Page 98 of V for Vilified
“Oh, it will.” My lips twitched as I leaned back and let the massive Fae god hold me exactly the way he wanted to. “But make sure I’m there just in case. I wouldn’t want anything to get lost in translation.”
Aram beamed a cute smile at me that didn’t fit his whole big and bad vibe. “That’s very kind of you, little mate.”
Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh.
“It’s really not,” I said, choking on a giggle.
Our conversation naturally flowed after that. I didn’t expect it at all. Aram was a fascinating character, and what he knew about my world still caught me off guard. Turned out, he was rather obsessed with the human way of living. The idea of assimilating to this life was actually a point of excitement for him. He’d never lived outside of his realm. He’d never been just another person in the crowd, and he looked forward to it.
Guess he and I had that in common. I’d pined for a normal life, and this was the first real taste I’d had of it since finding out I was a genetic monster. Just a movie sesh and a big dude with pretty eyes and kissable lips.
Funniest part was that Aram was right. Our night together did change everything between us.
Eight hours and a series binge of Wednesday later, who he argued was an absolute genius in all matters of love and revenge—I couldn’t tell him that she was a bona fide psychopath—I saw him differently. Aram proved he wanted more than my body; he wanted my time and companionship. I didn’t hate him. Might even like him. And maybe I wasn’t against having him around.
Maybe, just maybe, we could make this bond thing work.
Chapter 37
Epilogue
Three Months Later
True to his word, Aram assisted with the final push to overthrow the Organization. His brothers and their army raided every spot and ensured each hybrid was vetted before release. Unfortunately, not all of the ones we found were capable of living outside their facility walls. They’d need serious help with adjusting to life outside, but thankfully there were plenty who wanted to help on that objective alone. Our sort of reunification project.
Thanks to Donna, Lux’s sister, we destroyed the genetic trials they’d been running. Her knowledge helped us eliminate anything they kept on it so no one could pick up where the Organization left off. Experimentation ended with us. Her amends, she argued, for the part she played.
Donna was the reason Sloan and Phillip found me in the Fae realm. She’d more than proven herself. I never expected Grams to forgive her for the part she played in my parents’ death, so when she suggested we give Donna a significant role in the new operation we built, I couldn’t believe my ears.
Donna didn’t either.
She stared at the older Hunter like she’d grown another head and didn’t speak for nearly five minutes. It made sense, though.
None of us could blame Donna for what happened—she’d been as much a victim as my parents had been. Lux kept her children under lock and key, and she was only allowed to see them when she did what he wanted. But after being offered a place with us, her eyes misted over and she nodded a bit too enthusiastically, accepting the job right away.
It took nearly three months to root out the corruption everywhere the Organization touched and the individuals responsible for it, but we did it.
We finally did it.
All we had left was to keep tabs on any networks or supernaturals we’d missed, but without the Organization to lean on, they were more likely to lick their wounds and pivot to other things. Evil didn’t stop because we destroyed the Organization, so neither would we. Humans still needed protection, and we still had the means to do it.
My job as a Hunter was only just beginning, but it was the life I’d chosen.
Grams and Cash were in my kitchen, making total nuisances of themselves. Kate and Big were at the table, in a heated battle of Go Fish. Jo was curled up with a book, stealing glances at me every chance she got. Sloan and Phillip were trading saucy barbs over what the other liked in movie genres. Aram got between them, stole the remote, and then came to claim a seat next to me before anyone else could.
It was a rare night off.
“Once the food’s finished, it’s Netflix and Chill or out,” Aram announced.
The collective groan was because he’d refused to call our movie night anything else despite now knowing what it actually meant.
It was a memory that lived rent-free in my head. I’d even wrangled Cash into the first mention of it. Both he and Phillip were the victims of Aram’s misuse of the slang. Jo, Kate, and I were both delighted and incredibly satisfied by how the entire moment went down.
“It’s my night with V, you brute,” Cash complained from the kitchen, in another apron that I hadn’t bought myself. Pretty sure it was Sloan’s. Or maybe Grams’s.
Jo summoned me with a finger, and I went to her without thought. I was pulled into her lap and the gorgeous vixen dropped a peck on my cheek. “I remember it being my turn.”
Kate and Big had lost all interest in their all-in game of Go Fish amid the shenanigans.
