Epilogue
S tanding at the front of the crowd, my pod and I wait for our mate to join us. It’s been six months since we found out that Lila was pregnant, and I swear she grows more beautiful with each day that passes—even when she complains that she feels like a beached whale.
I grin when my eyes fall on Ty’s new mate mark—well, both of his new mate marks. Each of us has a new mate mark that matches one of his. We decided as a pod to mark one another last night. While it was custom to wait until after the bonding ceremony, the six of us aren’t exactly traditional.
Carter, Oliver, Ty, and I had marked one another years ago, but last night Lila had marked each of us, including the incubus, since they’ve only had a one-way bond since he bit her all those months ago. Then we’d marked Lila before watching Ty take Wyatt’s mark as well.
There’s been romance brewing between the two of them since Lila forgave us, although neither of them was sure if it was just sexual attraction, but the rest of us knew better. We could see the love growing between the two, and I couldn’t be happier for them. While it’s nice having an incubus in our pod, I don’t have a desire to fuck him. Neither do Carter and Oliver.
It doesn’t mean I don’t love the guy, but it’s like I love my siblings, and that’s okay.
The music changes, and my head jerks up to see Lila making her way down the aisle toward us.
She’s heavily pregnant, which is to be expected since she’s having twins—allowing us to narrow down the likely fathers—but she’s still so beautiful in the flowing lavender dress she’s wearing. Her ash brown hair is pulled up, leaving her neck—and the five new mate marks on it—on display.
She has one arm linked through her dad’s and the other through her mom’s—who is also very pregnant but not nearly as big as Lila—while Miguel trails behind them. I’m so happy that Lila wanted to include him in the ceremony. He cried when she asked him, and I think the only thing I’ve seen him happier about is the fact that they’re having a baby.
Lila smiles as she gazes at our guests, who fill the seats on each side of the aisle, before lifting her head to find us. The love shining in her eyes has my heart beating faster.
For a long time, I didn’t think we’d ever get to this point, but I’d held onto hope while we did Bria’s bidding for ten years. I’d hoped and prayed that she would still want us, and here we are on the second happiest day of my life so far—just barely eclipsing the day Lila forgave us. The first best day was the day she announced we were going to be parents.
Shaking my head, I realize I got lost in my thoughts for longer than I thought. Lila is standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the platform we stand on with her parents and Miguel.
Carter’s grandmother is officiating the ceremony as the elder of his family, and she steps forward to smile at Lila. “You look beautiful, granddaughter.”
“As do you, grandmother,” Lila returns, and Granny Jessica—as she’s requested us to refer to her, or just Granny—lights up before clearing her throat.
“Who brings this woman to meet her mates for their bonding ceremony?”
It’s Miguel who speaks, grinning proudly. “Her familial pod.”
Granny Jessica grins at her grandson and nods. Lila’s parents and Miguel had their own bonding ceremony within a month of announcing Sylvia’s pregnancy.
“As you should,” Granny Jessica murmurs, offering her hand to Lila. Lila steps onto the first stair and then the second before she can reach Granny’s hand. Their fingers link together as Granny helps her up the remainder of the stairs. It’s almost funny, considering Lila has seven inches on the older woman.
Any thoughts of laughter die in my throat as Granny leads Lila over the center of the five of us before releasing her hand and moving back to the front of the platform and addressing our guests.
“Today is a special day. Today, each of you gets to witness a new pod form as they cement their bonds before the gods. ”
Lila smiles as she looks over at each of us. Ty and Wyatt stand to her left, while Carter, Oliver, and I stand to her right. When she reaches her hands out to us, we don’t hesitate to touch her. We’ll never hesitate to touch our mate. Clearly, she doesn’t have enough hands for all of us, but Wyatt and I take her hands as we’re the furthest away, and the others grasp her arm.
Granny turns back to us, still smiling when she finds we’re already touching. “Oh, good, you’re going to make this easy on me. Each of you, please repeat after me.”
You are the star of each night,
You are the brightness of every morning,
You are the story of each guest,
You are the report of every land.
No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,
In field or valley, on mountain or in glen.
Neither above, nor below, neither in sea,
Nor on shore, in skies above,
Nor in the depths.
You are the kernel of my heart,
You are the face of my sun,
You are the harp of my music ,
You are the crown of my company.
To this I vow you,
You are blood of my blood, bone of my bone.
