"Well Hadrian, looks like it's done."
My father nodded and took a long sip of his beer as he eyed the stack of smoke in the distance. "Not quite, we still need to poof the rest of those rogues to the portal then destroy it."
"How do you destroy it?" Andrea asked as she sipped on some ice water while Jaxon pulled her back to lean against his chest, his hand moving to rest over her stomach.
"Fire," my father said. "They'll set it on fire."
"Fire like water cleanses all," my mother breathed out as Ethan pulled me to his side.
Evan was walking around with a pan of brownies in his hand, passing them out to Lander and Claire who gobbled them down while Lucas stole two for himself and Jane. Levi looked at him and shook his head. "Dammit Lander," he grumbled.
Eve just started laughing. "Come on Levi, it's fine," she giggled out.
Levi eyed her as she blushed under his gaze. "Eve?"
"Baby it's fine," she said while waving him off. "It's not going to kill him."
"Dammit Eve, are you high?" Levi put his beer down and held her face in both his hands. She looked at him seriously then broke out in laughter which just drew laughs from the rest of us.
"Have fun with that," Jaxon chuckled out before he took a sip of his beer.
I let out a long sigh and looked around, a smile on my face while my beast and I purred in contentment. Derek was drinking champagne from behind a DJ booth in the backyard of our pack house while Elliot mixed some tracks on a turn table he had set up. Dominic was laughing his ass off with Barrett, both of them eating brownies that just made my father groan at the sight.
Jake was getting some more beer from a keg while some Lusa warriors rolled more in as Caden opened up a bottle of wine behind the make shift bar in the corner of the yard that he had set up on a little plastic table–one of many scattered throughout our pack house that was crammed with wolves inside and out.
Deryl, Ajax, Fitz, and Bradon had a similar party at Ajax's place. Deryl, Ajax, Angeline, and Talia had poofed in for a bit at our party. Deryl joked that they wanted to steal a keg until they actually stole a keg to which Evan swore swift revenge.
Alex had left with Alister after the pack house, Aurelia's pack house, had burnt down. He went back to Anchorage to check on Steven and the other vampires at the coven house, before he was going to head to Vancouver to check on Derek's coven house.
I knew he had spoken with my father before he left. My father still wasn't a fan of Alex, but right now Alex and him were not trying to kill each other which was more than what we could have hoped for.
Penelope was running around with Lyle. They had found all the Girl Scout cookies which my father was more than impressed that they found. I guess it was some close guarded secret that Micah had. My father promised both of them next time they came to visit that he would help them 'locate and rescue' the cookies, which only made my mother laugh wildly. She told me later that she had a whole case Micah gave her that she was hiding from my father.
Cora was laughing with some of our females. Our females that took incredibly well to her, which made my heart swell for her. Remi was sitting next to Ryder, Ryder's arm around his shoulders, bullshitting back and forth with some of the other trackers while they drank margaritas that Remi made that were according to Ryder, 'the shizz Char.'
"So what's next?" Jaxon asked.
"Actual peaceful negotiations," my father chuckled out.
Levi barked out a laugh as well as he pulled Eve closer to him; Eve, who had this warm look on her face, like her whole body was turning into putty. "I wouldn't recommend killing anyone at the actual national council meeting, although that was the most entertaining meeting I've ever been too."
My father laughed while he and Levi clinked their beers together. Ethan just shook his head then eyed Levi. "So we'll really re-talk the treaty?"
"It needs to be done," Levi said. "This will all be for nothing if we can't do something that will actually maintain the peace of things."
"Agreed," Ethan breathed out. "Alex seems to be behaving."
My father nodded. "We'll see. I would rather not have to kill him but right now I still wouldn't mind doing it."
I bit back a smile as Lucas jogged up to us with Jane holding his hand. Levi eyed him up and down then shook his head. "Son, how many brownies did you and little Janey here have?"
"Dad come on! Mom said it was ok," Lucas said, throwing his hand's up as Eve's eyes widened.
