The doorbell rings just as Martin sets a heaping bowl of yakisoba on the dinner table and takes his seat. It's a little past seven in the evening, and he checks his watch and frowns.

"Too late for a delivery, I think," he says. "Are we expecting someone?"

"Not that I'm aware," I say. "Nico, Rio — you didn't invite a guest over without asking permission again, did you?"

It was very sweet of them to ask the cafeteria lady to supper, but we'd been quite surprised when she showed up at the door.

The twins shake their heads in unison, their amber-brown eyes wide. "No, Papa Sky."

I smile. They'd taken to calling me that the first time I suggested it, and I feel a little warmth in my chest every time I hear it.

"Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out who it is," Martin says, rising again and setting his napkin on the table. "You guys go ahead and start."

Whatever it is, I have faith he can handle it, but I rise and follow him anyway, indicating that Miguel should go ahead and serve everyone.

When Martin opens the door and reveals Elena on the other side, I'm glad I did. I step forward to put myself between them, but Martin takes control before I can intervene, proving my faith in him.

"Elena... What are you doing here?" he asks, clearly surprised and confused but not overcome with alarm as he might have been in the past.

His former mate looks more human than the last time I saw her. She wears black leggings, a loose sweater that falls off one shoulder, and comfortable training shoes. Her long auburn hair is pulled back in a simple pony tail, and her makeup is minimal.

"Martin." She glances past him to me, but returns her attention to him without acknowledgement. "I thought we had an agreement. I waited for you."

He rests one hand on the doorframe, as much to block her path as for support, and frowns. "Our bond is broken — truly, this time. Nothing remains of it. I thought you would feel it."

She nods, a slight moue dipping the corners of her lips. "I did. I was worried you had died."

"Worried!" He scoffs. "I would have thought you'd be glad of it."

Her brows pinch. "Once, I might have been. When the remnants of our bond vanished, I expected to feel relief. Instead, I was afraid. In that moment, I realized that I was utterly and completely alone, and that it was entirely my fault."

Martin eyes her suspiciously. "What do you want me to say? I loved you, once. You had ten years to turn things around. I get you were brain-washed by your Pack, but you had ample opportunity to break free. Despite what you put me through, and what you did to me, if you'd stopped, and changed, I'd probably still love you now."

She smiles sadly. "I don't think I could have changed if I'd wanted to, and I didn't want to. My hatred went too deep. And you're better off," she says, casting me another glance. "I can see that. The children, too."

"You can't see them," Martin says quickly, "if that's why you're here."

She shifts her weight. "It is, and it isn't. I was just hoping... Well, I was hoping to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

She nods. "I'm leaving. I've accepted a position at a children's hospital in Buenos Aires. My flight leaves in the morning."

Martin remains on guard. "What about your new mate? That doctor guy?"

"We weren't mated, fortunately. I told him the truth about Nico and Rio, that they weren't his and what I'd done to you. He left me."

"Oh. I'm..." Martin clears his throat. It would be a lie to say he's sorry.

I speak the truth instead. "Good for him."

Elena glances at me, but her gaze contains no fire. "Probably," she says, and turns back to Martin. "That's all I came to say. I wanted you to know that I'll be gone. You can confirm it if you like. Here." She hands him a card and I glimpse the name of a hospital as Martin takes and examines it. "I start in two weeks."

"Alright. Um... thank you for telling me. You could have just sent a letter, though."

Elena picks at her sleeve. Martin's eyes are drawn to her hand, her unadorned nails trimmed short, and his shoulders tense, perhaps with remembered violence.

"I'd like to say goodbye to them," Elena says. "To the children."

I move to intervene again, but again, Martin proves there is no need.

He shakes his head. "No. I'm sorry, Elena, but the answer is no."

She frowns, but keeps her voice soft. "Please — I'm their mother."

"No, you're not. Not in any way that counts. You gave birth to them; that's all."

"Won't you at least ask if they'll see me?"

A note of pleading creeps into her tone and Martin — ever soft-hearted despite everything — wavers a little. Elena sees it, too; but at the slightest shift in her expression, the unconscious instinct of a predator sensing vulnerability in its prey, his defenses are back up.

"No. No, I won't ask them. I'll tell them where you've gone, though, and if they ask to talk to you or exchange letters, I'll allow it. And when they're older, I won't stop them if they want to see you face to face. But not now. If you can accept and respect that, it will mean a lot."

She lifts her chin, and her eyes flash with a trace of anger. In the past, Martin might have suffered for daring to defy her, but now he stands his ground. She lets her shoulders droop and crosses her arms, and her expression softens again.

