Page 110 of Verses and Blooms
“She will,” he agreed. “Sara, too. I’ll use part of the settlement to set her up. She deserves peace.”
“I’ll help where you need me,” Rydell said. “But I’m opening a tattoo shop. That’s still the plan.”
“Wait, what tattoo shop?” Ares asked.
“We’ll tell you everything once you accept the job,” I teased.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Ares grinned. “Because… I already bought a house out there. Just in case it was a deal I couldn’t pass up.”
My eyes widened. “Youwhat?Tell us everything.”
“One second.” He dialed a number and put it on speaker.
“Aeron,” a deep voice answered. “I hope this means that you’ve considered our offer.”
“I have. Under one condition,” Ares said. “I’m bringing two new trainees with me.”
“The chief already filled me in and we arranged everything. It’s done. We’ll see you soon,” he said easily. “Take a month off first. Settle in. You all earned it.”
Ares laughed after he ended the call. “Did you hear that? A month off.”
“The chief’s still looking out for us,” I said softly.
“I knew I liked that man,” Ledger muttered. “A month sounds long, but it’ll fly by.”
“So,” I prompted. “Tell me about this pack house.”
Epilogue
Audrey
The sound of the ocean was one of my favorite things. The first day we arrived here in Crescent Bay, we stopped on the coast.
I can still remember that feeling of hope and excitement as we all piled out of the SUV and ran toward the water.
Ledger and Kane dove right in, while Rydell stood back, grinning from ear to ear.
Ansel and I held hands as we ran into the waves, just far enough to let them wash over our feet, screeching as we got splashed from every direction.
Caspian walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me tight before joining the others. Ares took out his phone, taking pictures of us all before pulling everyone in for one big selfie.
That picture now hangs over the mantle in our living room.
So much has changed in the past year.
Lilly and Sara were the first to join us out here. They moved in while we settled into town, one giant home filled with love.
Once the money hit our bank accounts, we started filling the house with furniture and decorations.
Next, came building Sarah’s place just a short walk away, so Lilly never had to be without her.
Paul joined us three months later, moving into the apartment above the shop we found. It was big enough that one day he could fit a pack of his own.
Kane was still positive he’d find one.
It also made it easy for Paul to help run the tea shop, which Kane quickly turned into a full café. There was a huge garden out back where he grew most of the herbs himself, and anything he couldn’t grow there, we kept in the greenhouse.
Ansel and I each had our own studios in between the tea shop and Rydell’s tattoo parlor. My room was soundproof, with perfect acoustics for my music. I could record songs anytime I wanted, now.
