By the time he’s been passed around from mate to mate for hugs and scenting, Nix is lighter than air—and Gideon is the only person he hasn’t heard from.
His mate is leaning on the railing, looking out over the field. He might be watching the officials clear the body away or observing the remnants of their contest. Either way, Nix wants no more of that in his memory.
“Gideon?” he calls, and Gideon turns, sweeping him up into his arms.
“I’m so proud of you, kitten.”
“You’re not mad…that I just walked away? After all that?”
After all the pain and worry, Nix means.
Shaking his head, Gideon smiles. “How could I be? You did exactly the right thing. Come on, let’s get you home.”
Finn wipes most of the blood off his face and boops him on the nose, pulling the white sweater back over his head. Smoothing it over Nix’s shoulders, he murmurs, “There we go—back where it belongs.”
Gideon puts an arm around him, and Luca comes up on his other side to swing their hands between them.
Nix’s bonds are bright, zipping, and flashing with all the emotions his family can’t contain—joy, happiness, and hope. There’s a lightness in Nix’s soul that he can’t remember feeling since the very first time he met Jamie Rhodes at the beach.
Holding Luca’s hand with Gideon on his other side they follow the others out of the stands and begin the thirty-minute walk back to the car.
They’re starting fresh—a new beginning for Nix’s new beginning.
Even Finn has abandoned the temporary emergency medical bag, not wanting to carry anything that would remind them of this day.
He’s not the only one feeling buoyant as his mates push and shove good-naturedly.
Rowan makes Leo carry him on his back while the smaller man complains to anyone who will listen, and Grayson holds Jamie’s hand on one side and Finn’s on the other, pretending to make them hoist him up as parents do for their toddlers.
This moment reminds him that he should always be grateful for them.
Nix is so blessed in this new life, even though the road to get here has been hard.
He still doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve good things, but he will spend the rest of his life earning them.
“Let’s go home,” he says, twirling Luca around by the hand.
Epilogue: Gideon
“Shit,” Gideon says to Jay as they approach the cars. “I think I left the keys in the side of the med bag.”
Rowan has once again tried to convince someone to let him drive by taking ownership of the front seat of the black sedan, and Grayson has used the door code to open the doors on the white one, just waiting for the others to get in.
“You what? Gideon. Fuck. I’ll go with you.” Jay looks back at their pack, jostling for position in the back next to Nix.
“No! That’s okay. I’ll run back. It won’t take me long.” Gideon nods toward the group of happy mates. “Besides, someone should go home and see Tsuki.”
“If you’re sure?” Jay is torn between going back with Gideon and protecting their pack.
“I’m sure. I’ll be back before you know it.” He jogs off, then turns to shout, “Do not touch that beef in the fridge, Jay.”
He hears his alpha grumbleyeah, yeahbefore Gideon is lost in the trees.
As soon as he’s out of sight, he puts on a burst of speed, and immediately, it’s as it had been when he ran these woods as a child, with the natural predators that reside here.
This time, he has a date with fate, and he does not want to be late.
The arena is empty when he gets there, with only Gideon’s contact standing guard. There is a single guard assigned to be sure the prisoner is dead before calling the mortician in, who will then take Hayes directly to the incinerator.
