By the time Xan hands me off to Kash, my body is tingling with anticipation. All of my nerves disappear as he takes my hand and welcomes me home.
He steps forward, pulling me into him as his mouth crashes over mine. His hands find their way into my hair as his tongue tangles with my own. The pack whistles and jeers until we break apart, both of us breathing heavily.
“I thought the kissing was supposed to happen at the end,” I say and earn a few snickers.
“You look incredible,” Kash breathes, placing his forehead against my own.
I smile up at him. “Well, I did until you pawed me. Talia’s gonna be mad.”
“Speaking of Trouble,” Lynch says, tapping Kash on the shoulder. “If you wouldn’t mind,” he says, making a scoot motion.
“Come on, Girlfriend,” Lynch calls, leaning down and patting his leg. “Come to Daddy.”
Girlfriend saunters down the aisle. Her tiny white dress is covered with flowers, the petals falling off and floating to the ground each time she stops to shake.
Kash and I grin at each other as we shuffle closer to where Justice stands as the best man.
I peek over his shoulder to the front row where Lina sits next to Lynch’s parents. She blows me a kiss, and I grin. My eyes slide past her to where Lynch’s parents embrace. I watch as Patrick hands Bev a handkerchief, and she dabs at her nose before clutching it to her chest as she watches her son with pure joy.
“Pretty sure you were supposed to wait for Birdie to give you the okay to make out,” Justice whispers as the music changes to something more upbeat.
My eyes dart to where Lynch now holds a quivering Girlfriend, his eyes locked straight ahead.
Justice’s eyes meet mine, and we both burst into laughter as the opening words to Troublemaker begin playing. We swing our hips to the song that Lynch has dubbed “Talia’s theme song” as her bodyguards stride into view.
Girlfriend squirms, and Lynch hands her to his father, who cuddles her while she licks his face.
“Damn. Instead of ring bearers, Talia’s brought weapons bearers,” Justice whispers.
Kash chuckles, his arms wrapping around my waist as I lean into him.
“Classic Talia,” he whispers in my ear, and I laugh my agreement.
When the processional reaches Lynch, the man in front steps aside, absorbing Lynch into their ranks. Murmurs start as we wait for whatever will happen next. Finally, Talia and Lynch emerge arm in arm as the sound of a helicopter starts in the distance. They step back up onto the podium, not even glancing back to where Talia’s father is being whisked away.
My head whips between the now hovering helicopter and back to where a pale Lynch stands, holding onto a beaming Talia.
When the sounds of the whirling blades fade away, Birdie shrugs, motioning for us to move closer as the crowd settles back into their seats.
With our family all around us, the four of us recite vows as old as time, finally claiming our happily ever afters under the light of a blue moon.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Chapter 21
epilogue
“Move your ass, Rom. It’s starting!” Talia’s shout propels me into motion, and I grab the drinks I just poured, using both hands to carry them into the living room. Minimal liquid sloshes over the rim in my haste, so I consider it a win. Meeting me halfway, Justice plucks two of the drinks out of my hands and gives one to Levi. Kash takes the third, and I scoot in close to him as we all turn to face the TV screen.
The opening credits give way to the logo and hosts, and then it’s the moment we’re all gathered for.
“Anna!” Justice’s shout is followed by every single one of us shushing him.
He grins, and we all listen as Anna appears on the screen, bright, bubbly, and beautiful as ever.
“Aww. They’re hiding her baby bump,” I say, hoping to catch another glimpse of it. Rubbing Anna’s tiny bump has become one of mine and Talia’s favorite pastimes, and I’ve been dying since she texted us a few pictures this morning from her maternity shoot. They were ridiculously adorable with Beau’s hands caressing hers as they both hugged her swollen belly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the pile of Legos Hunter left out when we played earlier. That kid is getting way too big. Not to mention all the other rug rats running around this place these days. My heart fills with the love I feel for the next generation of Somerville wolves.
On-screen, the intro music ends, and I return my attention to the TV.
“Welcome back everybody! Today I have a special guest in the kitchen. Her down-home recipes and artistic eye have made her a rising star in the culinary world. Welcome, Anna Price of Just Desserts!” The host shakes hands with a smiling Anna who waves to the camera.
“Thank you so much for havin’ me today,” Anna says.
“We are so excited to have you,” the host gushes. “Why don’t you start out by tellin’ everybody what we’re gonna be makin’ today.”
“Well, today, we’ll be whippin’ up a family favorite.”
The camera pans to the countertop where all her ingredients are set up, and she goes to work listing the ingredients as she mixes them all in a bowl. The segment continues with the host acting as Anna’s sous chef while asking questions and tossing banter back and forth.
My eyes stay glued to Anna.
“Is it true that you started this business with a single food truck?” the host asks.
