"Sadie?" Alec murmurs gently beside me, voice low and coaxing. "You ready?"

I turn, and he's there, exactly where he's always been. Tall, steady, eyes soft in a way I once thought I'd never be on the receiving end of. He's holding our son in his arms, swaddled in a light silver blanket that shimmers when it catches the morning

sun.

I inhale, heart full. "Yeah," I breathe out. "I'm ready."

Before I can move, tiny footsteps hurry up to us, and Aspen appears, curls bouncing, eyes bright with excitement, far too big for her little body.

"Can I hold him now?" she asks for the tenth time today, practically vibrating. "I'll be careful, I promise!"

I laugh, sweeping a thumb across her cheek. "When we get to the pack, princess. Not while we're jumping realms. You drop your iPad when you run too fast. I'm not giving you your brother during teleport."

She pouts dramatically, draws out a long "mmmoooom," and then sighs with resignation. “Fine... but only because I don't want to drop him.”

Alec chuckles, leaning down to press a kiss to her head. "Deal.”

My chest swells watching them. My mate and my daughter, and now our son.

Our son, Leo, is only three months old. We discovered I was pregnant again barely two months after our showdown with Kaden. Turns out he was conceived on the night of the annual ball, the same night Alec marked me.

It was shocking, but it was also a beautiful surprise.

If you'd told me three years ago that I'd be this happy, that I'd be mated to Alec, building a life with him... I would've laughed in your face. Maybe even knocked you on your ass for good measure, but fate has a way of weaving things together in ways we never see coming, and for once, she worked entirely in my favor.

A year ago, we were drowning... Now though, there is laughter in our home. Light in every corner. Love so deep it feels like it has roots, just like I'd always imagined as a little kid.

Alec steps closer and presses a slow, gentle kiss to my lips.

"One more time," he murmurs against my mouth.

I swear I'll never get used to the way his lips feel against mine. It's the purest kind of addiction, one I'm not ashamed of, and one I never intend to give up.

I cup his jaw, my forehead brushing his. "Time to go."

His eyes flare silver as his ascension mark ignites, and the world bends around us. The air hums, magic folding in on itself as space warps. Aspen squeals and clings to my leg just as light swallows us whole.

In less than a heartbeat, we're standing before the packhouse.

“Must be nice,” a familiar voice says dryly, "to teleport wherever you want."

Alec chuckles. "Really nice."

Mother had been right about Alec sharing my power and honestly, I had way too much fun teaching him how to control it.

Let's just say he became my very willing punching bag more than once. Between the lingering adrenaline, the hormonal mood swings, and the chaos of adjusting to godhood, it turned out to be incredibly therapeutic.

To his credit, he never complained. Not even when I knocked him flat and somehow, every time I felt myself slipping too far in one direction, he was there, grounding me

Balance, it turns out, isn't just about power. It's about who's willing to stand in the blast radius with you and stay anyway.

"Uncle Micah!" Aspen shrieks.

Micah's face breaks into a wide grin as she barrels toward him.

He stands at the entrance of the packhouse, Alpha sash draped across his chest, head held high, shoulders broader than I remember. Authority fits him far too well for someone who once got drunk and fell off a table during training announcements.

Jason stands to Micah's right, still Beta, still grinning like he knows everyone's secrets... He probably does.

I know it confused a lot of people, but after Alec ascended with me, the Alpha position was left vacant. The pack elders deliberated and ultimately decided that Micah was the better fit for Alpha over Jason.

We were all surprised when Jason agreed without protest. The position had technically been his by right but I think Jason was relieved. Leadership suits him,

but the weight of being Alpha? That was never something he wanted.

I turn just as King waves us over.

.n

He's now the Alpha of the Hope pack, and have to admit he's doing an incredible job. The pack still. welcomes all just as it always has. Now, it even includes a fewy

hybrids Brian among them.

Raven stands at King's side as his Beta, radiant in an obsidian-black gown threaded with starlight silver, while Brian, standing a few feet away watching the crowd with careful eyes, serves as gamma.

Piper laughs nearby as Calvin

bounces their chubby son on his knee, the mate mark on his neck glowing softly I finally released Calvin after the war, and be wasted no time completing the mating ceremony with Piper. The elders later chose him as Gamma, a role he stepped into without hesitation.