Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Reyes
Five Years Later…
I wake up before the sun. Old habits die hard, I guess.
For a second, I lie still beneath the heavy comforter, listening to the quiet sounds filling the cabin around me: the crackling fireplace downstairs, the wind brushing through the trees outside, the soft little snores beside me.
My chest aches instantly. Not the bad kind of ache, the good kind that still sneaks up on me sometimes when I realize this is my life now.
Taylor is curled against my side, one arm wrapped around my waist, while our youngest son sleeps sprawled across both of us like he owns the bed. Which, honestly, he kind of does. Three-year-old Rowan sleeps hard, completely boneless and dead to the world like his mother.
A smile tugs at my mouth as I look down at them. Taylor’s hair is a mess across the pillow, her lips parted softly in sleep. The mating mark on her neck peeks out from beneath the collar of my shirt she stole years ago and never gave back.
Mine, my wolf purrs inside me.
The bedroom door creaks open quietly. I glance up to see a tiny blur launch herself at the bed.
“Daddy!”
I barely catch Ivy before she lands directly on Taylor’s face. Our four-year-old giggles wildly as I grab her around the waist and toss her onto my chest instead.
“Easy, troublemaker,” I rumble.
She grins at me, completely unapologetic. Dark curls frame her face in every direction, and her green eyes—Taylor’s eyes—sparkle mischievously. My daughter has me wrapped around her finger so tightly it’s embarrassing.
Taylor groans sleepily beside me. “What time is it?” she mumbles.
“Too early for tiny terrorists to be awake,” I answer.
Ivy gasps dramatically. “I’m not tiny!”
“You’re definitely tiny.”
She climbs onto my stomach and plants her hands on her hips. “I’m big now. I’m four.”
“So old.”
She nods seriously. “Very old.”
Taylor laughs softly beside me, finally opening her eyes. The sound still wrecks me after all this time. Five years later, and hearing my mate happy still feels like winning something I never deserved.
Her sleepy gaze finds mine, softening instantly. “Morning,” she whispers.
I lean down and kiss her slowly before either kid can interrupt us. Unfortunately, that lasts all of three seconds.
“Ewwww,” Ivy says loudly.
Taylor snorts. Rowan finally wakes up with a grumpy little growl that makes me grin.
Yep. Definitely my kid.
He blinks sleepily before immediately climbing onto my chest, nearly knocking the wind out of me.
“Hungry.”
“Of course you are.”
The kid is always hungry.
Taylor stretches beside me before sitting up slowly, and my attention instantly shifts to her stomach beneath my shirt.
Round.
Beautiful.
Mine.
My chest tightens painfully.
“You’re staring again,” Taylor teases softly.
“I can’t help it.”
Her cheeks pink slightly, and my wolf practically preens. Five years together, and she still blushes when I look at her like that.
I reach over, resting my hand gently against her stomach. “You feel okay?”
Her expression softens immediately. “I’m okay, Reyes.”
I nod, though I still study her carefully.
Taylor laughs quietly. “You know women have been having babies forever, right?”
“And men have been worrying about their mates forever.”
She rolls her eyes affectionately before leaning over and kissing me again. “I love you.”
The words hit me just as hard now as they did the first time she said them. Maybe harder.
“Love you more,” I murmur.
“Impossible,” Ivy interrupts confidently.
Taylor and I both look at her.
She grins proudly. “Daddy loves us most.”
“See?” I laugh against Taylor’s neck.
“Shut up,” she sighs.
Rowan crawls between us, and I scoop him up in my arms.
“Hungry,” he says again, more alert now.
“All right, let’s get you some food.”
He smiles as I pick him up and carry him out of the bedroom. Ivy is right on my heels, and I smile as she darts around me and heads downstairs.
And just like every morning for the last five years, I pause for a second at the top of the stairs and let myself feel it. All of it. The peace, the warmth.
Five years ago, I stood alone on my porch every night, restless enough to crawl out of my own skin. I thought purpose came from protecting people. From missions. From staying alert every second of every day.
Then I found Taylor tied to that bed in the cult cabin.
I thought I was rescuing her; turns out, she rescued me right back.
“Daddy!” Ivy says impatiently. “Breakfast!”
“Coming, menace.”
She giggles wildly.
“Okay, guys. What should we have for breakfast this morning?” I ask, smiling as they argue over options.
By the time Taylor comes downstairs twenty minutes later, the kitchen is in chaos.
Rowan sits on the counter, eating blueberries straight from the container, while Ivy “helps” me stir pancake batter by making a massive mess.
Taylor stops in the doorway, smiling softly at all of us, and God, that look on her face still destroys me.
I move toward her instantly, unable not to. My arms slide around her waist while I bury my face against her neck, kissing the mating mark on her shoulder. She melts against me automatically.
“Thanks for making breakfast.”
“Anything for you, mate,” I say, pressing my lips softly against hers.
Ivy groans loudly. “You’re always kissing.”
Taylor laughs softly.
I grin against her skin. “Get used to it.”
Rowan suddenly lifts both arms toward Taylor. “Mama, hold me.”
She immediately scoops him up despite my glare.
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I’m pregnant, not dying.”
“Still.”
She rolls her eyes again.
A few minutes later, Landry walks in without knocking, her mate, Cooper, right behind her. He’s carrying their son, who immediately wiggles to get free and runs over to join my kids.
“Hey, you two,” Taylor says, wrapping Landry in a hug.
Cooper joins me at the stove, surveying the pancake mess, and gives me a sympathetic look. “Morning.”
“Morning. Coffee is on.”
“Thank God,” he mumbles.
I laugh as I watch him grab two mugs from the cabinet. He passes Landry her cup first, and she smiles at him, sitting beside Rowan at the counter as the sisters talk about plans for the day. Taylor smiles into her coffee while Landry steals a pancake off Rowan’s plate.
He gasps in betrayal. “Mine!”
Landry shoves the whole thing into her mouth. “Too slow.”
Chaos erupts instantly.
I lean against the counter, watching them with something close to awe sitting heavy in my chest.
Landry safe and healthy.
My kids laughing.
My mate smiling.
Our home warm around us.
This house used to be silent. Now it’s filled with laughter, tiny footsteps, and the heartbeat of the woman I was always meant to find.
My phone buzzes on the counter, and I glance at the screen to see that it’s the Midnight Haven.
Taylor’s eyes meet mine instantly. “You need to take it?”
I nod once.
Concern flickers across her face, and I hate that she still worries every single time I leave for a rescue.
I step closer, cupping her face gently. “I’ll come home to you,” I promise quietly.
Always.
Her expression softens immediately. “I know.”
I kiss her one more time before answering the call, but even as Pyrce talks about a new pickup arriving tonight, my eyes stay on my family.
On my future.
My forever.
My Taylor.