everything was finally going to be okay. The threat of Kato’s pack had been truly eliminated. Theo and Lyna had hunted down some stragglers of the pack who hadn’t quite made it to Palmetto. Graham’s son had been stripped of any title, inheritance, or respect in the town, shunned, and offered either a sacrifice of giving up his future seat on the council for good or leaving town altogether. He opted to leave town, carrying the weight of knowing he’d sided with a pack trying to take over Silverlake Valley.
As for Fenrys and his mom, Mayoress Randon was stepping down tonight.
My phone pinged with a picture of Sasha in a gorgeous green satin floor-length gown.
Guess what I’m wearing underneath ;)
I didn’t guess. I drove like hell to her apartment instead.
Epilogue - Sasha
The holidays rolled around with a renewed sense of festivity now that the threat of the enemy pack had been eliminated. The scene in Palmetto had been cleared thanks to an arrangement between its mayor and Fenrys. Everything was done under the table, discreetly and quickly.
Two packs piled into Fenrys’s house on Christmas, and we all sat around an obnoxious tree. The recently retired Mayoress Randon sat in an armchair, holding Reina on her lap, as she helped her granddaughter with a light-up book Conall and I had bought her.
In another week, Fenrys was set to make his first speech as Mayor of Silverlake Valley, with Thalia and Reina at his side.
It meant Conall would be stepping up to help with the pack a lot more, and I liked that for him. I snuggled further into his side.
“I think the red looks good on you,” I whispered.
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “I didn’t think he’dactuallydo it.”
Conall glared at his brother from across the room. Declan and Jason unwrapped more gifts, Declan sneaking glances at us and sniggering. He’d actually bought us the matching red festive-themed pajamas he’d apparently hinted to Conall about during his hospital recovery. I was on the fence about my thoughts on them. I hated that we matched—part of me still hadn’t adjusted to that part of being a couple, constantly being linked—but the other part, the softer part of me, craved the sentimentality that I’d always longed for, until I buried my softer wants underneath so much stubborn need for pride.
