Greylen
Nix and Rowan cooed over the baby, ignoring everyone around them while the celebration hummed with energy.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” Orsen said, looking around the gathering at all the dragons who’d come to celebrate with us. So many smiling faces and easy conversation filled the clearing, spilling into the den and surrounding areas.
“Nah, but I don’t mind that,” I said. “I never want to take this for granted.”
Bastian grunted his agreement. It went without saying that, out of all of us, Bastian was the one who felt strongest about never taking what was in front of him for granted again.
He’d also been the one to end Cyrus, once and for all, and we all knew he’d carry that weight for the rest of his days. There was no way the tranquility and peace around us would fail to impact him after that.
“But I can admit I’m starving”—Orsen jerked his head toward the tables of food—“so, let’s go eat before it’s all gone.”
Chuckling, I followed Orsen, eager to dig in because every dish smelled amazing.
“Orsen! Get your mate some food! I swear, I raised a heathen!” Ma blustered, swatting her son playfully on the shoulder while several of the dragons around us chuckled.
There were tables and tables of buffet food being laid out for the guests, easily enough to feed double the two to three hundred dragons who had gathered. And, of course, Ma was worried about Rowan getting something to eat.
“The horde—”
“There is plenty to go around!” She waved off Orsen’s concern.
“Get some food and relax with your mate. Speaking of”—she turned to Rowan, who was biting back a smile as she walked up with her little buddy—“gimme that baby.” She held out her hands, beaming, and Rowan handed over the baby, only pouting a little.
“You’ll get cuddles later,” I assured her, pulling her in for a side hug. “Though, at some point, you will have to give the baby back to his momma.”
“I know,” she whined. “But that baby is named after me. That gives me hogging rights.”
I snorted, smiling as I kissed the top of her head. “I can’t deny that.”
“Though…” Rowan tilted her head to the side. “I can’t divulge patient details, confidentiality and all that, but let’s just say, if we hold a gathering like this next year, there will be plenty of babies to go around.”
I raised my brows at her. “Really?”
She nodded. “Jenkins really was a plague. Now that he’s gone, things are looking up. I’ll have a new generation of babies to fuss over until it’s our time—which won’t be for a few years, okay?” She looked at all four of us pointedly, tracking us with her fingers.
We were all excited about having children one day, but we had work to do.
Sure, our enemies were gone, but now we had another horde to support on top of this one.
All the Alphas were going to be very busy.
We’d been absent for far too long. Now, with our mate by our side, we were going to make sure that North Oak flourished.
“Is that the only female Alpha of North Oak I see?” a familiar male voice called out.
Rowan’s head jerked around, a smile covering her face. “Ash!” she screamed, throwing herself into his arms. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was invited. Apparently, something about finally celebrating a mating.” Ash smiled, turning to each of us and shaking our hands firmly. All four of us greeted him happily, glad that Rowan had invited him to join our festivities.
He was the closest thing Rowan had to family, outside of North Oak, and we wanted him to be here to celebrate with her. He wasn’t sure whether he could make it, given the distance, but I was glad that he had.
“Being the boss suits you,” Ash complimented, looking her over.
Orsen glowered at the new Alpha, but Rowan waved his concern off. “Ash is like my brother. Don’t grumble!” she admonished before turning back to him. “You should relax, enjoy yourself!”
He grabbed one of the beers from a nearby cooler. “I intend to do just that. Usually, I’m the host and can’t have any fun. I fully intend to have a few drinks and enjoy my evening, if you know what I mean.”
Ash’s eyes swiveled over the crowd, decidedly landing on the single women in attendance.
I’d heard a small rumor that he was something of a playboy, never settling down.
At least I knew I didn’t have to worry about him with Rowan.
There was none of that devious sparkle in his eyes when he looked at her.
Rowan grimaced with her whole body when he turned around, waggling his eyebrows.
She shoved him. “Eww. I don’t want to think about that… Ugh, I think I need bleach for my brain.”
Ash chuckled, giving her one last hug and ignoring her grumbles before walking away, his mission clear.
Settled again, we joined the line in front of the buffet tables, Orsen gesturing for Rowan to go first. Ma nodded approvingly, and he rolled his eyes, smiling nonetheless.
I couldn’t help but laugh, quickly falling into step behind her, Nix behind me with a comment about being hungry enough to devour the entire table.
As we followed everyone, that easy comfort flourished.
Then Rowan leaned forward, going to grab a drink from one of the coolers. When her hand was a few inches away, she stilled, tilting her head.
“Rowan?” I asked, my brow pinching as worry crept up.
All our attention was on her now.
“I… Hh…” She pulled back, rubbing her temple with one hand. “This is going to sound insane, but did we ever set fire to a cooler?” Rowan shook her head with a chuckle, looking at the blue box full of ice and drinks.
“We did,” Orsen said, voice hoarse.
“When?” Rowan asked, voice quiet and a little distant, still looking at the cooler.
“It was about a week after we met. We were having a campfire—and a few beers. We left the cooler next to the fire, and, well…”
“You remember?” Nix moved closer to her, resting his hand on her arm.
My throat tightened as I looked at her. We’d all assumed that any memories that were going to come would have already. We weren’t holding our breath for more. But this…
“I-It’s just a flash,” Rowan insisted. “It probably means nothing. I may never get my memory back.”
Orsen pulled her into his arms, not caring who was watching. “We don’t care if you never regain your memories. Would it be nice? Sure. But, at the end of the day, we love you. The woman who came to a horde she didn’t know to heal a child.”
“One who’s slapped a dragon many times her size…” Bastian pointed out with a grin.
“That same dragon also acts like a lapdog, so he’s harmless,” Rowan pointed out. “All growl and no bite.”
Bastian laughed, a deep belly laugh. At that moment, it struck me how little I had heard the sound over the last few years.
My chest squeezed, warmth flowing through me.
We’d been so broken, so cut off from who we were.
With the danger over, at least the most pressing danger, life was growing through the cracks again.
It felt… incredible.
In a flash, Bastian’s stare darkened. He stepped in behind Rowan, his lips hovering over her ear as she said, “There’s plenty of marks on you that show just how well we all bite, mate. If you want a reminder, though, I’ll happily show you tonight.”
Rowan’s face flushed, and she struggled to meet his eyes.
“Once the guests leave,” I said, shoving Bastian lightly on the shoulder.
“Fine,” he huffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “It’s a date.”