Epilogue

"Mommy, Mommy, wake up!"

The words are whispered directly into my ear, and tiny hands rock me awake. When I open my eyes, I find the room to be completely dark, even though there is a window on the east-facing wall, and our dwelling is on the outskirts of the Central Ruins, where there are no towers to block our view of the sunrise.

"What time is it?" I murmur sleepily.

"It's time to wake up, Mommy," Aila whispers. "We're 'sposed to go hunting with the grandfathers, 'member?"

Oh, yes. Now I remember.

I sit up and blink the sleep out of my eyes. Two of my mates are sleeping next to me, their massive bodies lifting and lowering the bed-furs with every cycle of their lungs. They are protective by nature, and they would both snap awake at the presence of an intruder, but even in their sleep, they know the omega who has just woken me is no threat.

She is my daughter.

My third mate is missing, but I can easily guess where he is. A quick sniff reveals a trace of woodsmoke and boiling porridge. He's up on the roof preparing breakfast for us.

Thorus always wakes up before anybody else.

Even Aila.

Stifling a groan, I climb out of bed and find my loincloth and top. Then, once I'm dressed, I scoop my daughter in my arms and carry her into the hall.

"Come on," I say, my voice low. "Let's see what time it is, shall we?"

"It's time to go hunting," Aila whispers happily.

She has a bit of a one-track mind.

As we make our way down the hallway, we pass the room Aila shares with her brothers, Dhan, Petr, and Aed. All three of them are still snoozing. I know they are excited about today's adventure—but not quite as excited as their sister.

They are all from the same litter, and to say they are a handful is something of an understatement. Luckily, I have my three alpha mates to help raise them.

"Should we wake them up now?" Aila asks.

"No, not just yet," I tell her.

The hallway leads us to the main room of the dwelling. There is a staircase leading up to the roof, where Thorus is currently preparing breakfast. On the other side of the room, a door opens onto a balcony, offering a view of the eastern horizon. I carry Aila out there and study the sky, which is clear and cloudless. Based on the position of the stars, I would say it's about an hour til dawn.

I also know there isn't any point in trying to make Aila go back to bed now. She's a stubborn little thing. My fathers are fond of telling me she reminds them of someone.

I was a little bit worried when she first started taking such an interest in hunting and other skills that are more typically associated with alphas.

What if she turns out like me?I thought.

Well, Thorus set me straight about that pretty quick.

"What if she does?" he asked. "Do you think there is anything wrong with that, little one? Your life has turned out pretty well, I'd say. You have three alphas who love you, and four healthy children."

"I know, but it hasn't been easy getting here," I said.

"And who ever said life was supposed to be easy, Syra? I've never desired an easy life, and I know you never did either. Perhaps you desire an easy life for your daughter, but maybe that's not what she wants for herself. The truth is, she's not like you or anyone else. She's like herself, and all we can do is give her plenty of love so she can become the best version of herself she can be. The Source will take care of the rest."

As usual, Thorus was right.

I sit down on a bench at the side of the balcony with Aila on my lap, and we talk about the day to come. We'll be meeting up with my fathers, and together we're all going to go out to the grasslands to hunt rabbits. It's not the kind of hunting that requires waking up before dawn—unless of course you're an overexcited omega.

After a while, as the sky in the east is starting to lighten, Thorus comes down to us, bearing steaming bowls of porridge laced with honey and fresh berries. He kisses his daughter on the top of her head, and he kisses me on the lips.

We keep it tame, for Aila's sake.

My mating life is still very active, though. As the years went by, I thought my alphas' arousal might diminish somewhat, but that has not been the case. Of course, now that we have four children living in our dwelling, we try to be a little more discreet about it.

Luckily, the kids love hanging out with their three grandfathers, and they usually spend the night over there once every ten days or so. On those nights, my mates and I can make as much noise as we like. I always wake up the next morning with a satisfying soreness on my backside.

Thorus certainly hasn't lost his touch when it comes to spanking.

Or anything else, for that matter.

Thorus goes back up to the roof to tend the fire, but soon Aila and I are joined by my other two mates, Brik and Markus. Both of them are bigger than when we first got together. They are nearly as big as Thorus now.

Brik still has numerous scars on his left arm, and a single one on his right shoulder. His final scar. He does not hunt Farlanders anymore.

After I became pregnant with our children, Thorus put in a request for a change of duty. Following the events in the prison, the High Council was more than happy to grant him anything he wanted. Now our pack is a hunting pack. We provide meat for the Central Ruins Tribe. It is a much safer occupation than tracking Farlanders, but no less rewarding.

As for Markus, he has his piercings now—ears, nose, lip, and nipples. He also has one more piercing hiding beneath his loincloth. I gave him that one myself in the Temple of the Source. He took it like a man.

And I took mine like a woman.

I wear my piercings with pride every day. They are a sign of the incredible alpha mates who possess me and protect me. My favorite piercing, however, is the one I wear through my belly button. My mother's old piercing, worn as a symbol of fertility. I think it really must work, considering how strong and healthy my first litter has turned out to be.

My mates and I have been talking about making another litter soon. There is more than enough room in our dwelling place, and more than enough seed in my mates' magnificent bodies.

"Good morning, little one," Markus says, giving Aila a hug. "Where are your brothers?"

"They're still asleep," Aila answers, sounding slightly annoyed.

He looks at the eastern sky. The gold is creeping higher, and the stars are beginning to fade. The sun will be peeking over the horizon any moment now.

"You'd better go wake those sleepyheads up," he says.

Aila looks at me for confirmation, and I give her a nod. With a grin, she hops down and runs back into the dwelling, shouting at the top of her lungs that it's time to get up. Soon, I can hear other little voices, and the wonderful sound of children laughing in my home.

I think it must be the most beautiful sound in the world. It is the sound of the next generation of alphas and omegas.

May there be many more to come.

***