Unclaimed

Epilogue

Three weeks later...

I walked around the garden with Darlene as she showed me all the things they'd put into it for the winter to make sure everything would go smoothly for the coming season. Darlene had become my official advisor, after I was announced as Luna. She and I worked together everyday to go through the different factions of the pack and learn new things.

The garden had been the last one we learned, and I was almost finished. I'd also been introduced, individually to every member of the pack and spoken to most of them for at least half an hour. They were all easy to speak to and incredibly supportive of my position as Luna.

Most of the older ones expressed wide-eyed wonder at the news that we were Fated mates. They hadn't heard of one for a couple of generations, and they seemed to love me a little extra for it.

Peter waved at me from the garden, where he'd been working as part of his therapy, and I waved back. Peter had spent the first week of intense therapy going every day, and had spent the week after seeking Darlene and I out to apologize every day. We finally pulled him into a group hug and told him he was forgiven and he seemed to settle after that.

He'd decided to put off dating until he 'graduated' from therapy or at least made significant progress that was noted by his therapist. He wanted to make sure when he found the love of his life he wouldn't have to worry about losing control of himself.

Elliott appeared beside me and smiled. "Hey, Luna. Ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Darlene."

"See ya, Luna."

Elliott and I walked together back to the Alpha House so I could get ready for the party. The full moon had led to conversations about more frequent celebrations to keep everyone entertained as the colder months made things less accessible.

Elliott's eyes went wide as he gripped my hand and turned to face me just inside the back door. "Charli."

"What?"

"You're…" He squinted and stared at me. He turned back to look for the other Deltas and locked eyes with George. They must have had some epic kind of nonverbal communication because George suddenly became serious and parted the crowd to get to us. 

I gripped Elliott's elbow and pulled him closer to me. "What's wrong?" 

"George, listen," Elliott said as George approached. I waited for him to finish his sentence. To tell George what he wanted to tell him, but it wasn't a story, it was a command. Listen. But listen to what? I closed my eyes and tried to focus on everything around us. I hated being kept in the dark. 

George's fingers brushed against my belly and I looked down. Goosebumps rose on my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could hear it too, just then. Very faintly, almost imperceptibly quiet, there was a tiny heartbeat in my belly that wasn't mine. 

"Holy shit," I whispered. "Where's Grady? Don't tell him just yet."

"What?" They both said at the same time. 

"What the fuck are you talking about?" George said. 

At the same time, Elliott said, "You have to tell him."

The Deltas were stressing me which was sending out signals to the other Deltas which made them appear. As the others circled around me, my anxiety shot up, just before they all put their hands on me, and then they all gasped. The synchronicity of it all was making me insane by itself, but their voices tumbling over each other was the worst. 

"Shh! Would you all shut the fuck up! You're going to-"

"Baby, what's going on?" 

I closed my eyes as I turned around and pressed myself into his arms. I didn't need to see to find him. "We have news," I whispered into his ear. I had no idea whether it would feel like good or bad news. In our hormonal craze we'd both agreed to it, but would he still feel the same way?

"What is it?"

I pulled his hand down to my belly and whispered, "listen. Do you hear it?" 

His mouth hung open as he stared at me and held onto my flat belly. "The heartbeat- I hear it. We did it?" A smile spread across his face as he pulled me into his arms again. "Oh, Charli. Thank you, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For loving me, for being here. For being you." He lifted me and pushed me onto a counter in the kitchen, then kissed me tenderly. "Thank you for being mine and for fighting to overcome your fears. I love you. I love you so much."

"So, we're having a baby?" George asked from beside us.

I giggled happily as my hand rested between Grady's shoulder blades. "We are. You're all going to lose your minds, aren't you?"

"I already am," Elliott mumbled. "I was the first one to hear it. Im so proud of myself right now."

We all laughed with the youngest Delta as he told the story of how he'd noticed I was carrying an extra heartbeat even before Grady or I noticed. Darlene and Mark joined us in the kitchen at some point, and Darlene stole me away from Grady's arms to hug me.

"Congratulations," Darlene whispered. "We're planning on trying for a baby, too. Maybe we'll have them close."

I gasped and pulled back to look at her to make sure she wasn't lying. "Really? What if we have little best friends?"

Darlene smiled and I watched Mark and Grady hug over her shoulder.

"I had no idea it would be like this," I breathed, more to myself than to Darlene. "I thought I would be lonely. I didn't know it was going to be the opposite."

Darlene turned to watch the men with me, as they all talked. She put one arm around my back and pulled me closer. "It's always like this. We're a family."

"A family- Where's Grandma?"

"I'm right here," her voice said from behind me. "I was just watching from back here."

I wrapped my arms around her neck. "You're family. You're part of this, too. Don't hide in the shadows."

Tears appeared in her eyes."I'm going to have a great-grandbaby?"

"Yeah." I smiled at her, trying to hold back the tears that welled up in my own eyes. "You'll be Great-Grandma."

"Grandma!" Grady called as he rushed towards us. He wrapped his arms around both of us and squeezed. "The two most important women in my life." He kissed her cheek, then mine. "I love you."