Epilogue
Jo - 1 Day
He had wings.
I mean, objectively, I'd known that.
Changed fully into his True Form, he had wings. But from what I could tell, it almost never happened on the human plane. Except, of course, when you Claimed someone. Like Ly and done with Lenore.
But Ace had wings.
They were the loveliest and most incredible things I had ever seen.
I thought maybe they were all the same. Black and bat-like. Mostly because that was what Ly's were like and I had no other frame of reference.
But Ace's wings were different. Yes, they were bat-like. And, yes, they were predominantly black. But there was another color dotted in, almost like glitter. A brilliant, lovely golden color that I couldn't stop staring at, so I was glad that Ace seemed to have trouble tucking them back away now that they were out.
They were all kinds of sexy and soothing when they brushed over my bare skin, too, which added an interesting new element to sex later the night of the Claiming. And the next morning.
I guess it shouldn't have been so fascinating, so charming.
I probably should have run screaming.
They were evil.
He was evil.
And yet... and yet, somehow, I'd seen more kindness in him than I had in many humans with their supposed souls.
He was fiercely loyal to his club, his people. He had worried himself sick over Red. He'd sat up with her every night to read to her.
When he'd taken me out for the day, I don't think he realized I noticed his very sly handoff of a handful of cash to a homeless man sitting out front of the convenience store beside the pizza place we'd gone to.
Not just his spare change or a dollar or something.
When I'd glanced back, the bill that was wrapped around several other bills was a fifty.
He might have shown outright derision for humans at times, but there was no denying he'd developed a certain softness toward some of us. The downtrodden, the ones our society never looked twice at, the souls that likely would ascend, not end up down in hell getting tormented for eternity.
When we talked about things he'd seen and experienced since coming to Earth, he'd raged about how humans set themselves apart in groups, about how their fear and petty prejudices were the dark marks on their souls that would send them down instead of up.
He didn't like Earth-side suffering.
He didn't like seeing division based on race and sexuality and politics.
He'd waxed poetic about how, as a whole, humans had evolved immensely with terms of technology, but almost not at all about things that really mattered.
You didn't even want to get him started on religion. Because at the end of the day, in his words, 'Good is good and evil is evil and everyone knows what is good and what is evil, but pretend that only they know, so they can hate each other, and start wars, and do the exact opposite of what is good.'
For an immortal being, he was surprisingly "up on the times." Or "woke," if you will.
And for a creature that was, well, evil, he liked to see people being good, people ascending. Even though he whispered in the ears of others to bring out their evil.
When I'd maybe called him a hypocrite for that, he'd rolled his eyes at me. "You can't make a good person evil, Josephine. It is there or it isn't. We just tease it out when it is there."
I'd even asked him to try it on me. And even after a lot of suggesting, I'd just been sleepy.
So I was good.
Which left me in a tough spot, didn't it?
Because if I wanted to be with Ace in a forever sort of way, I would have to become less good. Not fully evil. Lenore was still partly good, partly human. Or, well, witch. Which I think still made her human. I'd been so wrapped up with demon lore that I hadn't gotten my crash course on witches yet. But it was coming, I was sure.
So if I decided to let Lenore make me immortal as well, I would still be myself. But I would live forever. I wouldn't be so bothered by more pesky human things. Like eating. Like pain.
But in order to have those things happen, some of my soul wouldn't be around anymore.
It was a big thing to contemplate, something weighty, something I wasn't ready to decide yet, like Ace had suggested.
Yes, I was borderline obsessed with Ace at this point, but I knew enough about hormones to know that oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin were wreaking havoc on my system, making it hard to know my mind from my heart and the other way around.
I needed time.
To make sure it wasn't just chemical infatuation.
I had to say, though, I already knew it was more than that. Because I genuinely liked Ace. Snarky asshole side and all. Because while he was that, he would always be that, with me, he was something else. He was softer, sweeter, and kinder. And I knew that because of his nature, he would always be those things toward me.
I also had a lot of respect for his loyalty to his people, his steadfast determination to lead them, to guide them as the world changed around them constantly. I adored his thirst for knowledge, even if it sometimes made him come off a little cocky and condescending. Usually it turned me off when people thought they knew more than you. But in this case, it was a simple fact. The man had been around ages. He'd read millions of books. He'd seen and done it all.
