Epilogue

Ember

Two Weeks Later

“ A ll right, come at me,” I tell Kent, squatting down.

When he asked me for sparring lessons, I didn’t have it in my heart to say no. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are from having my ass handed to me by my dads and little brothers.

He’s technically my nephew now, but I wouldn’t have said no to any of the young ones in the pack. Being a good alpha means making time for all pack members.

Kent barrels at me.

I stretch out my left leg, sliding my body to the right as I fall into a modified crouch. He’s learned from the past few fake outs, though, and his palms hit my shoulders as he lands on top of me.

“Good job, kid,” Anders calls from his spot on the exterior of the practice ring.

“I did it!” Kent cheers, hopping up.

Ever the gentleman, he offers me a hand.

I use my feet and shoulders to shove myself up, but I still take his hand, so he’ll feel like he did all the work.

“Thank you, sir,” I say, bowing my head. “That’s good sportsmanship.”

His face breaks out into a toothy grin. “Better watch out, Alpha. One day, I’m gonna run this pack.”

I chuckle, shaking my head.

“Can we do a few more?” Kent asks.

“Ember, Dash is on the phone and it sounds important,” Veryn says.

I frown. “Sorry, I’ve got to grab that. It’s my brother.”

“I’ll take over.” Anders climbs over the wooden fence, landing in a crouch in the ring. “I heard you threatening my mate.”

Kent laughs. “Yeah, whatcha gonna do about it?”

“You better run, you little shit,” Anders growls, but it’s a very playful sound.

Kent squeaks, taking off in the opposite direction.

I climb through the boards, walking over to Veryn. He pulls me to him with a hand on my ass and smirks, but I snatch the phone and bring it to my ear.

“What’s up, Dash?” I ask, praying this isn’t another round of questioning about what Rogue has been up to. I’m pretty sure our parents aren’t above pressuring my little brothers for information, but I’ve kept my mouth shut, like any solid friend.

Truthfully, I barely know anything, outside of that she’s with Cohen and Calyx. Oh, and Owen is losing his shit because, somewhere along the way, that cranky bear decided she’s his mate.

“Have you talked to Greer lately?” Dash asks as something crashes in the background. “Jesus Christ, be careful!”

“No.” My stomach drops. “I haven’t seen her in weeks. I want to say it was a Friday or Saturday night. I came to see you guys, but none of you were in. We chatted a little about her new boyfriend and that was it.” I frown, shaking my head. She told me to call her, but I got busy and forgot. “Why?”

“Something is up,” Dash growls. “She’s been here, what? Three or four years? She called in…didn’t even ask to speak to one of us. Just talked to the bartender on duty and told them she wouldn’t be back.”

“What the hell?” I whisper as my eyes meet Veryn’s. He looks every bit as taken aback as I feel.

“I have no idea, but Chaos and I stopped by her apartment…” Dash sighs. “It’s fucking empty. She broke her lease and left town. Apparently, she told her landlord she was healing from a bad breakup and needed a change of pace.”

“Damn, I had no idea.” My stomach rolls.

Greer and I have been close for years, but I’ve been so caught up in my own stuff that I completely forgot to check in on her.

“I don’t know why, but something feels off. Maybe give her a call, yeah?” Dash suggests.

“I will.”

“All right, let me know what you find out. By the way, now that you’re no longer contagious…” Dash chuckles. “Buckle up. Your brothers are coming to visit Monday when we’re off.”

“Heats aren’t contagious, dickhead.” Veryn snorts. “And it was over an entire week ago.”

“Yeah, but we had to wait for the stench to wear off. I’m hanging up now,” Dash says. “Love you, Ember.”

I quickly blurt out that I love him too.

Veryn’s hand slides up and down my back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I’m definitely calling to check on Greer.” I find her number and call, pulling the phone back to my ear.

The fact she sends me to voicemail three times in a row makes my skin itch.

“Maybe she really did just need a change,” Veryn says, prying my phone out of my hand before I can try for a fourth time. “Okay, you’re bordering on creepy ex-boyfriend level.”

