Undying Hate~ Book Three

It was funny how life seemed to go in patterns.

Circles usually.

Actually, it wasn’t funny.

It was stressful and irritating.

Sylvie ran her tongue across her teeth to rid her of any leaf matter while Amira read her Fate for the last time—Sylvie’s words, not Amira’s. After entering the cabin, Amira wouldn’t even let her apologise. Instead, she just shoved a hot tea in her hand and made her drink every drop.

Sitting on the gurney, Rowan had used, she waited patiently as Amira hummed, looking at the pile of mush on the plate. Maybe she could ask what exactly the old shifter was looking for but thought better of it when Amira hummed thoughtfully. What was she even looking at?

“Ye went to the realm of the Fates. Alive. I dinnae ken how ye aren’t dead, M’eudail, but well done.”

Praise? Well, that was unexpected. After being a giant bitch to everyone, she was expecting a little more anger towards her. Perhaps her luck was changing. Or perhaps they understood how much she suffered and didn’t blame her like she thought they would. Maybe she needed therapy again. Scratch that. She would book a session in Sagehill that week.

Amira turned to plate into the light and squinted. “A dinnae get a sense yer fate is done, Lassie. Yer shifter magic is still there, under the surface. Ye know magic cannot be destroyed, only changed.”

Hmm. But there is always a catch, and Sylvie wasn’t about to fall for it again. She deserved a little normalcy. Even she could admit to that.

“I’ve heard that, I guess.”

“Perhaps ye can commune wi the Fates again. They could return yer gift.” Amira’s words hung in the air for a second before she spoke the fatal phrase. “For a price.”

Not even contemplating it for a second, Sylvie shook her head vehemently and held back a laugh. How did Amira say precisely what she was already thinking? Either she was a genius, or Amira was psychic.

“I really think I’m done messing with the Fates. I’ll be a happy woman if I never ‘commune’ with them again. I’ve had enough Fate for a lifetime.”

It was true too. She’d rather live out a mundane life and die before helping them again. The division was gone, and the species were free to rebuild and exist harmoniously to their heart’s content.

She thought she might want to move, though. Having her home central to the junction between Rowan’s pack and her father’s Vampires was starting to feel a little crowded.

Amira placed the plate on the bench and turned to her with a ghostly smile on her lips. “Dinnae be so sure. A lifetime for ye will be far longer than ye think.”

Amira’s knowing smile gave Sylvie pause, and she tentatively returned it. She hadn’t thought of it like that. She didn’t even think about her potential mortality or lack thereof.

Would she be immortal now?

Would Rowan be?

He was the species that had only lived a hundred and fifty years max. She couldn’t bare outliving him for centuries. She swallowed and slid off the gurney. It was time to go before she thought herself into a panic attack.

“I’ll see you later then, Amira. Thank you, and I am truly sorry for how I spoke to you earlier.”

The older woman’s smile soothed her while simultaneously unnerving her. It seemed to say, ‘I know something you don’t.’

Sylvie smoothed her expression and slowed her breathing. Something about Amira’s eyes caught her gaze. Their depths held a knowledge far older than the century and a half she was claiming as her age. What the-

“Dinna fash, M’eudail. On yer way.” Amira shooed her with a growing grin, and Sylvie gave a tight smile, shuffling from the room with a nod. She walked lightly through the cabin doorway, squeaking when the door swung closed behind her without any assistance.

“Oh, hell no.” She darted home, shaking off the heeby jeebies and looked for the comfort only her mates could give.

“You bought the whole forest? Is that even possible?” Sylvie turned over the certificate in her hand with a map of their home and the surrounding forests all the way to Sagehill and beyond.

“I offered a large donation to get it recognised as conservation land. So it will stop developing, but we’ll still need Kian’s wards to stop humans from wandering into the pack.”

Sylvie smirked. Large donation. Sometimes she forgot Elias was a self-made millionaire, or was it a billionaire? Her gaze flickered to his crotch as she realised ‘eat the rich’ had a whole new meaning when it came to her husband.

Rowan yawned from the couch. “So you’re referring to us as a pack now. Cute.”

“Well, that’s what we are, isn’t it?” Sylvie asked coyly, loving Elias’ grumpy face. He obviously wasn’t used to being called cute.

She kissed him, murmuring the word “cutie” on his lips and darted over to the couch, jumping in Rowan’s lap for protection.

It was futile, as Elias could easily smack her defiant ass in a blink if he wanted to, but Rowan curled around her securely, and Elias stayed where she left him.

When neither man said anything, she asked Elias, “How was the crowning for Magnus?”

“It was fine. We were both missing your presence, Wife.” Elias strolled over and sat on the ottoman, his elbows resting on his knees. The way his hands clasped... mmm.

Sylvie blinked. “I don’t need to be a part of it. I- what’s it called?” She looked at Rowan, but he just shrugged.

“Oh, yeah. I Abdicated. Like you. No more Queens.”

Kian laughed from the kitchen before carrying in a plate of cookies she had made earlier.

