EPILOGUE

"My little one," my father whispered in a calm voice and immediately hugged me a little too tightly.

"Dad. My wound."

I tapped his shoulder with sharp pains in my upper abdomen. He immediately broke away and wiped a few tears from his face while placing his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm so glad you're feeling better. When Killian called me yesterday, I drove straight away."

He gingerly sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, I let my head fall to his side and we sat in silence for a while until I broke the silence.

"I'm so glad you're here," I breathed, taking his hand in mine. He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb and then slowly stood up.

"I'm glad too, but please do me a favor and go back to bed. I'll make your backrest a little higher so that you can sit comfortably and without straining."

He helped me get into the right position and it actually relaxed me immediately.

The pain became more bearable and I looked at my father who was standing at the bedside table and poured me another glass of water. Smiling, he handed it to me and before I had finished it, the door opened and a familiar smell immediately filled the room.

My mate stood with a large bouquet in hand, gave my father a friendly nod and placed the roses carefully on my bedside table.

"Thank you," I said softly, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. This smell soothed me in a pleasant way, even if a deep pain came with it to the bottom of my heart.

***

The next few days passed slowly. I was a bit sad that the others weren't visiting me, not even Melina, but Killian had probably told them I needed quiet because he never took his eyes off me and cared like a madman for my well-being.

On the 10th day we sat excitedly next to each other on my hospital bed. The wound was as good as healed. Internally, though, I still felt a lot of pain when I moved, even if I didn't admit it. We waited for Kirsten to finally give me permission to go home today.

This morning she had done all sorts of tests and I would definitely be able to go home in a moment, no more hospital beds and no more disgusting hospital food. Fortunately, the wolf genes allowed my injuries to heal quickly, because I wanted to go to my own bed and recover there.

The moment Kirsten walked through the door, Killian gently took my hand and gave me an encouraging smile. I returned his smile only briefly, then quickly looked back at Kirsten and listened to her excitedly.

"So you two. Everything is fine. The wound looks well healed and the pain inside you will soon subside. The body needs time to heal, especially when it has to take care of two people."

Confused, I looked from her to the alpha, who also looked confused.

"Oh! You didn't know. Sorry."

Her eyes widened and for the first time I saw the blonde doctor blush.

"Well then, congratulations! You are pregnant and the baby is in good condition. Please eat a little more and take these pills every morning and evening to support your body."

She smiled and handed me a can of pills, but I couldn't take them. I just stared at her, unable to move, but then felt the Alpha pull his hand out of mine and stand in front of me. He beamed so happily that tears of happiness welled up in my eyes. He couldn't hold back his feelings either.

"We're having a baby, Alicia," he said through sobs, before carefully pulling me in and giving me a trembling hug.

"We're having a baby," I repeated, whispering in his ear.

Kirsten nodded at me and left the room smiling. The alpha slowly pulled away and tried to calm down again. His kiss on my lips flooded my whole body and for a short time I felt no pain at all, only happiness and joy were in me and took everything from me.

He broke away from me, looked deep into my eyes and then took the suitcase with my clothes with one hand while he grabbed my waist with the other and together we walked out of the room and finally down the main hallway.

Outside the door, Damiano leaned against his car and gave us a delighted smile when he saw Killian's beaming face. He held the car door open for me and my mate helped me get in.

"Nice to drive you again," Damiano grinned into the rear-view mirror, his eyes on me.

"I think so too," I replied, smiling. On the drive home, I remembered the first time I sat in the car here. It seemed so long ago, as if years had passed, I had experienced so much here.

At that time I was still afraid for my father, thought I could never really love the alpha and now I couldn't even imagine life without him. I glanced over at him and watched him relax as he looked out the window.

My eyes went back down to my stomach. I laid my free hand on him and felt an incredible joy at the thought of soon being a real family. I flinched when Killian's hand was suddenly on mine, but then I looked over at him and gave him my sweetest smile. He came very close to me and while his hand was still protectively on my stomach, he whispered something in my ear.

