Epilogue
~ One year later ~
Casimir
“For the fuckteenth time, I’m telling you, something is up with Brumous!” Zane’s voice cut through the quiet halls of Evermere.
“He’s a wolf, Zane. Sometimes wolves are clingy,” Koa sighed, rubbing the scar on his jaw as we walked. “Look at Foster.”
“No, no. He’s not just clingy. He’s obsessed. But only with Seri. He’s been following her around like a lovesick puppy.”
I frowned. That was true. Brumous had barely left Seri’s side lately, constantly nudging her hands, her side, her feet.
As if making sure she was still there. I hadn’t thought much of it since they’d always had a remarkable bond, but now the wolf didn’t even go out to play with Addison or mess with Zane.
Seri herself had been different lately, too. Not enough to worry me. Just enough to make me watch. She’d been getting tired quicker, spacing out in quiet moments, losing her train of thought. It was almost like when we’d first found her, siphoned down to nothing…
“He’s always done that,” Ko pointed out. “He’s missing Foster right now. That’s all. He’ll go back to normal when Alpha Toast gets home from vacation.”
“Well, what about her nightmares, huh?” Zane threw up his hands in exasperation. “Yeah, she’s had some in the past, but these have been brutal lately!”
He wasn’t wrong.
According to my newest spreadsheet, last night was her fourth nightmare in the past thirteen days. When asked, she said all of her dreams were more vivid right now, but especially the bad ones, which had cost her a total of five hours and thirteen minutes of sleep so far.
I’d already contacted Angelo’s family witch shop and ordered a nightglass pendant. Made from a piece of obsidian infused with moondrops, it drew nightmares into itself where they dissolved in silver light. Not a cure. Just a net to catch what it could.
Zane had a present for her, too, which Ko had just finished smithing: A whisper chain with a small enchanted charm, designed to activate when her sleep became disturbed. It held his voice singing a lullaby, and we were all eager to see her response to the gift.
“If something was wrong, she’d tell us,” Koa said confidently as we reached the library, and I grunted my agreement.
Our wife wasn’t hiding anything. If she had been—
My thoughts cut off as Zane threw open the library doors and there, sprawled on her new tufted velvet chaise lounge, her birthday gift from Ko, was our beloved, Brumous by her side.
Bare toes peeked out from under a thick-knit blanket, and a half-eaten apple turnover sat precariously balanced atop an ancient grimoire.
She wasn’t reading it, however. She was writing in it.
“Why aren’t you resting?” I growled.
“Resting’s boring, Simmy.” She popped the last bite of pastry into her mouth, licking sugar off of her thumb.
“Serafina.”
“Fine.” She sighed, waving a hand. “Also, this book on lunar hexes had six critical errors. I fixed them.”
My eyes widened. Ko stiffened. Zane pulled the neck of his “Stop petting my peeves” t-shirt up over his mouth to muffle his chuckle.
“You edited a four-hundred-year-old first edition text,” I deadpanned.
“Mm-hmm.” Seri tilted her head, utterly unrepentant.
“In permanent marker.” Zane’s voice dropped to a faux-horrified whisper.
“Serafina, please tell me you at least wrote in the margins and not over the actual spellwork—”
“Define ‘margins,’ Koko.”
Zane let out a little titter. Ko inhaled deeply, likely preparing to scold her with his usual depthless patience. I, on the other hand, was still grappling with the urge to snatch the book away and assess the damage.
“Oh, and I’m pregnant.”
The room went silent.
I stared at her. Ko froze. Zane choked so hard, he nearly died on the spot. Even Brumous paused mid-scratch.
“Wait. What?” Ko was the first to break.
“You’re WHAT?!” Zane looked wildly between us like she’d just announced she was ascending to godhood.
A strange ringing filled my ears.
Pregnant.
That meant she was…
“You’re carrying our child.” My voice didn’t sound like mine.
“Mm-hmm.” Seri, still infuriatingly calm, brushed a crumb off her chest.
My breath stuttered. My soul stuttered. The entire world stuttered.
“Bleeding night.” Zane collapsed into the nearest chair, burying his face in his hands. “We just agreed to start trying!”
“Guess we’re that damn good.” Ko’s fingertips lightly grazed her belly as if he expected to feel something already.
I could hardly comprehend their reactions, however. My mind was moving too fast. She was pregnant. Our beloved. With our child. In her. Right now.
I needed to—
I had to—
Plans.
I needed plans.
Security details. Defensive spells. A nursery covered floor to ceiling in wards. Evermere had to be reinforced. We would need obstetricians, diapers, extra—
My brain snapped back to the sight of the grimoire in her lap.
“You’re pregnant.” I ran a hand over my hair. “And inhaling permanent marker fumes?”
“What?” She blinked like an innocent little owl.
“Everyone knows they cause—” My mind went blank. What did they cause? I grasped for the first vaguely medical-sounding thing. “Adverse side effects!”
“Bat’s bones,” Zane groaned. “Casimir’s spiraling.”
“Seri, just…” Ko scrubbed his hand over his face. “How long have you known, beloved?”
“A couple of weeks.”
“Weeks?!” we three rumbled in unison.
“I was going to tell you, but then we went to visit Josslyn at Five Fangs, and I was having too much fun with Luna Posy and her cute little triplets to think about it. Then, after we got home, Addison perfected that spinning round-house kick, and I couldn’t steal his thunder.
Then Foster went on vacation, and that made me too sad to tell you.
Then I wanted apple turnovers, and then I was fixing this book, and then I—”
“Then you what?” I nearly lunged. “You knew for weeks, and you didn’t tell us? You— You went on hunts! You—”
“Shadow walked alone,” Ko growled.
“—inhaled toxic marker fumes!”
“Cas, let go of the fang-rotted markers!” Zane cut in.
“Listen. I’m fine.” Seri rolled her eyes, shifting to sit up. “The baby’s fine. I promise I’ll be careful, and I’ll stop shadow walking if that makes you happy.”
Ko exhaled slowly, massaging his temples with his fingertips like he was manifesting patience from the ?aumākua themselves.
“Hope you know a whole new rulebook is in your future, sweetheart.” Zane, from his collapsed position in the chair, let out a weak laugh as he stared at Brumous. “Double nom-noms tonight, murder dog, for figuring it out before we did.”
The wolf yipped, thumping his tail.
“He’s a smart boy.” Seri smiled, rubbing behind his ears.
“You are not leaving Evermere until our baby’s born.” I drilled my thumb between my eyes.
“Maybe.” She arched a brow.
“You will rest.”
“We’ll see.”
“You will not touch any more books with a permanent marker.”
“Can’t promise.”
She grinned. Zane let out a bark of laughter. Koa groaned so forcefully, I thought he might pass out.
And me? I was already preparing for war. Our beloved and our future were more precious than anything in this world, and I would do whatever it took to protect them.
Even if that meant burning every damn permanent marker in Evermere.
The End