“It sure is,” Anna says, beaming. “I went to college in Reverence, Massachusetts, and my besties helped me run the truck in between classes.”
“That doesn’t leave much time for partyin’,” jokes the host.
Anna’s mouth quirks. “I’m not much of a partier, but rest assured my besties were constantly ropin’ me into plenty of their shenanigans.”
“Do tell,” the host prompts.
Anna’s face reddens, but the camera pans to just off camera where Beau watches from the wings.
“Was meetin’ your husband Beau one of those shenanigans?” the host asks slyly.
Anna laughs. “As a matter of fact, yes, it was.”
Beau waves, the picture of a southern gentleman, and the camera–and conversation–return to Anna’s cooking.
“And now you’ve grown to a storefront,” the host says.
“Two, actually.” Anna beams, and pride swells in my chest for all my friend has accomplished.
The interview continues, and I sip my drink while I watch Anna doing what she loves. She totally nails it, and at the end when she announces the name of the dessert, my eyes go wide.
“This triple chocolate brownie is a recipe I perfected during a very special time in my life.” Anna smiles. “It’s called Romy’s Romance.”
The host makes noises of appreciation as she and Anna take their first bite.
When the segment goes to commercial, Talia, Justice, and I all cheer loudly. I turn to my friends and raise my glass.
“To Anna,” I toast.
“To Anna-Banana and her love of sweets,” Talia agrees.
We all drink, but Justice yanks his drink away from his mouth, nearly spitting it out.
“Rom!”
He points at the TV.
My eyes catch on the image as the words of the voice-over begin to register in my distracted brain.
“I’m well aware of what they call me. Hell, I’ve even embraced it. It’s
officially listed on all of my social media handles now, but just because you may have heard this story on the news doesn’t mean you’ve heard correctly. You can choose to believe me or not—that’s up to you. But I guarantee that what you are about to read is the true story of how I found myself knee-deep in werewolves. It’s time to share the truth with you. But most of all, it’s time to let everyone know I’m not even slightly sorry.”
The words are from the prologue of my book, but the voice belongs to an A-list celebrity who I can’t quite believe is recreating my actual life right now
.
The trailer is short and sweet. A few dramatic images flash, one after the other. A flash of red hair in an alley. A large wolf baring its teeth. A couple facing off as sexual tension practically knocks the viewer in the face.
I watch it, stunned.
“The Girl Who Cried Werewolf,” the voice-over finishes. “In theatres this fall.”
The trailer ends.
My friends all turn to me.
Justice grins wildly, and so does Levi. Lynch smirks like he’s known all along how crazy this whole thing would turn out, and Talia just looks like she’s waiting for me to say something. I have a feeling she knew this would air tonight and didn’t tell me just to see the shock on my face.
She’s my manager, but she’s still sneaky as hell.
When I still don’t speak, Kash brushes a kiss across my cheek.
“I’m so proud of you,” he beams.
No jealousy over his celebrity impersonator remains. At least not until the red carpet premiere when we’re face to face again. That’ll be a riot.
“Rom?” Talia prompts.
Justice frowns. “Should we do CPR?”
“That’s my job,” Kash warns.
“I can’t believe it’s really happening,” I say finally.
Years’ worth of work and social management. Posts and comments, not to mention all the trolls who always seem to pop up to try and screw with a girl’s sense of success.
Talia smirks as if she can read my mind. “And that is how you show the haters what’s up.”
“Damn right.” Justice high fives me, and I smile, accepting the fact that this is my new reality. “Once this movie breaks records, everything will change.”
My smile dims, and I grab Kash, pulling him against me and tipping my lips to meet his. “Hopefully not everything,” I say. “I’m pretty happy with my life exactly as it is.”
Kash murmurs his agreement.
Justice and Levi do the same.
Talia’s phone dings, and she glances at the screen, her mouth tightening into a frown.
“I need to step outside for a second,” she says, walking quickly out of the room.
I hear the door slam,
“Uh, any guesses?” I ask the others.
Everyone shrugs, including Lynch.
I bite my lip, still speculating when the door slams again, and Talia comes striding back into the room.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, it’s just an invitation to a party.”
“I get my book made into a movie, and you get invited to a party? Somehow, that doesn’t seem fair,” I say.
But Talia waves me off. “It’s just a favor for an old friend of mine. Apparently, she needs help solving a mystery and wants us to come scout the place out.” She glances at Lynch. “You up for that?”
Lynch grabs her waist and yanks her close. “Woman, I go where you go. You don’t even have to ask.”
Then he dips her and seals his words with a loud, sloppy kiss.
~The End~
Whoa! Calm down.
This isn’t the last time you'll see us together.
