Epilogue
THORNE
I couldn't believe our sweet baby girl, Piper, was turning five. To celebrate her birthday weekend, we were going to Raff’s parents’ house.
We’d already celebrated her actual birthday with my parents, and the beginning of her birthday week with Junior and crew at the diner.
It was safe to say this little girl received quite a bit of spoiling, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I set my hand on my belly. It was at that awkward stage where people couldn’t tell if I was pregnant or just eating too much of my cooking.
I was going to have a new baby just as my youngest was heading into kindergarten and our oldest was going into middle school.
It was going to be an exciting year for our family.
The kids were great in the car. Rupert spent the entire time reading, and Piper went on and on about all the things she was gonna do when she got to her grandparents’ house. They made the two-hour drive seem not so bad, despite my current state of perpetual nausea.
His parents greeted us at the car and did not hide their excitement at our presence. We tried to go as often as we could. We went inside after ample hugs. Only as I reached the door, my alpha father-in-law, Pop, held me back.
“I think today is gonna be a big day,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I think we’re about to meet his wolf.”
We’d been suspecting Rupert was a wolf for a couple of months now.
He’d growled a few times, and his facial hair was growing much faster than it was for other kids his age.
But there was nothing definitive that couldn’t be explained away as having grown up around shifters and being in the early stages of puberty.
A hand cupped my shoulder. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up so it doesn’t freak you out at all.”
“I don’t get freaked out, Pop,” I said.
“I’m just saying.”
Once inside, we chatted for a few minutes, discussing the plans for the day, which included grilling outside and, of course, cake and presents. That was when my omega father-in-law dragged me into the kitchen to show me some new gadget he’d picked up that he was sure I’d love.
I never felt like a guest here in all these years, and I loved that.
The gadget in question was one of those useless “As Seen on TV” things he’d never use. It excited him, and I listened as if I loved it too.
“Let me help finish up cooking.”
“Absolutely not!” he said. “You are carrying our grandbaby. Go outside and enjoy.”
I’d learned early on that it was best not to argue when he got like this. It only prolonged the inevitable. Instead, I thanked him and went to find the others.
Raff was put in charge of the grill. It wasn’t a choice I’d have made, but he appeared happy enough. The grandparents were out playing with the kids, taking their wolf form, and running around with them, and I took it as an opportunity to sit down and relax, soaking it all in.
I’d been worried that as Rupert grew up, he’d no longer enjoy this time. So many kids his age were all about acting five years older. I treasured each of these times, knowing they might be the last.
“Are you sure you don’t need help, mate?” I called over my shoulder to Raff. Relaxing was great, but there was only so much sitting I could take before my back got pissy at me.
“Need help? No. But if you wanted to give me a kiss right here,” he tapped his cheek, “I wouldn’t be opposed.”
As if I could resist that.
It was all I could do not to take over the grill. The meat would not be tender the way he kept flipping it over, but that was fine. Tough steak was kind of par for the course with family barbecues. Not everything had to be a gourmet meal. Still, the urge was there.
Just as we were calling everyone to the table to eat, a woman I’d only seen on video chats came into the backyard.
“Auntie!” Raff rushed to her and hugged her tight. “I thought you were overseas.” She’d been managing some big exhibit that toured the biggest galleries. It was quite an exciting time for her.
“I was, but now I’m back.” She was over-the-top, and anyone looking at her would see that she was a creative type with her bright colored clothing, her stacked jewelry, and her purple hair. “Couldn’t miss Piper’s big birthday.”
The conversation was never dull when we were here, but with Auntie, it rose to a whole new level. We had a blast eating and talking about Europe, school, hockey, and work.
“Presents or cake first?” I asked Piper. Having just devoured two entire steaks, she picked a present.
Piper was one who loved to make a show of everything.
She opened each gift, showering the giver with thanks and appreciation and talking about how she would use the present, from her fancy doll that looked remarkably like her to her new dress.
But when she opened the one from Auntie, something changed.
She pulled out a book, gripped it against her chest before anyone could see what it was.
This wasn’t for show. Her emotions were getting the best of her in the best of ways.
“May I see what it is?” Unlike Rupert, she wasn’t hugely into books. This one had to be special, and as she showed it to me, I saw how true that was.
“It’s my own book! My own book!”
It had the same title as the one we read every night, but the cover was different. This time, there were two additional wolves.
“I got a feeling it was nearing that time.” Auntie looked at Rupert. “We’ll see how accurate my illustration is.”
“Is this me?” Piper asked.
“It is, but we won’t know how close I am for quite a few more years.”
No one questioned her, telling her that Piper might be human but my attention turned to Rupert who jumped up and grabbed a hold of his alpha grandfather.
“Pop! Pop!” was all he said.
“I thought so, young man. Let’s go.”
He brought him out to the backyard, just out of sight.
“Should we be with him?” I asked. This was my first time experiencing a first shift, and as much as we'd discussed it, I still felt way over my head.
“No. He wants to do this process with his grandfather.”
I knew they’d talked about first shifts in a father-and-son way. I never asked for details, because it felt as private as puberty talks tended to be. I hadn’t realized they had a plan.
A couple of minutes later, out came Raff’s father’s wolf, followed by Rupert’s. The remaining wolves joined them, Piper and I staying put and giving them this time. We watched as they played.
“My brother’s a wolf,” she said factually, as if it wasn’t this monumental milestone but a quiz answer.
“He is.”
“Auntie thinks I’m a wolf too.” She held her book.
“What makes you think that?” She probably did, given the book, but I knew Piper well enough to know that sometimes you needed to scratch the surface of her notions because they weren’t always as clear cut as they appeared.
“She wouldn’t have put me on the cover if she hadn’t.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think if I’m a wolf, I’m gonna be fierce. And I think if I’m not a wolf, I’m gonna be fierce.”
“You got that right, my sweet girl.” I hugged her close, and we waited until we got a sign from Raff to join them and ran over to play, enjoying Rupert’s first day in his fur.
I wish you were here, Harvey. I wish you could see that Rupert is okay, that he’s thriving and happy.
Something told me that somewhere he was, and he was smiling down on us.
I was forced to reject my mate and it nearly destroyed me.
I’m one of the lucky wolves who find their fated mate. Or I was, until my pack Alpha gives me a choice, reject the human omega or watch him die.
Rejection hurts, but not as badly as the alternative.
I move across the country for college, knowing that if I don’t, I’ll never be able to stay away from him. Years pass, I graduate, get offered a spot on my favorite hockey team, and to the outside world, I’m living the dream.
Only my dream is a nightmare, one where my wolf is barely holding it together. The wound left by denying fate is just as raw as the day I was forced to make my choice.
I’m biding my time until I’m strong enough to challenge my pack Alpha and find my omega and attempt to win his heart again.
Time runs out when I attend a charity event and scent my mate. He’s one of the reporters covering the event. I lose control, all that exists is Benedict and me. I mark him, right there in the hallway.
He may be the puck of my life, but if I don’t do something quickly, he won’t be alive long.
Puck of My Life is the third book in Lorelei M Hart and Colbie Dunbar’s Pucks, Packs & Pregnancies series of standalone MM Mpreg shifter romances.
Puck of my life features a hockey-playing alpha wolf who gave up a chance for happiness once and refuses to do it again, the human omega who thinks they weren’t good enough, the pack Alpha who hasn’t realized he’s already made the biggest mistake of his life, true love, second chances, fated mates, an adorable baby, and a guaranteed happy ever after.
If you love your omegas strong, your alphas hawt, and your mpreg with heart, download your copy today.