Epilogue - Nine Months Later
Mai
The Alpha House was pure chaos now. Always.
Oakley babbled like he was running a Pack meeting, Victoria growled at anything that didn’t bend to her will, and Gremlin hunted whatever the twins dropped like she was waging a one-cat war against gravity.
One or both of them were constantly into something they shouldn’t be, showing abilities no nine-month-old should have—reaching shelves they couldn't possibly access, moving faster than I could track, getting past every lock and gate that Ryan installed like they were made of paper.
The house itself seemed to vibrate with constant motion these days.
I loved every chaotic second of it. But when Derek and Sofia had shown up with that determined look in their eyes, I’d known I was fighting a losing battle.
“Out,” Sofia had said, shoving a jacket into my hands. “Fresh air. Now.”
“The twins need—”
“Aunt and uncle time,” Derek had interrupted, scooping up Oakley, who immediately grabbed a fistful of Derek’s hair. “We’ve got this. Go.”
“But—”
“Mai.” Sofia’s voice had that tone of hers that brooked no argument. “When’s the last time you left this house without a diaper bag?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Because honestly? I couldn’t remember.
“Exactly. Out. Don’t come back for at least an hour.”
And now here I was, walking the old compound walls, breathing in the evening air. It hit my lungs clean and cool, carrying the scent of the Three Rivers. Close enough to hear if the twins really needed me, far enough to finally hear my own thoughts without someone needing something.
A familiar rumble of an engine broke the peace. Ryan’s SUV pulled up the drive, headlights cutting through the dusk. He’d been at Shaw Investigations with Carlito, Jase, and Waylen—Pack business that couldn’t wait.
It took him less than ten minutes to check on the kids and track me down. His arms came around me from behind, chin resting on my head.
“They’re building some kind of blanket fortress,” he murmured. “Looks like all four of them are having the time of their lives.”
I leaned into his warmth. “We should probably head back and join them.”
His laugh rumbled through his chest. “Sofia ordered me, and I quote, ‘Take your mate patrolling. She gets that look when she hasn’t Shifted in too long.’”
My wolf surged so violently I gasped. Pregnancy had meant no Shifting.
Since the twins were born, I’d managed it a handful of times—brief runs while Ryan watched them, quick Shifts when they napped.
But it was never enough. Never long enough.
My wolf was always eager, always pushing, making up for lost time.
I hesitated, but the twins loved spending time with their aunt and uncle. Sofia and Derek spoiled them almost as much as Wally and Thomas did. My phone buzzed—Sofia:
We’re golden. On phase 2 of Fort Blanket!
I smiled. They’d be okay.
“Race you to the river,” I breathed, kicking off my shoes and pulling my shirt over my head.
Ryan’s grin was pure predator. “You’re on.”
I took off running before he could blink, bare feet hitting grass, then packed earth, then the soft loam of the forest path. Behind me, I heard him give chase.
My heart hammered as his footsteps grew closer—that primal thrill of being hunted by something bigger, faster, stronger. Something mine. The forest opened its arms around us, branches reaching overhead, and I could feel that familiar rush building, my wolf clawing to break free.
Just as his fingers brushed my shoulder, I ducked around a massive oak, using the trunk as a shield. His momentum carried him past me, and I heard him curse as he stumbled over a root.
The laugh that bubbled up was breathless, wild. “Getting slow in your old age, Shaw?”
“Old age? I’ll show you old age.”
I darted left, then right, weaving between the trees like my wolf was already free. Behind me, I could hear him crashing through the underbrush, and my grin widened. He was trying to corner me, but I knew these woods as well as he did.
The chase stretched longer than usual—him pursuing, me evading, both of us drunk on the thrill. I led him on a winding path through dense undergrowth, over fallen logs, around boulders slick with moss. Each near-miss sent adrenaline spiking through my veins.
“Come on,” I called over my shoulder, slipping between two birch trees too close together for his broader frame. “I thought you were supposed to be good at hunting.”
His answering snarl made heat pool low in my belly. “When I catch you—”
“If you catch me,” I corrected, spinning around another tree just as his hand swiped through empty air.
“When,” he repeated, voice going dark with promise, “you’re going to regret that smart mouth.”
I was giggling now, high on adrenaline and the thrill of the chase. “Big talk from someone who just face-planted in the dirt.”