“You do realise Magnus being King means you are still a princess, and when he dies-”

“He’s a vampire. He’s not gonna die, And if he does, I’ll kill him.” She took a cookie from the plate and shoved the whole thing in her mouth, hoping the chocolate would calm her erratic emotions.

Rowan chuckle. “You’ll need to bring him back first to do that.”

With a grin, she shoved him with her shoulder.

“Well,” Elias said, then. “You could always come back and work for me. There are always jobs at Fletcher Enterprises.”

Swallowing the cookie before she choked on it from Elias’s outrageous suggestion, she said, “Oh hell, no. I love you, Honey, but I quit. I quit in advance. I quit, just in case. I am never reading another one of your emails again.”

He worked his jaw while a laugh broke from its restraints in his body. “You brat.”

She snuggled deeper into Rowan, and his chest rumbled. It was more like a purr as his arms squeezed around her—safe and sound.

“Hmm,” she leaned back and accepted a warm kiss before an idea came to mind. “Do you think that family still need a nanny?”

Months later.

Rowan squeezed Sylvie’s hand excitedly as they headed for the packhouse. With the threat of kidnapping gone, and the expanding families, the pack had spread out, some moving back to their old cabins while others chose to remain near the main house to protect their Alpha from what, Sylvie had no idea.

“What are we doing, Ro?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I hate surprises.”

“You’ll like this one.” He paused briefly. “I think.”

Once they reached the pack house, he almost dragged her up the stairs. He was so excited. He knocked, and a voice called. “Come in.”

Rowan squeezed her hand as they walked into the packhouse, turning towards the living area. The whole space looked different.

“Is this someone else’s house now?” Sylvie whispered.

Rowan just smiled.

“Alpha’s such a surprise! Please, come in. Come meet, Delilah.”

A tiny baby cooed in the arms of one of the shifters she had seen long ago in the mating ceremony. Emma?

Tears sprung to Sylvie’s eyes as another couple appeared from the stair with another bundle. “And this is Cedar.”

“No way! Congratulations.” Sylvie spoke softly and knelt beside Emma, peeking at the pink infant. She still had a bit of white substance on her. She was so fresh.

One by one, all the couples came over and introduced their babies. Two of the couples had twins.

“Violet and Daniel.”

“Iris and Sage.”

Sylvie hugged everyone before flitting around, cleaning and helping out.

“Alpha, you don’t have to.”

“It’s okay. You should all be resting! I’ll clean up and get you some food.”

Rowan beamed at her as she darted around and left to cut firewood. Through the kitchen window, she admired his rippling muscles by the firewood storage space and the huge cut log in front of it.

One at a time, he threw another log on top of the base and chopped it cleanly down the middle. Her dishwashing slowed to a snail’s pace as he pulled off his shirt and tucked it into his pants.

“Admiring your mate?” Emma asked softly from the doorway, making Sylvie jump. She chuckled and nodded despite the rising blush on her cheeks.

“I don’t blame you. I asked my mate to set up the firewood there so I could watch him too.”

“Is it hot in here?” Sylvie asked with a laugh, pulling her collar away from her neck.

Emma giggled, too, before kissing her baby’s forehead. “I never said thank you for blessing the mating ceremony. But thank you.”

“Oh,” Sylvie waved her sudsy hand. “I don’t think I did too much. It was all the artefact.”

Emma smiled. “Even so, your power is undeniable, and I thank you on behalf of all of us for sharing it so freely.”

Sylvie swallowed and nodded, turning to look once more at her mate. It felt wrong to accept their thanks for something she didn’t really have a hand in, but she needed to practice being gracious.

“Anytime,” she whispered, offering one last smile to the new mother.

A few moments later, Rowan brought in a stack of firewood and got one of the new fathers to start a fire in the open fireplace as he headed for the kitchen.

“Hello, beautiful.” Rowan kissed Sylvie, and Emma showed herself back to the lounge with a smile.

Once the dishes were done, Rowan helped her cook a giant stew, and they all enjoyed a bowl in the warm space. By the evening, Sylvie was glowing, watching everyone bond with their babies, their love so big and pure it almost hurt to gaze upon.

So that was what she was missing, what she had missed as a child—unconditional, undying love.

It didn’t make her want children, though, no, but it did give her an idea.

As the sky darkened, they said their goodbyes and headed home.

Sylvie sat at her desk, typing on her laptop and downing her second coffee of the morning.

All night, visions of the shifter mothers with their babies assaulted her mind.

She couldn’t shake it. And when she couldn’t shake something, the only thing she could do was see things for herself.

“Yes!” she got a hit. “That has to be it.”

She stood with a satisfied smile and pulled on her jacket from the back of her chair.

Her mates shuffled around the lounge, chatting about something boring as she padded to the door.

The computer chirped as Google Maps discovered the fastest route, and she peered back at it, gnawing on her lower lip.

This was it.

She didn’t know what she would find, but it was the final piece of her family puzzle.

“Time for a road trip!” she shouted and darted from the room, ready for the next adventure.

On the screen in vibrant font of Product Sans:

Clove Park, Township Of Verloren Valley, Qc, Canada

Fin.

End of Book 3

To be continued...