We headed straight back to Ray and Papa P's after stopping at headquarters to shower the stench of death from us. We pulled up to their house like a freaking motorcade, and those who had stayed behind—the other omegas and Ray and Papa P—spilled out onto the steps to meet us. They already knew it was over, but there was something about seeing Preston and Cindy Tierney waiting on those steps, half in disbelief and half in elation, that made it feel real in a way the violence and gore hadn't.

Jonah and I held back as Noah rushed up the steps and swept Preston in his arms. "I'm so sorry, babe."

"Why are you sorry?" Preston hugged Noah fiercely as tears streamed down his face. "I feel free. God help me, I feel free in a way I didn't know was possible. I don't even care if it's terrible to be happy my father is dead. He's dead, and gone, and he'll never hurt anyone again and I… we…" he reached to grab his mother's hand, "are free."

Preston and Noah pulled Cindy into their family embrace, and then Papa joined them, Ray behind him. Slowly, we each piled in to the group hug, the kids hanging tightly to their parents' legs or just pressing in because it seemed to be the thing to do.

"Okay, okay, okay," Preston finally said from somewhere in the middle of our puppy pile, his voice muffled. "We've been stress cooking the whole time you guys were gone, and not able to eat a bite of it. Let's go dig in!"

We untangled, heedless of the tears streaked over our faces.

"Everyone to the kitchen," Ray commanded. "I want to say something before we eat."

We crowded in as best we could, and Ray cleared his throat. "As it began, so it ends." His words felt like rocks dropping from a cliff. "Not the beginning of this team, or this family, nor the end of it. But a few short years ago, each one of you alphas was a bachelor—some of you seemingly committed to that life."

Ezra elbowed Zeke, and Zeke elbowed him right back.

"Noah was the first to fall" —there were cheers— "and the journey to dismantling this branch of human trafficking began with Preston, though we didn't know it at the time. And with our final addition," Ray nodded at me, and Jonah pulled me close.

"Not so final," he said, patting my stomach.

"With the last of you boys mated, we have reached the end of this chapter in Team ALPHA. It's been a particularly dark and violent few years, but I think we can all say we're glad it's over."

"And here I was thinking I'd finally be able to put my knife back into use now that Pax has stopped stealing it," Zeke said.

Ray's smile was sad. "There will never be an end of bad guys for you to put under your knife, Ezekiel. That's why I said it's not the end of the team. But I think we need to celebrate what we have accomplished, acknowledge it, and give you boys a well-earned vacation."

Boomer nodded. "I could use a couple weeks of R and R."

"I was thinking more along the lines of a sabbatical, Boomer. A few months to recharge."

The alphas all started protesting, but it was Noah's voice who rose above the din. "I don't know, Dad. Do you think Team Beta will be able to handle the weight of us being out for so long?"

"How will we know unless they're given the chance?" Ray asked. "But that is a conversation for another day. For now, let's dig—"

"I actually have something to share as well," Cindy said, blushing as all eyes turned to her. "I never divorced Patrick," she said.

The room was full of confused, blinking eyes, which made me feel better for not knowing why this was important.

"That means," Cindy said, "that unless Patrick completely changed in the last two decades, and I think it's pretty obvious he hasn't, that I am likely his heir."

"But… Mom… wouldn't he have written you out of his will?" Preston said.

Cindy shook her head. "He always refused to have a will. Whether it was some personal foible or whether he didn't want anyone close enough to question him about his finances, we'll never know. And like I said, he may have changed. He may have a will I don't know about. But I have no problem calling up his lawyer tomorrow or as soon as his death is made final and claiming that inheritance for you and your children, Preston."

Preston blanched. "I want nothing to do with that man's dirty money," he spat.

Cindy's eyes were understanding as she said, "I understand that, son. Your father did terrible things with his wealth. We have the opportunity to reverse that. I understand if you want nothing to do with it. We can make arrangements, but I will turn his dirty money to good. And I'd start by donating all of his personal assets to you, Justin."

Papa P's mouth dropped open, and for once, he had no response. Ray patted him on the shoulder. "That's more than generous of you, but perhaps we should wait until we know the exact condition of Tierney's estate before parceling it out."

