Take it from a miserable old man at the end of his life. No matter what people say to you, don’t make our mistakes. We could have left this all behind. Been happy.
“Probably the morphine talking, but,” a small smile curved up my mouth, no doubt about the answer screaming from my heart, from my soul. “Fuck. Yes.”
Lennox’s mouth crashed down on mine. The feel of his lips shot hunger and warmth through my veins, bringing me back to life.
“What? What’s going on?” Landen snorted, popping up, turning our heads to him. Rubbing his face, he peered around as if he had no clue where he was. His gaze landed on us, eyes widening with such an innocent, happy expression. “Hey! Look who is finally awake!”
A snorted chuckle hitched up my nose, laughter pouring through my healing body like light. Ignoring the pain striking in my body, I grabbed my cousin, yanking him on the bed with Lennox and me.
I had no idea what was in front of me. No doubt there were many bumps in the road and moments that might break me, but with these guys at my side, I knew I could get through anything.
Fuck the fairytales. I might not live happily ever after, but I would live fiercely. An adventurous, exciting, full life with many ups and downs with the man I loved.
Epilogue
Two years later
Heat soaked through the canvas walls, curling over my frame like a blanket, sweat already trickling down my half-naked body. The tank and knickers I was wearing were already stuck to my skin. The thick smell of dirt, animals, baking earth, and a scent unique to Africa filled my nose like the most delicious coffee, pulling me out of dreamland. The excited chirping and baying from Ebele nearby parted my lids to the early morning, a smile forming on my lips.
Ebele was our newest orphan elephant, coming to us at only a few weeks old. I had spent a week sleeping in her pen to make sure she survived the night and let her know she wasn’t alone. Her mother had been slaughtered for her ivory, leaving the calf traumatized and heartbroken. She didn’t eat for three days. After losing two prior baby calves before her, I was determined to keep her alive. Life and death came with the territory, especially here, but it still broke me in half, like I lost a family member.
Roars from the lions and lionesses and crazy bird-sounding chirps from the cheetahs told me they were about to be served their breakfast.
Rolling over in the large empty bed, I snuggled into my pillow, knowing I had at least another hour or two before I had to get up after working the late shift last night. But hearing the animals, I also understood sleep was pointless, their excited cheers for food made me want to jump up immediately and be out there with them.
Peering around the large permanent tent cabin, I couldn’t help but grin. Decorated for Christmas, the room was about as far from my life two years ago as you could get. Built a few feet off the ground because of the rainy months here, the wood floor was worn and creaky. The sizeable one-room tent held a fourposter bed, dripping with netting to keep the bugs out, a desk, rug, book stand, two wardrobe cupboards, and two side chairs, which seemed to be used more for my clothes rack than to sit. The roof went up to a tall peak, with a light dangling from above. A small deck with chairs was built at the front, where I had spent many nights watching the animals roam around as the sun descended on the South African horizon, drenched with purples, oranges, reds, and golden yellows. I had never seen a sunset or sunrise more breathtaking than I had here.
If someone told me when I was living in the palace I would end up training under one of the most brilliant woman vets I could ever hope for, caring for orphaned and injured animals in a conservation reserve in South Africa, two years into my degree to be a vet, I would have called them crazy.
From that moment in the hospital when I decided to jump on this roller coaster and leave Great Victoria behind, I had no idea the ride it would take me on—good and bad. Since then, I’ve had moments of pure bliss and excitement, as well as devastating pain and loss.
My hand ran over the empty spot next to me in the bed, a deep sigh huffing my lips, shoving back the sudden rush of grief. Rolling over again, my mind reached back to memories I tried to avoid. Pain chased you down no matter where you hid in the world. The death of someone you loved could find you anywhere. It had only been six months, but it still felt fresh, sitting on me like one of the rhinos outside.
Reaching over, I picked up the clock on the nightstand, the numbers telling me it wasn’t even six a.m. yet, the heat already stifling.
Welcome to December in Kruger, South Africa. Christmas Eve.
Two years ago today, I was engaged to a prince, living in a palace. It was the day everything changed.
Out here, I didn’t hear much about the royals. People’s lives were consumed with getting food in their bellies and clean water, not being murdered, raped, or dying of a disease, making royal drama a faraway world. But when I went into a bigger town, I saw a magazine with Theo on the cover, suggesting he had gone off the rails, making himself front-page news with drinking, drugs, and sex scandals of his own. It tore at my heart, knowing I might be the reason. Whatever he was going through, I wished him the best. He was a good guy; he just needed to find his way again. The guilt of what I did to him would always haunt me, but when you lose someone, perspective shifts, and you realize how little all that bullshite meant.
Titles. Galas. Etiquette. All of it was empty and meaningless.
Lifting my arm, I touched the picture on the nightstand, tracing over the figure no longer here, the ache in my heart flooding tears into my eyes.
His death was my fault too…
“Hey…” A husky voice came from behind me, boots tumbling onto the wood floor as they were yanked off his feet, the bed creaking with weight as a body curled in behind mine. “You okay? We lose an animal? I saw Ebele…”
“No, they’re fine.” I twisted my head, peering up into a set of wolf eyes glowing in the bright morning light, his face covered with dirt and deeply bronzed from the sun. Everything in my chest loosened, the sensation of peace and joy filled me like a bloody Christmas song. I reached up, touching the heavy stubble on his chin.
Lennox Easton. Bugger all…I was even more in love with him than ever.
Through all the tribulations we went through because of my dodgy past, there was never a day I regretted taking that leap with him. He was my rock, my best friend. He read me better than anyone, challenged me, made me laugh, and gave me so many orgasms, I was surprised I had any brain cells left in my head. He added so much happiness to my life and pushed me to follow my dreams to become a veterinarian, no matter how long it took online. I was getting hands-on experience here. Dr. Mekena treated me more like an assistant doctor than she did a subordinate. She even let me watch her do surgeries and walked me through as she did them. Out here, it was all hands on deck. They didn’t have the luxury to have an extra pair of hands stand idly to the side because they didn’t have a certificate yet.
“I was just thinking…”
“Uh-oh.” He laid me on my back, crawling between my legs, his fully clothed body pressing into mine. “Do I need to put a stop to that?” He smirked, his fingers softly trailing down my side, sliding underneath my tank.
“Possibly.” My hands skated up his muscular arms, the man even more fit now, feeling grime coat my palms, my eyebrow raising. “You are filthy.”