Epilogue

Hezzlie

Nervous tension strains my abdomen as I look at myself in the full-length mirror. Mom stands next to me, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I’m so glad I wore the waterproof mascara,” she says between little sobs.

I don’t roll my eyes. It’s my wedding day, and she deserves the opportunity to cry, if that’s how she feels about it. I, on the other hand, am more than a little anxious about the whole thing. Every little girl envisions marrying the man of her dreams one day, and I was no different. I had no idea I’d be marrying a fucking king.

I’m ready, though. At least, I think I am. I hope I am. I’ve been doing everything I can in the last two months since the war ended to learn how to be the best Luna Queen possible. Mara has been quite helpful. She married my brother a few days after the war, and the two of them are doing a great job turning Dark Sky’s mess into a prosperous kingdom. So far, everything’s going quite well. The people are happier. My brother has put a lot of new programs and infrastructure into place to make everything more fair, and Mara has been taking on all of the causes my stepmother never did–like providing for the sick and impoverished.

Every afternoon for the last few weeks, I’ve gone to their castle to sit down with her and go over the tasks she has to accomplish so she can teach me how to do them. Her mother taught her before the initial attack that stole her away from the mansion transpired, and I can see that Rowan’s mother must’ve been a wonderful Luna Queen before she lost all hope and fell into what I can only describe as a trance.

I can’t imagine everything she went through.

“Are you ready?” Mom asks, jarring me out of my thoughts. It’s a bit of a loaded question. I won’t know until I do it. But then, she means am I ready to get married, not am I ready to rule a kingdom. I nod. I have no doubt about that.

Her smile widens as she leads me out of the room I’ve been using to get dressed. My bride’s maids wait outside the hallway in the Moon Goddess Temple, wide grins on their faces. Mara is my matron of honor, Natlie and Abby are my bride’s maids. They look lovely in stunning gold gowns.

Someone signals the woman playing the organ that we are ready. It was nice of Roan to let me mostly make this wedding ceremony the way it would be in my land, not as it would be here. I don’t understand all of their customs, and he said none of it mattered except for the part at the end where we promise the Moon Goddess we will be true to one another, so I went with what I knew. The coronation will be held next week. That will be more of a wolf shifter tradition. I’ll worry about that another day.

Abby heads off down the aisle first, followed by Natalie, and then Mara. Mom and I hang back until the music switches, and then, we make our way through the double door.

The entire room is full. I catch glimpses of happy faces on either side of me, as well as the beautiful decorations on the end of each pew, but my eyes find Rowan’s where he stands on the dais, waiting for me, and I no longer care about anyone else. I almost miss Dean’s massive frame next to him, as well as James and Brody behind the large Beta. 

Rowan looks so handsome in his formal king regalia. Hues of purple and blue with gold highlights make him look more regal than I’ve ever seen him before. When I get close enough, I think I spot a teardrop forming in his eyes–but I’d never point it out. He’d just deny it anyway.

The priestess asks Mom who presents this woman to be married to this man, and I silently thank the woman for agreeing to do this my way. Mom’s voice breaks when she says, “I do, her mother.” She kisses my cheek and moves to sit next to Aiden on the front row.

I hand my beautiful bouquet of white flowers with gold accents to Mara and take both of Rowan’s hands in mine. He looks into my eyes, and all I can think about is how much I used to hate him–but also how much I love him now. My, my I’ve come a long way since I was that crazy, feral girl in the insane asylum.

I repeat after the priestess, manage to rattle off my vows, and listen intently as Rowan tells me how much he loves me. We exchange rings, light a candle, listen to one of the nobles sing a beautiful, traditional wolf shifter wedding song, and then we vow to the Moon Goddess we will always love one another before the priestess says we are married. “You may kiss your bride,” she tells the king

And he does–boy does he ever. I can hardly breathe by the time he releases my lips. We giggle at one another as a crowd that seems so distant I forget they’re there erupts in cheers. 

We bound down the aisle, hand in hand, wide smiles on our faces and have a private moment before we greet our guests. “I love you so much,” I murmur to Rowan.

“I love you more,” he says before he kisses me again so deeply all the air is expunged from my lungs.

We have to break apart when my mother reaches us as she insists on hugging both of us and kissing our cheeks until we are both covered in ruby lipstick we have to wipe off one another. I do my best to focus on all of the guests as they come through. Some of them are royals from other kingdoms I barely know while others are familiar faces. 

Almost the entire crowd has come through when I hear someone say, “Well, I guess you weren’t so crazy after all.”

My head whips around, and I see two familiar faces grinning at me. They both look way different than the last time I saw them–like they’ve had a proper meal, shower, and good night’s sleep for a while now–but I recognize them both and tears of happiness flow from my eyes.

“Kyla! Mia!” They both laugh as I embrace them tightly. I don’t know what they know about wolf shifters or how they managed to get to this kingdom, I’m just happy to see them.

“You look amazing,” Mia tells me, once I’ve released her. “I wouldn’t have even recognized you.”

“And your hubby… wowza!” Mia adds, jabbing Kyla in the ribs.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” I tell them. “We have to catch up. Are you both home now?”

They nod. “We got out of Peripheral a couple of months ago, thanks to Dr. Bolton.” Mia gestures toward James, who’s standing not far away from Rowan, in the receiving line since he is a groomsman. 

“I should’ve known James had something to do with this.” I grin at him, and he shrugs, his cheeks turning a bit pink.

“It was the least I could do,” he tells me.

“You do pretty good,” I tell him before I turn back to my friends. “We definitely need to catch up.”

“Sure thing. See you at the reception.” Kyla and Mia wave and then head toward where the crowd is exiting, making their way to the ballroom where our reception will be held.

I turn to Rowan and notice he’s grinning as widely as I am. We’ll have to go through all the motions now–photographs, first dance, toasts, cutting the cake, getting sprinkled with birdseed as we run to a car–and then we’ll get to go away on our honeymoon for two weeks. I’m so looking forward to it.

Dean pats Rowan on the shoulder. “We’ll see you two lovebirds inside.” He grins at me, and then the rest of the bridal party traipses out, leaving me alone with my husband.

Goddess, I have a husband… and he’s a king. A handsome king.

Rowan sweeps me into his arms, smiling wider than I’ve ever seen him before. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he tells me.

“And you are the hottest guy I’ve ever seen,” I tell him.

He kisses me and then mutters, “Goddess, you drive me crazy.”

A children’s rhyme I never took seriously before I started to dream I was a wolf pops into my head. “Crazy? I was crazy once….”

He cuts me off with a kiss, and into my mind, he says, ‘Not anymore.’

Nope. Not anymore. And never again.

The End

(Note: This book is dedicated to anyone whos been sent to a mental hospital or behavior hospital because they didn't fit the mold of society. Mental health is important. Take care of yourselfs and others. We need a change in our mental healthcare system and it starts with making sure institutions like Peripheral do their best to help and not harm. Let's be the change. Thank you for reading!)