Levi looked at Eve, a tiny smile twitching on his lips. "Little red, did you tell our son that it was alright for him to have those damn brownies?"
"Jesus Levi pull that stick out of your ass. He's twenty-nine! He's old enough to eat a damn pot brownie if he wants to!" Eve replied, winking at Lucas who just eyed me with a smug smile.
"Want one sis?"
"Nope," my father and I answered together.
I eyed my father who just shrugged. "Fine baby girl, but Ethan's taking care of you if you puke all over the floor."
"I'm not puking over the floor, because I don't want any but thank you Lucas," I replied while Ethan seemed to visibly relax behind me.
Levi just groaned as he eyed Eve. "No more brownies for you Eve."
"Lucas, I think some mountain air would do you good tomorrow," my father replied with a sly smile. "You too Jane."
"Be nice!" my mother said, smacking his chest before she looked at Lucas. "Go have a good time sweetie."
"Thanks, mama Willa," Lucas said with a salute before he pulled Jane out to the dance floor.
"I'm going to beat that boy's ass tomorrow," Levi said more of a statement of what was for sure coming. "And he's moving into his own damn house. You're right Eve, I'm tired of him eating my damn ice cream and stealing half my paper."
"You are not you ass," Eve chuckled out before she kissed the corner of Levi's mouth. "But I agree, not for the same reasons, but I agree" she murmured back, almost a purr that had Ethan setting his beer down on the table while my father laughed as Levi slightly blushed.
"Dance sunshine?"
"Please," I replied quickly, setting my wine down while Andrea rolled her eyes at Levi, and letting Ethan pull me out while Elliot switched the song to something slower.
Ethan spun me around and pulled me to him, my eyes catching my parents–both Levi and my father laughing with my mother and Eve over in a corner. Lander and Claire waved to us while David munched on a brownie. "You got to try these Char!" he called out.
I shook my head. "I'll pass!" I called back.
Ethan laughed as I leaned my head against his chest. It was over. I couldn't believe it was over. It was so surreal. The smell of the smoke still in the air reminded me that it was real, but still, I don't think it had really hit me yet.
"What are you thinking?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "I'm thinking about how I get to sleep at home tonight and how I get to wake up tomorrow to blobs and how I love you."
"I love you to sunshine," Ethan replied before he dipped down to kiss me. "And I liked the tongue thing. That was new. I am a little jealous I didn't think of it first."
"Thanks babe," I replied as I rested my chin on his chest so I could look up at him. "I can't believe you sat there that long without killing her."
Ethan barked out a laugh and nodded. "Me either. It was excruciating. She wanted me to be her bondmate! Can you believe that?! I mean, that insane piece of shit! Who the fuc–"
"Ethan!" I put my hand over his mouth while I laughed as he sighed. "She's dead baby, let's let her be dead and in the past."
She was dead. She and Hale were both gone. Their bones and bodies were found burnt past recognition after the house burned down. Our men watched it like a hawk, as did we. I refused to leave until I could see for my own eyes that she as actually dead. The minute I saw the life leave her as the flames tore away at her skin was the minute I felt like chains had been broken around me, like I had been freed.
Ethan dipped down to kiss me, lingering on my lips before he pulled away and kissed my forehead. I looked over to see Elliot and Derek waving at us from behind the booth, raising their glasses to us while Vincent twirled Dagny around. "Oh hello!" she said with a wave as Alice sat on her shoulder.
"Hey Dagny, and Alice, and Vincent," I replied with a smile.
"Great party!" Vincent called out.
"Yes lovely little time mate," Barrett said from the other side of us before he spun Evie around.
"Yes, fantastic time," Dominic said as he spun Susie around. "Although Susie is being a party pooper, she won't try the brownies."
I rolled my eyes and smiled at Susie. "I'm not either."
"See!" she said as Dominic groaned.
"Come on Char!"
