Epilogue
Amelia
The end of summer came faster than I was ready for, autumn already around the corner.
The days are still warm but the nights have started to cool, and there's a sense of transition, of change, of moving from one season into another.
It's been a few more weeks of pure bliss since Marcus Richardson was arrested, weeks of learning how to exist without constant fear, weeks of building this life with my Alphas and the kids.
We took a small trip to a lake with Dylan and Maddox, renting a house for the weekend to get away from everything.
From the city and the memories and the lingering shadow of what happened.
It's been great to get out, to watch the kids have fun splashing around in the water without a care in the world, to see them laugh and play like the normal, happy children they deserve to be.
I've spent most of my time glued to one of my Alpha's sides, still a little skittish after everything that went down earlier in the summer.
The fear hasn't completely left me yet, that instinct to stay close to my protectors, to never be too far from safety.
But I'm coming back out of my shell again, slowly, day by day.
Learning to trust that Vincent really is gone, that he can't reach me here, that I'm allowed to relax and enjoy this moment.
Sitting at the edge of the small lake, I dangle my feet in the cool water, watching the kids play.
Isaac keeps running up to me with rocks he likes, dropping them beside me before running off to find more.
Each one is apparently special in some way only he understands.
This one is smooth, that one has sparkles, this one looks like a dinosaur if you squint really hard.
Riley is a bit further down the shoreline, crouched in the mud, creating what I think is supposed to be a sandcastle but made entirely of lake mud. She's covered in it, streaked across her arms and legs and even a smudge on her cheek, completely absorbed in her construction project.
Wyatt is sitting behind me, his chest solid against my back, his arms loosely wrapped around my waist. I'm leaning into him completely, his citrus scent mixing with the smell of lake water and summer air.
It's peaceful in a way I didn't know life could be, this simple moment of existing together without drama or fear or urgency.
I look around, taking inventory of everyone.
Hunter and Maddox are at the grill up by the house, playfully arguing about charcoal versus propane and the proper way to cook burgers.
Dylan and Silas are mysteriously absent, but that makes sense.
They've been conspiring about something all morning, disappearing into the house with knowing looks.
Then I hear laughter as they stumble out of the small rented lakehouse, both of them carrying armfuls of beers and passing them out. Dylan makes his way over to me and hands me one of the bottles, already opened, condensation dripping down the green glass.
"Your favorite," he says with a grin. "That fancy IPA you've been obsessed with lately."
I smile and accept the beer, but immediately set it down beside me in the grass without taking a sip. The smell of it, which usually makes my mouth water, is suddenly unappealing in a way I can't quite explain.
Wyatt shifts behind me, his arms tightening slightly. "Something wrong? Dylan said these became your favorite."
I chew my lip, trying to keep my expression light. "Nothing's wrong. I just don't feel like beer right now. Do you have some ginger ale? Or maybe lemonade?"
Dylan frowns, his big brother instincts immediately kicking in. "Are you sick? You've been tired a lot this trip. And you didn't eat much breakfast this morning."
My cheeks go bright red. I hadn't planned on saying anything until I was sure, until I could get to a doctor and have it confirmed.
We haven't even talked about the bonding part of our relationship, of me having their marks on my skin showing everyone that I truly am theirs.
Which makes all this that much more confusing and panic inducing.
I'm not even sure if they want more kids.
We've literally never talked about it. But we also haven't been using any kind of protection.
I've been on suppressants to manage my heats which have some birth control protections but apparently all those fail once a heat actually hits.
I hadn't even thought about it at the time, too consumed by need and want and the overwhelming presence of my Alphas.
But I've been thinking about it for the past week.
The exhaustion that won't go away. The way certain smells make my stomach turn.
The tenderness in my breasts. The fact that my period is late, like really late.
My silence draws everyone closer. Silas moves to crouch beside us, his dark eyes studying my face with concern. Hunter abandons the grill and even Maddox turns his attention to me, spatula still in hand.
