Epilogue
Jakfros
The human realm
“I am so glad you two could make it for Christmas again this year,” Daphne comments as she sets a tray of drinks on the low table in front of us. “You’re so busy throughout so much of the year that I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to get away. We don’t see you two much.”
“We would not have missed it,” I kindly assure her. “It is merely a matter of waiting for an important delivery.”
I smile, my thoughts briefly turning toward the postal delivery man who “sought sanctuary” with me and my mate during a terrible snowstorm.
We were, of course, happy to play the part of enthusiastic hosts.
This method of working with my mate to welcome human travelers in the guise of a married human couple has proven to be most effective.
Rather than being fearful at the start, our prey appears to be quite relieved to come across the cabin.
We have only had one incident where a human tried to take advantage of my mate’s presence, and he was dealt with in the most expedient of ways that would guarantee no female would ever be troubled by him.
But typically, the arrival of our “guest” for Yule has been quite pleasant.
The delivery man who found our way to the cabin was most delightful as he happily ate and drank with us, and in exchange he provided the most important gift with the arrival of Yule.
Still warmed by the memory alone, I give my mate’s mother a fond smile. “We would not dare to miss Christmas with you, dear Daphne.”
“Oh! Well, goodness,” she laughs, her face turning pink. “I always forget how charming you are. Imagine a woman my age blushing like a teenager.”
I grin in response and try not to laugh at the covert gagging gesture my mate is exchanging with her siblings behind their mother’s back.
“Speaking of important holiday traditions, when are you two going to give me a grandchild to spoil?” she asks cheerfully as she heads back to the kitchen. “My sons have been useless in that department so far, so now I will have to rely on the two of you.”
I suck down my drink wrong and sputter helplessly as I choke on the hot liquid in shock. “Offspring,” I croak as I finally manage to clear my airways.
Daphne hums in agreement as she returns with a platter of sweet baked goods. “No offense, Jak, but I do hope the baby takes after my Shawna. Not that your albinism is not intriguing, but I just think that with how cruel children are that it might be better. Don’t you agree?”
I work hard not to laugh about my “albinism.” I am fortunate that there is a natural human pigmentation that makes it easier to blend in with my imperfect glamour. My mate, however, just rolls her eyes at my side.
“Yeah, because red hair worked so well for me,” Shawna mutters into her drink. She takes a deep swallow and gives her mother a wan smile. “Mom, we aren’t even thinking about kids right now. Jak and I are just enjoying our time together as a couple.”
I nod quietly in agreement. I am most certainly not in any hurry to share my mate with another. Especially not with a young demon who will spend every waking moment terrorizing us. It is not that I do not wish for it... just not now. Maybe in another century we can revisit the subject.
Daphne sighs. “You do know how to break an old woman’s heart.”
My brows rise politely as I try to smother my mirth.
She is quite excellent at this. But not enough to sway me.
I exchange a look with my mate, and she rolls her eyes expressively once more with distinct exasperation.
At least Shawna is of the same mind as me on this matter.
Since my mate wisely remains silent, I do not offer a reply either.
I merely smile as I take the offered cookie from the plate as the female scrutinizes me, and then Shawna.
“Such a shame,” she says, and gives another exaggerated sigh before turning to her sons sitting on the opposite sofa. “Well, you heard them. The buck has been passed back to you. I would love to welcome some grandchildren before I am too old and senile to enjoy them.”
Both males groan in unison, and one of them gives the female beside him an apologetic look while my mate snickers around the cookie she is nibbling on.
I watch everything with amusement, but I am pleased when the day is finally over and I gather my mate to me as we curl up together in her childhood bed that is far too small for both of us.
“Did you have a good Christmas, my love?” I whisper into her hair.
“Mmmm. Just long,” she murmurs in agreement and snuggles into my arms, her warm breath teasing my cool skin in the most delightful way.
I hug her to me, the warmth within me brightening anew as I hold her.
Though transporting her car from where it had ended up in the frost demon realm to her mother’s house that first Christmas was its own adventure.
It was certainly a memorable way of finishing the Yule holiday.
And it is this memory that I carry within my heart year after year.
.. and I thank every dark one collectively ruling the demonic realms that it was Shawna who found her way into my woods.
I drop a kiss to her jaw and smile at the sound of her heavy, even breathing. “You are already asleep, my mate?”
“Mmmm,” she mumbles, and I chuckle, love for my female flowing through me.
Of course, she is. Returning to the human world always tires her.
As much as she enjoys seeing her family on these infrequent trips, my mate prefers the peace and sanctity of our woods.
Not that she is isolated there. Our lives are often made a bit livelier by meeting those frost demons whose territories border mine, as well as frequent trips into the cities and towns within other realms. But I am glad to give her all of that and this.
I can never give her enough to demonstrate how thankful I am that it was me who she came to, and that it is me whom she gave her heart to.
In truth, my mate’s heart is that which I most treasure, and the love that flows between us brightens my world beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
For the rest of my long lifespan, I will never understand how I was so fortunate.
Was it fate? Or was it something within my mate that reached out for me, even as something within me must have called to her?
Either way, I am no fool and know that things could have ended differently if she had not chosen to follow my lure instead of that of another.
In the end she took a chance, and my empty, hungry life was made complete as we filled the void within each other.
And because of this, I have the one thing that most male frost demons never find.
All because of her, the one female who holds my heart for eternity.
“Thank you for finding your way to me,” I murmur, my eyes drifting shut as I close one glamoured wing around us. “Thank you for being my dearest and most eternal Yule Feast.”