And he liked sharing that knowledge. He enjoyed telling me things, giving me the knowledge he'd acquired over his very long life. It was almost like he felt like he was giving me pieces of himself by doing so. Luckily, I was hungry for all things supernatural or paranormal or whatever it was called. I was sure I would never get enough of his stories.
So, yeah, there were chemicals involved, but there was genuine affection as well.
And we would just have to see where all of that would lead us.
Ace - 1 Month
The party felt different than all the previous ones.
And there had been many of them.
I guess the difference could be attributed to the woman who had been moving around the house during it. The one in a skintight black dress she'd borrowed from Red who still hadn't come home to reclaim her closet that made me both want to grab her, wrap my wing—or just my fucking coat—around her so no one else could see, but also shove up against a wall, slip up the skirt, and fuck her right there for everyone to see that she—and all those curves that were coming back thanks to our twice-weekly fast food binge trips—belonged to me.
She made the party different, my work different.
She made everything different.
I knew, on a rational level, that should have bothered me.
But I couldn't seem to give a fuck.
Because I'd been on Earth for a long, long time, and I'd never come close to anything resembling happiness as I did since she came into my life.
It was warm.
She was warm.
She was the kind of warm I'd been chasing since I'd left hell.
She was the kind of warm I would give up going back there for.
Just to stay here, basking in it.
Forever.
Or for as long as she would let me have it.
That thought made my mood darker and darker as the days dragged to weeks. Because the more of her I got, the more I wanted, the less I felt like letting her go even if she demanded it of me.
Eventually, I'd decided to abandon the party early, leaving the fun and games to the other guys while I tossed my woman over my shoulder, threw her on the bed, and gave her half a dozen orgasms until she couldn't take anymore.
But the party had been over for hours.
And there was the sound of voices below.
Hushed voices.
But rapid, angry, even.
An argument of some sort.
Sure, it could have been Ly and Lenore, but I rarely ever heard them fighting.
It could even have been one of Daemon's many women, angry at being kicked out.
But something told me to get
out of bed, put on some pants, and go down to check things out.
I was halfway down the stairs when I'd found the source of the male voice.
Not Ly or Daemon.
And the woman's voice.
Not Lenore or some random clubwhore.
Oh, no.
Nope.
This was Dale.
Dale the fucking demonslayer.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I snapped before I could fully assess the situation.
And it was right then and there that I realized something vital.
Because Minos's wings surged out from his back, moving over to attempt to wrap protectively around Dale.
Who visibly shrank away, casting an angry look at Minos, and a guilty one at me, before turning, yanking open the door, and disappearing.
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel at realizing one of my men had Claimed a demonslayer.
But the sigh that moved through me felt appropriate.
As well as the words that came out of my mouth.
"Are you fucking serious?"
To that, Minos's jaw went tight as his wings disappeared.
"I think we both know we don't have any control over it," he snapped, jaw tight.
With that, he stormed off, slamming the back door as he went outside.
Leaving me to contemplate all the ways this shit could come back and bite us in the ass.
I don't know how long I stood there.
But I knew it was Josephine's hands that snapped me out of my swirling thoughts as they slid around my chest. She leaned forward, resting her head against my bare back.
"Come back to bed," she demanded in a sleepy voice.
So, no, I had no fucking idea what it meant that Minos had claimed Dale.
I didn't have any idea where Red was, or why she was chasing down Marceaus who didn't seem like he wanted to be caught.
I didn't even know what it meant for us that Drex was so obsessed with his kinky fucking club.
But I did know I was going back to bed with my woman.
And in that moment, it was all that mattered.
Jo - 1 Year
"Are you sure?" Lenore asked, tone serious.
Because she knew what a big decision this was.
She'd needed to make it as well.
"You've been where I'm standing," I reminded her. "You know the answer to that."
I hadn't taken the decision lightly.
I figured she hadn't either.
It was a big thing, asking someone to give up what they had always known.
Birth, life, death.
A cycle that never had an opt-out clause before.
We'd molded our lives as such, made decisions based on the need to experience as much as we could in such a short time, knowing it would soon all be over.
It was a big deal to suddenly decide that was no longer going to be your reality. I'd spent many sleepless nights wrestling with my uncertainties about it. I'd pestered Lenore endlessly about the differences she'd felt after she'd taken on immortality.
I was afraid things would lose their wonder because I knew I would always have them, that no moment was lost because I would have infinite chances to experience the same thing over and over. I was terrified to lose my sense of purpose, something that had always been so important to me.