"I'm fine," I say, but my voice comes out all wrong.
Hunter crouches down in front of me, his hazel eyes going wide as he sniffs at the air. His whole body goes still, tension radiating from him in a way that makes my heart race. "Are you..." He trails off, like he can't quite bring himself to finish the question.
I take a shaky breath. "I think I might be pregnant," I admit quietly.
"I'm not sure yet. I haven't been to a doctor or taken a test, but everything feels different and certain things that should have happened, haven’t, and I just..
." I trail off, tears gathering in my eyes despite my best efforts to hold them back.
The fear crashes over me all at once. What if they don't want this?
What if this is too much too fast? What if I'm trapping them into something they never agreed to? What if the baby makes me vulnerable again and gives my ex something to hold over me? I know that fucker isn’t getting out but I just.. .
What if I'm not ready to be a mother, not after everything I've been through? What if my body fails me, what if something goes wrong, what if I can't protect this tiny life growing inside me?
"Hey, hey," Hunter says gently, his hands cupping my face. "Breathe, Amelia. It's okay."
"Is it?" I whisper. "We never talked about this.
About kids, about more kids, about if you even want that with me.
I know you have Riley and Isaac, and maybe that's enough, and I wasn't trying to trap you or force anything. My suppressants aren’t really birth control but they were supposed to prevent this, but once my heat hit they stopped working and we never used protection and I should have said something but I wasn't thinking and now I might be pregnant and you might not want—"
Hunter kisses me soundly, cutting off my rambling, his hands gentle on my face. When he pulls back, there's something soft in his expression, something that looks like wonder.
"We should have talked about this," he says quietly. "You're right. We should have discussed protection, discussed what we all wanted. That's on us. We got caught up in the heat and the moment and we didn't communicate properly, and that was a mistake."
"A mistake we'll learn from," Wyatt adds from behind me, his arms still wrapped around my waist. "We'll be more careful in the future about talking through important things like this and making sure everyone's on the same page."
"But honestly?" Hunter continues, his thumb stroking across my cheek. "I'm thrilled. The idea that you might be carrying our baby? That's not a burden, Amelia. That's a gift."
Silas reaches out to rest his hand on my knee. "We want this and building a larger family with you sounds perfect."
"Even if it's happening faster than we planned?" I ask, my voice small.
"Even then," Silas confirms.
The fear doesn't disappear completely, but it eases slightly. I look past my Alphas to where Dylan is standing, his expression unreadable. This is the part I've been dreading. My overprotective big brother finding out that the men I've been with for barely two months might have gotten me pregnant.
Dylan's jaw is tight as he looks between me and my Alphas.
"So let me get this straight," he says, his voice carefully controlled.
"My sister, who just escaped an abusive relationship a few months ago, who's been through hell and back, might be pregnant?
" He seems almost in shock and there might even be anger in expression.
Hunter stands slowly, squaring his shoulders. "Yes."
"Dylan—" I start, but he holds up a hand.
"I'm not done." He takes a step closer to Hunter, his expression hardening.
"That's my baby sister. The person I've been protecting since our parents died.
The woman who showed up at my door in the middle of the night covered in bruises and terrified for her life.
And you're telling me you might have gotten her pregnant without even discussing it first? "
I cringe, knowing that Dylan’s anger is founded but he didn’t even get this angry when my Alphas took me into their home. Or maybe he did, I don’t know.
Hunter doesn't back down or look away. I appreciate that he doesn’t start Alpha posturing with my brother.
"We should have discussed and as much as I want to say that this is between us and Amelia, I told you that I would protect her. And I will, with everything I have. From here on out, she won’t know anything other than love. "
"If you hurt her, if you make her feel trapped or scared or anything less than cherished, I will make sure you regret it,” Dylan says.
His hands clench into fists at his sides.
"I don't care how good you've been to her so far.
I don't care that she's happy with you. You screw this up, you hurt my sister, and I will—"