A day of funerals. A day of sorrow, tears, and memories. Throughout the evening, The city hall held many funerals for the werewolves who lost their lives in the war.

After families and friends paid their respects, all wolves were cremated. It was the rule that werewolves had to follow. They couldn't risk humans digging up a casket with an abnormally large wolf wrapped inside. Most loved ones turned their ashes into jewellery or something that was special to their wolf ranks, pack, or family.

When the Jones and Raysons returned home, they changed out of their formal clothing. Hunter felt restricted in smart trousers and a shirt. He wondered how the vampires wore that sort of stuff every day.

"You don't have to change though," he said to Jacota when they entered their bedroom. The day had been very emotional, but they spent hours celebrating the life their loved ones had, instead of feeling upset about the life they lost. Hunter, at least, now had closure. "You always look good in a shirt."

Jacota smiled as Hunter tugged on his tie, pulling him closer. The werewolf eyed his Gods muscles that threatened to rip the back of his shirt if he moved at an odd angle.

When their chests touched, Jacota ran hands down his husband's arms. "It has been a long day."

Hunter nodded. His grandparents had a lovely send off. William made a compilation of recent videos and pictures of Flora and Alfred and showed it on a big slideshow for everyone to see. It brought a lot of tears, but a lot of smiles. Hunter had cried so much throughout the day; he was confident his tears could fill a bath.

"Want a shower?"

"Yes." Jacota reached to Hunter's neck and started undoing the buttons of his shirt. "Then you can spend some time with your parents and Sam. You need each other."

Hunter's face hardened. Jacota was right. "I know that now is not the time to hold a grudge, especially after losing people, but I don't think I can forgive them."

"You don't have to," Jacota said in the soft tone he used when speaking about sensitive subjects. "You don't have to forgive them yet. They won't expect you to. Though you can't keep ignoring each other. The problem won't just go away."

Hunter lifted a hand and rested it against his mates face, studying the eyes he knew so well. Their shape, colour, expression, he could make a replica of Jacota's face without looking at references. "I'll talk to them."

Jacota peeled off his shirt. The atmosphere in the house had started to get awkward when Hunter, Sam, Anthony, and Margo were in the same room. Nobody needed it, not when everyone tried so hard to go back to normal.

The blood was washed away from the field. The grass was ruined, but it would grow again. The kitchen's windows were replaced, so was the utensils that had smashed or broke.

"Jay?" Hunter questioned when they led each other into the shower. "You blocked your feelings today when dad mentioned Grace." Anthony had made a speech, explaining what happened to the wolves who were not a part of the war. Jacota should have done it, but he couldn't bring himself to explain about his mother. He felt too ashamed.

"I can't decide how I feel about her. I shouldn't feel sad. I shouldn't feel guilty or any empathetic emotion. I wanted her ashes, but I didn't."

Hunter listened while squeezing soap onto his hands. "I don't think you want to remember her as the monster she was. She's your mother. You wouldn't be standing here without her which is why you feel guilty about not cremating her. It's hard to break family bonds, and there's still a small part of you that's human. It's normal to feel so conflicted."

Jacota tilted his head when hunter's hands circled his chest. The soap smelt fruity. "Wisdom really does run through your family."

"Yep. I'm sure Sam would've said something much better-"

"I want to hear your advice." Jacota rested a hand on the back of Hunter's neck when his mate leaned close for a kiss. The hot water ran between them, steaming the bathroom. Hunter tasted familiar, yet fresh. They had kissed more times than they could count, the boys had made love more times than they could count, but each time felt like their first time. Special, exciting, affectionate.

Hunter held him close and kissed him with passion. Their faces pressed together and their lips moved in sync. Hunter's heart fluttered when Jacota ran fingers through his short hair.

Jacota pulled back so he could see the love in Hunter's eyes. The way the werewolf looked at him after a kiss always forced a shiver down his spine. The longing in his gaze confirmed he wanted more than a kiss.

Hunter bit his lip and moved his eyes down to Jacota's neck. "I'm deprived."

"Of what?" the God whispered.

"You."

Hunter then dived for his neck like a lion aiming for the heart of its prey, pressing his lips deeply against his skin. Jacota closed his eyes and gripped Hunter's shoulders. It felt like it had been a while since they relaxed and gave each other their full attention.

"Hunter," he whispered into his ear. The lust rushed through him and exploded all over his body. "I love you so much." A day of remembering the dead made him appreciate their bond. Hunter could have been one of the loved ones lying in a wooden box. Jacota would have survived without him because his powers wouldn't move on, not now that William was the mate of a God. Jacota was lucky that Hunter was standing in front of him, alive and well. He didn't take him for granted before the war, and he wouldn't take him for granted now.