"No Dom," I sang back as Lizzie and Bernard danced next to us, both laughing their asses off. I eyed Lyanna, whose mouth was so wide open that the brownie in her mouth almost fell out until Evan pushed her chin up gently with his hand, as she looked at Bernard. "Did you have the brownies?"
"I had two!" Lizzie said with a giggly smile.
"And I had one although little wolf, well, we have much to celebrate and I may go back for seconds," he replied lazily with eyes that looked so relaxed you would have through he just had a massage.
Susie groaned and eyed me for her. "See?"
"Sorry," I replied to her with a shrug. "You're on your own with him."
Ethan spun me out then back to him as Levi pulled Eve out to dance with him. "So I was thinking..."
"About?" I asked.
"About our herd of children," Ethan replied casually. "I mean. I think we should try for twins first. We could–"
"Ethan," I groaned against his chest before I started laughing. "We need to make sure the national council actually starts to renegotiate the treaty. I won't have this bullshit happening again."
"Me either, that would definitely get in the way of our herd of children," Ethan mused.
"Or my father beating your ass around," I said with a sly grin twitching on my lips as Ethan growled playfully low.
"Who says he's going to beat me around sunshine? I may have his ass on the ground," Ethan replied, narrowing his gaze playfully at me.
"You may baby," I laughed out. "But Levi and my father, well, I think that they have a mind to wear you and Lucas out. I wouldn't doubt that they do one of these days."
"We'll see about that," Ethan replied before he dipped down to kiss me, nipping at my lips playfully.
"When is the national council meeting?" I asked.
"A few weeks, maybe a month?" Ethan sighed while I leaned against his chest as his fingers rubbed tiny circles on the small of my back. "I know that everyone wants to get it going before we're snowed in up here. We don't have time to wait on that kind of thing."
"We don't," I echoed as I looked around at the wolves laughing, drinking, and smiling while the smell of smoke–of freedom floated through the air.
"I love you, baby," Ethan murmured as he dipped down to kiss at my neck.
"I love you too," I whispered back, melting into him while we continued to dance.
The rest of the night we danced, ate, drank, and danced until the sun came up when Levi had to carry Eve home. My father and mother poofed everyone back to the mountain but Lucas and Jane decided to crash at Evan and Lyanna's.
But Ethan and I went home.
Home.
Sleeping at home, in his arms, skin on skin, was one of the best feelings in the world–it was peaceful. There was so much to do before winter really hit, but we were at peace. Our pack was safe, our friends were safe, and our family–our mate was safe. My beast was more than pleased and throughout the next few weeks she was purring with contentment.
The next day after the party, Levi, Ethan, and Jaxon went to work on clearing the rubble away from the pack house which meant piling it into bigger piles and setting those one fire. A bonfire that Evan and Ryder were giddy as children to light up.
We also went to work on poofing the other rogues in the warehouse that Ethan and I now owned to the mountain where Caleb had opened the portal back up. They walked across to their mates, who waited with open arms and warm smiles.
It was a good reunion, not just for the rogues either. We brought Levi, Eve, Lucas, Jane, Evan, Lyanna, Claire, Lander, Lyle, Aaron, Jake, Jaxon, and Andrea up as well as Derek, Elliot, Susie, and Bernard.
According to Chris and Eli, Aurelia and Hale had experienced a fantastic welcome that resulted in them taking a trip to, according to Eli, 'somewhere that is worse than listening to the Chipmunk's Christmas Album on repeat while your body froze to death slowly.' Caleb and Daphne assured us that they were in a place they would never get out, ever.
Levi was able to see Lydia–who apparently was pregnant and happier than ever. He also met her mate who he threatened repeatedly until Eve just rolled her eyes and hugged the poor guy. He also saw Chris and Margaret, both hugged him before he and Chris went back and forth like an old married couple.
Andrea saw Billy. She saw Billy who was ecstatic about the baby. Apparently he had found his true mate up there after we left, she was one of the rogues that had walked over when we first came. She was a warrior, a good one too, that had been captured and given the cursed blood. Billy had never found his mate before, Andrea's mother was just a bondmate that died not long after Andrea was born.
