Soul Bonds

Epilogue

Sang closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her body. As her shoulders dropped, she let her mind wander. As it usually did when she was alone, her mind drifted over how much her life had changed in the five years since the Convergence.

Sang twisted the ring on her left hand, which she supposed, symbolized a big change in her family and the world. The Convergence and soul bonds had caused an explosion of polyamorous relationships and public support for legalizing polygamy. Political support was, unsurprisingly, non-existent..., at least until Owen Blackbourne made it his mission.

It really was all Sean's fault, of course. His baby fever had been growing as she had gotten closer to the age and health he wanted her to be at before considering pregnancy. This led to many family meetings and private conversations to figure out everyone's feelings on adding to their family, who wanted a biological child, who didn't or didn't care.

Supposedly, Kota was working on a master family plan, with contingencies for all the medical issues Sean could imagine, and a few that he possibly made up. It would still be several years before she and Sean would be comfortable with her getting pregnant, but Kota would be prepared.

Those conversations brought up another very important family conversation after the Academy gave her the option to give up her Ghost Bird status. Being a Soul Seeker in this new world meant they didn't dare risk her in the field. Since her father couldn't be punished for his inaction, Sang jumped at the chance. After a very long legal fight, she had a birth certificate and a social security card. She no longer had to hide in the shadows at events with Victor. She could get on social media, not that she did, but she could, and that was the important part. And with that change in her status, came the conversation about how marriage and the legal protections offered therein could be best used for her and any possible children.

Owen and Kota made it very clear it would be a move solely for legal purposes and would not affect her relationships with the others, but Sang put her foot down and made it clear that she would never ever consider marrying one of them. It was all or nothing for her. Owen had met her gaze, and she could almost see the calculations being made and plans being formed in his mind. A slight incline to the head and a quiet "as you wish" was his reply.

Owen played on Victor's celebrity and quickly, the Blackbourne team soon became the poster child for the pro polygamy movement. Introducing Sang into Charleston's high society also led to another huge change for the team and, eventually, the Academy as a whole.

Kota had not been wrong when he said the Convergence was not over. There had been sporadic reports of teenagers randomly taking another form and being stuck until their other side was able to find their bond mates and form their soul bonds. Sang, who was attending an event with Victor, Owen and Gabriel, had met the son of a highly placed government official. She was able to recognize the teen's impending shift, and with help from Owen and Victor, stop it. After Sang located his bond mates, Owen and Kota talked to the parents and received permission to take the teens through a sort of boot camp, designed to foster the soul bonds.

Once the teens were able to shift at will, that highly placed government official set a meeting with Owen and Kota, and soon their plans for a camp program designed to find and foster soul bonds came to life.

Their lives quickly revolved around the camp. Logistics, legalities, planning, building and buying. But, they had made it through, and now the second winter camp was almost to an end. She only had one camper left to check for soul bonds, and while she was ready for the noise and chaos to leave with the campers the next day, she wasn't looking forward to all the traveling they all would be doing between camps.

She opened her eyes to see the ring she was still twisting on her finger. The delicate band featured a heart shaped pink diamond, and the prongs holding the diamond were a scrolling filigree, and she was able to pick out hearts in the design. Inlaid in the band, on either side of the diamond, were nine stones, in each of their signature colors. Owen had murmured that the ring represented his promise to her while he slipped it on her finger then dropped a kiss on the pink diamond heart.