Epilogue 3-Bella
A Few Weeks Later
Summer was finally giving way to fall, and I was elbows deep in flour, sugar, and unapologetic joy.
The air in my bakery was thick with cinnamon and nutmeg, the kind of scents that wrapped around you like a cozy blanket and whispered, Yes, you should absolutely have another one.
I was in my happy place—testing new recipes, perfecting the old ones.
Apple cider donuts?
Divine.
Pumpkin muffins?
Basically an edible hug.
And not to brag (okay, maybe a little), but I made them better than anyone else.
Not conceit. Just facts.
But even better than all my plotting and planning for the season was the fact that, deep inside me, I felt settled.
For the first time in years, my magic wasn’t fizzling or sputtering from stress—it hummed.
Warm. Steady. Certain.
Petyr, my ever-snarky Domovyk, had been helping me sharpen it too, teaching me old-school Witch tricks and whispering supernatural secrets I didn’t even know existed.
(Seriously, some of those recipes from the old grimoires? Wild. One of them involved pickled frog toes. Don’t ask.)
But most of all, I was grounded because of him.
My husband.
My mate.
My ridiculously sexy Snake man who I simply could not get enough of.
Conrad completed me in every way—mind, body, soul, and occasionally, snack preferences.
Seriously, it’s hard to find someone who understands the true glory of ingredient combos like peanut butter bacon and lemon rose petal.
Anyway, I loved every second of our life together.
He was supportive in ways that mattered, and thoughtful in ways that floored me daily.
Flowers in my kitchen.
Notes tucked in my apron pocket.
A new whisk charmed to never clump batter.
And yes—I still had my girls.
The Witch Trifecta of Castor’s Corner was as strong as ever.
Sure, we’d all gotten ourselves hitched to our fated Shifters, and yeah, our lives had changed in big ways. But the core truth hadn’t shifted.
We were still besties.
Still cousins.
Still the magical chaos unit this town didn’t deserve but desperately needed.
Things had actually been calm lately.
Well, calm for us.
Which naturally meant the phone decided to ring at that exact moment.
Uh-oh.
I grabbed it. “Bella here—”
“Bella! Come quick,” Donny’s voice blasted through the line. “Something’s going down at the cemetery. There’s an open interdimensional black hole, a giant Demogorgon slipped through, and Mrs. Fox’s children need our help!”
“Again?” I sighed. “She really needs to keep those kids out of the graveyard.”
“Tell her that after you save them,” Donny snapped.
“Fine, fine, I’m on my way.”
I popped my head into the kitchen.
“Mira, you’re in charge! Trifecta business!”
She saluted with a wooden spoon, and I bolted out the front door just in time to see my sexy deputy husband screech to a halt in his cruiser, lights flashing.
He leaned across the passenger seat, green eyes sparkling.
“Need a ride, Sugar?”
I grinned, heart doing that stupid happy flip.
“You know I do, Big Guy.”
“Hop on in.”
And that was that.
I slid in beside him, the scent of leather and pine flooding my senses as he hit the gas.
Together, we rode off to do what we did best—join our friends, save the town, and maybe, maybe reward ourselves with something deep-fried and slathered in frosting after.
“Sounds good to me, Sugar,” Conrad said, his grin pure trouble.
Yeah—life in Castor’s Corner was perfect.
And it was only just beginning.
The end.
Thank you for reading my Hungry Fur Love series!