Epilogue 1
Maya
“Sai!” I squeaked, letting out a giggle followed by a moan of surprise as he nipped my neck.
“I don’t want you going out there looking this fucking beautiful without some type of fresh mark on you,” he rumbled before pulling back and brushing his nose against mine. “I’m going to wrap a blanket around you, or I’m going to end up killing any man?—”
I seared my lips against his, not caring if it messed up my lipstick, even if it was my wedding day.
I figured it was a better option than anyone nearby hearing his threats.
After all, there were a ton of shifters around, and I knew without a doubt that they could hear most anything going on in this building, if not everything.
When I pulled back, he offered me a heated look before pressing his forehead against my own.
“Have the others seen you?” he asked softly.
“You’re the fifth one to sneak in here,” I admitted teasingly.
It didn’t surprise me—my mates didn’t have the most patience—and I loved it.
It was helping ease any possible nerves I could have today…
although that was virtually impossible. While a wedding and officially being married to my mates in Dreki custom was important, I had been theirs in my heart for a long time now.
Though, I suppose one cool aspect was that we had also signed human legal documents that made me officially Maya Moretti.
“Damn, they’re fast,’’ he muttered before stepping back and tilting his head. “Shit, your mom is coming back. I’m going to head out there, kitten. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I giggled as he slipped out of the room, finding it objectively adorable that he was a bit scared of being caught by my mom and, more likely, my dads.
I think he still considered himself lucky for getting away from that one time in the bedroom when they were in the other room… He probably wasn’t completely wrong.
“Honey?” my mom’s voice called out as she pushed the door open.
I heard Jordan say something from the other room where she was getting ready.
My maid of honor. I hadn’t really understood the entire concept of a wedding party, but I decided that if I was going to get to wear a beautiful gown, then my best friend would be wearing one as well.
“Hey!” I offered her a smile as she gave me a knowing look. I grumbled and went to fix my lipstick for what seemed like the millionth time before stepping back and looking over myself.
I had to admit, I loved the way I looked, and despite not wearing the traditional bridal dress—my ball gown a soft pink organza that fell off the shoulders in a romantic style—I had chosen to have a veil attached to my gown for the event.
Mostly because I loved how it looked. While we had planned this wedding in only three weeks, I had spent a considerable amount of time on it.
Between all of the other work, of course. Something there was a lot of.
“You look beautiful,” my mom whispered. “Are you ready to get married?”
“Yes.” I blushed, thinking about how many people were out there. I wasn’t nervous to marry my mates, not in the least, but having that many eyes on me was nerve-wracking. I was scared I would trip or fall or something equally as embarrassing.
“I think Bella is as excited as you.” My mom nodded towards the kitten who was grooming her paw, dressed in a small pink cape that floated around her.
I hadn’t been planning to put her in anything, but she kept playing with my veil, so I’d gotten her one of her own.
It was already a step in the right direction since I planned on getting her a tiara.
“She does seem pretty ready,” I said, walking over to her and petting under her chin. Bella had started to grow more in size than before, and I had noticed she’d become a bit more serious, her responsibility to all the other kittens in our kingdom one she took very seriously.
That wasn’t figurative, either—I’d gotten a kitten for every single kid from Ry’s compound and the mountain village.
I may have also moved them all into our estate—well, at least the ones who had lost their parents…
It had been a somewhat risky move because there were a lot of them, but until construction was done in our new town, I didn’t want them living out of hotel rooms. Plus, this way they were able to spend time together and play.
I knew many of them were excited about the prospect of the academy, especially since they hadn’t had schooling before, but I would be sad to see them move out.
Especially Ember. The two of us had grown close, and while I knew it was important for her to foster her independence, I liked that she came to me for everything.
I wasn’t the only one who felt a special connection to her, though. No, the younger flight from Seattle had gotten very protective over her and followed her around everywhere. She told me she didn’t even notice, but I wasn’t sure I believed that.
There would be two little ones that wouldn’t be leaving our estate when the academy was completed, Faxon and Kace.
While the others had been placed in holding cells together and bonded in their imprisonment, forming a community, the two of them had been freshly separated from their parents when Malcolm stole them, Ry having killed their parents only days before.
While we could never replace the parents they’d lost, I had asked them if they wanted to become part of our family, to become Faxon and Kace Moretti.
They had agreed! The adoption papers were being processed, and I could tell that all of my mates felt relieved that they’d wanted to stay with us. I think they had taken a liking to the boys in the short time we had all been together, and I couldn’t blame them—they were incredibly sweet.
