He thrust into her faster, hips bucking hard enough that she could barely catch her breath. “Come, Sage,” he growled, teeth grazing her skin. “Come, and I’ll make you mine.”
Her body doubled down on the pleasure rolling through her, letting each wave bleed into the next and build until she thought she’d combust. Pressure, so much pressure, coiled inside her center. Close. So… so… close.
Her nails dug into his shoulders as she arched against him. Every cell in her body split apart, pure bliss shooting through her nerves. She shattered around him, every last muscle seeming to contract at the same moment, milking him for all she was worth.
Sage turned her head, gums aching, and claimed her mate.
Rhys roared, slamming his hips into her again and again. He stilled at the exact moment he sank his fangs into her shoulder.
Relief shuddered through her as he slowed, then stilled. Hers. He was all hers, the same as she was his. The monsters who tried to beat her down until she had nothing left hadn’t succeeded. Here she was, body exhausted from a run on four paws and making love to her mate. Her every breath was proof of how she’d won.
Pleasure sparked under the rasp of Rhys’s tongue running along the edges of her new claiming mark, and Sage smiled against his shoulder.
They weren’t broken. They were survivors. Together.
Epilogue
“Sage!” Hailey called, bouncing Abby on her hip.
“Coming!” she hurried out of the cubs’ bedroom. “Fed, changed, and costumed up. Rhea is ready for her first Halloween.”
Hailey flashed a smile at her younger-by-minutes daughter. Voice high pitched and happy, she griped, “Now where is your father, huh? He knows he can’t miss pictures or I’ll make sure you’re the only two children he ever has.”
Trent yanked open the door and slunk down the hall, shrugging into a deep burgundy jacket. Jeans and a dark, checkered shirt rounded out his costume, but the plastic ax hanging from his belt really made him into Jack Torrance. “I want it known that I hate this.”
“Now, now, all work and no play makes Trent a dull boy,” Hailey teased, tightening the belt of her blue bathrobe.
Sage handed Rhea off to her father, then stepped back. The twins were the most easily recognizable. Both wore blue dresses with white ribbons around their waists, and she’d readily give up her soul to play with them forever.
Trent fixed Sage with a mournful look. “Please, for all that’s holy, make Rhys as miserable when your cub is born.”
“Don’t worry.” Sage bumped her shoulder into Hailey. “I’m taking lessons from the best.”
“Suck up,” Hailey grinned. “Come on, everyone will be waiting.”
Sage was the first out the door, and threw her arms wide. “Presenting this year’s absolutely winning family costume. First up, we have Hailey modeling her bathrobe chic, with Abby in a truly out-of-this-spiritual-plane gown.” The snickers from the others almost had her breaking before Trent stepped through the door. “Next, with yet another little ghost with the most—”
“You’re mixing up your references!” Lilah heckled. “Booo!”
Sage waved her off and continued, “We have Trent, sure to go above, beyond, and straight through any door in his very best hotel caretaker impersonation.”
Lindley chuckled, handing out drinks to everyone gathered. “We’ll know the vote’s been rigged if you lose to some condiment bottles.”
“Are we sure they’re even allowed to participate?” Seth asked, scent swirling with the tease he kept off his face. “Last I heard, we weren’t supposed to show our faces at town celebrations.”
“That was a total misunderstanding,” Dash defended. “And besides, who here hasn’t accidentally wondered aloud if the Old Maids have such big purses to carry all the fun they suck out of people?”
More than one laugh picked up at his glossing over of the fact that he’d said so with the trio of elderly boar shifters right behind him, or that they’d all three unleashed said purses on him, giving him a black eye in the process.
“Toast!” Hailey called, then winked at Sage. “Toast for those of us who can drink. Apple juice for the lone sucker that can’t!”
Sage laughed. “And guess who just lost her free babysitter,” she said to no one in particular.
“Don’t think I won’t order you into it,” Trent threatened with a smile.
Rhys growled. “You can try.”
“I have something to say,” Kyla jumped in before the night devolved into a fist fight and a brawl. “I’d like to make a toast to this entire year. We’ve had our ups and downs, but mostly ups, and for that, I’m very grateful. I’m so happy to have every last one of you—yes, Dash, even you—in my life.”
Dash slapped a hand over his heart and pretended to stagger back with the shot taken. Colette jabbed her elbow in his side to make him straighten.
“I’ll chime in,” Rhys said, lifting his drink and shooting a warning look to any naysayers. “Kyla’s right. This year has been more up than down, but it’s been more than that, too. It’s been about finding home. Not just a place with walls and a roof, either. I mean the kind of place that you’re happy to go to at the end of the day. I hate you all with every fiber of my being,” he paused to let the snorts and wolf whistles die down, “but you’re part of home to me. Along with this one, here.”
Sage took the hand he held out to her and let him reel her in. She ducked her face against his arm and gave him a small squeeze, then turned to the others. “He’s right. He hates you all,” she laughed, leaning against her mate. His hand dropped around her to rest on her belly, and there was nowhere she’d rather be. Surrounded by her pride, held by her mate, she was where she belonged. “To home!”
“To home!” the others echoed, clinking their drinks.
Hailey and Trent were the first to depart, heading for a Trick-or-Treat event for cubs in the town square. Dash and Colette were next,
