Epilogue
Knox
A FEW MONTHS LATER
H er brows make the squiggly shape I recognize as her concentration face. I smile, knowing she’s thinking hard about what to write next.
“How’s the project going, Bay?” I ask, my voice laced with a hint of intrigue.
“Good, good,” she says, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen, her fingers dancing on the keyboard. “I’m torn between making it their parents who oppose their love. What’s your take on this?”
“Why not both?” I ask.
She looks up with a beaming smile. “Perfect,” she nods, fingers clacking away at the keyboard.
“Hey, why don’t you take a break?” I suggest, the aroma of the ground turkey wraps wafting through the room. “I made some lunch. Those ground turkey wraps you love so much.”
“Mmm, yeah, that sounds good. I just … wanna …”
“Bay!” I shout, walking over and playfully tickling her ribs. “Come have food with me!”
She swats my hands away. “Okay, but not if you keep tickling me!” She rubs her protruding belly. “You’re not allowed to torture me right now! I’m being tortured enough by our unborn.”
“He comes by it honestly,” I say with a shrug.
“Or she!” Bailey harps, raising a brow. “It could be a girl, you know.”
“And that would be fine,” I remind her, “but it’s not.”
“You’re so stubborn,” she says, standing from her desk. She kisses my cheek before shuffling to the dining area. “Alright, let’s eat then.”
If anyone had asked me seven months ago if I was ready to be a father, I’m not sure what I’d have said. But I couldn’t feel more excited or more prepared than I am now. We’ve been planning our baby’s arrival since day one, and the cabin is already prepared and equipped with a nursery, baby-proofed everything, and a stockpile of clothes, diapers, and other things.
My pack has also been amazingly supportive. People have given us things, bought us things, and helped paint and prep the baby’s room. Everyone has welcomed Bailey with open arms and been extremely helpful to her despite the fact that she’s a human. I was surprised; our pack had never agreed to let a human live with us before.
Even shifters know there’s no fighting it when someone is your destined mate.
A knock on the door has Bailey and I exchanging confused looks. “Were you expecting someone today?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Were you?”
“No,” she says.
“Hmm.” Whoever it is knocks again, and I head to the door and open it, curious who could have wandered out here and landed at my door. My eyes grow wide as I see her standing there, grinning ear to ear. “Agatha! What are you doing here?”
Bailey comes waddling over, opening the door wider so she can see the witch as well. “Yeah, just what are you doing here, Agatha?”
She puts her hands up defensively. “Please, I’m not your enemy! After all, wasn’t me and my magic that helped bring you lovebirds together?”
Bailey sighs. “I guess that’s true.”
“What do you want?” I ask. “I thought I paid my dues to the tarot.”
“You have,” she nods, “and the tarot thanks you. I heard the two of you were expecting a child, so I just wanted to drop in and offer you a present for the little tyke. A sort of housewarming gift, I suppose you could say.”
Bailey and I glance at each other, then look back at the witch.
Agatha pulls a black velvet bag from somewhere inside her cloak, handing it to me and then offering a polite nod. “I won’t take up any more of your time,” she says. She turns to leave, calling over her shoulder, “Best of luck to you two!”
I look down at the bag for only a second, but Agatha has vanished when I look up again.
“What do you think it is?” Bailey asks, but I don’t dare guess.
“I don’t know. Let’s go see.”
I shut the door and bring the bag to the living room, riddled with curiosity. Bailey and I sit on the couch as I set the bag down on the table, pulling at its drawstrings enough to open the top of it. I reach into the bag, my arm going far deeper than it should for the length of the bag.
I pulled them out one by one: a handmade picture frame made from gnarled twigs, an infant-sized cloak that matches Agatha’s, and a tarot card.
The Wheel
Bailey picks up the card, examining either side of it. “This is the card I pulled during the tarot reading!”
I laugh. “That’s funny. That’s the card I picked when I went to Agatha to get her to help me find my mate.”
“Weird,” Bailey whispers. “Do you think this is it? The exact card? Wouldn’t that mean she doesn’t have a full deck anymore?”
I shrug. “Maybe she’s got more than one. Maybe she used magic to make a copy of it. Who knows? ”
“Good point.” Bailey picks up the tiny cloak, running her fingers over the black velvet. “This is kinda cute.”
“You’re not seriously considering putting our child in that, are you?” I ask.
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“I think it’s a bit tacky,” I tell her. “Besides, I’ve never seen a shifter wear a cloak.”
“Hey, our baby is going to be half-human!”
I laugh. “I’ve never seen a human wear a cloak like that, Bay.”
“Yeah, good point. That picture frame is super cute and rustic, though. We’ll have to put our first family photo in there.”
“That we will,” I agree. I take the picture frame and set it on the fireplace mantle, then I sit back down beside my beautiful mate, kissing her cheek softly. “I love you,” I say.
“I love you too,” she says. “So very much. You’re going to be an amazing father.”
“Not half as amazing as you’ll be as a mother,” I reply.
She kisses me again, her perfect lips lingering on mine. “Come on, let’s go to bed early.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say.
And nothing in the world could sound better.