Bonus Content – Epilogue – Bound to the Beast

Hey there peeps! Here is an epilogue I wrote for Bound to the Beast. It has been uploaded and included with the story at all the major retailers. BUT, if you already read the book and don’t want to bother with re-downloading the updated version, I’m posting it here for you. This will also be on the hidden section of my website where I post bonus content for newsletter subscribers. So, two places, plus the back of the book. Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS! Enjoy! HUGS! ~ Grace

• Spoilers
• Here there be spoilers
• and more spoilers…
• Seriously, if you don’t want spoilers, STOP HERE
• hmmm
• Okaaayyy, fuck it, you were warned. 🙂
• ENJOY!

BOUND TO THE BEAST – EPILOGUE

Noble Hunter Broderick James Rojak, Age 6, Everis, Two Weeks Later

The room was huge. Bigger than the gym at school back on Earth. Everything sparkled like stars. The ceiling looked like open sky on a sunny day with giant winged birds swooping and playing in the clouds. But it wasn’t real. Iven told me it was a holographic ceiling. Like a TV screen that moved when you stared at it too long.

Cool.

Blue and green lights ran in glowing lines up the white stone walls, pulsing like the heartbeat of the whole planet. I knew that pulse. I’d felt it every day since I was born. It was in my blood. My father once told me that energy was how the best Elite Hunters connected to the world. How we hunted our prey.

I felt it on Earth, too. But not like this. This was strong. It felt like home. Except that home meant my mother and father and my old life.

This planet, this place, these stupid people weren’t my home anymore. My home was Aunt Krystal and my new father, Warlord Iven. And Alexander. And the softer, sweeter pulse I felt when we were on Earth.

Weird alien letters floated in the air over more than a hundred giant chairs that looked like thrones for kings. The words were in an ancient Everian script I hadn’t learned how to read yet. I knew the words were the names of the Elite Hunters sitting in the chairs. Staring at me.

But mostly, staring at Warlord Iven. He was in beast mode. Huge. Scowl in his face. He had his full Coalition armor on and his weapons strapped to his side. He told Aunt Krystal he wasn’t taking any chances with our safety, and that he didn’t trust the Everians. I was okay with that. I didn’t trust them either.

They killed my parents. Or at least, they didn’t stop Lady Radu from killing them.

Not very good protectors, were they?

I took a step closer to Iven—pulling my Aunt Krystal with me because she was holding my hand—and tried to look brave. All I wanted was to go home.

The council chamber smelled clean and sharp, like metal and flowers mixed together. A few floating drones zipped by overhead, making soft beeping sounds while recording everything. I waved at one, and it blinked red like it was waving back.

The Elite Hunters sat in an oval around us, their leaders at the front on seats that floated off the floor. Aunt Krystal squeezed my hand. I stood straight, even though my knees felt wobbly.

Iven was so tall and big that everyone gave him plenty of space. My big alien almost-dad. Well, not almost. He was my dad now. He said so.

And Alexander the Great sat next to me, fluffy and proud, his tail swishing slowly behind him. He looked like a very serious, very fluffy bodyguard.

He was mine. Forever. Aunt Krystal said that I wasn’t supposed to have a Hokiax at all. That whoever gave him to me had broken Everian law. I didn’t care about their stupid law. He was mine and I loved him and he loved me.

Iven promised I could keep him, so I wasn’t worried about what these dumb people were gonna say. My new dad could kill all of these assholes if he wanted to. I just knew it.

Asshole was a bad word, but Aunt Krystal couldn’t hear inside my brain. So there. And she looked too pretty to be mad. She was wearing a long blue and gold dress that shimmered when she walked. But I knew she had a dagger strapped to one thigh and an ion blaster strapped to the other. Just in case. I was wearing pants and a long shirt that matched hers. She said Pridon insisted it was my mom’s favorite color, like the ocean. I liked that. Made me feel like she was watching over us.

Lord Vask stood. He looked old and kind of scary, but his voice sounded calm. Aunt Krystal said he was an Elite Hunter like my father. Just old. Like five hundred gajillion years old. Older than dirt. Like a vampire. And he was the leader of the council. Cuz he was the oldest.

“Broderick James Rojak,” he said, “son of Elite Hunter Rojak and his Interstellar Bride, Kimberly Hinkley of Earth. Do you come before us of your own free will?”

I looked up at Aunt Krystal. She gave me a little nod, and I took a step forward by myself. Alexander padded with me. His tail brushed my leg, which helped.

“Yes,” I said. “I want justice for my parents.”