That did it. I heard his pace change, becoming more focused, more predatory. My wolf surged with excitement even as my human brain calculated escape routes.
I feinted left toward a cluster of saplings, then broke right toward the river. Almost there, almost—
Strong arms caught me around the waist. Ryan’s chest hit my back as he hauled me against him, both of us breathing heavily.
“Gotcha,” he rumbled against my ear.
“You tackled me,” I panted, but I was already melting back into his heat. “That’s definitely against the rules.”
“What rules?” His teeth grazed my neck, sending sparks down my spine. “I don’t remember agreeing to any rules.”
“The rules of fair chase.”
His laugh was low, dangerous. “Sweetheart, nothing about what I want to do to you is fair.”
The trees opened ahead of us, revealing the Whispering Willow river spreading wide and dark under the moonlight. Ryan spun me to face him, pupils already blown.
“You know what happens when I catch you.”
“Remind me,” I breathed, already knowing, already wanting.
His mouth crashed into mine, all heat and hunger and need. I tasted the wildness on his tongue. The cool night air hit my bare skin as he stripped away what little clothing remained, his hands mapping every curve like he was memorizing me all over again.
“Goddess, you’re beautiful,” he rasped, stepping back to look at me in the moonlight. His eyes devoured me, dark with want and something deeper. “Have I told you how gorgeous you are?”
I smiled. “Every day.”
“Well, it’s still not often enough.”
Heat flushed through me at the reverence in his voice, the way his gaze traveled over my body. Nine months of pregnancy, nine months of recovery, and he still looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“Ryan—”
“Let me,” he murmured, sinking to his knees on the soft grass by the water’s edge. “Let me worship you.”
His hands skimmed up my thighs, gentle but possessive, as he settled between my legs.
When his tongue found me, he moaned. “Always so wet for me.”
His tongue dragged slowly through my folds, collecting every drop of arousal before circling my clit with maddening slowness. I bucked against his mouth, wanting more, but his hands gripped my thighs, holding me open and still.
“Ryan, please—” My plea dissolved into a moan as he sucked my clit between his lips, tongue flicking over the sensitive bundle of nerves until I was writhing.
“Please what?” he murmured, pulling back just enough to blow cool air over my heated flesh. The contrast made me whimper. “Use your words, sweetheart.”
Use words? When he touched me like this, coherent thought became impossible.
“Don’t stop,” I managed to gasp, one hand fisting in his hair, tugging him back where I needed him. “Please, don’t ever stop.”
He chuckled, the vibration shooting straight through my core. “Greedy little wolf.”
His tongue plunged deep inside me, stroking with slow, deliberate precision while his thumb found my clit, circling with just enough pressure to drive me wild.
“You taste like heaven,” he murmured against my core, his words making me clench around his tongue. “You taste like mine.”
He alternated between licking me deep and sucking my clit, building me higher and higher until I was shaking. When he added two fingers, curling them to hit that spot inside me that made me see white, my mouth dropped open in surprise.
“That’s it,” he encouraged, pumping his fingers while his mouth worked my clit. “Come on my tongue. Let me taste how good I make you feel.”
That sent me over the edge. I came with a scream that echoed across the water, my body arching as pleasure crashed through me in waves. He didn’t stop, licking me through every aftershock until I was boneless.
When he finally lifted his head, his chin was wet with my arousal, eyes dark with feral satisfaction.
“Beautiful when you come,” he rasped, rising over me with eyes that blazed wolf-bright.
But before he could take control, I shoved him back.
“My turn,” I snarled, and the surprise in his eyes ignited something primal in me.
I pushed him down onto the soft grass by the water’s edge, moonlight painting him in silver and shadow.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as I straddled him, taking my time to trace every ridge of muscle with my tongue.
The cool night air danced over our skin as I worked my way down, teeth scraping over his abs until he moaned.
“Mai—” His hands fisted in the grass as I took him in my mouth, slow and deliberate. The taste of him, salt and musk and pure male, made my wolf rumble with satisfaction. I could feel his restraint fraying with every swipe of my tongue, every gentle scrape of teeth.
“Fuck,” he panted, hips jerking when I took him deeper. “You’re going to kill me.”
I lifted my head just enough to smirk at him. “Good.”
Before he could react, I rose up and sank down on him in one fluid motion. We both groaned at the sensation of him filling me completely. I started slow, setting a torturous rhythm that had him cursing and gripping my hips.