Epilogue

Epilogue

MAXIMILLIAN

Sleeping on my stomach every night has made things pretty awful, except that I feel like I’m blissed out of my mind lying next to my wife. When I can’t sleep, sometimes I just watch her. Maybe even sniff that exotic amber scent she coats on our sheets. It’s my favorite smell to wake up to in the mornings when I drag her across the bed to snuggle with me.

So when I reach for her this morning and meet a cold bed, my heart throbs hard in my chest with panic as my eyes rip open and glance around. Where the fuck is she? Sitting up with a groan of pain from my back stitches, I snag the phone on my bedside table to call her, but relax with a heavy sigh when I see her text.

Foxy

Don’t forget: I’ve got my healer appt this am with mags

That’s right. Some woman checkup thing. Rolling to my side to get off the bandages stuck all over my back, I smile to myself, happy she feels comfortable using the Freidenberg healers now that she is one of us.

The only thing we need to deal with is Ace. Hopefully, he comes through with his half of the bargain, and Cal, too. Sliding out of bed, I toss on the same pair of sweatpants I’ve worn the last few days since Livia saved me from Strauss. It’s nice not having to wear shirts around the house under the guise of still healing.

After my morning routine in the bathroom, I make my way downstairs, looking forward to some of Mrs. Kroft’s bacon and eggs. She’d made me a tray in my room for the last few mornings until yesterday when she said she’d had enough of my “laziness” and to “get out of bed if you want some breakfast,” clearly done with me being master of the house. Now that Livia oversees household staff, I’d been put out to pasture in our cook’s eyes. She only asked “Mrs. Freidenberg” what to cook, going over the weekly menus and barely heeding me notice, other than to yell once when I grabbed an orange from the bowl in the kitchen, saying she was “getting ready to use that!”

Still, I don’t mind her antics if there is bacon. And today, despite me coming down late, it sits there on the sideboard in all its gloriousness. Slightly cold, but crisp. Arianna must have already eaten, as I dine alone. Markus rounds the corner with his harried face, trying to tuck the bottom of his forever loose flannel inside his strained waistband. Clearing his throat, he nods briefly in his greeting.

“Morning. Egon got the Barracuda back safely, tucked in the garage. We have some men over to fix the damage.”

A bright smile hits my face. This day couldn’t get any better. “Excellent. Of course, everything could have been avoided if he and Gemini did their jobs.”

“Aries stated that the two were held up by Halcyon and Lark, although…” Markus stands still, then moves as quickly as I’ve seen him toward the chair next to mine. Swallowing, he leans on a large arm, lowering his voice. “Aries said that Egon was held up by, um, a woman in a hooded cloak with an owl mask.”

Scrunching my brows, I repeat back to him, “An owl mask?” Markus nods, reconfirming it like he didn’t just say something bizarre. “Who was it?”

“So, uh, apparently, he and Gemini stumbled upon some meeting they weren’t supposed to with the cloaked figure and a man in a tuxedo. A man the woman called ‘John.’” Sitting back, he widens his palms, showing that’s all the information he has.

“John? John who?”

“We don’t know.”

Something just doesn’t sit right with me, despite the belly full of bacon. Moving my jaw around, I ponder what must have been so important to Egon and Gemini to leave their master alone in Strauss’s dungeon. “What does Aries say about it? About them leaving me?”

“Aries says the two were slowed by the meeting and trying to gather some intel, but were then snared by Halcyon, who called in Lark as backup. You know how Strauss’s spies are.” Taking off his glasses, he pulls out the soft cloth to wipe them like what he said was explanation enough.

“No, I don’t. I don’t know anything about them, except their names, from what Aries told me.” Shoving my plate away, I frown. I’ve lost my appetite for the rest.

“Well, they’re both formidable foes. Like their master, sadistic to the core. Your men are lucky to have gotten away.” Sliding his glasses back on, his gray eyes peer at me accusingly. “Not like Jakob.”

