28. Epilogue
Sol
Two Years Later
I rubbed my hand over the scars of my bite mark and smiled at Nemesis, who had been moved to Vanderbilt ranch after Orion couldn’t stand to be parted from her for much longer than a few weeks. Since we’d gotten together, he hadn’t been going to Fiver Cabin very much, so he wanted his girl closer so he could keep a better eye on her.
Secretly, I suspected he didn’t want to have to drag me up to the sticks that often, but couldn’t choose between us. Which was okay because I liked the ole gal, even if she had an attitude and a surly disposition to everyone else. She’d always been nice to me.
“Be careful,” Orion said from the entrance of the barn, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and that mischievous look on his face. “She bites, even if she likes you.”
“Well, we have that in common, don’t we?” I brushed a hand down her neck as she whinnied and bobbed her head as if to agree with me.
Orion smiled and chuckled, walking toward me with that cocky swagger that said he had more on his mind than interrupting my barn duties. I’d sensed him coming, of course, but I didn’t think he’d stop to say hi. He had a whole list of things to do since he’d taken on the head role at Vanderbilt ranch, and the alliance between the Bastards and the Vanderbilts had been going so well, we even predicted a profit for both companies this year. We’d come so far in the time since we agreed to the deal that our families were practically one and the same. Long forgotten were the days of a rivalry, and after everything that had happened since then, it was difficult to remember we used to despise each other.
My mate wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back against his chest, leaning down to run his nose along the side of my neck, kissing what bits of skin he could find along the way.
“You smell…” He licked along my shoulder before caressing his tongue up my throat to my ear.
“I’ve been out here all day,” I said with a chuckle. “Of course I smell.”
“No, your scent is different. It’s…softer.” He took another long inhale before humming thoughtfully and resting his hands on my hips so he could turn me around to face him. “How long ago was that heat?”
My cheeks burned thinking about it. We’d spent two days trapped in our room together, sweating and fucking and knotting before doing it all over again. My heat reminded me a lot of going through the transition, except I was lucid for all of it and there wasn’t a blood exchange. Orion didn’t have to pour his magic into me, just fill me with his cock and… other things.
Some people chose to have Morwyn put them to sleep for the heat if they didn’t want to go through it alone, or some even wore condoms through the whole thing if they didn’t want to have pups. But Orion and I hadn’t.
I’d gone through my heat last year with a roulette mentality. We’d rolled the dice and decided no matter what happened, we would be happy with it. But this year, we set out with the intention to get pregnant. I’d always had a big family and he desperately wanted one of his own, something to call his.
“A few weeks,” I said, circling my arms around his neck so I could push up on my toes to kiss him. “Why?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Have you started to bleed?”
I considered this and shook my head. “Actually…no.”
Orion curled his lips into a grin and kissed me again. “I think you’ve got pups, little fox.”
“What?” I balked and stepped away from him so I could clutch my lower stomach. “How do you know?”
“I can smell it,” he said, leaning down so he could scoop me into his arms. “The mate always knows first.”
As soon as he said it, I knew it to be true. If I closed my eyes and focused hard enough, I felt them there—buzzing with magic and full of life. They were strong and healthy and I swore to all the fucking heavens they’d be born into a family that loved them and protected them no matter what.
* * *
Orion
“That’s right,” I told Kodiak, taking a sip of beer as we celebrated the news. “I knocked her up. Finally.”
He laughed, his big smile making me grin harder. “Don’t say it like that. She’s your mate, not a fucking prom date.”
“I can’t believe you’re having kids,” Lycan said, shaking his head. “Let’s hope they get Sol’s sunny disposition and they’re not as grumpy as you.”
I bared my teeth at him in a playful growl but smiled when he clapped me on the back.
“I’m happy for you,” Poe added. “And Sol. I know you wanted them last year, but it happened when it should.”
“Do you know how many yet?” Talon asked, tilting her head as she took another long sip of her drink.
“At least two,” I said. “I can smell them.”
“Twins,” Kodiak said, giving me another clap on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, brother.”
“Cheers!” Moose said, lifting his beer in celebration.
“Don’t forget the chicken wings,” Sol said, brushing her magic along the bond to remind me of what I’d promised before I left her with her sister and Ginny to come to church. Now that the business had been concluded, I needed to head back to our house. I didn’t like to be away from her for too long, especially now that she was holding my children inside her.
“I won’t, little fox,” I said, checking my phone to ensure the to-go order had been processed.
After I headed into town to pick up her favorite treat, I went home and stalked inside to find my favorite girl perched on the couch, Ginny and Guin having just left.
“How are we doing?” I said, putting the food on the coffee table before sitting down next to her. I lifted her feet into my lap, rubbing at the arch of one.
“We’re fine,” she said, giving me that adorable look that said I fussed over her too much. “I’m not that far along yet. Aside from cravings for buffalo sauce and blue cheese, I’m the same as I was a few weeks ago.”
“Hmm,” I said, massaging up her calves to her thighs. Never in my life did I think I’d actually find my mate, much less be a father. My own father had been a bit of a hard ass, and even though he loved my mother, they both had died before I had my driver’s license. I swore I wouldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t bring these children into the world only to leave them before they came into their own, before they even transitioned.
I crawled over my mate and kissed her, rubbing my half-erect cock up against her cunt, aching to fill her in ways only I could.
“Have I told you how hot you are?” I said. “And how much I always want you?”
“Only every day.” She laughed and pulled me closer. “And even if you didn’t, I could sense it. We’re very firmly mated, my love.”
“Thank fucking God for that.” I growled and let my wolf take over, let him pull her pants down and yank her shirt off so he could stake his own claim. And while her dinner cooled on the coffee table, I took my mate hard and fast and deep, reaffirming the fact we were together and safe and whole.
Afterward, I reheated her food and hand fed her because it was my fucking privilege to do so, because it meant I took care of her the way no one else ever could. She did the same for me, and it filled my fucking heart to bursting.
The End