Epilogue
Later that night, the mansion was quiet except for the low crackle of the fire in the great room. Roman sat with our son in his arms, the baby swaddled in dark blue, tiny fists curled against his chest.
The door opened and the sound of boots on marble steady, deliberate made its way inside.
Viking came in first, still grinning from the earlier news, that cocky, irreverent energy softened by something deeper tonight. His eyes kept drifting to the small bundle in Roman’s arms, and for once, there was no teasing on his tongue, there was only pride.
Volken followed, sharp-eyed as always, every inch the strategist, but even his gaze softened when it fell on the baby.
His posture eased just slightly, the corners of his mouth pulling in the faintest, almost reluctant smile, like he was already mapping out every danger the child might face, and how to erase them before they got close.
Draugr slipped in behind him, silent as a shadow, his presence filling the room without a word. He didn’t need to announce himself. His eyes scanned the space, then settled on me and the baby with a silent vow that didn’t need to be spoken, nothing would touch us while he was breathing.
Lucien didn’t come, but I wasn’t expecting to see him, not after finding his mate as I remember when I first met Roman how possessive he was.
They didn’t crowd us, didn’t speak over each other. They just came closer, circling like a living wall, each man bringing his own unspoken promise into the room.
There was no business tonight, no war talk. There was just the brothers, gathered in a loose circle around Roman and the newest addition to their bloodline. There was whiskey in their glasses, but their focus was on him, on us, with reverence.
“This,” Viking said quietly, nodding toward the baby, “is the future.”
Roman glanced up, and for a moment, there was no predator in his eyes, only a man surrounded by the only family he trusted, holding the reason he’d burn the world to ash for if ever threatened.
And in that room, in the flicker of firelight, there was an unspoken vow, not just from him, but from all of them. This child, this family, would be protected. Always. Outside, the world was still chaotic. But here, for now, it was whole.
THE END.