Epilogue - Erin Pat 1

I can’t believe how far I’ve come. How far my family has come. Two years ago, I struggled to make ends meet, sharing a house with a roommate, my mother, and my two kids. Then by some miracle or Goddess divine intervention, I landed a dream job in the marketing department for Kinsley Industrial. When I moved myself and my kids across the country, I had no idea what I was walking into.

Everything changed when River and Sage signed me up on that Kindred Spirit app. Without it, I probably wouldn’t have connected with Hale. And I can’t imagine my life without Hale. Meeting him turned my world upside down; not all of it was good, but there was more good than bad.

I could have done without the run-in with my crazy werewolf ex. Yes, I said werewolf. I went 45 years, never knowing that all those supernatural beings I’ve read about are real, let alone that I got knocked up by one. Finding out that Dane is a werewolf became a game changer. Hale had to explain how my kids are hybrids and that he is also a werewolf though he lost his wolf when his mate died.

Things happened fast that weekend. Dane tried to take my kids and protect us; the Goddess gave Hale back his wolf. And even better than Hale having Jason back? Finding out I’m his second chance mate! It’s just crazy! And sure, I knew being his mate means we’re soulmates, and he would be with me forever, literally till death do us part. But I’m human and needed more solid footing to stand on before I let myself get swept up in it all.

I was glad Hale was on board with that, even if I knew Jason wasn’t. Jason grudgingly agreed for my sake. If Jason had his way, I’d have been marked the same day we discovered I was Hale’s second chance. But despite his urges to mark me, we waited four months, giving Hale and me plenty of time to adjust to being a couple and then merging our families under one roof.

Which, oh boy, that has been interesting. It was worse than being back sharing a house with my mom and roommate. I don’t mean that negatively. My kids had to share a room and more, so they had to share an attached bathroom with Hale’s son Austin and his mate Suzanne. The amount of times my kids have complained about seeing or hearing them having sex is only a little more than they’ve complained about hearing Hale and me.

And that was just in the few months before Hale, and I completed our bond. Since then, my kids have complained less about our sex life. Because Hale had taught me or trained me to use our mate link during sex, the only sounds are the bed and neither of us moaning. If only Austin and Suzie would learn this trick.

If only adjusting to being a blended family of six was the only hurdle. From completing our bond, I was blessed, though some days I question how much of a blessing it is, with a new moon wolf named Astra. I spent forty-five years as the only voice in my head, and in an instant, I have her there, all the time, and sometimes she gets on my nerves. Hale explained it was normal.

So I’ve been adjusting to that. Just like my kids are adjusting to having their wolves Lunar and Eclipse. River and Sage are, of course, adjusting better than me. It helps that their wolves aren’t unique in that I can only shift on new and full moons. So they can let their wolves out whenever they want while Astra is pretty much stuck in my head 28 days a month.

Like my kids, I’ve had to start training, especially with Astra’s power. How crazy is this? I have powers! I can release light over a specific target area causing significant damage and/or delivering great shock waves of pure force. It’s pretty crazy. Two years later, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered her power.

My kids have taken to their gifts with much more ease. But again, they are young so learning new things is easy. River’s power is similar but more robust than mine, while Sage’s power is the opposite. I’m rather impressed with how much more control and focus they both became after awakening their wolves.

Lunar gives River the ability to become stronger, faster, and more durable when they come into contact with light, letting them do all sorts of things. In comparison, Eclipse allows Sage to become stronger, faster, and more durable when they come into contact with darkness, letting them do some crazy stuff.

Both were disappointed to realize they couldn’t pull off Jason’s rock-throwing move, but Hale and Austin worked with them to discover ways to use their power. I’m not sure how I feel knowing that they can create what they are calling light and dark daggers and shoot them out in the same way Hale and Austin can with rocks.

I’m very proud of my kids. They have grown and blossomed in the last two years. It’s simply amazing. Of course, these years haven’t been without the difficulties and hurdles they had to overcome. But I’m even prouder of them for facing life’s obstacles and coming out stronger for it.