"I love you too."

Then he leaned back in his seat and didn't let go of my gaze. I closed my eyes contentedly and laid my head on his shoulder. I never wanted more and I never expected to experience so much happiness and love in my life, but I knew my life with him would be perfect because he was perfect and I loved him with every fiber of my being. My heart only beat for him and our baby and I could hardly wait to finally be able to hold our child in my arms.

Damiano got out first when we arrived and opened our door so Killian could get out and help me out. Apparently they were worried that clumsy I might trip, because they walked like two bodyguards on either side of me, never taking their eyes off me. Somehow I found this exaggerated attention uncomfortable, but I snorted and looked for support on Killian's arm.

Damiano slowly opened the door while grinning at me and as soon as I set foot on the living room floor, several familiar faces stared at me and shouted "Welcome home!!!" at the same time.

I looked at the crowd with wide eyes and was so happy to see them all. First, my father came up to me and hugged me caringly.

"I love you, my little one," he whispered before pulling away and sitting down next to Damiano, who was now sitting on the blue couch.

My eyes wandered back to the others. Melina was the next to come up to me. She gave me a gift and squeezed my hand tightly, in the other hand she held Resul, who beamed happily at me.

"That's from both of us," Melina shared with me with a wink. Excited, I unpacked it and could hardly believe it. It was the first edition of my favorite book, which I always wanted as a young teenager, but it kept selling out everywhere.

"Thank you!" I hugged them both warmly while Killian didn't let go of my waist to be there in case I lost my balance. I broke away from them overjoyed and they ran into the kitchen holding hands and put on more coffee.

The next to hug me tight was Brando. It felt really weird for a moment letting him get that close, but then I hugged him back and was just grateful that he and I were still alive. He didn't say a word, just nodded to me after the hug and then walked behind me to stand by Killian's side. I was glad that my mate had forgiven him, he couldn't have known at the time that my arm had already been injured in the fall and at least he had saved my life.

When I looked away from them both, I saw Linda in front of me. She was lost in the large living room and next to her was a boy I had never seen before. He came to me and spoke very softly.

"Thanks again for saving my life."

Only then did I realize it had to be Liam. He was really very young, looked even younger than 13, although as a wolf he seemed huge to me.

"I hope I never have to do that again." I put a hand on his shoulder thoughtfully. He started to smile and then sat down with Damiano and my father who were chatting happily.

My eyes fell on Linda again. All alone, she suddenly looked even more lost. The grief for Noah almost killed her, even my heart broke every time I thought about it. I cautiously approached her and hugged her comfortingly.

As she started to cry, she started to apologize, but stopped and buried her face in my shoulder. I couldn't imagine her pain, she must have been broken inside. A wound that would never heal.

After a while she calmed down, took a few deep breaths, and then pulled away and looked me in the face.

"I'm so grateful to you Alicia. Thanks to you I finally have my son and my freedom back." She smiled past me at Killian who was still standing close to my back like a minder.

Melina snapped us out of our thoughts by tapping a glass loudly with a spoon and then clearing her throat. She enjoyed this moment when all eyes were on her, you could see that immediately.

"I poured everyone a sip of sparkling wine. It would be nice if you came over and we can toast together."

We all headed towards the kitchen and gathered around the brown kitchen island. Everyone but me took a glass and Melina just stared at me in amazement as she pushed a glass towards me on the counter and raised an eyebrow questioningly. I pushed it back and shook my head.

"Have a sip, Alicia."

"I'm still taking pills."

"It doesn't matter. A sip won't hurt," she laughed and pushed the glass towards me again. My eyes sought those of the alpha, who smiled and nodded at me.

I took a deep breath and looked Melina in the eyes.

"I'm pregnant," I dropped the bombshell with a smile.

