I moved my wrist over Remo’s mouth and waited. I touched his short hair, running my hand over his head. “Remo, please don’t leave me again.”

I glanced over my shoulder to where Tad was checking on Dad. “How is he?”

“Banged up, bitten, but otherwise okay.”

A hand reached up and touched my face. I stared down into Remo’s now-open eyes and smiled. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty.” I said, and promptly burst into tears.

EPILOGUE

Three weeks later we had a party at my house in Seattle.

To say it was strange would be an understatement. The theme was a mixture of anniversary, funeral, and triumph. I made the red velvet cake my mom had wanted. Dad cried when he talked about her, about how much she really had wanted both Tad and me to be happy. Tad kept his arm locked around Dahlia’s waist, his eyes saying it all. He was happy.

Yaya was there, but she insisted we call her Flora from now on, seeing as she no longer looked like a yaya. Max had locked on to her and was currently following her around the room, asking about being a priestess of Zeus. I flicked my eyes up to Ernie, who was sitting on the top of the bookshelf in the living room.

“You keeping your arrows to yourself?” I asked.

He grinned. “Don’t need to use them; all of you are doing just fine. Finally.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the smile. Hercules had even come to the party, though he stood off to one side. He had healed up fast from the wound Hera had inflicted on him—Ernie said it was because he was half-immortal.

Smithy had declined the invite. Aphrodite needed him, as she was slowly healing from the venom burns.

The pantheon was in upheaval, but Zeus and Hera were working together, and they had already reached out to the human government on behalf of the North American Supernatural Community. Or NASC. Ernie had snickered at the acronym.

“Next thing you know, we’ll be wearing T-shirts with that on the chest.”

I had a feeling he might be closer to the truth than he wanted to know. I was impressed at how fast Zeus and Hera had pulled things together. The north side of the Wall had been cleaned up in a matter of twenty-four hours, the pantheon put to work dealing with all the issues laid out, from sanitation to medical treatment to the SDMP. It was an impressive feat, even I could give them that. Though it only proved everyone had been right. Zeus was primed and ready to be a leader again; he’d just needed a gigantic shove in the right direction.

Sandy approached me from the kitchen, her arms loaded with platters of baked goods and fruit. “I think this is a bit much.” She wobbled, and I helped her set them down on the dining table.

“You’ve seen Tad eat, yes?”

“Right.” She laughed and shook her head. Her eyes flashed when Jensen walked in, tucking his hat under one arm. I pushed her in his direction.

“Can you show him around?”

“Sure.”

Ernie snickered and pointed two fingers at his eyes and then to me. I did the same back at him.

There was a knock on the door, and my cousin Samantha put her head in. “Hey.”

I smiled at her. “Come on in.”

She cleared her throat. “I brought a date, is that alright?”

I nodded. “Of course.” I should have asked her who it was first.

She opened the door farther, and Roger walked in behind her. My eyes narrowed, and I strode forward as a hiss whispered past my lips. “You have some nerve. You think I’m going to let you hurt my cousin too? Break her heart?”

Roger held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I am.”

I glanced at Samantha. Her eyes were wide and a bit glossy with unshed tears. “You do care about me.”

I snorted. “Of course I do. You are family, even if you are a goblin. But if you are serious about Roger, you’d better keep a short leash on him.”

She grinned. “I’m good at short leashes. Consider him a pet project.”

They laughed, and I shook my head. Not my love life. I locked eyes with Roger as they headed into the house. He’d tried to kill me, left me to die, and cheated on me. He deserved a goblin for a girlfriend. She’d bite his manhood off and eat it for lunch if he so much as looked at another woman. And by the way he all but clung to her, they’d already had that conversation.

A set of hands wrapped around me from behind, and Remo’s signature scent rolled over me. I leaned back into him and wove my fingers through his, a sense of belonging and love filling me up.

There were no words between us; there didn’t need to be. We were together, and that was all that mattered. He was now the leader of the North American Alliance of Vampires—NAAV. Another acronym Ernie laughed at.

“You ready for your big announcement?” he murmured into my ear.

“Hmm. Yes.”

He kissed me on the cheek and then gave me a wink. “And after the party, what do you want to do?”

“Break in that new bed of mine.” I winked back at him, slow and seductive. “But only if you are feeling . . . up . . . to the task.”

His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Don’t tease me, Alena.”

I crossed my heart with one finger and walked backward away from him. “I would never tease about that.”

I waved at Sandy, and she hurried over to my side. I took her hand and squeezed. Merlin watched from the corner of the big room, his eyes hooded. He’d been invited because he was family. I was surprised he’d showed up, actually. He had been working with my dad, helping him get better with his magic the last few weeks. I suspected his true motives but hadn’t been able to question him on anything yet.