by Michelle Fox
"I love you, Ryder," she whispered in his ear.
"I love you, babe." He squeezed her close and everything was right in Lia's world.
Epilogue
Summer faded into fall, but as nature waned, Lia's life blossomed into something better than she could have ever imagined. With her memory came an even deeper appreciation for Ryder, her mate. She'd been looking for him for a long time. It was weird to think Adele and her addiction had brought them together.
Speaking of Adele, she was moody but clean and working with Marie to learn how to control her healing gift. For the moment, Lia stayed out of Adele's way, finding her sister too prickly to be good company.
"She needs to focus on herself and you're a painful reminder of her addiction that she's not ready to deal with yet," Marie had said. "Give her some time to put herself back together."
So, hard as it was to not see her sister, Lia left Adele alone. Once she was ready, though, the plan was to have her be the healer for Ryder's pack, which he'd named Moon's Bower.
Cabins were popping up all over the meadow Ryder had bought with his grandmother's help. Their own cabin was due to be finished soon. Tillie called them twice a day for progress reports, anxious to leave Crescent Pines and move into the in-law suite they'd promised her.
"I want to feel the wind in my fur, not the farts of old men in small confined spaces," she'd said.
Which made no sense, since she'd recently started dating a guy from Crescent Pines. According to Tillie, Charlie was going to be a regular visitor to Moon's Bower...of the overnight variety.
The Timber Creek Pack was taken over by the Pack Council after Ryder refused to become its alpha. Everyone was being investigated to make sure they hadn't participated in Mason's end of the blood slavery business. Once that was done, the Council would either dissolve the pack and force them to scatter, or if they felt the pack was worth keeping intact, they would oversee alpha challenges to establish a new alpha.
As for the blood slave ring itself, there'd been no sign of them anywhere. Talon told them the investigation remained open, but with no leads, the best they would get was the satisfaction that they'd driven the ring out of the Huntsville area.
"Sometimes the criminals get away," Talon had said. "All we can do is keep them from coming back." He'd been working with the Pack Council and the alphas in the area to show them what to look for so the vampires couldn't sneak in and prey on unsuspecting shifters again.
Meanwhile, Lia planned the wedding. It was going to be an over-the-top affair because she felt they all deserved one hell of a party after everything that had happened. The logistics were a challenge, given she and Ryder had no place of their own yet. They had rented Marie's parents' cabin until their house was ready and the wedding stuff had taken over the tiny living space. Fabric swatches and magazines covered the pine table. Boxes of craft supplies for making centerpieces filled one corner of the living area and the dresses she kept ordering online, looking for 'the one,' hung on the wall. She kept having to add new hooks.
Ryder bore the frilly nuptial chaos with good humor, saying something about how his friends had warned him.
"Warned you about what?"
"What love really looks like." He'd swept her into a juicy kiss after that, cutting off any further questions she might have.
Petra was going to come stay with her for a few months to help organize the event. Until then, they texted constantly. Lia sent Petra a picture of each dress she tried on and consulted her on every detail.
Overall, life was amazing, and Lia planned to enjoy her happy ending with all her heart.
***
Thank you for reading! Yes, this is where the story stops...for now. There's always something happening in Huntsville so I'm sure there will be more! If you enjoyed Lia and Ryder, please leave a review. It is a huge help and deeply appreciated.
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About the Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Michelle Fox lives in the Midwest with her husband, kids, the occasional exchange student and the best dog ever. She loves fantasy and romance, which makes writing paranormal romance a natural fit. Occasionally, she goes through a maverick phase and writes contemporary romance. In her spare time, she's been known to shake her bon-bon at Zumba, make spectacular cheesecakes, hoard vintage costume jewelry and eat way too much ice cream (Ben and Jerry’s Karamel Sutra for the win!).
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