The war opened his eyes to how quickly people die.

Life was not short; it was unpredictable.

* * * * *

Sam sank into the couch, immediately grabbing a cushion so he could squeeze it and fiddle with it. Hunter sat next to him, crossing his arms and staring blankly at his parents. It was almost nine in the evening. Everyone looked like they could use some sleep.

"I just want to say that I'm so relieved we can still sit here as a family," Anthony said, rubbing his eyes. "Before the war, nobody was safe."

Sam looked down at his hands, still finding it odd to think of himself as a member of their family by blood relations. "Me too," he said quietly, shifting awkwardly under their gaze.

Margo shuffled forwards on the table, diverting thoughts from her parent's ashes that sat on the windowsill in their bedroom. "We're not having this conversation because we want your forgiveness. We want to be open and to listen to your thoughts. We know that we should have told you both years ago that you were brothers, but we were scared and got so used to having you both around anyway, we didn't know how to say it. That doesn't excuse anything. Especially for you, Sam. We tried to be there for you throughout your childhood, but we didn't give you the love we gave Hunter. In my opinion, that's unforgivable."

Hunter was surprised by his mother's honesty. She might be wise, but she wasn't great at admitting when she was wrong.

Sam cleared his throat and waited a moment, thinking of how to reply. "I- I don't think I forgive you yet, but I will eventually. I know you had no choice when you gave me away, but you could have told me sooner. I know you were scared that the alpha oath would have bad consequences if you broke it. The God of truth is supposed to decide your fate. The God of truth has been around for thousands of years now, and you only broke the oath recently. I know you care, but that made me feel like you don't. My- my old parents abandoned me, and you let me think that I was alone. I know I had you guys and you brought me in when they kicked me out, but you missed the opportunity to tell me then. I've suffered through a lot that could've been resolved if you were truthful."

Hunter was also surprised by Sam's honesty.

Anthony had nodded along to every word. "We don't deserve forgiveness. To keep something so important a secret for so long was a mistake I will never forgive myself for, and we did have a lot of opportunities to tell you, but letting you both down was such a scary thought. We choked every time we tried. The war forced us because we couldn't lose any of you and you couldn't lose us without knowing the truth." Anthony could see his wife wiping away tears, and it triggered his own watery eyes.

"I guess," Hunter began, thinking back to Jacota's words. The problem won't go away. Talking was the only way to resolve it. "I guess now we can all move forward. I know how sorry you are; you don't have to keep saying that we shouldn't accept your forgiveness. You know I won't. It'll take time to heal from something so big. You've robbed my trust. It'll take me a while to build more." Hunter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am mad and upset at you both, but if this war has taught me anything, it has taught me that people can leave when you least expect it. Not forgiving you doesn't mean that I don't want you to be a part of my life. I want you in it, treating Sam and me like the brothers we are. When you want to spend time with your kids, take us both. Include us both in what you'd usually say to me. Act like you've got two sons. Act like you've always had two sons because you have. When you feel like Sam's parents, that's when I'll forgive you."

"It won't take weeks," Sam added. "It'll most likely take years, but I'm a patient person, and we have a lot of time. I think what we both want is for you to show us how sorry you are by trying your best to make it right."

Hunter nodded. Their hands found each other for support.

Anthony shook his head with a smile. "We don't even deserve a chance to make it right, but we will, even if it kills us."

"Too soon," Hunter sighed, and Margo chuckled, then she laughed, then she laughed and cried at the same time until everyone was wiping tears from their eyes and clutching their stomachs from laughing too. "Only parents make you want to cry because you hate them and laugh because you love them in the same hour."

Anthony threw a cushion that missed Hunter's head by centimetres. "We haven't exactly been parents of the year. Maybe next year."

Hunter scoffed and stood up, so did Sam. "I guess we should hug it out now because I'm sick of the awkwardness between us. So is everyone else."

Sam, feeling a little more lifelike, bounced to Anthony and suffocated him with a spectacularly tight embrace. Hunter hugged Margo, and they formed one big embrace between them.

Sam, for the first time in a long time, felt the love from parents. His birth parents.

While they had been talking in the living room, Jacota and William had been getting to know Maisie in the kitchen. So far, they had learned that she loved to paint and her mother was an artist, so was her father. She loved to write and spoke about how her favourite hobby was beating Scott in a race when in their wolf forms. Scott then spoke about how Maisie was always an exceptional runner. He wouldn't stop talking about all the great things Maisie was good at and Jacota couldn't stop smiling at his shining eyes.

