Epilogue
LUCAS
Three months later…
Every evening, before I join Silver in bed, I go to the nursery. The whole room twinkles, as if made of magic. I like to run my fingers along the thousands of tiny decals Silver lovingly stuck to the wall, one-by-one, and sit in the rocking chair that’s made wide enough for a family of multiples. The walls already have pictures of our family, and the bookshelf is completely full of bright stories I get to tell our kids.
It's perfect in this room. There’s so much love in every item their alpha father picked out for them, including the certificate of adoption hung by the crib. I pick a stuffie from the basket of toys and hold it to my heart. The shimmer in the fabric has its own energy. Quin said Silver is able to capture his love and hold it in these items—that all raccoon shifters can do that with the items in their collection. It doesn’t seem possible, and yet, it must be.
There’s no other explanation for all the love I feel in this room.
That’s why I come here when the pains in my lower abdomen get worse. I’ve gotten enough prenatal care to know that I can give birth here without much risk. Wolf shifters rarely have complications when they’re young. I don’t wake Silver at first. I just kneel on the floor and wait for the pains to come closer together.
Pain has never been a stranger to me. But the pain from before was unexpected and scary. These pains come with a rhythm. They’re necessary. I rock with them, letting them open my body up.
The last three months, I have prepared every inch of this house for our pups. I’ve saved meals in the freezer. I’ve read every parenting book I could get my hands on from the library. I feel ready as the pains get worse, and I finally scream from the pain. Silver rushes into the nursery. He sees the liquid pooling on the floor underneath me. My water must have broke.
“Are you okay?” he asks, kneeling at my side and placing his hand on my back.
“Yes. The pups are coming.”
The pain gets bigger and bigger. It’s now worse than anything from Daryll or my alpha father. I cry against Silver, not sure if I can bear it. He rubs my back and whispers soft words I don’t understand. I don’t need to. His quiet strength helps me find my way through. I breath and I push. The pushing is glorious. I can feel something solid as I bear down. One of our little ones is coming. I scream as I put all my effort into it—as I give everything I am.
There’s a glorious release and something falls from me.
“Oh, Lucas. You did it. Look at her.”
Silver holds up the tiniest little gray pup. Her eyes are still sealed closed, and her nose is pink. A fierce love rages within me. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt anything so powerful. She’s perfect.
“Galaxy,” he says.
“Yes.” The name fits her perfectly.
The pains come again, but the pushing helps. I bear down again and again until there’s a second release—a second gray pup with a pink nose who makes my heart grow so big, I don’t think my chest will be able to contain it.
“Star,” Silver says.
The third pup comes easily. Only two pushes, and she comes shooting out, making Silver laugh. This pup is silver, like his sisters, but there’s a single black stripe on his tail. I’ve never seen a black stripe on a gray wolf’s tail, but Silver’s raccoon tail has lots of them.
It’s like Fate is screaming at me. She wants me to know this is how it was always meant to be.
“Moonbeam,” Silver says.
My body is tired, but for the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I’m finally able to shift. It’s a relief to return to the power of my wolf legs and sharp wolf teeth. This has always been my favorite form. I am fast as a wolf. I am fierce. I am bigger than Silver, which he never seemed to mind.
I lie on my side and guide our pups with my nose to my teets that are full of milk for them. Silver shrinks into his raccoon, too, and bends down to pick up Moonbeam, who is having difficulty getting to the food. Silver waddles back and forth, carrying Moonbeam with his paws, and sets him right in front of my body where he can latch on. Silver stays there, crouching over our little ones, his black eyes focused on them.
The room shimmers around us, full of hope and love. Silver’s love, that I never truly lost, even though I wasn’t brave enough to accept it for far too long.
I’m brave now. And for the first time in my life, I believe I’m enough.
***
The series continues with Link’s story. Get ready for Terrance’s return in an enemies-to-lovers romance featuring a raccoon shifter himbo and the uptight neat freak he accidentally puts his paws on during a dumpster diving accident.