I give you my body, that we might be one.
I give you my spirit, until our life is done.
With each line I repeat, magic buzzes along my skin until it feels like we’re surrounded by it. My mate marks warm against my skin, and I can’t stop grinning as I stare at my mate.
A gasp falls from the crowd, the only thing that could’ve pulled my attention away from Lila.
Standing just behind Granny is a familiar goddess. She’s semi-translucent and beautiful, though she doesn’t hold a candle to my mate.
Bria.
She smiles at each of us, her voice sounding out around us even as her mouth remains closed.
May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow,
May the soft winds freshen your spirit,
May the sunshine brighten your heart,
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you.
May the road rise to meet you ,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again my friends,
Know that the gods are watching over you,
And that you hold their blessings.
Then she’s gone.
“Was that?” Lila gasps.
“The goddess Bria?” Granny says with a face-splitting grin. “Aye, it was my child, and she has blessed your bonding in a way that hasn’t been done in many, many moons.”
Granny turns back to the crowd. “And with the goddess’s blessing, I present to you the Riley pod.”
Everyone stands up, clapping and yelling as we each lean in to kiss our mate before leading her down the aisle.
While our bonding ceremony hadn’t gone quite the way we planned it, I can’t help thinking that this was so much better.
If Lila was holding onto any doubts that we were lying to her, that’ll be long gone now.
Hours later, I’m lingering near the bar as I watch Ty and Wyatt dancing with our mate as I nurse my beer. She’s danced with each of us at least once, but she can’t do more than one song at a time. Carrying two babies leaves her exhausted at the best of times.
I don’t think we’ll be staying much longer. Especially not since we just moved into our new house.
We didn’t even know Lila had put a bid in on it until she told us she’d bought us a house. It really is the perfect house for us but needed some renovations, so we didn’t move in until a week and a half ago.
I love that we finally have a place where we can be together, with everyone having their own room. Plus, there are a ton of extra rooms for us to use as we expand our family. Lila hasn’t decided how long she wants between pregnancies yet, but she wants to have one of each of our kids and she wants them close in age. It’s going to be a busy next few decades for us, but I can’t wait.
“Hey, Aidan.”
I startle at Ryder’s voice, eyes going wide. “You made it! ”
“Like I was going to miss your bonding ceremony—especially when Bria was making a special appearance.” He laughs, running his hand through his thick black hair.
“It’s so fucking good to see you,” I tell him, pulling him in for a hug. It’s been less than a year since we last saw him, but he’s basically family to us. “Have you seen the others yet?”
Ryder slaps his hand on my back. “Everyone but you and Ty. I thought I’d let him introduce me to the last two of his mates.”
“She’s our mate, too.”
He laughs. “I’m well aware. I’m glad to see him doing better than the last time I saw all of you. He looks so much lighter.”
“Happiness will do that for you. Well, that and lots of amazing sex with his mates.” We laugh together as I glance around. “Did you not bring your mates?”
“No, they had to stay at home, but don’t worry, we’ll all see one another again. Or so Bria has told me.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” I say warily.
He laughs again. “Nothing like the last ten years, I promise. She’s talking about opening portals to all the realms now that they’ve all been repaired. We’ll be able to move freely between all ten realms.”
I frown. “Ten? There are only nine, aren’t there? And most people don’t even know Quion exists.”
“If your realm is hidden, do you really think there aren’t others hidden?”
I blow out a breath. “Well, hell. No, I hadn’t thought about that.”
He waves me off. “We’ll talk about it later. I’m off to go meet the last two members of your pod. I’m glad you got your happy ending, man. You all deserve it after what you gave up.”
Watching him walk toward Ty, Wyatt, and Lila, I shake my head. I guess there’s still more I don’t know about the realms, even after traveling them for ten years. As long as I don’t ever have to leave my mate behind again, I’m happy to learn more about the realms.
And we’re not the only ones who deserve a happy ending—Ryder does, too. I can’t help wondering what has kept his mates away, and if it’s something we need to worry about.
Shaking my head, I trail behind him. That’s something to worry about another day. Right now, I just want to spend the rest of the night with my pod .
THE END
Want to read more in this world?
The Secrets of Sorlphi is the first series in the world, but isn’t required to enjoy the others. It is a trilogy and you can find it HERE.
Next up in the series will be Ryder’s story, likely coming in 2026.