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Long wooden tables and benches had been placed on the left side of the green and that was where most people were.
Tyren and Hugh had invited some of their friends from the Whitecrest pack. Dom stood with his mate, Anne, beside one of the tables, looking way too sappy. When we came back, he reached out to her, and even though it had been slow in the beginning, they had been together ever since.
Lucille was seated at another table with Celina and Jena. She was still upset she hadn’t found her mate and was sure she would be the cool aunt with a half dozen cats.
I teased her that wolves didn’t really have a good relationship with cats and she cursed me from here to the underworld.
Ivy waved as we approached and Raika disentangled herself from me and ran to her sister. After the battle against Paimon, Ivy had been released from her temporary hold, but put on probation. One evil-demon-like act and she would be put behind bars forever. But she had assured everyone she was done with all of that. She had done it because Paimon had threatened her, and feeling alone, she had felt like she needed to, so he wouldn’t abandon her too.
For now, she was here and helping us with renovations, especially the library since that was important to Raika. She had ordered thousands of books to replace the ones lost during the fire, and Raika was over the moon.
However, she said she wouldn’t stay long. “I want to travel the world,” she told us one night when we were drinking wine in front of the fireplace, after Minsi went to bed. “And then, I don’t know. I might buy a small island, build a beautiful beach mansion, and live the rest of my days like a hermit.”
“As long as you visit often,” Raika said.
Ivy winked at her. “Of course. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
For Raika’s sake, I hoped Ivy really visited a lot. The two of them had developed a special bond, but I could see in Ivy, when she thought no one was looking, how her past weighed on her. If left alone, she might fall into a deep depression.
Which reminded me of Ariella. We hadn’t heard from her in the past four months, and I worried about her mental health. She had first lost her wings, then her powers. It might be too hard for her to live right now. I wished she hadn’t left, but other than keeping an eye out for her, there wasn’t much I could do.
As for Kaz, he had taken the eight dragon eggs to wherever it was he and the other dragon shifters and dragons hid. Despite his usually closed off stance, he seemed pretty pleased about having new dragons.
It was a good thing Lyra had gone to the mountain to help the goblins. She had been the one who insisted on scouring every inch of the mountain to find the demons hiding there and kill them so they would stop terrorizing and killing the goblins. If she hadn’t done that, they would never have found the eggs. And Etyx had come back with her to thank me, Drake and the vampires personally, in Sloz’s name.
“We had our doubts, but yer help was invaluable,” he said. “Ye can always count on us.”
I approached the table with all of the food. Instead of a barbecue, we had decided on a potluck. I placed the casserole beside the other plates, my mouth watering at the sight of so many good things: corn on the cob, fried chicken wings, pizza bites, mini pot pies, mini quiche, cheese bites, and desserts.
Beside the tables, coolers held the drinks and I grabbed a cold beer.
Hamill appeared by my side and slapped my shoulder before I could take a sip. “Ready for your speech?”
I hated speeches, but today was a special day. “We’ll find out.”
My phone buzzed and I glanced at the screen. A text from Evelyn popped up.
How’s the party?
I shook my head. I would answer her later. I was still upset she and Ash hadn't come. They were still in Mexico, following another trail of dragon bones—but Evelyn maintained contact with Kaz, and if she found any, she handed them over to him. However, right now they were in Cozumel on a well-deserved vacation.
Killian and Lavinia put down a plate with cinnamon pastries on the table.
I frowned. “You two are eating?”
Killian shrugged. “It’s not like we can’t.”
“And these are way too good to pass up,” Lavinia said with a smile. Before all of this, before becoming a full witch and then a vampire, Lavinia worked at a coffeeshop and had an older friend, and witch, who had been a baker, and she had taught Lavinia all she knew.
I glanced at Killian. He was still an honorary member of my pack’s council, and he would be for as long as he wanted, but a couple of weeks ago, he did mention “retiring” from the position once the town was rebuilt and we had everything under control.
“I think I would like to live at DuMoir Castle with Lavinia permanently,” he said. “But you’re not getting rid of us. We’ll visit often.”
I frowned, remembering that conversation. It seemed everyone wanted to follow their own calls. While it was understandable, it made me sad. Our pack, our family, had become so vast and strong with our friends and allies, it was hard to see them all leaving, even if they promised to visit often.
“Any news from Cain and Norah?” I asked. I always did.
Killian shook his head. “Drake has plenty of vampires around the world, searching for a portal key. Without one, there’s no way to bring them back.”