Her gaze froze for a moment, but then a shrill scream came out of her mouth and the sound of a glass bursting sounded next to her.

At first I thought her high-pitched voice would have burst, but then I looked at my father, who seemed to have lost his drink in shock. While he beamed towards me, I noticed that Damiano lifted Killian up and Melina jumped up and down. My father hugged me again and was almost happier than we were.

"I'm going to be a grandpa!! Did you all hear that? I'm having a grandchild."

He beamed at the others and waved his arms wildly.

Linda was now in Killian's arms and Resul gave me a high five, childish as always, I thought and had to laugh heartily at the thought.

We all ended the day together with coffee, cake and casual conversations until at some point everyone was gone and I was finally alone with the Alpha. He carefully picked me up in his arms and carried me towards the stairs, then upstairs and slowly slid me down onto our bed.

He gently slipped an arm under my head and stroked my stomach, never stopping to smile. I gazed out the window contentedly, my gaze fixed on the full moon, then closed my eyes and laid my head closer to my mate, who kissed my forehead gently.

"I'm so happy to be laying here with you again," he whispered softly in my ear, sending pleasant goosebumps all over my body.

"Me too. You wouldn't believe how happy I am. Before I knew you, I always thought I was happy with my life. But then you found me crying on a staircase and showed me what true happiness means ."

Taking a deep breath, I turned my face to his and kissed him more lovingly than ever. When we reluctantly broke apart, he hugged me tighter with a grin and we finally fell asleep peacefully next to one another. For the first time, with the idea that from now on the three of us will be in bed.

***

5 years later...

As every year, we all met together at Linda's house, who was still living at Noah's house and who is doing quite well now. We knew the grief would never really go away, but she tried to keep her zest for life alive and her granddaughter Emily helped her.

My mate, myself and Emily were the first to arrive and were seated at the large table in the garden. Eating here in the garden was our way of showing respect to Noah for the sacrifice he made for us all. I missed him very much and often had to think of him and his calm demeanor. He would be watching over us all from above, I was sure of that.

My little Emily looked just like Killian. She had his brown skin and beautiful shiny black hair. Only the eyes that I used to find so embarrassing were mine and I finally understood why others found my eyes so beautiful, because Emily's looked breathtakingly beautiful. She completed me and Killi and made us a real family.

Next came Resul and Melina. They greeted us warmly and Emily immediately jumped into Resul's arms. As childish and funny as he was, he could always make her laugh heartily. He will definitely be a good father, I thought and turned my gaze to Melina's big belly.

"Six more weeks, then I'll finally make it," she said with an effort, holding her big belly. It was exhausting to walk around with one and she had two in her. Resul is sure to have fun with them.

Damiano, the new Alpha, proudly walked through the door followed by Brando, the new Beta. The two were a great team. They greeted us and then sat down at the well-laid table.

My mate was now the new upper alpha and he was the best ever. Never again would a mongrel be condemned or cast out. I was so proud of him and sometimes couldn't believe how lucky I was. I smiled and took his hand under the table and caught his eye.

He smiled lovingly at me and even now, after so long, it still took my breath away.

"So everyone is there. Then enjoy it," Linda said as she came out of the living room to us.

"Where is my father?" I asked curiously, but then he came running behind her.

"Here, little one." He placed two bottles of water in the middle of the table and then happily took Emily in his arms.

Linda and my father didn't have a relationship. They were two souls who had both lost love and cared for each other amicably. It made me all the happier to have them all around me and I also had a very special person to thank for that, who always stood up for all of us and saved me more than once.

"Thank you, my guardian angel," I whispered softly, gazing at the beautiful roses.

Killian apparently heard me and hesitantly took me in his arms to caress my cheek. I kissed him in thanks and then turned back to eating.

The others chatted excitedly about everything new in their lives and I was finally settled, finally happy and looking forward to many more years with my wonderful family, with whom I never had to feel lonely or invisible again.