Epilogue
Eight Months Later
Everyone was gathered in the break room, forming a circle around the little girl sitting on the floor. Leah was surrounded by gifts and wads of torn wrapping paper. It was her big day, her first birthday, and Shay couldn’t stop the tears from randomly stinging her eyes.
My little girl is growing up.
It seemed like only yesterday that Leah was still in Shay’s womb, the baby Shay had never planned for but had devoted her life to.
Of course, that feeling was probably strengthened by the fact that she usually felt like she had no idea what she was doing—babies really didn’t come with instruction manuals, and finding sources of information while there were still so few humans in Arthos had proven challenging.
But she had this crazy, wonderful family around her, and they’d all been amazing.
This birthday party was just another example on a long list—half the people here didn’t understand why humans celebrated birthdays, didn’t understand why anyone went through the trouble of wrapping presents only to tear off the paper and throw it away, but they were going along with it anyway. For Leah.
Leah had grown so much over the last few months.
Though she was taller and more mobile now that she’d started walking, she still had her adorable baby chub.
Today, she was wearing a puffy blue dress Drakkal had purchased for her, and her dark hair—which was now down to her chin—was pulled up into pig tails and tied with tiny matching bows.
Her eyes were a bright blue to match Shay’s, and every time Leah smiled, dimples appears in her cheeks.
The little girl already knew how to use those dimples to her advantage.
There wasn’t a male in this room who wouldn’t drop whatever he was doing to cater to Leah’s whims—including Thargen.
Leah clawed at one of the wrapped gifts, her delicate brows angled down in frustration.
Razi stepped forward and lowered himself to the floor in front of her, reaching out with his large hands to make a little tear in the wrapping paper so she could open it.
She smiled up at him, flashing those troublemaking dimples, and ripped through the paper, tossing it aside.
Once she’d been shown the joy of tearing off wrapping paper, she’d taken to it like a natural.
Opening gifts was clearly more interesting than the gifts themselves.
But Leah paused with this gift, her eyes serious and focused as she reached into the open wrapping. She withdrew a small stuffed animal—a cartoonish cat with suspiciously familiar gray-brown fur and markings.
Leah grinned, struggled to her feet, and waddled to Drakkal, holding the cat high.
Drakkal glared at Razi, who grinned just as big as Leah.
Laughter erupted from everyone—the sort of good-natured laughter that Shay enjoyed so much—with Thargen’s booming the loudest.
Drakkal’s frown was comically exaggerated, but when he bent down and scooped up little Leah, he was all smiles.
“Got your own little kitty, huh?” he asked.
Leah giggled and declared, “Ki-ki!” She held up the cat in one hand and patted Drakkal’s cheek with the other. “Ki-ki.”
Everyone went silent. Shay’s mouth gaped as she stared at her daughter in shock, excitement, and envy.
“Her first word is kitty?” Arcanthus asked, his softly-spoke question shattering the silence.
“Ki-ki,” Leah agreed, leaning forward to press her face against Drakkal’s furry cheek and giving him a loud kiss.
Drakkal’s smile widened, and he tilted his head down to gently nuzzle Leah’s hair. “Yes, little one. Ki-ki.” He lifted his gaze to the others in the room. “Now you all need to pay up. I won the bet.”
“What?” Shay asked, brows lowered. “No, you didn’t!”
Sekk’thi scowled and dug out a credit chip, tossing it toward Drakkal, who caught it while still maintaining his hold on Leah. “I call foul.”
“I thought it was supposed to be whether she said mama or dada first,” Samantha said.
“No, it was if her first word would be me or Shay,” Drakkal said. “She said kitty. That’s me.”
Shay poked his ribs but couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “You’re such a cheat.”
“I’m not a cheat, kiraia. It’s not my fault everyone insists on calling me that. She’s probably heard that word more than any other.”
Leah wiggled in his arms, and Drakkal bent to set her carefully on her feet. She hugged her stuffed cat and walked back to her presents, plopping down onto Razi’s lap. The big gray cren smiled tenderly down at Leah and picked up another gift for her to unwrap.
Shay smiled. Leah wasn’t lacking in big, strong, scary-ass uncles who were such softies on the inside. She had them all wrapped around her little finger—Drakkal most of all.
Samantha cleared her throat. “You guys will have another chance at that bet before too long.”
Shay’s eyes widened as she looked at her friend. “Really?”
“Why would that be?” Arcanthus asked, arching a brow. “She doesn’t get a second first word.”
Drakkal shook his head and snorted. “Really, Arc?”
Arcanthus’s brows fell, and he turned his face to Samantha. After a second, realization rounded his eyes. “Samantha?”
She smiled up at him, glancing briefly at Urgand, who was seated next to Sekk’thi on the sofa. “Urgand said I’m around eight weeks. He’s not sure what the gestation period is for a human and sedhi hybrid, but he said the heartbeat is strong.”
The corners of Arc’s mouth curled upward to reveal the tips of his fangs, and his eyes softened as he gazed down at his mate.
His cybernetic hands settled on her hips and slowly moved up to cradle her middle, his thumbs lovingly stroking her belly.
“Ah, my flower, I cannot wait to see you blossom further.”
Samantha reached up and cupped his jaw, and the sedhi lowered his head, bringing his lips to hers as he pulled her close.
“Well that’s not going to be a fair bet at all,” said Koroq.
“Why’s that?” Kiloq asked, nudging his gift toward Leah, who eagerly dragged it closer.
“Sam’s been cleaning us out playing Conquerors for two years,” Koroq said, “and you know for a chunk of that she didn’t really know what she was doing. That terran has luck on her side.”
