Scarred Wolf by Charlene Hartnady
Epilogue
Everleigh
The sun bakes warmlyonto my back as I lean back on the palm of one hand in the lush grass, a single page of paper in my other. We’re lying out on the bank of the river near our den and the shadows are lengthening, bees buzzing through the clover around us. Our den. The thought makes me smile. Even the word “den” makes me smile.
We’ve fallen into a steady routine between my apartment and the forest. I still love my duties at Rosie’s – no one will ever take that from me. But out here in the woods, we can be what we were born to be. Jaxon and me, wild, running free, making love when the urge strikes. Which it does…often.
And then there’s the pack. That makes my smile broaden. If anyone had told me that one day, there’d be an entire community waiting to embrace me, I’d have laughed them off. More than embrace…they turn to me for guidance. It’s strange because many of them are twice my age or more, yet in moments of uncertainty, the answers simply come to me. As if I tap into the needs of every one of them and find some crazy cosmic solution. I feel a fierce protective instinct when I think of them. Just as I did with Livvy and the others. All of them are safe now, and I’ll keep it that way with everything I have within me.
Jaxon is lying at a right angle to me, his head resting on my thighs, one hand draped over his belly, the other cupped over the swell of mine. He does that a lot now, waiting for movement from our twins, and then laughing with delight. They’ll be joining us any day now, and neither of us can wait for our small family to double. Dreaming up names, painting nurseries in both homes; he found a pair of rompers with ears and tails on them. He’s naked and beautiful lying in the sunshine now, and I feel a stirring once more. I’m insatiable around this man. But I came here for a reason, and I need to tend to that first.
When Diana had called to tell me that one of her colleagues had reached out to her about my parent’s estate, I thought she was making it up. A file had been opened for me at his firm, intended to be sent to me before my 25th birthday, but somehow there’d been an administrative glitch and it had been delayed. There’d been title deeds, a safe deposit box, some documentation for assets – a respectable inheritance by any standards. But most importantly, there’d been a letter addressed to me. A letter from my dad.
I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment, certain that what I read will need all my attention, all my strength. And that moment has come. I unfold the page in my hand and let the words sink in.
My darling Everleigh,
If only I’d been able to tell you this myself, but if this letter has reached you, then I know that it’s too late for that, and we are no longer with you.
Your mother and I have kept this from you for so long, sometimes we even wonder ourselves if it was all ever real. By now, you’re finding it out for yourself without us, and my heart breaks at the confusion and fear you may be feeling.
You are a wolf, my darling. A creature noble in spirit and with a soul that will never be tamed. I see it now, in your laughter, your tears. How you feel things so intensely. You should never be a solitary animal, but circumstances beyond our control have forced us to raise you away from the comfort of your pack. I pray that you have found that comfort now, and that you are reveling in it.
But the fact is, daughter, you have greatness in you. The blood of leaders runs in your veins. Generations of alphas from your mother’s side and my own. That is why they feared us together. And as the product of our love, they will fear you more. Unless you find one to lead with you. Someone with your strength and your huge spirit who will guide you to a pack that is able to see what you truly are. In my heart, that’s the vision I see for you. Leading, loving, having young of your own.
You were so precious to us. And you still are. Reach for us in the energy of the wolf that you will feel around you. We will never be far. Be strong! Be true! You are a Moone.
I love you, daughter. Always.
Dad
I foldthe letter and blink back tears.
I love you too, Dad,I say silently to the sky. Always.
Jaxon turns his head,nuzzling his cheek against the swell of my belly, which he’s been idly stroking with his thumb.
“You okay, my Queen?” he asks, eyes moving over my face with concern. He lifts up onto his elbows as he sees the tears streaming, my cheeks wet with them.
I smile a watery smile and nod.
“I’m okay, my love,” I say brokenly. “Better than okay.” And I mean it with every fiber of my being.
Meanwhile, a 1,000 miles away, upon a rock-strewn slope, beneath towering snow-capped crags, a new wolf awakens and stirs. Not just any wolf…he’s a double-alpha, and all hell is about to break loose.
Wild Wolf coming to Amazon in November 2021 and is on pre-order now…
