Orla's POV

"Ten bucks say Ezra attacks Blondie before the end of the meeting."

"He's not that crazy."

"I bet he's going to slam him against the wall if he doesn't stop staring at Orla like she's a tasty cherry."

I tried my best to ignore Haley, Hayden and Sam's voices in my head. We were in a meeting with uncle Terry, and I regretted agreeing to let them tag along as soon as we arrived. I should've known.

Blondie, who was currently under the silent threat of Ezra's wrath, was speaking about some murder case. He was one of the humans who tagged along with Uncle Terry last time and today.

It'd been eight months since supernaturals came out to the world. The chaos had settled down. Members of the liaison's office organized meetings every two weeks for the first six months, but now it turned into once a month.

"...so if we can get your input regarding this case," Blondie, or Sebastian as he'd introduced himself last time, was saying.

I looked over the file he presented me with earlier. They suspected the criminal might be a supernatural, so they wanted to bring a supernatural into the case as a sort of advisor.

I closed the file and looked at him. "I'll let you know after we discuss this."

He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "I was hoping to get a response from you today."

I raised my brows. "That's not how it works, and you know it. I'm only the middle woman between humans and supernaturals. I don't make the decisions."

"Yes, yes. Of course, I know. But since you once lived with humans, I figured you'd be a great candidate."

"I'll let you know," I said. Sebastian opened his mouth, but uncle Terry spoke first.

"That will be all for today," he gave Sebastian a pointed look. Sebastian cleared his throat and leaned back. "Anything else?"

"About your request from last month, I got the okay yesterday," I told uncle Terry.

"You did?" Uncle Terry asked, unable to hide his surprise. I was surprised as well. When uncle Terry had asked if there was a possibility the FBI could hold a joint training program with supernaturals, I hadn't thought Zyron and the others would agree. But they had. I was surprised, but I decided to trust them. They were more experienced and could see the bigger picture, having lived longer than most people.

"Once we work out a schedule and the details, I'll pass it on to you guys," I said.

"Perfect."

After a few more words, the meeting ended. I stretched my arms up. The meeting room broke into the low murmur of conversation and movements.

Uncle Terry and I were the fixed members of the liaison's office, but everyone had the right to bring in four more people with them. So in total there would be ten people, five humans and five supernaturals.

Ezra always tagged along. Last week Haley came, and she told everyone how Ezra was going to tear into one of the humans who was, according to her, flirting with me, which was why Sam and Hayden insisted on tagging along. They didn't want to miss the show. Obviously, my friends were very mature.

I'd thought their presence would ease up Ezra's over protectiveness, but I was wrong.

He'd been obsessively protective after what happened eight months ago. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and find him awake, just staring at the darkness with glowing eyes.

Zach's departure hit him harder than anyone else. He was his best friend, his brother, and now he was gone.

The fact that some members of the Coalition and the rebels were still at large also made him paranoid. Well, more paranoid than usual. So much so he wouldn't let me leave the pack without him.

I wanted to give him time to mellow out and calm down. After almost losing him, I didn't have the heart to tell him to give me space. Probably because I, too, didn't want space.

But it had been eight months. It wasn't healthy, for either of us, if this kept going on. At this rate, he wouldn't let me go to the bathroom without him. I had to put a stop to it before it went too far.

As I stood up, one of the humans approached Ezra as always. His identity as Zyron's heir was common knowledge at this point, so many people tried to speak to him for one reason or another.

"I'll run to the bathroom real quick," I linked him. He pursed his lips, not wanting to let me leave alone.

Yep, I definitely have to put an end to this.

I escaped the meeting room before he could argue. The werewolf guards outside followed me down the brightly lit hallway. Brenna came inside the restroom with me, checked the stalls, then installed herself in front of the mirrors.

I got in and did my business, knowing Brenna could hear every bit of it. But I decided to ignore it. I would never argue against security details, especially outside the pack. I was a target and I would be for the rest of my life, and it was a price I was willing to pay twice over for the life I had. Ezra, my family, friends, a home. It was worth it all thanks to them.

When Brenna and I stepped out of the ladies' room, Sebastian was pacing back and forth in front of the door. My other werewolf guard eyed him warily.

Sebastian saw me and beamed. "Hey, I was waiting for you."

And that wasn't creepy at all.

"If you have anything else you wanted to discuss, it should wait until the next meeting," I told him. The instinct to smile was almost impossible to resist, but I managed to keep my face blank.

"Uh- I was just wondering if I can have some of your time. Maybe we can have a coffee? I have so many questions about the supernatural world and..."