"I don't know if there's any hope for me," she says, offering him a slight smile, "but I'm going to find out. I never loved our children the way I should have, but I do care for them. They couldn't be in better hands. Goodbye, Martin. I wish you happiness."

"Goodbye, Elena," he says. "I wish you... peace."

She nods and walks away down the path to the street, where she gets in a rented car and drives away.

When she's gone, Martin releases a breath and I rest a hand on his back.

"Are you alright?"

He turns and embraces me, resting his head on my shoulder for a moment. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"You handled that well."

"I knew you had my back."

"Mm. I could have told her to go take a nap in the highway. Would have been a good test of my Voice."

He laughs. "I'm glad you didn't have to. Come on."

We return to the dining room and rejoin the children at the table. Flora and Miguel watch us keenly — not much gets past those two — but Nico and Rio, locked in an argument over who took more than his share of the chicken pieces, seem blissfully unaware that anything was amiss.

"Who was it, Dad?" Miguel asks carefully.

Martin hesitates. He doesn't like to lie to them even about little things, and this time, I see an opportunity to step in.

"Just someone lost," I say, "looking for directions."

It's true enough, and Martin relaxes. "That's right. Nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Eat your supper."

Flora and Miguel exchange glances, but do as he says. Since our return, he's grown stronger, steadier, and more confident — someone that, even as they grow into adulthood, they can look up to and trust.

Under the table, I take his hand, and he shoots me a grateful smile. He hadn't needed my help with Elena, but its enough for him to know that if he had, I was there. If I can help it, he'll never have to face anything alone again.

〜〜〜

Later that night, the bed creaks softly and Martin bites back a moan. We've gotten very good at being quiet. I'm inside him, fucking him with slow, deep thrusts, and enjoying the sight of him beneath me. His legs are looped around my shoulders and he strokes himself with one hand, his head tilted back to expose his bare throat. A drop of precum leaks from his tip, and his breath catches, telling me he's close.

I place my hand over his to stop his strokes, and he whimpers and writhes at the edge of ecstasy. I'm almost there, too, and won't last much longer.

"Sky... ahh... please..."

He shudders with pleasure as I increase my pace, building up to the finish. Sweat dampens my back and chest, and corresponding moisture beads his brow. We've been at this for a while, taking our time and enjoying one another's company. We switch positions often, and I wasn't sure which one of us would end up on top tonight, but when Martin asked me to fuck him into next week, I wasn't about to say no.

I release his hand, freeing him to carry himself over the edge. He does so with a few quick strokes, exhaling with a silent cry and arching his back as he comes. He tightens around me as he spasms, and I finish inside him, reveling in the spill of heat and the ultimate joining of our bodies.

He twitches with the aftershocks of pleasure as I withdraw and then pulls me down into a breathless, hungry kiss.

"I love you," he says.

"And I you."

We have no need to say more. I would give up a kingdom for you, or, I would go to the bottom of the ocean for you, would sound like hyperbole to anyone else; to us, those are boxes already checked.

A soft laugh escapes me. "To think this all started with a concerning drawing of people as wolves," I whisper against his lips.

"Would you have called me to your classroom if you knew what would happen?"

"To end up here?" I smile. "Yes. I am forever grateful that my heart's fate led me to you."

He frowns up at me. "I thought the amulet led you to me."

"It's the same thing. My mother explained that the amulet didn't react to you so much as to how I perceived you. What she meant by a 'pure heart' is a heart free of self-interest, one who puts others first at any cost. Only such a one could break her spell, which of course made it impossible for Natalis. Meanwhile, some part of me recognized it in you at first glance."

"You really don't regret losing your mer-form and the throne?"

"Not a bit. As long as I have you, I'll be happy as a clam."

"Are clams really happy?" he asks, half jokingly. "If I were a clam, I think I'd be bored and nervous most of the time, at the mercy of the tides, and seagulls, and those clam-collecting people in the big galoshes. Not to mention the chance of getting steamed alive in a pot."

I laugh and I kiss him again, savoring the taste of him.

"Happy as a man with a safe home, a loving family, and the love of his life in his arms, then," I say. "Besides, I know for a fact there is no greater treasure in the sea."

~ The End ~

***

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading Heart's Fate! There may be a bonus epilogue in the works, but for now, Martin and Sky's tale ends here. Extra big thanks to everyone who read along as I wrote and helped keep me motivated as the tale wandered into fishy waters 😁. Hope to see you again in the next book! ❤️