Leah gleefully tore apart the wrapping paper to reveal a brightly colored tablet. Her attention remained on the wrapping instead of the toy; she crumpled the paper and tore it more, giggling to herself.
“You’re just a sore loser,” Kiloq said.
Koroq glared at his brother. “And you’re just ugly.”
“I look just like you.”
“Exactly.”
Thargen shoved a forkful of cake into his mouth. “That’s the last gift. Now can we admit that my present was the best and finally break out the booze?”
Shay laughed and shook her head. “Okay, firstly, you gave her a knife.”
“Yeah. Pretty clear I win.”
“No, no you don’t. That thing’s half as long as her!”
“She’ll grow into it, right?” Thargen tapped his temple, just in front of his scar. “Thinking long term, terran.”
“She’s not touching that thing for years, vorgal,” Drakkal growled.
“Secondly,” Shay continued, “this is a baby’s birthday party. We’re not breaking out the booze.”
Thargen’s jaw fell, and he threw up his hands. “What is this, a damned nursery now? First the azhera—who has knives for fingers—says no knife for the kid, now you say nothing to drink?”
“We all know how you get with booze,” Sekk’thi said.
Thargen jabbed a finger at her. “I get fun.”
“The sort of fun you mean isn’t appropriate with a youngling underfoot,” Arcanthus drawled, curling his tail around Samantha’s leg. “If you’d like, I’m sure Samantha would be up for some Conquerors and gurosh later.”
“Um…no,” Samantha said, patting Arc’s chest affectionately. “I’m pregnant. No drinking for me.”
Thargen turned back to his cake, picked up the remnants with his hand—it was at least half of a big slice—and shoved it into his mouth, smearing frosting on his lips.
He chewed noisily as he stood up, licking pink frosting from his fingers, and said, “Been a while since—mmm—I went out. Damn, this is good… I’m gonna—mmm—go get a drink. ”
“Take it easy out there,” Urgand said, frowning.
Thargen waved a hand dismissively before crouching in front of Leah. He patted her head—thankfully not with the hand he’d just been licking—and smiled. “Keep everyone out of trouble, kid. They’re bigger babies than you are.”
Leah beamed up at him with a giggle.
Thargen’s eyes softened, and his grin widened. “Yeah, you know it. I’ll, uh…find you a more suitable present, I guess. See ya later.”
“That does not mean a blaster, Thargen,” Sekk’thi called after him as he exited the room.
His deep, booming laughter sounded from the hallway just before the door closed.
Drakkal’s arms slid around Shay from behind, and he pulled her against him, lowering his chin to rest atop her head. She settled her arms over his and smiled. She never tired of this, any of it—the closeness, the companionship, the love. It was all here, in this room…
But it was the closeness, companionship, and love from Drakkal she enjoyed most of all.
Kiloq gathered all the ripped wrapping paper into a pile. Leah stood up from Razi’s lap—with a bit of help from him—and dove into the paper with a high-pitched laugh.
Shay glanced at Samantha and Arc, who were now cuddled on one of the sofas, speaking softly to one another with their love plain on their faces. There was awe in Arc’s eyes as he again covered Sam’s belly with his hand.
Over the last several months, Arcanthus and Drakkal had been working to steer their business away from illegal activities.
Shay wondered if that process would speed up now that Sam was expecting.
They’d already become even more selective in accepting clients than before, and they’d even helped a few of the former prisoners from Murgen’s zoo with ID chips free of charge.
Most of the animals and intelligent beings there had been left to the Eternal Guard’s care; the Consortium had programs to help victims of kidnapping and enslavement that extended even to species not yet integrated on Arthos, but a few of those prisoners had wanted to leave with Drakkal, Shay, and the others.
Arcanthus and Drakkal had worked to get those individuals established, to help them acclimate to life on an alien world—a world of technology far surpassing anything some of them had ever seen on their homeworlds.
Fortunately, no one had started a crusade to find Murgen’s killers and bring them to justice after it had all gone public—none of the other wealthy elite wanted to risk calling attention to themselves by speaking out, lest their own dirty secrets come to light.
Not that they would’ve found much anyway.
Arcanthus had brought in cleaners within an hour of Murgen’s death; they’d removed all the physical evidence while Arcanthus wiped the computer records and surveillance recordings, effectively making it like none of them had ever been there, including Shay and Drakkal.
Just like it was difficult to believe Leah had been born a year ago, it didn’t seem like months had passed since the incident at Murgen’s.
Those experiences had helped Shay finally understand what her father had meant when he’d said those life and death situations never really faded from your mind.
They stuck with you forever; you just had to learn how to live with them.
But here, now, surrounded by her friends—her family—she could look back and be grateful for all of it. Those hardships had led to this.
As if sensing her thoughts, Drakkal slid his hand down to Shay’s belly, covering it possessively, and pulled her against his body just a little more firmly. Heat stirred in her core.
He moved his face to the side of her head and brushed his lips over the shell of her ear. “I’ve got you, kiraia. Always.”
Shay smiled and raised a hand, sliding her fingers into his mane as she turned her face toward him.
Her lips grazed his. “I know you do.” She turned fully in his embrace and looped her arms around his neck.
Their eyes locked. Those familiar fires burned in his gaze; their effect on her had only seemed to strengthen as time passed.
Her heart fluttered and her breath quickened.
“Kraasz ka’val, Shay, I love you,” he said in a low rumble that vibrated into her before he cupped her backside and slanted his mouth over hers in a hungry, scalding, breathtaking kiss.