He reached up as if to touch my shoulder. I stepped back, tuning his words out. Down the hallway, Ezra had just walked out of the meeting room. His eyes scanned the hallway and fell on Sebastian. Sam, Hayden and Haley were close behind him. Sam followed Ezra's gaze. He grinned, pulled out his phone and started filming when Ezra stalked down the hallway towards us.

"Sebastian," I cut him off.

"-so what do you think?" He asked, clearly still oblivious to the danger he was in.

"Run," I told him.

"What?"

I looked at him and said firmly. "Go away."

He blinked, shock slackening his jaw. He looked back and spotted Ezra, slowly walking down the hallway like a wolf stalking prey, and froze. The humans lingering in the hallway looked slightly concerned, but not enough to intervene. I guess Sebastian wasn't their favorite either.

Sam was still filming. I was going to kill him.

"Sam! Stop filming and help!" I linked him, leaving the stupid human behind and moving towards my mate.

"Wait just a little more. Orton told me to film it since he couldn't come."

I was going to kill my brother, then Sam.

I reached Ezra and hugged his chest. He kept walking. My feet slid on the floor. It would've been funny if I couldn't feel the growl building in his chest. The sound reverberated through the hallway.

"Oh shit," Sam mumbled, obviously realizing this was serious.

"Go. I'll wrap things up here," Sam linked me.

I teleported myself and Ezra out. A blink later, we stood in our bedroom in the pack. I stepped back. Ezra's glowing eyes flickered around, his wolf's frustration at being denied his prey echoed in a growl.

"Where's that bastard?" He growled.

"In case your eyes aren't working, we're in our bedroom."

"Take us back."

"No."

"He was touching you!"

"Almost," I said.

He growled louder.

I tapped my finger to his nose. Boop. "Bad wolf."

Ezra blinked, his growl dying down. I framed his face in my hands and kissed him.

"I'm right here, Ezra. We're together and safe," I whispered. "We're safe."

He closed his eyes tightly. "What if-"

"No," I said. "Stop it."

He opened his eyes, and they glowed the brightest I'd ever seen them. The bond twisted and groaned under the weight of his emotions.

"I'm so afraid," he whispered. "Every time I close my eyes, I keep thinking of what might have happened if you were kidnapped. Every time you're not next to me, all I can think of is how someone might take you from me."

"I know. I know. But if you keep dwelling on all the what ifs and what could haves, we're going to lose our lives to fear. Enough. Let's just live our lives the best we can, and if anything happens, then we'll deal with it," I said. "We're training to be stronger, we know more about our enemies now, we have more resources."

The Coalition's library turned out to be a treasure trove of information. Other than the documented history of the moon children, there were hundreds of books and records about the spells and blood magic that Coalition members had used over the centuries. Hale and Mom were studying those and trying to find ways to counter them.

Ezra blew out a breath and squeezed me to him. I groaned under the pressure of his arms. He eased his hold.

"I've been a suffocating jerk these past few months, haven't I?"

"Hmm, maybe just a little bit," I joked.

He growled and nipped at my ear. "You're supposed to say no."

I patted his back and stepped back. "Ezra, I love you, but you couldn't let me take two steps away from you without panicking."

He sighed, brushing his thumb against my cheek. "I'll try."

"Good. Because you're no longer attending the Liaison meetings with me."

He scowled. "Why the hell not?"

"Because you're always growling at poor humans."

"I'm not always growling," he growled.

I bit back a laugh, stood on my tiptoes and kissed him before stepping back. "I'll go get Sam and the others back."

He opened his mouth. I raised my brows. His jaw ticked.

"Fine. I'll wait here," he grumbled.

I went back to the meeting location and teleported the others back to the pack under Sam's constant teasing. I couldn't wait until this vampire found his mate.

After conveying the meeting reports to Zyron and Vlad, I met up with Ezra in the pack house's backyard, where we would be having dinner with everyone else.

It was Zyron and Wren's anniversary today, and the entire pack was in a festive mood. After the past few months' uncertainty and chaos, they deserved it.

Ezra and I sat at the same table with Blake, Hayden, Dad and Vlad. String lights decorated the trees and illuminated the night as if it was the middle of the day, children wrecked havoc with their laughter and mischief, and adults enjoyed conversation and good food.

"Where's Sam?" I asked, looking around. I shoved some pasta in my mouth. The pack chef's cooking was heaven.

"The powers that be ent him to help with the case the humans asked about today," Hayden said.

Vlad chuckled. "Sam had dealt with enough supernatural shenanigans to recognize them," Vlad said. "If a supernatural is involved in the crime, he'll know how to deal with it."

I hummed. Sam would be a good candidate. He could be charming when he wanted to, and for a vampire hundreds of years old, he was surprisingly 'human' in a way.

I felt Ezra's gaze on my cheek and looked at him.

"What?" I asked, though the word was barely recognizable since my mouth was full.