And the happiness of the morning has now vanished. “No. Not like Jakob.” Turning my head, I stare out at the vast ground covering the back forty acres. I was so cocky, arrogant when I started. Now, I’d lost good men. Maybe that’s why I always needed my fox to help me. Her brains and my brawn could do this city a lot of good together. Hopefully, that includes overthrowing the consort and never allow Derichs’s death or Jakob’s to be in vain. We could instill some real changes…

We’re gearing up for war, and I feel it in my bones. If only we could collaborate with Ace now that he’s agreed to take Arianna’s hand. It seems our parents were right, that our combinations could create peace. It’s just going to take a lot of violence to get there.

“Max! Max! Lion!” My breathing stops at the sound of Livia’s panicked voice before the front door slams, causing the mirrors on the walls to shudder. Jumping from my chair, it tips over in my hurry to grab my wife.

“What is it, baby? What’s wrong?” Reaching her, I grasp her waist and tug her into me, scanning her body for any hurt, bruise, broken anything… She’s safe, though, and a large smile paints her face.

“Lion… My lion.” Snaking her fingers through the back of my scalp, she pulls me closer and presses her full lips against mine in a warm morning greeting. “I need to tell you something.”

“What? You’re killing me, what is it?” Sliding a hand down my arm, she grasps my fingers, tugging me toward the stairs. “Livia, seriously, what.”

“Come on.”

“If it’s dick you need, I’m down for it, but just tell me.” Biting her lip, she smiles coyly and continues to pull me toward our new bedroom. When we get in, I press her against the back of the door to close it and lift her up so we’re face to face. “Foxy. Please…”

“Maggie gave me a checkup today.” Her face beams with something I’ve only seen when we exchanged vows at the courthouse.

Heart thudding against my ribs, I try to will my pulse rate down. “Yeah?”

“She thinks I could be pregnant.” Stunned, my chest stops rising. “Max?”

“Wha-what?” I hear my voice come out shaky, but it seems so far away.

“She says it’s too early, but I had her test my hormones about a month ago. She says there’s nothing wrong with them, that perhaps there never was. Are you okay? Are you… fainting, Max?”

My vision starts to go blurry, but I maintain a grip on her. “Repeat. What just happened? I don’t understand. You rejected me because you said you couldn’t have children. And I said I didn’t give a fuck if you could or not. I’m confused.”

Carrying her over to the bed, I place her on it and squat in front of her as she places her hands on my shoulders, her legs surrounding my torso. “Maggie. She looked at the old charts I had from that specialist I went to five years ago, the one who told me I couldn’t have children. He never even commented on infertility in his note. She even showed it to me. When she looked up his credentials, that doctor didn’t exist, but Maggie knew a healer who worked with Strauss by the same name. Says she even trained under him.”

“I thought healers didn’t play our games, Livia.” Rubbing her thighs, my mind races with a thousand questions. “Did he have his healer tell you a lie to-to, what? Keep you from me?”

Despite the gravity of what happened, she still can’t shirk a small smile. “Maggie says she believes so. She went over everything with me, saying there was nothing in there that would mean I couldn’t have children. That my hormone levels from the lab results back then were completely normal and my irregular cycles were from iron deficiency anemia.”

Brushing the tail of her hair over her shoulder, I gaze into her smiling eyes. “And she thinks you’re pregnant now?! We’ve only been together… maybe a couple months?”

Lifting a shoulder, she looks a bit worried, her eyebrows stitching together. “I was never on birth control. Didn’t think I needed to be. And I’ve never had unprotected sex until you took me.”

Fuck yeah, I did. Maybe my sperm can break barriers, heal her womb, and cure cancer. Lifting my palm to her face, she rests against it as I finally allow myself to believe. Could she be carrying my child? Our child? Our heir? “Foxy… how do you feel? What are your thoughts?”