The day was stressful for Scott. He said a final goodbye to his oldest friend and his best friend, despite Veronica having no vessel. William printed pictures of the demon and stuffed them into a photo album. When he gave it to Scott, his father cried for the fifth time that day. Nathan and Kayla had also been close friends of his, and close family members for Jacota and William. The day was tough for everyone.

Maisie's presence helped Scott through. Without her, he knew he would have crumbled, and his sons would've been left to sweep up the mess.

"We should go out tomorrow and do something normal," William said, running a hand over his arm. The red swirls looked vibrant, even in the dim light of the kitchen. "We should go shopping or have lunch somewhere. I don't know. I don't really want to stay indoors."

Jacota agreed. "That would be nice."

"Maybe we should all go out," Scott said, thinking about everyone in the house. Their packs, their mates, their friends. "We need time away from this house."

"A holiday maybe?" Maisie said with a big smile.

"Yeah." William linked his fingers together. His eyes were naturally drawn to the red marks on his body. He didn't care that people kept staring at them. It showed his bond with Sam, and everyone knew he was proud of his werewolf husband, and God. "A holiday. We need a holiday."

As they continued to talk as a family, Kaiden and Milokan were sitting in the woods. "Milokan, tell your rabbit friends to get away from me."

Kaiden sat on the dry mud with a scowl. Milokan smiled and ushered the rabbits away before plonking himself in front of the demon. Only when the angel was in sight did the demon remove the frown from his face.

"Can we find the ocean and watch the stars tonight?" Milokan asked. He was fond of listening to the tide and studying the night sky. With Kaiden by his side, it was a state of blissful tranquillity.

"I suppose. I don't think it's too far from here." Kaiden watched Jeronah and Meloras approach them. He felt excited to be with his parents. The demon said to his angel years ago that he regretted not trying to be civil with Jeronah when he had the chance. Meloras never told her son that his father was an angel because his primary purpose in hell was to kill them.

Life changed for him quickly and drastically. He wouldn't reverse it for the world.

Zachariah landed by his son's side shortly after Kaiden's parents arrived.

Where's mother?" Milokan asked. Jenny wasn't his birth mother, but she had treated him like her son and Milokan thought she was worthy of the title.

"Sleeping." Zachariah ruffled his son's hair and said hello to Kaiden.

"So," Jeronah said with a heart thumping with love and happiness, "let's find the ocean!"

As the angels and demons started their quest, Hunter, Sam, and their parents joined their mates, friends, and packs in the kitchen. Cider, wine, and spirits were opened, and the chatter began. Nobody spoke of the war; they only spoke of the future because they were lucky enough to have one.

As Hunter wrapped an arm around Jacota's shoulder and forced a shot of vodka down his throat, William reminded them of when Flora spiked Jacota's tea. Those who remembered laughed and made jokes. Hunter, for the first time since they died, thought about his grandparents in light of laughter and fun. The memories of his grandparent were the lights he needed in a world full of darkness.

Jacota watched how Hunter laughed at the jokes and shared his own memories of his crazy Nana. He knew then that everything would be okay. They would move past this depression and would one day tell their children about a war that took the lives of many, but they would talk about it with confidence. They would talk about the good times and be proud that they moved past the bad.

Life would go on. Jacota had to know that those bad days might come as often as the good ones, but to be a survivor of days so dark and terrifying made him confident that light would always find him, love would always be with him, and life would always get better.

The End.

My next book:

The Medium Kid 

(you can find it on my profile - SianaghGallagher) 

So, here we are. When I read through the final chapter of my series that has been going on for three years, I had to fight against the tears. It may not seem so special to some of you, but these characters have been a part of my everyday life, and I'm finally saying goodbye. I know I've 'tried' to end the series before and failed, but this is the end.

Panuleon & Corey, Vinny & Oliver, Rayvon & Luka, Hunter & Jacota, and Milokan & Kaiden's stories are over. The rest is left to your imagination. You might imagine them with kids; you might imagine them travelling (not only around the world but other worlds too). I can promise you, that whatever they do, they'll be happy and in love because they'll always have each other.

Now, this part is for you. Whoever you are, wherever you are, know that I am so grateful that you've followed me on this crazy journey, and it's only the beginning!!!!! Here's to many more adventures and characters to fall in love with! Thank you so much.

Your Author,

Sian