Epilogue

Austin sat quietly in the corner of his room listening to the thunder roll gently outside his window. For the first time in a very long time, he felt at ease. Not because he was in his room in New Orleans, but because he had finally found what his heart had been missing.

She was laying in his bed, bundled up and snoozing deeply. She had come into his life when he had needed the most because he was losing who he was. She had pulled him out of his funk in a way he wasn't sure anyone else would have been able to do. Not his brother and not his friends.

Since then, he had begun feeling whole. His powers had evened out and he had more patience than he had in the beginning. He was able to last through meetings more now than he had. It had helped that she had taken over some of his responsibilities, especially at their job.

Austin had turned over all of the inner workings to Bryony. After their marriage, she had gotten some flak for it, but she had grown a backbone. She was able to stand up for herself. Maybe it had been the near death experience, but she was better than what he had imagined her to be.

Not everything had been bad that came of their adventure. They had formed a stronger alliance with some people and forged a new one with those they thought would no longer be a part of their world. Things were getting better and better now that everyone was starting to work as a team.

Mikey had reached out to Austin with word on the Golden Court's Sector leaders. They had finally come to an agreement and now the expectations were greater than ever. Luckily Austin was getting better at working with people who thought differently than he did. He didn't want to slap them in the face, so that was an improvement.

The most important thing to him now was the relationship between Bryony and his family. His team had already accepted her. She made dinner for them every night, but they had to clean up the kitchen. She had started doing everyone's laundry because they were single men and tended to shove everything in the washer together. They had clean towels nearly every time they showered and didn't need to guess what was in the fridge.

Keldin hadn't opened up to her yet, but Austin knew how hard that was for him anyway. The silver lining to all of it was if Bryony needed anything, Keldin was always there to get it for her. He made sure she was taken care of even if he didn't talk to her.

To her credit, Bryony didn't ask too much of his brother. If he was around, she tried to include him and make him feel at home. She didn't push him to open up, and she even enjoyed his brooding silence.

The thunder rumbled a couple times, and Austin's skin popped as lightning flashed across the sky. He was at ease for the first time in a very long time.

Two thin arms wrapped around his bare waist, rubbing his chest tenderly before resting below his belly button. He felt a whisper of a kiss on his shoulder before a face squished against his back.

"What are you doing?" Bryony asked. She sighed sleepily then nuzzled his back.

"I had a meeting earlier and I haven't been to bed yet," he replied. "There's a thirteen hour time difference between here and Tokyo."

"How did it go?"

He laughed and turned in her arms. Her face was squished against his chest, and he could feel her sleepy pout on his skin. "We had to schedule a secondary meeting for next week. The CEO wasn't available so it was just a preliminary, but I think it went well."

"Good." She looked up at him, eyes catching the next bolt of lightning and reflecting it. "You should probably go to bed. We have a busy day and I don't want you grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy."

She snorted at him. "You are grumpy when you don't sleep well. And you tend to snap people's heads off too."

He laughed. "Maybe we should rethink this marriage thing. You know too much."

Bryony chuckled as she pulled away from him. "I'm going to the bathroom. Get in bed. You need a few hours of sleep. And I'm not asking."

Austin knew better than to argue. They hadn't been married long, but he had learned already that she didn't take things lightly. If she wanted something she was going to get it. So if she wanted him to go to bed, he would at least lay down.

He slid in between the soft sheets and adjusted his pillow. She still stole it when he wasn't in bed so he always had to take it back to make it fit his head again.

He stretched languidly, enjoying how his muscles pulled and his hips popped back into their joints. Bryony returned from the bathroom, rolling into bed and adjusting to him being there. She curled into his side and draped a leg over his.

Austin hadn't known this intimacy before and he was really glad he hadn't. It would be so different to him, and he was happy he finally found the one who knew how to help him relax. Relaxation wasn't his strongest point, but he was learning from her everyday.

"Aus, go to sleep," she whispered.

He smiled and pulled her into his side. Her small hand wrapped slid under his opposite hip. She nuzzled her face into his chest and within moments she was asleep again.

Austin listened to her breathe for a long while. Sleep wasn't easy to come to him, but being wrapped in her arms could do the trick. Until that happened, he was just going to enjoy the moment until the next batch of crazy pulled him from her.

This is the end of Book 3. The Silver Court Series will continue soon!