Unexpectedly, it had been Drex to calm that particular worry. Granted, he'd done so gruffly and with a voice full of annoyance over listening to me prattle on endlessly about it to Ace.
"Wouldn't being alive forever give you more chances to help the hurt and infirm, for fuck's sake?"
And, well, he was right.
Maybe I couldn't do it at my old capacity. People would eventually notice that I wasn't aging. But I could still help. I could find purpose.
After four or five months, when the feelings toward Ace hadn't started to ebb, but just flowed endlessly, I figured my worries about it being chemical were pretty unfounded.
It was just him.
I liked him.
No.
I loved him.
I loved him in a way I never had before.
Suddenly, I could see the shallowness in all my previous relationships.
I'd loved conditionally.
And I'd been loved back the same way.
There was none of that with Ace and me.
He loved me without limits.
I loved him without fear.
It was thrilling and terrifying and so consuming it was hard to wrap my own head around at times. And I was the one experiencing it.
All I knew was, each day, I became more and more certain that what I wanted, what I needed, was more time with him.
As much time as I could possibly have.
"I know," Lenore agreed, looking up from the grimoire in her hands. "I just have to check," she added, giving me a soft smile. "It's a big decision."
"The biggest," I agreed.
"It's the best one I've ever made," she told me in a low voice, not wanting our men to overhear.
"I know it is going to be the best one I ever have too," I assured her, feeling Ace's wing tickle across my neck as he moved forward, came to stand behind me. Always having my back. Especially during such an important moment.
With that, Lenore started her spell.
I said the words she told me to say.
And my whole heart was in my voice as I did so.
Because that was what Ace was going to have.
Forever.
Sneak Peek!
The front door flew open.
Footsteps rushed into the library.
And there was Daemon, wide-eyed, out of breath.
"Hey, ah, boss man," he said, looking over at Ace. "I, uhm, I think Drex might have just gotten us into a war with the vampires. Just thought you'd want to know that."
Also By Jessica Gadziala
If you liked this book, check out these other series and titles in the NAVESINK BANK UNIVERSE:
The Henchmen MC
Reign
Cash
Wolf
Repo
Duke
Renny
Lazarus
Pagan
Cyrus
Edison
Reeve
Sugar
The Fall of V
Adler
Roderick
Virgin
Roan
Camden
West
Colson
The Henchmen MC - Next Gen
Niro
The Savages
Monster
Killer
Savior
Mallick Brothers
For A Good Time, Call
Shane
Ryan
Mark
Eli
Charlie & Helen: Back to the Beginning
Investigators
367 Days
14 Weeks
4 Months
Dark
Dark Mysteries
Dark Secrets
Dark Horse
Professionals
The Fixer
The Ghost
The Messenger
The General
The Babysitter
The Negotiator
The Client
Rivers Brothers
Lift You Up
Lock You Down
Pull You In
STANDALONES WITHIN NAVESINK BANK:
Vigilante
Grudge Match
The Rise of Ferryn
Counterfeit Love
Golden Glades Henchmen
Huck
OTHER SERIES AND STANDALONES
Stars Landing
What The Heart Needs
What The Heart Wants
What The Heart Finds
What The Heart Knows
The Stars Landing Deviant
What The Heart Learns
Surrogate
The Sex Surrogate
Dr. Chase Hudson
Th
e Green Series
Into the Green
Escape from the Green
DEBT
Dissent
Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance
There Better Be Pie
Unwrapped
Peace, Love, & Macarons
A Navesink Bank Christmas
Don't Come
Fix It Up
N.Y.E.
faire l'amour
The Woman at the Docks
The Woman in the Trunk
The Sacrifice
Ugly Sweater Weather
About the Author
Jessica Gadziala is a full-time writer, parrot enthusiast, and coffee drinker who enjoys short rides to the bookstore, sad songs, and cold weather, and who has developed an unhealthy obsession with acquiring houseplants. She lives in New Jersey with a bunch of dogs, seven parrots, and a whole flock of chickens.
She is a strong believer in snark, strong secondary characters, and badass women.
Stalk Her!
Connect with Jessica:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaGadziala/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/314540025563403/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13800950.Jessica_Gadziala
Goodreads Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/177944-jessica-gadziala-books-and-bullsh
Twitter: @JessicaGadziala
JessicaGadziala.com
The Healer (Seven Sins MC Book 2) Page 16