“I-I guess I had given up on the possibility, so I’m shocked. Obviously, I want to kill Strauss, and we will. I know that. But I don’t feel that rage right now as much as really excited.” Looking at her lap, she pauses. “Mainly, though, I’m scared, Max. What if I get my hopes up and it’s not true? I can’t take another time of feeling broken all over again. I just can’t.”

Grasping her in a tight embrace, I place my lips over her ear. “You’re not broken. Not at all. I don’t want to hear you talk about my wife like that. You’re Mrs. Freidenberg, and you’re mine. You’re part bear now and bears aren’t weak. You are not weak, Livia, never have been. You can face this. And this time, instead of taking that news alone, you have me with you to lean on. If you can’t have faith, I’ll hope for the both of us. If you can’t handle the disappointment, I’ll take your pain. Whatever the answer is, I’m here with you.”

When I pull back to look at my beautiful wife, tears flood her golden eyes and pour onto her flushed cheeks as she smiles. Grabbing her lips with my mouth, I meld into her body, letting her know we’re one now, that I’ll be strong when she can’t handle something, just as I know she has done for me. She pulls back to take a shaky breath and wipe her eyes.

Leaning her forehead against mine, she says, “My-my pregnancy test was positive. She ordered a blood test, and we’re waiting for the results now.”

“When will we know?”

“Could be today, maybe in a day or two. Ugh, I seriously can’t wait.” Scooping her in my arms, I lay her gently on the bed and settle next to her on my side. Some of my bandages tear, but I barely notice, the irritation replaced with anticipation of something new.

“Meh, it’ll give us time to murder Egon, Gemini, and Strauss. And whoever that healer is. Basically, baby, that kill list is growing. You and I will destroy every one of them.” Lacing our fingers together, we continue to study each other’s eyes, our dazed smiles mirrored. “Baby…”

“Yeah?”

“I mean…” Nodding to her stomach, she smiles broadly. “Baby. You could have my baby.”

“I could—” Before she can finish her sentence, her phone rings from her pocket, and we both freeze. That call could bring her joy and some peace, but it may also cause her to crumble. Either way, I’m there and will hold her. My head bobs toward it, encouraging her to answer. She inhales deeply, then slides it out of her pocket and lies on her back. “Hey, Maggie. What’s up?” she says, attempting to sound casual, but her voice shakes.

Licking my lips, I strain my ears to hear, but can’t make out anything.

“Oh? Wow. And, you’re sure. You-you don’t need more tests? Should we test, um, my hormones again or anything?” Daring a glance at me, she quickly flicks her eyes back to the ceiling. If I thought my heart couldn’t beat any faster, I was wrong. Wiping a sweaty palm down my pants, I lean up on an elbow to study her face closer to get any read off it. “Okay…” Her voice completely breaks. “Thank you.” Ending the call, she puts her arm down and squeezes her eyes closed, those drops of joy or pain escaping freely down the sides of her temples. Scrunching every muscle in her face, she sobs.

“What? What did she say?” Brushing the wetness away with my fingers, I hover almost on top of her. “Livia, foxy…”

“I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant, lion. We’re having a baby.”

The words don’t even seem to make sense to me before a wave of ecstasy hits my soul, radiating pure light and warmth through me. Is it possible to die from happiness? “We are? Are you okay? Are you—What do you feel?”

“I’m so happy, I can’t stand it, Max. I’m terrified and overwhelmed, and filled with joy. It’s weird! How are you?”

My face brightens when I see all those emotions reflected in her eyes, the same ones now inside of me. “Me, too. Me, too.” Laughing, I play with her hair as she starts giggling with me.

“I love you, lion.”

Placing a small kiss on her cheek, I lean into her more. “I love you, foxy.”

And despite the bliss we’re distracted by at the moment, somewhere inside, I know the road ahead will be fraught with tense battles. If I was ready to burn down the Crimson Angel for my parents, nothing will stop me from scorching the lands for my wife… and child.

To be continued…