Epilogue
North
Today was an important event for many reasons.
It was the summer solstice, a day that held great power, but it was also paired with a full moon which made it even more so.
The pack and pride were coming together for a run through the woods to celebrate, and a few members of a local coven had mentioned joining us.
Something about siphoning the power to imbue their relics.
My parents had even come for a visit, with full intention to spoil their only grandchild to bits. Our mother had been nudging Mace, hinting that as the older brother, he should’ve been taking the search for his mate more seriously, so she could have even more grandchildren to spoil.
I hadn’t told either of them yet that the wait was almost over…
The clearing was full today, but I was already reminded of the first time I’d brought my mate here. Our hunt through the woods, his heat… and then claiming him again and again. My cock ached at the prospect of chasing him again tonight.
“I recognize that look,” Joel teased, bumping me with his shoulder. “You’ll have to be patient. Dinner first, then we’ll have to convince someone to entertain Wick for a while so we can go play.” There would be no shortage of babysitters, I was sure.
We were seated on a picnic blanket, trying to convince our son to eat a few more bites of his dinner, but he was infinitely distracted by all the chaos going on around us.
He was over a year old and had conquered walking (and then running about ten seconds later) in record time, but as the sun began to sink, painting the sky a brilliant coral pink, shifters of various species began to peel off their clothes and drop to all fours—and Wick, wanting to join in on the fun, reverted to crawling, letting out the most adorable roar.
“Awww,” Joel gushed. “Look, he’s being a jaguar.”
My heart melted as I watched my mate. He was the very best omega father. It had been the biggest privilege of my life to witness his growth over the past two years. And before I could second-guess the urge, I blurted out, “We could have another one, you know.”
At least one, my jaguar pointed out. He had his heart set on an even dozen kittens, though I wasn’t about to suggest any such number to Joel, and my beast knew better than to push. We both knew our mate would likely panic at the idea of that many kids.
Joel turned to me, his smile turning sly. “I was actually thinking the same thing.”
“Yeah?”
He shrugged, casual as could be, even as dropped this momentous news on me. “Besides, since Kedi found his mate on the last full moon, I figure he’ll be getting knocked up pretty soon. It would be fun to go through pregnancy with my bestie.”
Joel was practically glowing now that the decision had been made.
And while he wouldn’t go into heat for another week or two, I also looked forward to practicing.
I leaned in and kissed him, slowly deepening it.
As tempting as it was to throw him down on the blanket and pin him there, it was neither the time nor the place. I could be patient.
I can’t, my jaguar huffed.
But then Wick roared and leaped on my back, and I shrieked playfully, pretending to get taken down to the grass, rolling around with my son.
In twos and threes, shifters disappeared into the woods, their yips and howls echoing off the trees. “Gives me goosebumps,” Joel said, rubbing his arms. It wasn’t just the aura that gave him the shivers. There was power in the air tonight, a sense of anticipation, the calm before the storm.
As darkness descended, the party really got started. A bonfire was lit, and music blared from someone’s car stereo, all the doors open. Wick ran around, his dark curls bouncing as he lapped up all the attention.
Mace came over to join us, wearing only his pants, barefoot in the grass. “Hey, if you give me 20 minutes, I’ll come back to babysit Wick while you guys go for a run.”
Before Joel could thank him, I interrupted. “Actually, you may want to reconsider that plan. In fact…” I glanced at the time on my phone, “you should probably wait to shift.”
His smile turned confused. “What am I waiting for?”
“For 10:01,” I said.
He snorted a laugh. “That’s oddly specific. Why 10:01?”
I had a hard time keeping a straight face. “Because if I were going to give you a tattoo, that’s what it would be.”
“What…?” But then he trailed off, realization blooming on his face.
His fated mate. Before he could say another word, our attention was drawn to where a car was pulling into the clearing.
The headlights made it impossible to see who was behind the wheel, but it was clear my brother had picked up Fate’s truth.
The car came to a stop beside our minivan, the headlights going dark, and when the door opened, I swore Mace had stopped breathing.
A tall man got out, his silver hair and pale skin making him glow beneath the full moon.
He was radiant, and the scent that came off him was of a human warlock—smoky and electric.
Without looking at us, my brother gave my shoulder a shove. “You know what? You guys go play. I’m on babysitting duty.”
“You don’t mind?” I asked, muffling a laugh.
“Come here, Wick. I need a wingman,” he said, scooping up his giggling, squirming nephew on his way to meet his mate.
Turning to smirk at Joel, I found him watching me with awed amusement. “You knew,” he said, shaking his head. “All this time, you knew he would meet his mate here, and you never told him.”
I shrugged. “He didn’t want to know.” Interpreting the tiny glimpses of what Fate allowed me to see was not always so easy, and it was a heavy burden at times, knowing when to speak up and when to remain silent. My future, however, needed no interpretation.
It was Joel. It would always be Joel.
I slowly peeled my shirt up, my mate’s eyes drinking up every inch of bare skin as it was exposed. His pupils were blown, and he licked his lips. “Is five minutes enough of a headstart?” I asked.
He bit his lower lip, making my cock ache. “You’d better make it three.”
Then he turned and ran straight into the trees, making enough noise that other shifters were guaranteed to stay clear.
I kicked off my shoes, dropping my pants and underwear on top of the pile of clothes. Shall we go get our mate? I asked my beast.
My chest rumbled with his excited growl. Yes, let’s.
Thank you for reading Soulbound Ink. If you enjoyed North and Joel's story, you should consider checking out the rest of the shared-author series Love Sync Ink.