Evan was able to see Chris, Margaret, and Eli–family he hadn't seen since they died; and we were all about to see Evangeline and Liam. Liam, who hugged his mother, father, sister, and little brother and promised them that he was doing really well. He was cracking jokes with Evan, who was teary-eyed while he hugged his mother, father, Evangeline, and Eli.
Aaron got to see Amber. Apparently she had a baby boy, that she brought, and named it after him. She was so happy, they all were. Caleb was smoking a cigar while Derek hugged Leo and Sylvia. Leo was so proud of Derek he was almost in tears.
It was a good day. A good day but a hard day. Closing that portal and knowing that we would never see them until we crossed again was a hard reality to swallow, but it was reality. Chris had given Ethan one last hug, smiling at him and telling him how proud he was of him before he took a pine knot torch that Levi had carved up and used it to set the portal on fire after he stepped back into it. Fire engulfing the portal until it was closed.
Gone.
They were gone but our work wasn't over. We still had to work on the treaty. The treaty that resulted in a trip to Florida, which Ethan was ecstatic about. The vampires hosting were friends with Callista, who owned a few hotels in Naples. She apparently loved the beach and we loved the free hotel rooms she was giving us.
Although the airplane ride was a different story. Ethan and Evan had never been on a plane, and neither had Lyanna. Evan eyed the plane from the gate and looked back at me. "Can't we just drive little sister?"
"No Ev, it will take days," I replied as Ethan's beast paced back and forth. "Are you ok?"
"A steel contraption full of humans?"
"Ethan!" I hissed out.
He sighed. "I'm fine sunshine," he said as Levi, Eve, and my parents walked up right as a voice on an intercom called for us to board the plane.
"Good thing we had those bloody mary's," Levi said. "I'm taking a damn nap."
I rolled my eyes and pulled Ethan along with me down the loading ramp and into the plane that seemed too small for him. The plane that hit some turbulence on the way and Evan was convinced that we were going to crash; Levi more or less got him to calm down by threatening Evan that he would toss him out of the plane if he didn't settle down.
Ethan hated the plane though. He hated being trapped in a, 'steel cage that is flying way too fast through the air sunshine.' He said from now on we were driving or poofing if we had to. He wanted us to poof before, but we were trying to be careful with how much of the moonstones we used. They were the moon's gift to us–jewels to be cherished, not little shooting stars to grant our every wish. That and Callista bought our plane tickets, so we were a little inclined to use them.
But Ethan loved the beach. After we got settled in the hotel, that overlooked the ocean, the first thing he did was pull me out to the beach. Evan was already running with a rubber ducky blow up raft that Lyanna had bought for him towards the water while Lyanna laid out a towel next to Eve and my mother.
"Watch out for sharks!" Levi called out with a mischievous smile, causing Evan to dig in his heals right at the edge of the water.
"Sharks?" he said more to himself as he looked at the water lapping at his feet.
I rolled my eyes and walked into the clear crystal blue water. "Evan," I said before I looked around for any humans close by, thankfully the only other ones near us were further down out of range to hear. "You're a werewolf. It's a shark. I think you're fine."
"You don't know that little sister," he said while my father got up, holding a finger to his lips as Ethan and I walked in.
"Evan, you'll be fine," Ethan told him as my father crept closer.
"Dude have you not seen Sharkweek?!" Evan called out as Ethan and I walked further in. "It's like–shit what?!" Evan let out a yelp as my father toss him over his shoulder and started to march in. "Lyanna help me! The sharks are going to eat me!"
"You're fine Ev! It will be a good fight for you!" Lyanna called back with a grin while my father just laughed.
"Brother! Help me!"
Ethan shook his head. "You're an idiot Evan."
"At least save the duck!" Evan called out as my father kept walking, the water was at his hips as he waded out into the water.
