Epilogue

The end of the night came around nine-thirty. Yared sat on the stump with Thursy on one side and Scotch on the other and listened to the pumas whistling in the caverns of Mount Aurora. Coalise was bundled up in coats and blankets – Scotch was worried she might freeze to death, which Yared thought was unlikely since it was only going down to fourteen degrees that night – and Osprey was keeping an eye on Tish. Maple was forcing Amber to drink down a third bag of blood she’d found in Galdwyn’s fridge.

Yared didn’t look at her while he addressed the pack. He didn’t think it would be appropriate for their leader to be grinning.

Everyone was a wreck. Falash had broken both of Jinchae’s legs and set some stuff on fire, Narsa wouldn’t stop bitching long enough to catch her breath, and Wen just kept growling. Preza and Treista were sobbing and Tya had confined herself to bed.

"Would everyone listen for just a moment?" Yared called out, and he was surprised by how quickly everyone went quiet. Maybe they were afraid he would gut them.

"I know it’s been a long night, a long four days even, so I’ll be brief. My first act as leader of this pack is reinstate Simone as a voice of the pack. If, that is, she will accept."

Simone small eyes shone in the moonlight. "I would be honored."

"Terrific. With her blessing, I’d also like to invite Gedmark, Jinchae, and Kimber."

Exclamations of shock followed a moment of stunned silence. "Kimber?" Falash repeated. "What’s she going to offer?"

"I agree with each of your recommendations," Simone told Yared.

"Thank you. And just in case you’re wondering, yes, things are going to change. It’s time we all got out of this village for a few days and realized how big the rest of the world is, because like it or not, we’re going to have to deal with it. No decision has been made concerning our possible alliance with either the Night World or Circle Daybreak. That’s for our new voices to decide. But you all better start thinking about whether or not you enjoyed tonight’s violence, because it’s the Night World’s style and personally, I thought it sucked.

"Everybody go home and get some sleep."

Jinchae, Simone, Kimber, and Gedmark stayed behind. "I can’t believe this," Gedmark said simply.

"I didn’t think you had it in you," Jinchae said kindly. Gedmark was carrying him.

"Neither did I," Yared admitted. "But things change. Things have to change. I picked you four because I know you’re going to think about what we’re facing here and not just listen to tradition. Simone, you’re the oldest and the wisest, and I trust you. Gedmark, all of your beliefs were shattered and you’re starting with no assumptions. Jinchae, you’re brilliant, and you’re empathetic. And Kimber, you know better than any of us why we need a fair committie."

Kimber gave him the slow, dark look he had seen on Kiria’s face so many times. But then she smiled through her pain, like a ray of sunshine breaking through clouds, in a way Kiria had never been able and she leaned down to offer him her throat.

He remembered the night Simone had done the same thing, how he had licked her with his coarse puma tongue.

Instead, he gently kissed Kimber’s neck.

When he had said goodnight to Simone, Gedmark, and Jinchae, Maple hesitantly touched his arm. He was dressed again, and he couldn’t hear her thoughts through his shirtsleeve, but he could read them off her face.

"Anything you need," he told her before she could speak.

He could tell she didn’t quite believe him, but she smiled a little. "Scotch’s mother said we could stay in her house tonight. I want to get Amber inside."

"I’ll be there in a minute," he said. She nodded uncertainly and began to turn away, and Yared took hold of her arm and lowered her face to hers. He almost kissed her and then stopped, their mouths inches apart.

"I love you," he said instead.

Behind her blue-green eyes, strength was growing again. He smiled and released her, and she followed Osprey, who was carrying Amber, and Coalise, who was leading Tish with her good hand toward Scotch’s house.

Yared turned and realized that he was alone with Scotch and Thursy on the stump. Thursy saw it at the same moment he did and broke into her most beautiful smile, and then she reached for one of his hands and one of Scotch’s.

Scotch and Yared closed the circle. It seemed as if a current rose between the three of them, linking one to another.

"We made it," he said.

"We made it," Thursy agreed. "We even picked up some company on the way."

"Good company," Scotch told her.

"The best. I adore your soulmate."

Yared saw him squeeze her hand. "You don’t know how happy that makes me, Thursy. To be honest, Osprey kind of scares me."

"Sometimes he scares me, too, but he doesn’t mean it. He’s just a little boy inside."

"You are going to be okay with him?" Yared asked, meeting Thursy’s eyes.

"Okay with him?" she repeated. She knew he had asked the wrong question.

"Okay with being different. Being whatever you are."

"I’ll be fine." She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. "It’s time I grew up and quit being afraid of the world." She lifted an eyebrow. "Are you going to be okay with Maple?"

"Yes," he said without thinking, but Scotch didn’t look so sure. Knowing he had spent most of his childhood not talking about his feelings, he went on, "She needs a home and I need someone to be tender with. In a weird way, we’re a perfect match."

"You can forgive her for Kiria?" Scotch asked, looking stunned.

Yared glanced away. "Kiria is always going to hurt. She was pack, and she was my best friend. It’s not just that she died, it’s that she died still so unhappy, and we all lost the chance to ever change that for her." He blinked away tears. "But Maple never wanted any part of it. And I don’t think that forgiving her for what she did will be the hard part. After we’re married, Maple and I are going teach each other how to forgive ourselves."

He didn’t hear what he had said until Thursy cried, "Married?"

"Bast on a hot tin roof!" Scotch swore.

"She doesn’t think really I’ll do it."

"Will you?" Scotch asked.

"Of course he will," Thursy answered. "You know how Yared is about this sort of thing."

"Yeah, but...she’ll be part of the pack then. Everyone will have to treat her like part of the pack."

"The same way they’ll have to treat your human soulmate and my bogeyman sister and her bogeyman boyfriend."

Thursy laughed. Her voice carried sweetly on the night breeze. "All of us in the same pack?"

"All of us."

She hugged him and Scotch joined in, and Yared held onto his two best friends and lowered his head in a moment of perfect understanding. The path ahead was unknown but he felt strong enough to find it, and the companions going with him were, as Scotch had said, good company.

Everything was quiet in the village that night.

The End

Jory San-Corinth

December 26, 2000