FULL NOVELXO Chapter Alpha’s Challenge: Epilogue
One week later…
Foxfire
“Do you have it?” I bounce up and down as Tank produces a new helmet. It’s red and yellow and orange like a sunset. Like my new hairdo.
I pull the helmet on and scamper to his motorcycle.
“Arms around me at all times. No funny business.” More rules.
“Yeah, yeah, got it.”
“You misbehave,” he threatens, “you get punished.”
Yum.
“Got it, big man. Can we go now?”
Tank sighs.
Despite his misgivings, the ride goes off without a hitch. We reach our destination right at dusk: Tucson billionaire Jackson King’s mansion which abuts the Catalina mountains, where the pack will be running tonight.
The scent of wolves hits me as I swing off Tank’s bike. He takes my hand and leads me forward, stopping when I hang back.
“Are you sure they’re going to like me?” I smooth down my hair.
“Of course, baby.” Tank gives me a hug. “And if they don’t, I’ll kick their asses.”
I giggle. He would, too. Amber told me no one protested when Garrett announced I was joining the pack as Tank’s mate. If there was any rebellion about a fox shifter joining the ranks, it was quickly quelled by my new alpha or his second.
We walk up the drive to the mansion. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Jackson King was a wolf,” I whisper to Tank.
“Yep. And his mate and her grandmother are panthers.”
The door opens before we approach, and Jared sticks his head out.
“Finally. The fox is here!”
Kylie, Jackson’s mate, greets me and introduces me to Jacqueline, her grandmother.
Wild whoops greet us as we walk through the foyer to the large living area. The pack is all here, most holding red Solo cups or bottles of beer.
“Hiya, foxy,” Trey called from the corner. Tank growls, but I give him a little wave.
“Haven’t seen you around much lately.” Jared hands me a red Solo cup filled with something.
“Tank’s been keeping me home a lot,” I say. It’s true, Tank decided the best way to punish me for leaving him was to place me under house arrest for a whole week and fuck me until I couldn’t walk. The bed frame collapsed after a few hours.
“Hear that, boys! Ole Tank is house trained.”
“If my lady was half as foxy, I wouldn’t leave the house either,” another wolf mutters.
“That’s enough,” Tank growls.
“Thanks, guys.” I smile and wave. Trey starts doing introductions but only gets half through them before Tank hauls me into a bedroom.
“What did I tell you about flirting?”
“I wasn’t flirting. Sheesh. I was just being friendly.”
Tank pulls down the neck of my shirt, nuzzling the mark he left. He kisses and licks it, and I know I’ll have a bright red hickey on top of my mark for the rest of the night. Which is exactly his plan.
I go weak-kneed until he starts to herd me to the bed.
“Tank, not here! We’ll break it!”
He growls again but tugs my shirt back into place and leads me out. Everyone in the living room cheers. I blush, grateful when Tank pulls me outside to where Garrett is manning two huge grills. Amber turns from a picnic table stacked with platters of meat.
“Foxfire,” she squeals, and we greet each other. “I didn’t know you were here! Garrett was showing me the pool room. I must have been… distracted.” Her hair is mussed, and her neck sports a hickey of its own.
“The guys gave me a warm welcome.”
“Ignore them.” Amber rolls her eyes. “They’re like a bunch of frat boys who happen to get hairy under the full moon. Hey, did you have a chance to talk to your mom yet?”
“No. I need to. I’ve been… busy all week.”
“You should talk to her. She’s all settled in at the clubhouse… and apparently she knew more about shifters than she was letting on.”
“What?” I gasp. “She knows?”
“She knew everything,” Garrett says. “She asked me flat out if a wolf was my spirit animal.”
“I’ve never seen Garrett look so shocked.” Amber giggles. “Sunny said she saw with her third eye.”
“Makes sense,” I muse. “She did name me Foxfire. On some level, she always knew.”
“What does this mean?” Tank asks.
“I sat her down and told her everything. Swore her to secrecy. I’ve been having a wolf watch over her for a the past week. Someone from my dad’s pack, actually.” Garrett winks at Amber, and she smiles knowingly.
“Yeah?” Tank looks suspicious. “Who?”
The roar of a motorcycle interrupts. We all turn as two riders, one male, one female, swing off the bike.
“Mom?” I gasp. Tank and I head to the driveway to greet her, slowing as we get closer. Sunny’s wearing a leather jacket over her peasant blouse and skirt. A big guy with steely gray hair helps her out of it. He looks vaguely familiar.
“Dad?” Tank looks stunned.
