Page 86 of Saviour

I guess everything comes full circle.

We finally approach the edge of the lake and Dax holds a hand out, leading me onto the platform, squeezing my hand tightly in his. I shake in nerves and he reaches up to wipe the tears from my cheeks.

The officiant stands on the bank, so it’s just me and Dax on the platform, and I honestly don’t hear a word he says because I’m focusing on Dax and only Dax. His eyes shine with love and adoration, and I know mine reflect it.

“Aurora, your vows,” the officiant says and without breaking the spell between us, I clear my throat and squeeze his hands.

“Love was a concept I never understood. I’d heard about it, but I’d never seen or felt it. I believed it was out there, but only certain people were lucky to find it. I never had a purpose in life. I was made to run. I was made to hide. I was made to be scared and untrustworthy and lost. But now”—I take a deep breath in—“I understand love. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. And I am one of those lucky people to have found it. And I now have a purpose. I was made to run by your side. I was made to stay. I was made to feel beautiful, accepted, and found. I was made to love you, Dax Rhivers.”

His eyes shimmer and I brush my thumb under his eye before a tear can fall. He holds my hand to his cheek before bringing it to his lips. He lowers our hands, squeezing tightly, then recites his vows.

“A swan is grace. Loyalty. Beauty. Love. Everything that my Birdie is. A wolf is strong, devoted, and powerful. Everything that I was. But without you, Rori, I’d be weak, alone, and empty. I can’t exist without you. So I’m no longer your predator but your equal. I had all intents and purposes to be your saviour. But instead, you saved me.”

The tears fall freely and I laugh a little, knowing exactly what he means.

“Are you ready to be mine forever, Aurora Shaw?” Dax asks, a smile spread across his face.

“Only if you call me Aurora Rhivers.”

Dax lifts me off my feet and kisses me hard, our tears falling together, and I’ve never felt happier in my whole life.

Nine years later

“King, if you drop my son, I will put a bullet through your skull,” Rori says from across the room as King throws Wolf into the air. I pull Rori under my arm and walk her closer to King and Theo, who are fussing over their nephew.

King technically isn’t Wolf’s uncle, but none of us have siblings alive to have that title, and King loves Wolf like an uncle would love his nephew. And Theo is smitten with him too. She’s been begging King for months to have a baby and finally, they announced their pregnancy a few weeks ago. Rori is ecstatic that Wolf will have a little cousin to play with.

It took Rori years to become pregnant. We thought at first there was something wrong. We both got checked, but there were no obvious signs of anything. The doctor said because of the stress and upbringing we’d both endured, it could just be Rori’s body saying it’s not ready yet. We gave ourselves another year of trying before we were going to look at different options. Then a few months after that, she fell pregnant, and nearly three years later, Wolf is in his terrible twos stage and causing havoc left, right, and centre.

King rolls his eyes and puts Wolf down, and he runs out, shaking his blond wavy hair out of his eyes, howling as he goes. He loves his name and wolves have become a new obsession of his. As soon as we found out it was a boy, Rori was adamant about naming him Wolf. And I couldn’t disagree. It was fitting.

The past nine years have passed by in bliss.

We shut down the prison, released most of the men in there because they were innocent to begin with, and the others were either already taken care of, or we saw to it. And that includes Edison Ramon. He only lasted eight months there.

It wasn’t a business that we needed to keep, especially after it brought us so much pain.

Me, King, Rori, and Theo have been running all Three Districts in perfect harmony and life has never been better.

We’re on the patio outside when two guards come around the corner, a girl in their clutches, writhing and trying to get out of them. She’s got thick, black, long hair, a curvy waist and from what I can see of her skin, she’s covered in tattoos. She wears black ripped denim shorts and a plain black top with ridiculously high heels.

She gets closer and when I look at her face, I realise she’s young, no older than eighteen maybe.

She stops fighting the guards when she sees us and she lets them walk her towards us, stopping in front.

“She stood at the gate, demanding to be let in. Says she has an important message for you,” one guard says.

I look between her and King, and he does the same.

“Who are you?” he asks. With Rori on my left and King and Theo on my right, we assess the girl in front of us and after looking at King for an exceptionally long time, she trails her gaze over all of us before opening her mouth.

“My name is Raina Beaumont,” she says in a raspy voice, but the name doesn’t ring a bell. “You don’t know me. But I know you and I’ve come to warn you.”

The whole thing is weirdly suspicious and I can’t make out her angle.

“Warn us about what?” I ask and she moves her eyes across all of us again before speaking.

“There’s someone coming for you. All of you,” she says, then trains her eyes on King. “Especiallyyou.”

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