Chapter 72

ELLA

A few hours later, Leo and I walked hand in hand through the hospital until we reached the room labeled “Luca Romano.”

He grinned widely as he saw us through the window and started wiggling his legs like an excited child.

Seeing the color back in his cheeks and his eyes with their sparkle again was such a huge relief.

“Ella!” he exclaimed. “Alpha! I knew you two wouldn’t be able to stay away for long.”

“I brought you these,” I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a bunch of bananas.

His eyes lit up in glee. “Are those Musa sapientum bananas?”

I nodded. “Only the best for you.”

“Come here,” he said, pulling me into a huge tight hug and dragging me beside him onto the bed.

“Careful of your stitches, Luca!” I exclaimed as he grimaced in pain. “You aren’t done healing yet!”

Luca then peeled one of his bananas and took a huge bite out of it before my hair started to get stuck to it and he frantically tried to pluck it off.

“Alpha, join in,” he said, beckoning Leo, who stood watching us in amusement as I tried to gather my hair behind my ears.

Leo raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms.

“We’ve all been through a lot,” Luca said. “We owe ourselves an alpha, luna, Luca sandwich.”

Leo was still reluctant.

“Leo, come on,” I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the bed. “The man nearly died. Let him have a cuddle with his alpha.”

Leo rolled his eyes and slid onto the bed on the other side of Luca so that he was in the middle of us.

“I was already planning to name our next son after you,” Leo said.

“You still can,” Luca replied hopefully.

“Nah, it would be weird now,” Leo replied, scrunching his nose.

I laughed as Luca nestled his head onto Leo’s chest as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

“I’ve been dreaming of this for years,” he said with a relaxed sigh. “A cuddle with my mom and dad.”

I laughed and squeezed Luca’s hand. “We’re so glad you’re okay.”

“I listened to what you said, Ells,” he replied, “about my future mate and our kids and our life. And when I was in the coma, it was all I could think about.”

I smiled.

“And I saw her, you know,” he replied.

“A woman?” I asked.

He nodded. “She has beautiful black skin. It glowed in the sunlight… And her hair. Wow, her hair. It was so curly and artfully wild. And her eyes were so brown and perfect and... I felt her.

“Someone was holding my hand just before I woke up, and it has to have been her. There was this warmth and the sweetest scent I’ve ever smelled.”

My heart swelled to about three times the size as I smiled in excitement.

“Well, you better make sure you get healed so that you can get out of this hospital and find her,” Leo said. “Have another banana.”

We sat with Luca for hours. He and I chatted away endlessly as Leo occasionally chipped in or passed Luca another banana until the entire bunch was gone.

“It’s getting late. We should probably go and save Milly from the kids,” Leo said, looking at his watch. “But we’ll see you soon, Luca.”

Leo then wrapped his arm around Luca and gave him a quick squeeze before I gave him a long, tight squeeze, and we both left.

As we walked back out of the hospital, I noticed a doctor in a white coat standing by the vending machine, kicking it.

“For fuck’s sake,” she grumbled before crouching down onto her knees, rolling her sleeve up, and shoving it into the machine at a very awkward angle.

“Leo, look,” I whispered, nudging him, “look at that doctor.”

Her skin was dark, and her hair grew in a thick Afro.

“It could be her,” I said. “She fits the description at least.”

She grumbled and groaned as she pushed her arm farther into the vending machine, reaching for a chocolate bar on the bottom shelf.

“Motherfucker,” she said to herself.

Leo and I slowly approached her, and as she saw us, her eyes widened.

“Alpha, Luna,” she said as she tried to get her arm out. “The machine wouldn’t give me my chocolate, so I was just um…well…trying to get it myself.”

She quickly stumbled to her feet and rearranged her uniform before putting on an innocent smile.

Definitely Luca’s mate.

Leo let out a slight laugh before grabbing the vending machine and shaking it. The doctor watched in confusion as he crouched down and picked up the two chocolate bars that had fallen.

“Do you know who is in room 108?” Leo asked.

She immediately blushed. “Luca Romano. I know he’s not my patient but—”

“He’s woken up, and I’d say he probably wants to see you,” Leo told her, putting the two chocolate bars in her hand.

She opened her mouth but only stuttered.

“Go,” he urged, “I’ll let the office know I’ve ended your shift early.”

She nodded and smiled before scurrying down the hall toward Luca’s room.

***

I had a long phone call with Luca that evening about his mate, whose name was Amaani. He was so over the moon with her, telling me how perfect she was and how well they already got on.

It wasn’t long until Luca got out of the hospital and moved straight in with her. In a matter of weeks, they were practically inseparable, but that didn’t mean I didn’t get to see Luca anymore.

It just meant that I got two best friends for the price of one. Her spirit was just as bright and joyful as Luca’s, and my children absolutely loved her.

They’d only met her twice before they started calling her Aunty Amaani, and they spent nearly as much time tackling and playfighting with her as they did with Uncle Luca.

With the combined effort of everybody in the pack, we were soon back on our feet and rebuilding Stella.

Bereaved families were prioritized, funerals were held, and the memories of their lost loved ones were celebrated and cherished in a memorial service held by Leo and me to thank them for everything they did for us.

When the chaos had settled, Leo released my father from the prison where he had been living in a comfortable enough cell since the battle against King Lenard months ago.

While neither of them were keen to see each other, Leo invited him round for dinner to meet his grandchildren, which he was happy to attend.

Especially as I had summoned my mom from her rogue pack across the country to finally be reunited.

Seeing the two of them hold each other again and the way my mom’s face finally held that beautiful genuine smile that I hadn’t seen since she lost him made me cry tears of joy.

There was still tension between them and Leo, but with eight grandchildren to cuddle and get to know, we all had a peaceful evening.

They left together hand in hand to continue their lives, which had been put to a sudden stop years ago.

We’d had word from Julia and Chico, the couple who worked for Andrea who had risked their lives helping me.

Now that Andrea was dead, they’d come out of hiding and were raising their kids in peace with an honest income and a violence-free life. I made sure Leo sent them a check and invited them to stay any time they wanted.

Without them, I could have still been with Andrea in Venezuela, and I knew I could never truly make it up to them, but it was the least we could do.

For now, Luciano remained in his cell, chained and wolfsbaned. Leo seemed to be putting off doing anything about him, always using the excuse of waiting until every other issue created by the war had been solved.

I didn’t pressure him. I knew how difficult it was for him, and since even Luciano was incapable of harming anyone under so many locks and keys, it was fine to wait until Leo was ready.

So for now, since we’d had enough action and adventure for an entire lifetime, we just finally slipped back to the happiness of raising our children together and loving each other endlessly.

Just the way mates should.

The seven years we’d had together so far had hardly been your conventional fairytale—from our turbulent “once upon a time” to all the evil and wickedness we had encountered along the way that had been far from just “make-believe.”

But there had been magic, love, and heroes of all varieties.

Good had triumphed over bad, and the villains had at long last been slain.

And now, maybe there’d even be a happily ever after.

^End of Book Four^