“Alright, let’s do this.” I turned to my mom, who was watching me with emotion. She walked up and squeezed my hand, then led me out the door of the bedroom on the first floor and into the hall.
As I caught sight of the crowd outside, I felt a sense of déjà vu from when I was crowned. This time, though, the mood wasn’t as serious, lighthearted music and laughter already ringing out.
That was exactly what I wanted for our wedding. A true celebration.
Much like Jordan, she was wearing a sage-colored dress that had an ombre to emerald.
The back yard was gorgeous, pink and purple floral arrangements covering the estate.
I had first suggested something different, knowing the boys probably would want a different color, but they had refused, insisting I do exactly what I wanted, saying that it would make them happy.
So I bargained and told them that they could decide what we did for our honeymoon.
Of course, we were only doing a short one because of everything going on, but I had no idea where we were going.
I was excited though, and I knew they were pleased that I would be able to relax a bit.
To say my mates were worried about me being too stressed was an understatement.
Not only because they were worried about me…
but because of our little secret we had yet to tell anyone.
Our little secret that would be all too obvious soon, if it wasn’t already because of shifter hearing.
Apparently this mating heat had been a successful one…because I was pregnant!
Honestly, it was pretty obvious before any pregnancy test or missed period that I had conceived since my freakin’ abdomen would glow gold whenever our little one was moving around.
It was a bit weird at first, but mostly amazing, and I couldn’t lie, there was no part of me that was worried about being a mother.
I thought there would be, but after everything I’d been through, it had settled a part of me, making me realize that I had been taking care of people along the way and that this would be no different.
My heart was just continuously growing.
My mates, on the other hand, were totally stressed and nearly insisted that I should be carried everywhere. Although nothing beat their reactions to them hearing the heartbeat of our little one, a rapid beat that nearly sounded like fluttering wings.
Marco had gotten down on his knees in front of me and kissed my stomach in the sweetest gesture known to man. Henry had gone super quiet and just held me whenever he could for the rest of the day, his kisses along my neck super soft and delicate, as if he was worried he would break me.
Atlas was the one guilty of carrying me around, while Sai teared up as he rested his head against my abdomen that night, listening to the solid heartbeat.
The twins had been extremely vulnerable and open about their concerns of being fathers, but at the same time, they were even more possessive than normal. Ledger had his hand on my stomach whenever we were together, and Anani was always trying to tuck me under his chin. I absolutely loved it.
Croy’s reaction had been the most surprising, because he hadn’t been surprised but instead thrilled, breaking into a massive smile and picking me up before swinging me around and melding his lips against mine. Since then, he had been nearly bursting at the seams to tell people. It was adorable.
Then there was Azrael.
I blushed thinking about how in awe he’d been, my mind taking me back to that moment.
“Maya,” Az whispered, the room around us broken into celebratory excitement as my angel looked over me in shock. His gaze moved down to my belly, and his hand moved to rest on my waist, brushing his thumb over the spot where our little one rested.
“Surprised?” I offered in a small smile, suddenly worried that it would be too much for him. We felt so intensely for one another, but a baby was a huge deal.
“Thank you.” Az pressed his forehead against mine, picking me up so we were level with one another. “Thank you for giving me this gift. I don’t deserve you, but I feel honored to have your love. I love you. I love you so damn much.”
“I love you too,” I murmured, blushing as he ran his nose against mine.
When he pulled back, his eyes shone with tears. “I never expected to have a family.”
“Now you’ll have more than you know what to do with.”
It was an accurate statement because I knew our family would grow.
Not only with the children we conceived, but the ones that came into our life like a pure blessing.
I wanted the house filled with laughter and joy.
I wanted there to never be a doubt how loved every single person in this house was, and considering the atmosphere of this wedding, we were on track.
“Thanks for walking me down the aisle,” I told my mom as the music started up and Jordan walked down the aisle with one of her mates.
I knew it wasn’t traditional for the mother of the bride to walk her down the aisle, but I couldn’t pick between my dads, and I wouldn’t want to.
Plus, my mom had nearly cried when I asked her, so I knew I’d made the right choice.
“I know we were separated, Maya, but I’ll always be here when you need me, every step of the way.” She offered me a smile before her eyes lit up. “Especially future steps you may have a ton of questions about.”
I broke into a huge smile. “You figured it out.”
“I can’t wait for our family to grow more and more,” she admitted. “Now let’s get you to your mates. They look impatient.”
As we began walking under the arches of flowers that covered the aisle, my gaze moved over each of my mates, all of their faces reflecting a mixture of awe and pure happiness that I echoed.
Life had changed so much in the months we had been together, and it was only going to get better.