Epilogue

Dana stared out the kitchen window, sipping her coffee. It’d been a week since Edwin’s attack on the den and Solon’s supposed betrayal. Her heart ached at lying to her Pack and especially her mate. Hence why she’d decided to tell him today. After all, he was her mate and the one person she was supposed to tell her secrets to.

Cooper sat down across from her at the small nook and lifted a brow. She didn’t look at him as she spoke. “I need you to forgive Solon.”

“Not happening. Did you forget that he left you for dead?”

She met Cooper’s green gaze and leaned forward and kept her tone low so no one would hear their conversation. “Hear me out. Solon did his job. Darin placed him in Bloodrose as a spy back in the Ross days. Solon decided to go rogue so Edwin would believe he had betrayed me. I didn’t expect Edwin to drain my powers like he did. A miscalculation on my part that will not happen again. Now, Solon is playing rogue, learning Edwin’s secrets, but I’m worried he’ll lose himself to that life. I feel guilty every time I look at Bree.”

Tears filled her eyes, and Cooper moved around the table to sit closer to her. He pulled her into a hug. “You made a call. I wish you had waited until Darin and I got there, but what is done is done. We’ll have to get him out.”

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. “Axle says Edwin hasn’t been back to the bunker and none of the underground groups have heard from him.”

The underground groups were small Packs that bordered the line between law-abiding wolves and lawbreakers. The council still considered them rogues by definition of the law. For the most part, the underground groups weren’t evil or bloodthirsty. They didn’t kill except when they had no choice.

“Maybe Solon is distracting him to give you time to heal.”

Dana shrugged. “Maybe.”

“You doubt him? What does your gut tell you?”

“I’m not sure. It’s mixed between distrust and hope. Maybe my judgment is clouded by what Ross did to me and the Pack. He used my power for his own personal gain. I’m not going to trust anyone without them proving their loyalty.” Cooper kissed her forehead. She sighed and leaned into him.

“I’ll prove it to you everyday for the rest of our lives.” He pulled back and cupped Dana’s face. Then waggled his brows. “Of course, if I step out of line, you could find creative ways to punish me.”

“Yeah, like making you sleep outside.”

“That’s cold.” He laughed and kissed her.

The doorbell rang, followed by the sound of tiny feet running down the hallway. Dana smiled and stood. “Bree.”

The Healer was there to help Dana with getting Hope’s hearing back.

Dana smiled at the four-year-old bouncing excitedly at the front door, a wide smile on her lips. Opening the door, Dana welcomed Bree with a smile while signing and speaking, “Someone is excited to see you.”

Bree laughed and signed, “I wonder why.”

Hope took the Healer’s hand and tugged her into the living room. Bree let out a laugh and jogged after the little girl that had stolen Dana’s heart. When they were settled on the floor with Hope sitting between them, Bree asked, “How are we going to do this?”

Dana studied Hope. “Well, when my magic touched Hope’s with my hands over her ears, she heard me talk. I was hoping you could tap into our magic and heal whatever is making her deaf.”

Bree nodded and reached out to Hope, cupping her ears with both of her hands. Closing her eyes, Bree was quiet for some time before opening her eyes and smiling. “It’ll work.”

“It will? You sure?”

With a nod, Bree spoke to Dana telepathically. “There’s nothing wrong with her hearing. My guess is she chooses not to hear or to acknowledge that she can hear. For whatever reason, she is more comfortable using sign language.”

Interesting. “So we make her believe we can heal her?”

Bree nodded, then signed to Hope, “Are you ready?”

Hope nodded. Dana placed her hands over the girl’s ears, and Bree covered Dana’s hands. Together, Dana and the Healer connected with Hope’s magic and her wolf, allowing a small amount of their healing power into her. It didn’t take long for them to find the root of Hope’s psychological block on her hearing and talking. The four-year-old had created a mental shield around her senses, especially hearing and speaking.

Curious, Dana took the extra step to search for the memories behind the shield. If she could alter or erase the memory, then Hope wouldn’t need the shield anymore. Focusing on the last thing Hope had heard, Dana found what she was looking for.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she relived the child’s memory. It was when Hope and her mother had come to the Pack. Edwin had scared her, as if she could sense the darkness inside the rogue. However, it was two nights after when they had settled into Edwin’s house and she heard her mother’s screams of pain and pleas that had caused the damage.

It was all Dana could do to keep her anger under control. Deciding it was better that Hope never remember hearing Edwin abusing her mother, Dana erased the memories from her mind. She replaced the void with the idea of being asleep and waking up unaware of what Edwin had done.

When Dana finished, she and Bree removed their hands and waited.

Hope glanced around the room and found Cooper. She smiled, stood, and then rushed to him. He hugged her tightly and whispered, “Love you, peanut.”

With a jerk of her head, Hope pulled back and stared at him. Then she glanced to Dana and laughed. “I hear you. All of you.”

Dana’s heart filled with joy and love for her new family members. Then she turned to Bree and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you.”

Bree sighed and leaned into the hug. “You did it, not me.” Bree lifted her head and smiled. “I’m proud to call you my Alpha. Together, we can heal the Pack even if it’s one Packmate at a time.

Her heart filling and expanding, Dana kissed the Healer’s forehead—an act an Alpha would do to strengthen the bond between them. “It’s not going to be easy.”

Cooper added, “But we’ll rebuild and make the Huston-Reed Pack stronger and more powerful than ever.”

Dana rose to her knees and moved to Cooper and Hope. She drew both of them into a tight hug. “I love you. Both of you.”

Cooper pressed his lips to Dana’s for a quick kiss, then kissed Hope’s forehead. “I love you, too. My Alpha. My mate.” Then he held out a hand to Bree, who moved to them. “Our Healer and family. If you ever feel like you need a parental figure to punish you for something, Dana and I are here.”

Bree laughed while tears slid down her cheeks. She hugged them, Hope included. “Thank you.”

Dana sniffed, unable to stop the emotions from escaping. She had not only learned to control her powers, she had also embraced them and gained a new family and a Pack that needed her in the process.

Tomorrow, she’d worry about tracking down Edwin and his band of rogues. Tonight, she would enjoy her family.

The End

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