Page 189 of Fall into Savagery

And I realized with complete clarity that I would be happy for the rest of my life, as long as all these people were by my side.

Ten Years Later -Catalina

I sat on the porch,drinking tea and waiting for my men to come home.

It was early evening. Still light outside.

Though I still worried whenever they left for ‘business’ trips, things were much more bearable now.

I knew there would always be a time when they would leave me, but they would also take every precaution possible to come back home to me, no matter what.

So, I waited for them.

And I always would.

Charlie, my small, grumpy British Shorthair cat, came out in my line of sight.

The vet estimated him to be eight years old when Nikolay found him in the woods close to our house. Now at thirteen, he was a permanent member of my little family.

He slowly walked over to me, purring as he moved between my legs, and finally jumped on my lap.

I petted him behind his ear gently.

“They’ll be home soon,” I said to Charlie.

He offered me a small purr in agreement.

I smiled and rubbed his full belly when he showed it to me, my gaze directed to the big oak tree on the edge of the property.

I planted that tree when we first moved in, and though it hadn’t reached full maturity yet, it was getting there.

So many things had changed.

I was no longer that little girl being weighed down by all the depravity, the vengeance,the savageryof men in my life.

Instead, I had three powerful monsters to call my own.

Things were peaceful, for once.

All the wars, the battles my men had been in, were won.

They now controlled the Eastern portion of the US and part of the South. They had a long-standing partnership with Gabriel. They had connections and backing worldwide.

They were also working with my dad and making their way across the Canadian border.

They were powerful men.

And they were coming back home to me.

The sun was just setting when a black car pulled up.

I looked back down at my cat.

Charlie was already on the verge of falling asleep.

Carefully, I set him on the chair beside me and stood near the porch railing.

I watched as my men got out of the car, laughing about something one of them had said.

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