Once Bitten (An Anya Maynard Novel)

Epilogue

“Three…two…one…Happy New year!” we all shouted together, tossing our confetti all over the diner.

We were celebrating at the diner since Pete and Maddie were already here working, Pete having switched to nights to be with Maddie who had begrudgingly agreed to pick up the night shift, and Maddie who…well none of us really knew why she decided to work here. Partly because it meant she’d have to wear something she called a glamour daily, a magic spell she said would hide her ears and wings. But mostly we couldn’t believe it because the job required interacting politely with others and wearing clothes.

Though I had a sneaking suspicion it was to be closer to her brother, whether she admitted it or not.

It took some time for things to get back to normal after Brad was exiled. There were a lot of arrangements that had to be made with the change in leadership of the pack after Connor took his place as Alpha as he was born to do. It was the only reason the pack was allowed to stay in this town now that it no longer belonged to the wolves. Kai had granted amnesty to anyone who wished to stay and who would follow Connor’s rule explicitly. But Kai made it clear that it was no longer pack law here, but his.

Which meant no matter who came looking for me I was safe here. He told me not all Fae see things the way his kind did, that the Elves hold the same prejudices as the wolves when it came to half breeds, but because these were his lands now no one could lawfully harm me for being what I was.

But through it all, the one thing I knew I had to do was get the diner up and running again. I needed that little bit of normalcy in my life. I more than accepted what I was, I was proud to be a wolf, but it was still very new for me and every now and then I needed somewhere to escape to. And the diner was just that place. Once I donned my uniform and pulled out my order pad everything else just drifted away. No matter how busy it got in here I could relax and let go, could pretend it was just another ordinary day in my ordinary life.

That was anything but anymore. I had more to do now than I could have ever dreamt of. I was the Alpha’s mate, the one responsible for the pairings of the entire pack.

Whether I liked it or not.

Connor had been very patient with me as I refused time after time to take my place in the…our pack. I was very adamant about letting the oth…letting my wolves chose who they wanted to be with rather than having to be told so. I wanted them to have the chance to find love like we did. But he explained to me it wasn’t as easy as that, that there was an ebb and flow of power with matings. That they had to be carefully selected so the balance wasn’t too unfairly changed in either the pack the wolf came from or went to.

What finally broke me was when he told me in packs where there is no female to help make the choices for the wolves, then the matings are done for political purposes only. If I wanted to give my wolves a chance to find love then I needed to step up. That way I could help them the best I could, to advocate for them when I didn’t think the pairing was right, for love or power.

“So,” Jess asked as she flopped onto one of the chairs at the counter, “let’s hear it, what are your resolutions?”

“To not work as much,” Steve grumbled first.

“You say that every year Stevie,” she laughed and turned to Maddie to ask her, only to frown because her face was still very much attached to Pete’s.

Steve shook his head and flicked Maddie’s ear.

“Hey!” she shouted as she disengaged her lips from Pete’s, “I thought that’s what humans do, kiss at midnight for the New Year?”

“Not for the entire year,” Steve grumbled to his sister, “and do I need to remind you I’m your brother and don’t need to be seeing that.”