Lord Vask nodded. He had a long braid down his back and wore a shiny black uniform with gold lines running through it, like lightning trapped in cloth. Two other Elite Hunters sat to his right. They had cats like Alexander—big and sleek, one silver with green eyes, the other black with bright gold eyes. The cats sat still, but I saw their ears twitch when I moved. Watching.

Alexander didn’t care about them, so I didn’t either. He gave them a bored yawn.

“Do you accept your bloodline and the responsibilities that come with it?” Lord Vask asked.

I nodded, then remembered to speak. “Yes.”

Aunt Krystal had said it was important to say things out loud in front of people. Especially old aliens who liked stupid rules.

Lord Vask stepped back, and I saw movement on the side of the chamber. Pridon, my dad’s cousin, was there with his three sons. The last time I saw them, I thought they were mean. But they’d come to the house last night and said sorry to Aunt Krystal and Iven and to me.

They said they didn’t know what Lady Radu had been doing. That they had no idea she’d sent people to hurt us. That they would’ve stopped it if they’d known.

Alexander smelled their truth. So did I. I believed them.

I’d seen their eyes, and they looked really sorry. So I said it was okay.

They were still family. Having family was a good thing. Like my Aunt Krystal. I didn’t want to be alone. When I grew up and came to Everis, my cousins would be my friends.

Lord Vask looked at Alexander the Great. “The Hokiax has chosen you,” he said. “These creatures are rare, bonded for life, and dangerous in the wrong hands. Do you understand what that means?”

I looked at my cat. He blinked at me, then sat up straighter like he knew this was serious. I knew what it meant. It meant the old fart was jealous because he didn’t have a cool cat like Alexander. I looked at Iven, who nodded to assure me he meant what he promised. No one was taking Alexander from me. No one.

“He’s not dangerous to me,” I said. “He’s my best friend.”

Alexander bumped his head into my hip. His purr was loud and rumbly.

The two councilors with their own cats looked at each other, then nodded. The silver cat made a noise, kind of like a meow, but lower and growlier. Alexander meowed back. I knew Alexander’s sounds. He was telling the other cats to mind their beeswax.

I giggled. It sounded like the cats were arguing.

Lord Vask smiled a little. “Have you bestowed a name upon your Hokiax?”

“Alexander the Great.”

Lord Vask’s smile made the lines in his face even deeper. Now he looked a gajillion, jillion years old. Older than the dirt. Not like a vampire. More like a troll. Or an ancient wizard. “Then it is done. Broderick James Rojak is the heir of House Rojak. His Hokiax guardian, Alexander the Great, is recognized and registered with the Elite Hunter council.”

Aunt Krystal sniffled. I think she was crying a little, but the happy kind. Iven growled, the kind of warning that made me feel safe. Having a Warlord for a dad was awesome. No one was ever gonna mess with me again. Ever.

Lord Vask raised his hand. “Let it be recorded in the archives.”

The blue lights on the walls blinked. The drones beeped. I think I saw the words change in the air above me, pretty sure that was my name in the ancient script. I couldn’t read it yet. Still, I felt it. Something official.

I was real now. A real lord. A future Hunter. Aunt Krystal said I was rich, too. But so was Iven, so I didn’t care too much about that. Except I wanted to buy Aunt Krystal a house, a big house, so we could play in the back yard.

We turned to go, but I paused. “Um… one more thing?”

Everyone looked back at me.

“I just wanted to say… we’re going back to Earth. Aunt Krystal says it’s safer now. Lady Radu got caught. She’s in jail. Forever. Right?” I looked at Lord Vask. “She shouldn’t have tried to hurt us.” I blinked hard because my eyes were burning. “She shouldn’t have killed my parents.”

“She has confessed her crimes.” Lord Vask’s face got hard. “She betrayed the honor of your bloodline and all the peoples of Everis. Yes, young hunter. She is in prison. Her punishment will be just.”

I nodded. “Good. We’re going home now. Me and Aunt Krystal. And Iven. And Alexander.”

Alexander stood up and yawned again, clearly ready for a nap.

“I want to go to school and be a regular kid. But I also want to train. Someday I’m going to be like my dad.”

Lord Vask tilted his head. “We look forward to your return, young hunter.”

Iven picked me up then, swinging me high like he always did when he was proud. I laughed and grabbed his neck. He was huge.

He smelled like metal and rain and something warm and safe.

Aunt Krystal reached over and stroked Alexander’s head. He meowed once and curled his tail around her legs.

Iven looked at me, his beast’s voice even deeper and scarier than normal. “Ready? Go home?” A few of the Elite Hunters squirmed in their fancy throne chairs. None of them had the guts to demand Iven give up his weapons when we arrived. I had the coolest dad on the planet right now. No, on two planets.

I smiled so big my cheeks hurt.

“Yeah. Let’s go home.”