Ethan groaned and turned; he jogged back to the blow up rubber ducky, grabbing the rope Evan had tied around its neck and tossing to Lyanna who winked at us while she looked out past me before she squealed as something big splashed behind us.
I turned as my father burst into laughter while Evan surfaced from the water. "Hadrian! Not Funny!"
My father shook his head and held his stomach before he got completely quiet. His eyes turning serious as Ethan walked back to me, the cool water lapping at my calves. "Shark," my father breathed out and you would have though he told Evan that Lyanna was on fire.
He sprung up and practically walked on water while Levi, Lyanna, and Eve rolled in laughter back on the sand. Levi just pulled his large straw hat down, his Tommy Bahama 'flowery-ass' shirt rolled as a pillow behind his head while Eve basked in the sun with her red one piece that reminded me of the one that Farrah Faucet wore.
I heard a low growl behind me, and soon I too was tossed over a shoulder. "Ethan put me down!"
"What? I'm just helping you out to the water baby?"
"Ethan! We're in the damn water!"
"Well, we're going further in," he said as he waded to where the water was at his waist; crystal clear, I could see all the way to his feet.
"Dad! Help!" I called out.
My dad laughed as Evan pulled Lyanna up and marched her with the rope holding the rubber ducky back to the water. "You're good baby girl. Just watch out for the 'sharks.'"
I bit back a laugh until I was tossed back, hitting the refreshing water that rolled over me. I surfaced then adjusted the two piece that I had borrowed from Evie so I wouldn't fall out of it. A black and white striped top, with two clasps in the back–which I appreciated the most, and plain black bikini bottoms.
Ethan swam to me and pulled me to him as the waves rocked us back and forth. He was looking at his feet, his toes squirming in the sand while I wrapped my legs around his waist, the water hitting our shoulders, and the salty air breathing a special kind of life into my soul. "I can't believe it's this clear."
"I know," I replied while I looked up at Evan who was jumping onto the rubber ducky while Lyanna held onto to him, a tumbler of sangria in her hand. "How about this vacation?"
"Do you think we can shift and come swimming?"
"Maybe later, we would have to do it where no one–or cameras would see us," I said as I looked around. My wolf was nodding her head in agreement, she more than wanted to feel the ocean water over her fur.
"Good, because I don't want anyone to see me taking–"
"Hey!" Levi called out as he marched into the water with Eve and my mother. "Someone grab that rope before Evan floats to China or some shit–I'm not coming out there for you Evan!"
Evan tossed Ethan the rope as my mother swam out to my father, who picked her up right as a wave rolled through us. I leaned my head on Ethan's chest, as soft smile on my lips. "This is pretty perfect Everette."
"It is, even if we had to fly in that stupid thing to get here."
I rolled my eyes then leaned up to kiss him, his lips tasting salty like the sea. The rest of the day we spent at the beach. Lyanna and I drank sangria with Eve and my mother while the boys played with a football that Levi had brought. A football game that Levi and my father seemed to enjoy since they were on the same team. Ethan and Evan won a few rounds, but I think my father and Levi wore their asses out with the other physical elements of the sport that had some humans eyeing us curiously until my mother had to scold all of them.
We looked more or less like a bunch of heathens just brawling on the beach.
Lyanna and I went for a walk down the beach at some point. We found a little stand where a guy was selling popsicles and bought some one our way back. Levi loved them so much he sent Evan to the hotel to buy a couple of bottles of champagne, then he went and bought like fifty popsicles and put them in a little red cooler he bought at a convenience store that we stopped at in the rent car on the way to the hotel when we first got here.
The popsicle guy was really confused and we were too until Levi stuck a purple popsicle, blueberry flavored, into the champagne, and handed it to me. "That's going to be a real good drink Charlie girl."
I eyed it and took a sip as the champagne fizzed around the popsicle. "I can't taste anything odd."
"Let it fizz a little girly," he replied. "Little red, what flavor?"
"Cherry of course," she replied cheekily.