“Son.” The big man—wolf shifter by the smell of him—greets Tank. He nods at me. “Foxfire. A pleasure. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Is this who you’ve been staying with?” I ask Sunny.
“Yes, darling.” She comes and leans into Tank’s dad. He puts an arm around her.
“Is your alpha here?” Titus asks his son. “My alpha has a message for him.”
“Over there, sir.”
“Later, darling.” My mom waves as Titus leads her away.
I put a hand on Tank’s chest to steady myself. “Are our parents…?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Agreed. Let’s never talk about it again.” I am not thinking about my mom having sex. I am not thinking about my mom having sex. I am not… dammit.
I take a big gulp of the contents of my Solo cup and offer it to Tank, who tosses back the rest. “Let’s get more booze.”
“Agreed.”
The rest of the night is fun. I learn that Tank’s real name is Titus, Jr. His dad and my mom met when Garrett needed someone to tow Tank’s truck and Mom’s trailer back from Flagstaff.
After dinner, where I stuff myself with more meat than I’ve eaten in my entire life, Sunny pulls me aside.
“Everything okay?” I ask as she closes the bedroom door for some privacy. I really, really hope she’s not going to talk about her relationship with Tank’s dad. Or ask me about sex positions, and demo them, nude. You never know with Sunny.
“I need to show you something.” She pulls a little package from her purse. “These came to the clubhouse yesterday. Same PO box as the one your dad used. They were addressed to the club, but inside there was a note for you.”
I pull open the package.
Foxfire, reads the note. These were in Johnny’s things. Thought you might want them.
It’s not signed, but I can guess who sent it. I only hope Jordy and the rest of the foxes are safe. Maybe one day she’ll be able to visit me. I’d love to dye her hair and buy her some new clothes.
The note is wrapped around some old pictures. I spread them out and suck in a breath. They’re all of me.
“Every time I got an envelope of money, I sent him one,” Sunny says as I lift them one at a time. There’s a Polaroid of me in my pink tutu when I was four.
“You wore that for a year. I couldn’t get you to take it off.”
Another one of me winning the science fair with my display of the strata of the Grand Canyon. More of me at school, including a prom picture.
“That was the first time you dyed your hair. Turquoise to match your dress.”
“More like puke green.” I shake my head. The color makes me look ill. “I can’t believe you sent all these, and he kept them.”
“Oh, darling.” Sunny hugs me, and I realize my cheeks are wet. Voices murmur outside, and the door opens.
“Baby.” Tank folds me in his arms. His hand soothes up and down my back as I cry it out, like I did when Tank broke the news of my father’s death.
“He loved me.” My voice is muffled in his shoulder. “He really did.”
“Of course, he did. What’s not to love?”
That makes me cry more.
Amber comes in with tissues, and after a bathroom session with emergency makeup, I’m able to join the party once more. No one comments on my red eyes, although Trey sneaks a hug—finishing quickly when Tank growls at him. Jared gives me a fist bump, and Amber beckons me to the edge of the deck to stand with her and Garrett.
“We have a surprise for you,” my new alpha tells me. “Just our little way of welcoming you into the pack.”
The pack all gathers on the deck, looking up at the sky and growing quiet.
“Was this your idea?” I ask Tank.
“Nope.”
“It was the pack’s,” Trey offers. “But Tank’s dad bought everything.”
“His way of apologizing,” Tank mutters.
I search the crowd but don’t see Titus.
“He’s over there” Garrett points to the bushes a distance from the house.
A whistle, a pop, and white sparks light up the sky.
“Fireworks,” I breathe.
“For my baby.” Tank’s hands steady my hips as fireworks bloom red, yellow, green, blue, and purple over and over again.
“Rainbow colors,” Trey points out and tugs a lock of his hair.
A light show, just for me.
Tank takes my hand. “It’s time.”
He pulls me to the side. Amber and Sunny wave to me as they head inside. The rest of the pack is already stripping off their clothes.
Garrett changes first, points his nose to the moon, and bays. He glances back in Amber’s direction and waits for her wave before dashing off into the brush.
The rest of the pack follows, the change spurred by their alpha’s call.
Tank stands guard as I step into the pool house to change.
“Are you sure?” I ask. “You don’t want to just run with the pack?”
“Baby.” He shakes his head. “You are pack.”
A minute later, I trot out in fox form. Tank sniffs me over, and escorts me carefully to the hill where Garrett waits. The big alpha approaches, and I roll to my back, offering my belly in trust and submission. A cursory sniff, and Garrett steps away. Tank takes his place until I’m on my feet again. He takes the rear, Trey and Jared flank me, and Garrett leads the way. We run as another round of fireworks explode in the night sky.