Now I could bore you with talking about the challenges River and Sage faced to get to their happily ever afters. But those aren’t my stories to tell. If you want to know what happened, you’ll have to ask them. I’m sure they will happily ramble for days telling you every detail of what happened. But this is my story, well, mine and Hale’s. And today is, from a human perspective, the beginning of my happily ever after.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever get married. That was true even before I met Hale. And after becoming Hale’s mate, I didn’t think it would happen. Werewolves don’t typically do that. But during a candlelit picnic dinner in the mountains, Hale proposed. Of course, I said yes. I know we are bonded forever, but a part of me feels getting married solidifies that further. We will legally be bound to each other.

And okay, part of what makes me so happy is that I know this will be his first wedding too. I mean no disrespect to Jennifer. Of everything I’ve learned, his first mate was a kind and lovely woman. But as full-blooded werewolves, they never considered the legal path of marriage. So this won’t be a moment I share with his past. This will be ours.

We decided on October 30th as our wedding date, it would be a full moon, and it’s right before Samhain or Halloween if you want to be generic. I have always loved Samhain, so it was perfect. And while I know a lot of what is going into this wedding is more my style, Hale hasn’t complained. He continues to take all my quirks in stride and loves me for them.

His only input for the event was that we should keep it small, with family and close friends only, and hold it outside. I let him choose the location, and he picked a beautiful place. It set a perfect backdrop for the wedding’s black and rich purple theme. The ceremony and reception were all being held at Noble Ridge Tree Deck. So we would have stunning views from every direction and twinkly lights to add to the romantic feel as we are, of course, having the wedding at night.

While our wedding guest list was small, our wedding party wasn’t. As Hale was Austin’s best man when he and Suzanne got married back in the spring, we couldn’t exclude Austin, and if we were going to include his son, we had to include my kids, and then all the mates got pulled in. And once that happened, Sage and their mate sort of took over coordinating everyone’s clothes. I can’t wait to see Hale in his suit based on Sage's description.

“It’s okay to be nervous, Erin,” Suzanne assured me as she handed me the bouquet of sterling roses and black calla lilies. She should know all about being nervous. She did this several months ago.

“Thank you. I am not sure if I’m nervous or excited. I know Astra is on pins and needles because of the full moon and can’t wait to go for a run after the reception.” I sighed, taking a final look at myself in the mirror.

I fell in love with this gown online. When I shared the link with Sage and their mate, they adored it. Despite it being my wedding, they were the ones with the final say on clothes. I chose a deep purple satin ballgown dress with a fitted bodice, a multi-layered skirt with chiffon, tulle & organza, and fabulous detailed beaded applique. Sage loved it, especially the lace-up corset back.

The dress paired beautifully with the black veil sprinkled with silver glitter and featured the phases of the moon embroidered in black and silver around the hem Sage’s mate found and bought, saying it was perfect for me to wear on a Samhain’s eve wedding. As another find of theirs, all of us were wearing heels tonight, so myself, River’s mate, Sage, and Suzanne were all wearing custom hand-painted platform heels with textured skulls. My heels were white, while everyone else got black.

Sage, with help from their mate, decided on what Suzanne, River’s mate, and they would wear as part of my bridal party. They were all wearing layered black brocade and lace asymmetrical skirts, high neck white lace puffed sleeve blouses accented by black and amethyst brocade corsets. Suzanne’s corset was the waist cincher underbust kind, while Sage and River’s mate wore vest style, giving them a more gender-neutral look.

We all turned as the door to the room opened after a quick knock. River poked their head in with a grin. “Mom, it’s time. Looking hot, My Bunno.” They winked at their mate before focusing on me again.

I breathed to calm myself as it was finally time to walk down the aisle. I’m a bit old for a bride, having recently turned forty-seven but better late than never. Plus, I’m marrying the best man on the planet.