Cindy nodded, but her lips were pressed in a thin line of determination. I would bet that even if there was a will handing off his assets to others, she would contest it. I knew the look of someone with a personal mission when I saw one. I'd seen it in the mirror these last couple of months. I wasn’t a lawyer, but I knew some… and I would do whatever it took for her to claim Tierney’s assets as her own. I doubted there’d be anything left to identify after STAHP had finished with them. We’d give it time, so she wasn’t implicated in his disappearance, but one thing I knew for certain, this was a woman who wouldn’t be stopped.

"Grandpa?" Amy, Preston and Noah's oldest, peeked over the kitchen island. "Can we eat now?"

Laughter broke the tension, and Ray answered, "Of course, dearest. Food for everyone."

Jonah and I found a quiet corner in the living room to eat, and after a couple bites, I set my plate aside. It was getting difficult to eat full meals with our little man taking up more and more room in my belly, and I had something I needed to say to Jonah before our new routine—life after the mission—settled in.

"Jonah, I'm going to go back to work."

Jonah coughed on a piece of potato, hocking it back up onto his plate and staring at me. "Tomorrow?"

A giggle escaped me. He looked like a scared meerkat. "No, not tomorrow," I said. "But now that the mission is over, I do want to check in with my boss, probably tomorrow, and make arrangements for me to go back to work after the baby is here."

"You can't go back to work right away," Jonah protested. "The baby will need an appropriate amount of bonding time with both of us, and I thought that with Ray announcing our long sabbatical we'd have more than enough time—"

I pressed a finger over Jonah's lips. "Yes. I want to make full use of my paternity leave. But even though I have conceded that you are right, that there are times when shifter justice is the best justice, I still believe in the system ninety percent of the time. Maybe ninety-five."

Jonah was still sputtering. "But—back in the field. Matthew, I don't know if I can handle you being gone for months at a time. And the baby—"

"Jonah." I yelled just a little to get his attention. "Jonah, I'm not planning on going undercover again. I can't promise that I won't do any more field work, but I am going to see what it will take to move over to Sara's position. I've loved making a difference on the ground, but… I know I can make a difference behind the scenes, too. Especially sniffing out bastards like Chad. I know he's not the only one. Positions of power draw people who are greedy for it. And when they find that power is more easily reached through less legal methods…" I shook my head. "We've seen the damage they can do."

Jonah pursed his lips. "Is this something we can talk about later? I'm still not entirely convinced."

I smiled. That was more than I had expected from my overly cautious alpha. "I'd love the chance to change your mind."

Jonah eyed me suspiciously. "This is the kind of conversation that should probably take place with our clothes on. Possibly while we're in separate rooms if you're going to keep giving me that come-hither look."

"What look is that?" I asked.

Jonah set his plate aside and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his hands around my belly and nibbling on my neck. "The kind that makes me want to do more than this to you," Jonah growled.

I leaned my head back against his shoulder, forgetting we were in a room of shifters who could scent the shift in our hormones.

"Get a room!" Ezra shouted.

"This is far less revealing than some of you have been with your mates," Jonah said, turning to growl at him.

"I actually have a few pages of those stories I haven't put in the book yet," David said. Zeke whirled on him with an accusing finger.

"You wouldn't dare!"

David shrugged. "A historian has to be true. I've got Boomer's and my story as well."

"I suspect there's a story behind that?" I whispered to Jonah.

He chuckled. "Yeah, more than—" he gasped as my belly jumped with a kick. "He just kicked me!"

Suddenly, I was surrounded by a gaggle of kids. Okay, there were four. The babies were all too little to understand. "Can I feel?" Amy asked.

"I feel?" Irene, Levi and Cody's girl, echoed her.

Jonah kept one hand possessively on my stomach while moving the other to make room for the tiny hands that pressed against my belly to feel the movement of life within me.

"Whoaaaa," said Allan, Irene's brother.

Little Tony, David and Boomer's boy, stood back with his thumb in his mouth, watching with wide eyes.

"Come here," Jonah encouraged him, placing his little hand right where the baby was kicking. Tony's hand jumped with the next kick, and he pulled back with a wide smile.

Soon enough they lost interest, and our little boy went back to sleep, leaving Jonah and me in our quiet corner.

"Hard to believe we're going to have one of those soon," I told him.

Jonah sighed happily. "I can't wait."