Levi chuckled while Evan and Ethan downed some popsicles. "Uncle, where are the vamps?" Evan asked while Levi put a cherry popsicle into a tumbler of champagne for Eve, and handed it to her.
"Flying in tonight," Levi answered. "We're just lucky Callista's giving us a few extra days in her rooms."
"We are," Ethan replied as he took a glass from Levi.
We laid on the beach a little longer until we ventured into town to get something to eat. We found a restaurant that was on a pier and over looked the sea; the special was oysters on the half shell, which Evan was not a fan of until he tried them. He was a huge fan of the friend shrimp, as was the rest of the table. We more or less I think frightened the waitress with the amount of food we ate–we were wolves after all.
Later that night, after Ethan and I returned to our suite that we thankfully had to ourselves, I called to check on Andrea. She was around six weeks and already showing; her morning sickness becoming her new penance that Jaxon apparently had become a pro at handling. According to her he was really good at holding her hair.
"What is it?" Ethan asked as we laid in bed.
I shook my head as I pushed some of his hair back, his hair that had grown out, to my approval, to a length where I could finally twist the locks around my fingers again. "Nothing baby, I'm just–happy?" I answered, the word happy sounding weird on my tongue, considering how foreign it felt.
"Me too," he replied. "Although I am not happy about all those damn human males ogling at you."
I rolled my eyes. "Ethan, half the females on the beach were falling over you and did I almost growl at them? I think not."
"Yes but you slowly plotted their death in your mind," he retorted back.
I opened my mouth then closed it quickly. "Ok, that's true–"
He cut me off with a laugh and kissed me quickly. "I love you, and your murderous tendencies. Although no, I didn't notice any of them I was too busy trying to figure out if your dad would catch me trying to slip–"
"Ethan!"
"What? Baby that little bikini was meant for me to take off," he replied innocently.
I rolled my eyes, laughter coming out of my lips as I leaned on his shoulder. It was hysterical. Ethan and I had gone for a walk down the beach later in the afternoon. We walked down a pier with all kinds of people on it; some fishing, some taking pictures, some working stands that sold things like snow cones, and some just relaxing with groups of other people.
The females were ogling my male though like he was the candy to be unwrapped. I wanted to growl at them and flash them my teeth, but then I remembered that I was not on pack land and that in the human world that kind of behavior would be seen as crazy. Definitely crazy.
Regardless, I knew Ethan had no idea. He was too busy talking to me and pointing things out on the pier until we got to the end where you could look down and see fish swimming around the beams that held the pier up in the water. His eyes excited as he looked out at the water while he held me close to him.
We may have not been each other's firsts, I knew that much. I knew that from when I bit him the first time–marked him. When he was young, right after they all died; he fell into a rut of drinking and staying out with she-wolves that didn't really care for him, they just wanted something from him. Many of them I think thought that he would make them his bondmate if they stuck around long enough.
That is until Evangeline came into his room one day and asked him the most simple of innocent questions. She came to see him, she was so young almost eleven maybe? She walked into his room and stepped on a plain black thong in his room, asking Ethan, "What are these?"
Ethan was mortified. He more or less evaded the question, but then Evangeline asked him about his new habits; she asked him if he hated them, if that's why he never spent time with her anymore–if that was why he was always out.
It was like something clicked. Like something snapped him back right there. He told her no and that she didn't need to worry about that anymore. After that, he walked into his room and threw the thong away then emptied the bottle of cheap vodka in his sink that he had kept hidden under his bed.
I wasn't his first, but he wasn't mine. When my parents died I fell into a similar cycle; running from one bed–one bottle to another to avoid my own demons that only pushed me to more demons.
We were not each other's firsts, but we didn't care. I stopped caring a long time ago, and since Ethan came into my life there hasn't but anyone but him. It was little moments like these, the quiet in bed while only the sound of his breath and the fan in the room, that I thought to myself how damn lucky I was that I was bitten that day. Really damn lucky.