Epilogue
EPILOGUE
NOAH
Four Months Later
“ N oah!” Milo’s hands gripped my hair tight as I sucked his cock deep into my throat and swallowed around him.
The farther my mate got into his pregnancy, the hornier he’d become, and I’d found that waking him up with a blow job was the best way to help him stave off his need so he could make it through the day.
I was also addicted to his taste, so it really wasn’t a hardship for me.
I hollowed my cheeks, sucking him hard and working my tongue over the spot under the head of his cock that drove him wild.
Milo bucked his hips, driving deeper into my mouth and holding my head in place as he came over my tongue.
I licked him clean, then crawled up the bed to kiss him.
“Good morning.”
His face was flushed with pleasure, his eyes bright.
“Good morning.”
I moved a little lower, placing a kiss on his swollen belly.
“And good morning to you too.” I rubbed my hand over the bump, smiling when I felt movement under my palm.
Milo yawned.
“Your baby kept me up all night. They decided sitting on my bladder was a good idea. I feel like I went pee a hundred times.”
“How are you feeling otherwise?” We’d gone to visit Dr.
Archie Abernathy, the new doctor in town who’d taken over as the local shifter internist after Dr.
Robbins retired last year, two days ago, and he said it wouldn’t be long before our cub made his or her appearance.
Early on, Archie had confirmed Milo’s pregnancy, and later, when he’d done an ultrasound, he’d told us Milo was carrying a single cub.
“Sore. My back is cramping really badly.”
“Do you want me to rub it for you?”
Milo nodded.
“Yes. Please.”
“Roll onto your side.” My mate moved into position, and I rubbed my hands together, warming them up.
My sweet omega’s back was very tight, and I smoothed my hands over his skin, pressing in deep to release some of the tension.
Milo moaned as I massaged his back, and I tried to keep my cock from reacting to his sounds, but by the time he’d relaxed, I was rock hard.
A soft snore told me he’d fallen back asleep, and I ducked into the bathroom to jerk myself off.
One of Matteo Marsh’s paintings hung in our bathroom.
It was a small canvas that had a stingray swimming in the ocean, off a beach that looked a lot like my favorite little inlet, while a snowy white leopard lay on the beach in a patch of sun.
Matteo had painted it for Milo as a gift following the success of his show and the opening of Milo’s gallery.
Matteo was already working on pieces for his next show, and Milo’s phone had been blowing up with collectors looking to acquire a Matteo Marsh piece.
I was so goddamn proud of my mate and everything he’d accomplished, and every time I looked at the painting I was reminded of how even though we were different, we completed each other.
My fingers wrapped around my cock, but before I could give myself more than a solid stroke, a panicked yell came from our bedroom.
“Noah!” I ran out of the bathroom to find Milo lying in our bed, the sheets around him soaked, and his arm over his belly.
“I think my water just broke, and I’m pretty sure I’m having a contraction.” His face screwed up in pain.
“Breathe, sweet thing.” I exaggerated my breathing, and took Milo’s hands encouraging him to do the same.
It took him a minute, but he matched my breaths, his face relaxing as the contraction passed.
“Fuck, Noah. I’m not ready. I’m not ready.”
Through our mate bond, I could feel Milo starting to spiral, I put my hand on his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes.
“Yes, you are, baby. The nursery is all set up. We are ready to welcome our cub.”
He nodded, then his face pinched with pain again, and I saw his belly go tight with another contraction.
I exaggerated my breaths and he matched them again.
“Help me up. I need to stand up.”
I did as Milo asked, making sure he was steady on his feet.
He slowly moved around our room, turning on all the fans he’d set up until the sheets were blowing in the breeze.
He stood in front of the box fan on our dresser and pulled his shirt and wet sleep pants off, sighing as the cool air washed over his skin.
The heat had been really hard for him to handle during his pregnancy, but having all the fans going and the air conditioner set to just above freezing seemed to make him feel better.
I grabbed a sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants from the dresser and tugged them on over my pajamas.
For a while, Milo paced around the room, picking up soft things and arranging them on the bed in a neat little circle between contractions.
I felt his pain like a dull throb through our bond, and I’d started timing the contractions, realizing they were getting closer and closer.
“You’re doing so well, sweet thing. Our baby will be here soon.”
Milo bent over, his body bowing as another contraction ripped through him.
I wiped his sweaty hair out of his face.
“I need to shift, Noah.”
Archie had told us that feline shifters especially liked to give birth in their shifted forms, and he had mentioned that Milo would know what would work best for him when the time was right.
“Do whatever you need to do, my love. I’m right here no matter what.”
Milo climbed up onto the bed and crawled on all fours into the center of his nest.
The air from the fans ruffled his hair as his body trembled and he took his snow leopard form.
He was so beautiful, he took my breath away.
His white fur dotted with black and gray rosettes was so soft and thick, and I settled next to him, running my hands over his back.
In this form, I could see every contraction and feel it, and Milo stood and started pacing around the circle he’d made, stopping to push every few minutes.
Eventually, he settled again before starting all over again.
The sun was starting to set, and I was starting to get worried.
Milo had been laboring all day, and it didn’t seem like he’d made much progress.
I was minutes away from calling Archie for help, when Milo let out a mewling cry, his stomach contracting.
He crouched on his hind legs, and with another mewling cry, our cub dropped onto the bed under him, and I gasped.
Our baby was a snow leopard cub, but instead of Milo’s white and dark gray fur, our baby was dark gray-brown with small white spots.
Our baby’s fur looked like I did in my stingray form.
Tears slipped from my eyes, and a sob of pure joy tore from my throat.
Milo blinked his tired eyes and looked down at our baby, a feline smile spreading across his lips as I felt his love and happiness through our bond.
My mate collapsed onto the bed, and our sweet little cub stumbled over to him.
Milo licked our baby’s unique fur, used a sharp claw to cut through the umbilical cord, and tucked the little one against his body.
Milo and our little one, I wasn’t sure if they were a boy or girl yet, dozed for a while, and I went to the kitchen to make a bottle of the special formula Archie had given us.
I had a feeling when dad and baby woke up, both would be hungry, so I also made a simple sandwich for Milo, then I went back to our nest and stared at my perfect mate and our precious cub.
Eventually, Milo stirred and shifted back into his human form, shivering a little as cool air from the fans buffeted his skin.
I hopped off the bed and turned the fans off, bringing my mate his favorite robe so he could wrap up.
I handed him the sandwich, and he bit into it, clearly starving, and our sweet little cub climbed up onto his legs.
He watched her with awe and tears swimming in his eyes.
“You did such an amazing job, Milo. Our baby is perfect.”
“She really is, and she looks just like you.” He set the plate with the sandwich aside and picked up our daughter, holding her out to me.
I took the sweet little bundle in my arms, and held her against my chest.
“Are you hungry, sweet girl?”
She made a plaintive mewling sound and I reached for the bottle, bringing it to her lips.
She drank greedily, and Milo leaned into my side, resting his head on my shoulder.
I pressed my lips to his forehead and his hair, and he looked up at me.
“I love you, Noah.”
“I love you too, baby.” We kissed, keeping one eye on our little lady, until she finished the last of the formula.
“She needs a name.” Milo yawned and burrowed in closer to me.
“How do you feel about Mira?”
“Mira. Mira.” Every time Milo said the name, I fell a little more in love with it.
“Noah, Milo, and Mira. It’s perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” I kissed my mate again, our sweet baby in my arms, and love flowing through our bond.
Life was perfect.
And this was just the beginning.