He pinched my cheek, a smile warming his eyes. "Nothing. You're just adorable. More pasta?"

He wiped a corner of my mouth- pasta sauce- then licked his finger. I narrowed my eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off my face, remembering that very first day.

Across the table from us, Dad grunted. "Ezra? It's been a while since you and I had some training, right?"

Ezra smiled. "Anytime, old man."

Dad grumbled something under his breath. I rolled my eyes. Men.

Balek poked my side.

"Haley says the kitchen is bringing out dessert," he linked me.

My eyes widened. I'd had enough meals in the pack house to know that dessert always disappeared. If you didn't come early, there wasn't enough for you. Blake and I stood up.

Ezra was about to stand before he stopped himself. I gave him a smile and weaved my way through the crowd.

Zyron towered above everyone, Zach's little sister on his shoulders, squealing when he pretended to throw her over. He caught her and sent her flying through the air toward Wren. She caught the little girl and sat her on her lap next to Mom and Hale.

We made it to the pack house, where some teenagers were playing some game in the living room. Most people were outside. Blake and I made our way toward the back hallway leading to the kitchen.

Haley, Orton and Meredith, Hayden's mate, waited in front of the kitchen's double doors. Jun lurked a bit behind, looking bored.

No one dared get into the kitchen. The pack chef was very territorial, and unless you were part of the kitchen staff, you couldn't step a foot inside even if you were the Alpha King.

"Is it out yet?" I asked as we stopped next to them.

"Not yet," Haley said.

"Have you people never had dessert before?" Jun asked, confused, looking at the line starting to form behind us.

"Oh, shut up. If you haven't tasted chef Leena's dessert, don't speak."

Jun grunted, stroking a lock of Haley's hair between his fingers as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Why are you here?" I asked Orton. "You don't like sweets that much."

"Mom sent me," he grumbled.

"She could've just told me and I would've brought her her share," I said.

Orton snorted. "Yeah. After you eat half of it."

"Hey!" I slapped his arm.

The kitchen's double doors opened. Chef Leena stepped out with a cloud of sugar and cinnamon and chocolate. The trolley in front of her held plates with what looked like chocolate entremets. The glossy brown delicacies were decorated with bright green crunchy pistachios. Mhm.

She saw us waiting and raised her eyebrows. "Your highness. You should lead by example. Why don't you at least wait for the dessert to join the buffet?"

"It'll be gone by then," I grinned. "Please?"

Chef Leena sighed and waved us over. "Only one per person."

I grabbed a plate and escaped to the living room. One of the young werewolves lounging on the couch saw me and my plate of dessert then dropped his controller and zipped towards the kitchen, the others followed suit.

"Mhm, that's heaven," Haley said, licking her spoon clean. Next to her, Jun put a spoon of the chocolate delicacy in his mouth and froze. His usual frown cleared up, and he stared at the dessert with wide eyes.

Haley snorted. "I told you it's good."

Humming, he shoved another spoonful in his mouth. We stood around, watching as pack members rushed toward the kitchen. Too late.

As I was about to take my first taste, Sam's voice filled my head.

I dropped the plate, it shattered on the floor. My dessert was gone, but I couldn't care less.

"What? What is it?" Haley asked.

Eyes wide and grin so big it hurt my cheeks, I looked at her.

"Sam just found his mate."

END.

*** **** ***

It's ooooover!

I'm trying to hard not to cry while writing this! After two years, I finally managed to finish this story! I'm relieved and happy, but I'm also sad. After such a long time, the characters kind of become my friends. I hope it's the same for you as well.

A huge thank you to everyone who stuck around from the beginning! When I first started posting, I hadn't expected the story to receive this much love and attention. So thank you for your support through all the missed updates and the lousy chapters.

Also, keep in mind that this is a first draft. Which means the story has mountains of plot holes, a world of unresolved issues, and an eternity of grammatical mistakes :p

That's something that I'll tackle whenever I decide to publish the story, so do leave me your notes and suggestions in the comments! They'll be a great help when I start editing!

But for now, I'm actually thinking of writing some chapters from Zane's POV to tie up all those loose ends. Writing from a villain's POV is something I've never done before, so it's very exciting. Would you like to read something like that?

For those asking what's next?

Drumroll.... Next in the series is Sam's story!! Are you as excited as I am?

It's not going to be right away though! I have to finish the Prince, the Thief and the Artifact first, then I'll start on it.

Meanwhile, you can read my other stories if you want. I recommend Blue Flames if you're in the mood for a sassy, badass female character. 

Thank you... I keep repeating it, but I really am grateful.

Head over to Instagram to keep up with my story news. And if you want to support me and at the same time have early access to my writing, consider joining my Patreon.

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.