Changeling (Completed)

Epilogue

Epilogue

I suppose, because my Innie wrote her own foreword, that it's my job to write her epilogue. She's also busy. Busy living her life, that she nearly lost.

I nearly lost her. Innie believes that I was meant to lose her, that she was meant to die, but I beg to differ.

Perhaps I should explain from the beginning?

Years ago, before I was born, the wolf packs in the northwest went to war. No one is exactly sure how or why it started, but for nearly a generation it raged on. My own pack, the Mauja, was split in two when my grandfather sent his younger son to my packlands east of Lake Adsun with his mate and a small number of the pack. Apparently, this was because his eldest son was so corrupt my grandfather feared for the whole of the pack.

He was right to do so. When Alpha Inuit Genome rose to power, he slaughtered my uncle and took my uncle's pack. His uncle's pack. Yes, I'm related to Innie's 'monster alpha.' We are cousins. First cousins, to be exact.

My father was never meant to be an alpha and neither was I. When my parents died, my uncle had demanded that we return to the western pack. I refused to go. And then, our problems really started. The Council was breathing down my neck, trying to force who they perceived as a weak heir to fit into their mold. They were trying to create powerful wolves through forced matings. And so, Shana... and Ingrid.

Ingrid was my mate. A fated, goddess-given gift, who was trampled to the dirt by circumstances, the Council, her own birth family and pack, and, I admit, me.

My resentment towards my mate was overwhelming after she willingly Severed our bond. She didn't want me to be an alpha. She wanted our little pack of wolves to rejoin my uncle. But, how could I do that? I heard the stories of rape, forced matings, injustice, murder... how could I give over my wolves to that?

She hated me. This is not my perception or an excuse for what befell her, but I knew she hated me. My wolf knew. It destroyed him. He is a beast. Oh, my Innie helps, but nothing can bring back the feral wolf from the bloody world he lives in. He sees Innie as an object to own. He even sees our pup as his possession.

Our pup. A little female. Quilla. Named for the Incan goddess of the moon and, of course, it nearly rhymes with 'Willa.' (It's meant to be pronounced 'Key-l-yah,' but everyone says 'Killa') Innie chose the name, giggling hysterically as she announced it to Luna Willa just a mere hour after giving birth. I will have to take my girls to Peru on vacation when Quilla is a little older. Innie would get a kick out of seeing Machu Picchu.

Where was I? Ah, right. My Innie's supposed fate to die. She was never meant to leave us. When my bond with Ingrid was severed I saw Death. It was just an impression, a feeling. I was in more pain than I had ever felt before or since. I thought he was there for me. Instead, I felt the last piece of my bond with Ingrid rip apart completely. It was Death who did it. It gave me this tiny sliver of hope, a feeling that I thought was bizarre at the time. It was the only bright spot, other than Hannah, that I had in my life then.

For eight years I wondered why Death gave a shit. Then, I saw Innie for the first time.

Innie looked at me. Truly looked at me. Ingrid's grey eyes were always filled with despair, depression, sometimes hatred, and she mostly avoided me, but Innie? Her eyes looked at me with such mischievousness that I was blown away at the difference. I can barely remember those first moments, what I said or did. All I know is that the love with who I thought was Ingrid snapped back into place as if it had never been destroyed in the first place.

I figured out that Innie wasn't Ingrid pretty quickly. When? Well, when a woman seduces you into taking her virginity on the carpet of your office, you get to know her a little.

Innie may think she belongs to Death, but for me, she is life itself. Her entire being sparkles with it. Joy and mischievousness and pure, blinding innocence.

Oh, I know, she loves to pretend that she's a worldly little thing, but realistically, my Innie oozes an innocent charm. Her revenge? Cutting up my clothes? Pouring gallons of shampoo on the floors? Screwing my brains out? She's completely fucking adorable and I adore her. The world is her fucking oyster and all I want to do is present it to her on a silver platter.

Unfortunately, so does Ben, and our Luna, and our Luna-Matron, and every other wolf in the RustClaw that meets her. Even Garth, who only truly loves his mate, Tyler, loves my girl, too.

Ah, Tyler. He's the perfect example of the magic that is Innie. Garth met Tyler when we were traveling to one of our secret meetings with Alpha Inuit. That was just under four years before Innie came to us. Four years and Garth couldn't make any headway with his mate at all. It felt like we were all cursed to have our mates hate and reject us. The guilt I felt was immense. Tyler couldn't know what was really happening, that we were planning the downfall of the Council, but he still shouldn't have been able to deny his mate so completely. Then, Innie showed up and it took her, what, twenty minutes to convince Tyler to give Garth a chance? Twenty minutes after nearly four years of racking my head with how I could get my Beta's mate to give him a chance. I wanted to allow Garth to tell Tyler the truth, but then, I also knew that Tyler would be in danger from Shana.

Shana. I took Viagra to get hard for that cold viper. I knew she was tormenting Ingrid, but every time I tried to intercede Shana would feint, dodge, and bully the witnesses until there was no proof of harm. Ingrid never spoke up. I could have done more, I should have done more, but seeing my mate was too painful and I'll admit I was a coward. I couldn't handle more pain.

My Innie would slap me for saying that. She insists that I'm a leader, an alpha, even if the title belongs to Alpha In, now. The truth is, I'm just another Beta with a small number of wolves under my control, but Innie thinks I'm a leader and I'll do whatever it takes to make her proud.

I wonder what my Innie would think of Ingrid? I'm a selfish bastard and I wouldn't trade my Innie for anything, but if it were possible, I wonder if the magic of Innie could have helped Ingrid where I failed so miserably?

I'm rambling, aren't I? So, Innie's epilogue... She dotes on our Quilla. Sadly, so do those little prick alphasons, who decided to crash into Innie's birthing den just as Quilla made her appearance in this world. Little fuckers were only eight years old at the time. The story is that one of them distracted the wolves guarding the door, while the other snuck in. Then it became a free-for-all with those assholes coming out on top.

They need to stay the hell away from my pup.

We moved to the original packlands of the Mauja. It's a beautiful spot, despite the frequent visits of the Adsun coven of witches, who also love Innie, naturally. They also have a very unnatural interest in my daughter. I'm keeping my eye on that situation.

Innie has her hot tubs. It's nice to come home after work to find my mate snuggling up with Ben in the hot tub. Ben is as much a part of our mating as we are. I know it's strange, but he makes Innie so happy, and she adores him. It soothes my wolf to see it.

Lastly, Grant. Or, as the fucker is now called, Axle. Fuck that name. It's the name of a douchebag. He found Innie. Drove his motorcycle up here one day and had my mate on her back ten minutes later.

Imagine coming home to find a fucker with the tattoo of a fucking hawk on his ass cheeks rutting your mate? That's an image burned into my retinas for eternity. I gave him a couple of scars to remind him that it's polite to ask first.

I was afraid Innie would hate me for nearly killing her friend (again), but she was thrilled. It had been Axle's thirtieth day, and I held back the urge to kill him, thus saving his life. So now we're stuck with the too-pretty, tattooed asshole, and his new 'connections' to some MC down in Texas. At least he's learned that Innie is mine, first, and I only share when I damn well feel like it.

I think he's trying to knock her up, next, but that's blatantly unfair to Ben. Quilla wants a little brother, though, even though her best friend, GB, told her brothers are a pain-in-the-ass. I figure I'll let it all play out and what happens, happens.

So... Innie is loving life and we all love her. We can't help it. Who wouldn't love her?

I'll leave you here. I can hear the motorcycle pulling in and Ben's already in the shower. I only have an hour before Quilla comes home from preschool.

Ronson