I sigh, nodding. “Yeah, she could have found a new job, and I’m bothering her while she’s trying to work or something.”

“The burgers have two minutes, and the hot dogs are done,” Bryant calls out from his spot manning the grill.

My stomach growls so loudly that Veryn snorts.

“Come on, baby. Let’s get you some fuel in case anyone else wants to get their ass kicked in the ring.” His black hair falls over his forehead as he grins, and my insides get all melty.

“Find a nice spot under one of the trees, and I’ll bring you a plate,” Lorcan says, appearing at my side. “I got the two new shifters settled into one of the empty houses.” He grins. “Your goal of building a safe place for all shifters, no matter the species, is spreading a little too swiftly. We may need to put together a team to start construction on new housing.”

I wiggle my eyebrows. “Or I could just sweet-talk you into using your magic.”

Lorcan steals me from Veryn. “Mmm, you’d owe me many kisses as payment.”

I laugh, stretching up to kiss him. “I can handle that.”

Two and a Half Months After That

My heart pounds as I stare down at the sweet newborn pup. Sofia is a badass. She popped out not one but two full-term babies. According to Nadia, they baked an extra week or so, but they came in their own time, and they’re perfect.

Not that I have any desire for kids of my own just yet, but Lana’s set of tiny wolf ears on top of her head of golden brown hair is almost too cute to handle. She’s mostly in human form, but her wolf must be pushy like mine, because she’s got a tail flicking out the top of her diaper too.

Anders grins down at Kalla, rocking her gently against his massive chest.

Dammit.

He looks really hot with a baby in his arms.

Coming to visit was a terrible idea.

To distract myself from irrational thoughts of popping out an entire litter of pups, I brush my fingers over Lana’s fuzzy ear.

She grunts, and her little nose wrinkles like she might cry.

“Uh-oh,” I whisper, glancing around for help. “I pissed her off somehow.”

“Don’t look at me.” Lorcan chuckles, taking a seat in the club chair nearby. “The only tiny beings I’ll hold will be my own. They’re much too breakable at this stage.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Kent says, leaning his elbows on the edge of the couch. “Lana is always fussy.”

Sofia’s head rolls around the back of the recliner, and she gives a soft smile. “I can take her.”

“Nah.” Veryn scoops the baby out of my arms. “Get a few more minutes of sleep. We’ve got this.” He coos down at the baby, and my stomach gets all melty.

There’s just something about a hot guy with a baby that’s dangerous to a woman’s ovaries. And on that note, it’s probably time to hunt down Nadia for another birth control refresher.

They’re cute as can be, but seeing Sofia sleep through our visit to catch up on a little rest makes it perfectly clear… I’m nowhere close to being ready for kids anytime soon.

Bryant and Toby have been invaluable with their knowledge of the pack. They haven’t worked much since a few weeks before Sofia’s due date, but today, they needed to help pour the foundation for the new school. It also gave Anders a solid excuse to spend a few hours with his sister.

“You know, I was about your age when my little sister was born.” Veryn bumps his hip against Kent’s.

“Yeah, that’s cool.” Kent nods. “They’re all right. I mean, I could do without the crying all night when I have to go to school the next morning, but I love them.”

Veryn and Lorcan snort simultaneously.

My eyes roll as I lean close to Anders and Kalla. She’s bright-eyed for being so little.

Anders tilts his head, nuzzling his cheek to mine. He sends his contentment through the bond, and I smile.

Things are changing, but it’s all been for the better. Hell, Lana and Kalla are girls number three and four that we added to the pack in the last two weeks.

Not all the females who soaked up my pheromones were able to conceive last time, but if we continue along this path…

In another twenty years, the balance of males and females will be in a much better place than where it started.

That’s good enough for me.

This wraps up the main epilogue, but I get more requests for extra long, super fluffy epilogues than anything else. I really wanted to show you Ember and her guys with pups, but since this is just the beginning of opening the next generation world, I was hesitant to lock myself into any timelines. Especially when I don’t know how many years those stories will take to play out in their world.

If you can accept a set of far in the future epilogues with kids, but no definitive explanation for how many years there are in that time jump... Turn the page.