Epilogue – 10 years later…
Trove
“Look at you,” Trove growled in approval, staring at his mate’s back which was revealed by the high necked but backless dress she wore.
The deep, almost black, green made her skin glow, while the simple, golden band jewelry at her wrists and around her arms made the gold in her bright red hair sparkle. She was an absolute vision.
Those hips just begged for him to take a bite.
As she promised him once, they did indeed widen after childbirth.
But what she hadn’t mentioned was that her ass would also grow, as did her breasts.
She was softer, rounder, more beautiful now than ever.
He was eager to breed her again, just to see if her perfection was compounded again.
He was wearing a suit that largely matched her knee length dress.
The suit had a cape, the underside which shined with sharp, golden lines.
The two of them were quite a pair. He hadn’t wanted Hyde to pick their clothing since he found so much joy in dressing his mate, but he could admit that he’d never be able to afford these clothes.
And he was glad to see his mate so fabulously adorned.
Chee, who was fluffing her curls, gave him a smile in the mirror.
She had found a hair care routine that allowed her waves to tighten into proper curls, and to do so without turning into a big, frizzy mass.
He loved that mass, it was so poofy and cute, but he also loved this clean, elegant look with her curls held back from her face in a puffball with a golden band.
So pretty.
“Look at you,” she returned happily, focusing back on herself. “I’m going to have to beat the other ladies off you with a stick.”
“Let me watch,” he purred. He loved witnessing his mate get possessive over him. He would never disrespect her by encouraging the attention of other females, but when it came his way naturally, he felt no shame in letting Chee deal with it.
But he thought she underestimated her own appeal. The males that tracked her with their eyes. He didn’t let her see the threats he sent their way. Not because he didn’t want her to see his own possessiveness, but because he didn’t want her to become self-conscious over her appearance again.
She was comfortable in her skin now. She wore her clothing confidently. He knew that the years he spent adoring her appearance helped, but he couldn’t discount the work she’d put into breaking past her own mental barriers.
And the result was her comfort in that tight dress, back fully bared, with her hips and ass on display. He loved it. He loved her.
“Are you sure we have to go?” He asked, walking her way. Imagining how pretty that skirt would look hiked up around her hips, that thick, round ass pointing his way as she bent over for his hardening-
“Yes,” she said firmly, turning and putting a hand to his chest, stopping him. “We are going. This is a huge moment for Alred. We’re going to enjoy it with him.”
He made a face. Not because he didn’t want to celebrate his brother, but he wanted to fuck his mate more. And he was sure Alred would understand that completely.
Before he could argue his case, however, from outside the open door, a loud, high-pitched laugh made them both turn.
Trove felt his face melt into a smile.
That sound…
It was like pure joy in audio form. It was unmatched by anything in existence. Except maybe his mate’s laughter – or the sound of her pleasure.
His daughter was laughing.
Chee smiled at him as she walked past, golden shoes clicking on the floor as she stepped out of their room.
Just outside, there was a railing that looked over the first floor of her parents’ home. The two-story house was simple, but warm and welcoming. After so many years, it was comfortably lived in, and its occupants had left their marks and personality on every wall and surface.
Down below, on the couch, Chee’s parents were cooing over their granddaughter.
Eliza and Blake Whittaker were a wonderful mated pair. And though humans were notoriously terrible at recognizing such things, after seeing how they loved each other, there was no doubt in Trove’s mind that they were a properly mated couple.
Their time on Earth had not been kind to them.
Blake had left his imprisonment with black tattoos from other prisoners permanently etched in his skin, thick lines around his eyes and mouth, his head bald from a life of stress and strife.
However, over the last ten years, he had softened considerably.
The hard edge to his face and gaze had turned into a sweeter, kinder expression more similar to the old photograph that Chee still kept on her bedside table.
He was more muscular now, but he had also put on a healthy layer of weight since he was able to eat well.
It was a transformation that Trove was very familiar with. He and his brothers had gone through the very same thing when they finally left Rik-Vane.
Eliza, after so long without her mate, had nearly fully grayed with only a few strands of black still left. She also had thick lines around her eyes, but there were some on her forehead as well. Permanent lines showing her sorrow.
But now, after so long, she had restored the color to her hair, and she had gone through skin treatments to tighten the skin back to a younger, healthier glow.
The love of her mate, the advantaged medical treatments away from Earth, had reversed practically all the damage years of stress and loneliness had etched on her.
When they first landed on Holotulle, they both looked weary, weathered, and tired. Blake stared at everyone with distrust, constantly on guard and on edge. Eliza moved like she expected to have to fight anyone at any moment, and her tongue was sharp as a knife.
Now, they smiled so softly, so lovingly, at their granddaughter. They leaned into each other. Though it had been years, they still rarely wanted to separate. Like they were trying to make up time for how long they were apart, they were constantly touching each other.
Trove was still amazed that they had welcomed him so readily.
So openly. The moment he met Eliza, that first hug she had given him, stood out in his memory like a brand on his psyche.
He had never been hugged before like that in his life.
And it had hurt. But he loved it. And he loved every similar hug she had given him afterwards.
But they did not feel the same way towards Hyde. Because, to them, Hyde was a threat that had taken advantage of Chee’s desire to save her father to steal her away and claim her as a mate.
Trove respected and liked them for that immediately.
The claiming fight Trove held with her father was extremely serious. And while he was certainly stronger than Blake, Chee’s father fought without a sense of honor and with a hard determination. Trove really admired how he had snuck a blade in under his shirt and absolutely intended to use it.
Chee did not share his feelings on that. But Trove just respected him more.
That was ten years ago now though. And their time on Holotulle had been very kind to them.
They smiled every day now. They never left each other’s side. They commed and sent messages to Chee daily when they were apart, and when Chee and Trove returned to Holotulle, he and Chee stayed with them in their home.
And now that their daughter was born, the last of the shadows were completely gone from their faces.
Blake was named after her grandfather. She looked nearly identical to Trove, though she did have her mother’s softer features.
But she had a long tail that wrapped instinctively around whoever held her.
Her skin changed color perfectly, flawlessly, in the way of domini hybrids.
She was also extremely happy. She giggled and bounced and rarely cried.
She brought such a light to her grandparent’s eyes.
Eliza and Blake…
No.
They insisted on Trove calling them mom and dad. It was strange for him. He’d never had a father, and his mother was… well…
But they understood he hadn’t blackmailed their daughter into being his mate. They knew that he was her soulmate, in the same way they were to each other. For that, for how much he loved Chee, they loved him. And that meant accepting their daughter’s mate as their own son in the way of humans.
This was his family. His mate, smiling, leaning into his side.
His parents, sitting on their couch, happy and healthy and together.
His daughter, squealing and kicking as her grandfather lifted her up and made a ‘brrr’-ing sound against her rounded belly.
This was his home.
This was his only purpose.
His reason for living.
“Okay, fine,” he said, putting his arm around Chee as they watched her parents together. “But the moment Vytln leaves, we’re leaving too.”
“Absolutely,” she nodded quickly, just as eager as himself to make it back here to spend the rest of the night with their entire family.
The Vainglory had made Holotulle its home port. They returned here frequently. They had their own homes in a different district that Hyde had given to them. They saw her parents often.
But Trove was starting to think about the future. When they no longer had to make these dangerous deliveries. Now that they had a lot of cred saved, now that their future was secure, they could settle anywhere.
And home seemed like the best place to do it.