Make sure to stay in touch so you can keep up with all of our planned coauthored projects. Keep reading for ways to do so!
Shoutouts
HOLD UP, we're done??? Just like the "best years of my life," writing this trilogy went by way too fast. Just kidding, I'm living my best life right now in these Forever 21 sweats, with a husband who's younger than me and a newly adopted moral code that forbids me from wearing a bra. Psshh. Stop looking scandalized. If you read this far, this is not the weirdest thing we've written down for you. Okay in all seriousness, I'm so grateful for the support from readers who allow me to stay home and write--
Yo, Heather. I’m really happy for you. Imma let you finish, but I just wanna say thank you to everyone who took the time to read this series. Even though most of you were drinking that haterade at the end of books one and two, we hope this ending has finally left you happy. It’s been so bittersweet for us to say goodbye to Romy and her gang, but this definitely isn’t the last time Heather and I will make adorkable book babies together. Thanks for falling in love with these weirdos as much as we did. Catch you nerds on the flip side!
-- Right then. *blinks at the camera...* *Tries to remember what she was saying* In summation, we basically just want to say that you're all the tits. See you in the next story!
About the Authors
Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. (She's only slightly socially awkward as a result.) She writes paranormal and contemporary romance with plenty of abs and angst. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles and avoiding killer slugs.
You can find out more about Heather and her books at heatherhildenbrand.com.
Or find her here:
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Bam Shepherd is a part time author but a full time badass who currently resides in Oklahoma. She wears a lot of hats in the indie community including writing, marketing, PA Services, Design, Manuscript Services. So many hats. She also wears a lot of hats at home. Not because she has a lot of jobs (though also because of that) but just because hats look amazing on her. She's a semi-pro lip sync battler. A little bit hippie. A lotta bit hood. When she's not creating worlds she spends her time being bossed around by a tiny army that she created, gardening and canning (even though she thinks she's too young for those to be legitimate hobbies), and listening to 90's rap. If she's not creating magical worlds of her own, she's falling into someone else's.
You can find out more about Bam and her books at
bamshepherd.com
Or stalk her here~
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Also by Heather Hildenbrand
Goddess Ascending: In order to save her family and the one she loves, she’ll have to ascend—if the darkness doesn’t get to her first.
Kiss of Death: A fae agent-in-training with a score to settle. A city overrun by demons. And a professor who thinks he’s the angel’s gift to the female species…Gem will need more than her books to help her ace this test.
The Monster Ball Anthology: 13 bestselling paranormal romance authors bring you a night you won’t forget! One night a year, the supernatural elite all gather for a party like no other. And remember, what happens at the ball stays at the ball…
The Girl Who Called The Stars: A fierce heroine far from home and the army she left behind must reunite to save the galaxy from utter darkness.
Remembrance: She’s the cure that could save him… if only she could remember how. “Witches, Werewolves, and WTF?!”
Bitter Rivalry: Two long lost sisters are reunited and forced to compete for the alpha role in their pack. The winner has been promised to the vampire prince. One sister wants to kiss him; the other wants to kill him. Can siblings survive rivalry and forbidden love?
A Risk Worth Taking: A New Adult Contemporary Romance with southern charm and a hippie farmer capable of swoon and heartbreak in the same breath.
Dirty Blood: A Young Adult Paranormal Romance about a girl who falls in love with a werewolf, only to find out she’s a Hunter, born and bred to kill the very thing she means to save.
Imitation: A Young Adult SciFi Romance with life or death choices and a conspiracy so deep, even a motorcycle-riding bodyguard can’t pull you out.
O Face: Is Summerville’s most eligible bachelor hot enough to melt the ice princess herself?
For a complete list of titles, visit Heather’s website at www.heatherhildenbrand.com.
Also by Bam Shepherd
The Monster Ball Anthology ~ 13 bestselling paranormal romance authors bring you a night you won’t forget! One night a year, the supernatural elite all gather for a party like no
other. And remember, what happens at the ball stays at the ball…
The Girl Who Cried Werewolf ~ When professional book blogger, Romy Cartelli, Sure, Romy is being stalked by a sexy werewolf, but she’s got bigger issues to deal with. Like the fact that he might be a murderer. Or worse yet, that she got drunk and told all of her followers that werewolves actually exist. Then she fails to prove it, but as Romy sets out to prove she’s not crazy and win back her followers, she’ll discover there are bigger dangers awaiting her than internet infamy.
The Girl Who Cried Captive ~ Romy isn't going to let a little something like getting kidnapped get her down. She's determined to turn the tables on her captors. Using her wits and somewhat questionable charm, Romy uses her time in captivity to learn her captors secrets. Can she find a way to save more than herself? Or will the secrets she learned hold her prisoner long after she’s escaped?
The Girl Who Cried War Page 20
