Page 228 of The Delta's Rogue
“Make sure he knows his Grandpa Harrison loves him too, okay?
“Love, Dad.”
By the end of the letter, we’re all openly weeping. Before, it was varying degrees of tears and sniffles, but now, it’s a dissonant symphony of sobs.
It’s raw, and it’s beautiful, and it’s…also kind of hilarious.
I don’t know who starts it, but one moment we’re all bawling, and the next everyone is laughing. Even Maddie. We’re still crying. There are still tears flooding our faces and sobs interspersed between the laughter, but our sorrow mixes with our joy.
Wesley pockets his letter and takes Dylan from Haven before wrapping his arm around her.
“You may have noticed we didn’t give Dylan a middle name when he was born,” Haven says as our laughter fades. “We couldn’t agree on one. We scoured books and websites, trying to find the perfect middle name for him, but…” She shrugs. “Nothing felt right.”
“After everything, after the battle… Haven came to me with a suggestion. An absolutely perfect suggestion.” They smile at each other, and then Wesley props Dylan up a little higher so we can all see his fiery red curls and his tiny button nose. Wesley stares at him with pure love and pride. “So, in honor and in memory of our father and former alpha, Harrison Samuel Stone, we’d like to officially reintroduce everyone to our son, the future alpha of Crescent Lake, Dylan Samuel Kenway-Stone.”
As he finishes speaking, he glances at Mom. She covers her mouth with her hand and nods, sobbing her heart out once more. Haven retrieves Dylan from Wesley as he strolls to me. Mom wraps both of them in a hug before cooing over Dylan.
“Did you know?” Wesley asks me. “That they weren’t fated mates?”
“Yes,” I say.
“He told you?”
“I figured it out.”
“Did anyone else know?” he asks.
“I did,” Nolan admits. His eyes linger on Cassandra, who talks quietly to Maddie while scratching Cav behind the ears. “After Kimberly rejected me, he told me. That’s why he helped me find Cassandra’s ring.”
As if on cue, Cassandra tucks her hair behind her ear, and the sun glints off the daisy-shaped ring on her left hand.
“I wish he would have told me,” Wes murmurs.
“Would it have made a difference?” Reid asks.
Wes doesn’t answer him. He doesn’t need to. We all know the answer to that question.
Nolan and Reid join their mates. As Wesley and I stand in solitary silence, a soft, unearthly breeze slips between us, and we both turn at the same time.
Selene waits nearby, in her usual white gown.
We meet her halfway. Wesley folds his arms, and I shove my hands in my pockets.
“I wanted to pay my respects,” she whispers.
Two pairs of lighter footsteps join us, and Sarina slips under my arm while Haven approaches Selene, with Dylan in her arms.
“With Zeus gone…” Haven stares at the top of Dylan’s head, playing with his hair and avoiding Selene’s eyes. “Does that mean you’re no longer forbidden from visiting the mortal realm?”
Selene caresses Dylan’s nose, then gives him her finger to grip onto. “I’m not sure,” she says to Haven. “But I don’t care. I will visit as much—or as little—as you’d like me to.”
Haven breaks into a grin and hugs Selene.
I turn us away from them, to join the others in the small clearing so the four of them can have a moment alone.
Sarina stops me before we reach them, taking my face in her hands. “How are you?” She strokes my cheek with her thumb.
“Right now, I’m okay. I’m sure there will be days when I’m not.” Just like there will be for her. I encircle her scarred wrists with my hand and kiss her palm. “And you? How are you?”
