Epilogue

Living in Afterworld was unlike anything I"d imagined. For one, it wasn"t all sunshine and rainbows. While there were no outside-world problems, that didn"t mean we didn"t have issues.

In the beginning, Eben had a hard time letting go of his guilt about not being able to save me. It"d taken months for me to convince him that it wasn"t his fault and that I didn"t blame him at all—and that I actually loved our life now—but he"d finally accepted it.

There were good things about living in Afterworld too, like the fact that Eben could now enjoy human food to the fullest. I loved cooking for us and watching the look on his face as he ate whatever I"d made.

In Afterworld, we could design our home however we wanted, so of course we"d ended up making it look exactly like the home we had left behind, though we weren"t near the sea anymore. It wasn"t too far, though. All we had to do was think of the sea, and we"d be at a beach before we opened our eyes. Afterworld was amazing that way.

"How much longer do you need?" Eben asked as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms and tentacles around me.

Apparently, until recently, all souls had been limited to a human form in Afterworld. Well, all except the King of Afterworld, his mate, and Fate. Then the king had realized that was unfair, so he"d made some changes, and now souls could take whatever form they felt most comfortable in, or even switch between forms.

Eben preferred this form over his other ones, and secretly, so did I. I liked his true form well enough, but the size difference meant that we couldn"t really do much. This form, though? It had the best of both his forms, and I absolutely adored it.

"I"m almost done. Did you set the table?"

"I did. Do you really think they will come again?"

"Eben, they"ve shown up every Sunday without fail since we started doing this. I"m sure they"ll be here today too."

"They could do with visiting a little less often. Why do they need to come every fucking Sunday?" He buried his face in my neck, and I chuckled.

"Don"t act like you don"t love it, my dear mate. We both know you enjoy every moment of their visits."

The longer we"d lived in Afterworld, the more relaxed Eben had become, and while in some ways he was still the same overprotective kraken I"d met all those months ago, he depended on me a lot more easily now, and I felt like he"d finally started seeing me as an equal instead of someone he had to protect because I was too weak to do it myself.

A knock at the door made Eben groan, and he slowly pulled away from me, leaving two of his tentacles latched around my waist. One thing that hadn"t changed? Our clinginess. I still loved having his tentacles wrapped around me, and he still loved holding me close. I didn"t think that was ever going to change.

"Come on. Let"s go welcome our guests."

Eben sighed before following me to the door. I opened it, grinning at the group of people crowded outside. Since there was no "traveling time" in Afterworld, everyone showed up at the exact minute they were supposed to, usually all at once.

Tharion and his mate, Lionel, stood right in front of the door, their wings folded out of existence, and Tharion"s golden horns gleamed in the evening light.

Behind them were Celeste—aka Fate—and their mate, Hector. Celeste wore a beautiful deep blue gown today and looked elegant as they always did.

Beside them waited Eben"s parents, who had skipped out on getting reincarnated multiple times because they"d been waiting for their son, and I loved watching Eben interact with them because I got to see a side of him I never would"ve discovered otherwise.

And lastly, waiting patiently at the back for her turn to enter our house, was my grandmother.

Except for the same brown eyes as me, she looked nothing like the grandma I"d known. I hadn"t even recognized her when she"d first shown up at our door—another change Tharion had made to Afterworld? Making it easier for people to sense others they"d known in the human realm—but I was pretty much used to her younger look now.

"Come on in, everyone. Dinner"s ready," I said, stepping to the side and inviting everyone in. Grandma, as always, had brought dessert with her, and I couldn"t wait to taste it.

Turning to follow the others, I stopped short when Eben refused to move, shooting him an inquisitive look.

Smiling at me, he leaned down and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to my lips, his tentacles brushing against my arms.

"Okay, let"s go get this dinner over with," he grumped, and I chuckled as I followed him into the house, hoping we"d get to spend days just like this one again and again and again.

"Hobie, I have a question for you," Tharion said as we all sat around the dining table eating the delicious food Hobie had made.

In the human realm, I hadn"t really had much interest, but now I loved trying out the things Hobie cooked, mostly because it made him happy.

"Ask away," Hobie said with a smile. I loved this relaxed, happy version of him. Being away from the human realm had done wonders for his mental health, and while he still had his triggers—death, apparently, was not a cure-all. Who would"ve guessed?—he was much happier than he"d ever seemed in the human realm.

"What are your thoughts on kids?" Tharion asked, and I sucked in a sharp breath, and then broke into a coughing fit.

Hobie patted my back, then offered me a glass of water that I quickly gulped down.

"I"m okay," I grunted, and Hobie shot me a look of utter disbelief.

"What kind of question is that?" I demanded, turning my eyes to Tharion, who merely shrugged.

"An honest one. I"ve been trying to find good homes for all the kids at the children"s house. They won"t be here for long since kids are always first in line for reincarnation, but I still want their time here to be happy and fulfilling. So, if you"re interested in becoming foster parents, just let either of us know," he said, and I blinked at him before turning my eyes on Hobie.

He chewed on his lower lip for a moment before smiling at Tharion. "We"ll let you know."

The rest of dinner passed with light conversation and everyone praising Hobie"s cooking skills, and once everyone had finished the dessert Hobie"s grandmother had brought, they stayed a while longer before taking their leave.

Mom pulled me into a hug before she left, and like every time she hugged me, I held on for just a moment longer. The fact that I had my parents—and Tharion and Celeste—back in my life still hadn"t gotten old, and I didn"t think it would for a while.

Pulling back, Mom patted my cheek as she tucked her red hair—the exact same shade as mine—behind her ear. "For what it"s worth, I think you and Hobie would make great parents."

I felt my cheeks heat up and scowled at her, making her laugh.

"She"s right, you know. I think so too," Dad piped in, his gold eyes brimming with laughter.

"Leave," I growled, and they laughed their way out of the house.

When it was just me and Hobie again, I sighed and wrapped my arms and tentacles around him from behind, pulling him into my chest and resting my chin on top of his head.

"So, kids," Hobie ventured, and I hummed. "What do you think?"

"I like the idea of giving some children an actual home and the love and care they deserve, even if they only stay for a little while, but I don"t know if I"ll be any good at the parenting thing."

Hobie scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You"d be an amazing dad. It"s me we should be worried about. I have no clue what dads are supposed to be like. Mine ran out on me because he didn"t want me, remember?" he said, voice light despite the heavy topic.

"Well, I didn"t grow up with a dad either, so I guess we"d both be making it up as we went," I said, and he sighed.

"I suppose. As long as we love them and never try to make them something they aren"t, I think we"d be okay."

I smiled. I could tell he wanted to do it, despite his misgivings, and I truly believed he"d be a good father. He was good at taking care of the people he loved, and though it had taken me a while to realize I could depend on him just as much as he depended on me, I knew it now, and I knew he"d be able to support any kid we decided to adopt.

"I guess there isn"t really much to think about, in the grand scheme of things," I said, rubbing my chin on his head. "We can talk to Tharion next week. Or before that, if we cross paths."

"Sounds good. Now come help me clean up, and then we can cuddle in bed."

I slowly released him. "And more?" I asked, trailing a tentacle down his back before pressing the tip teasingly against his hole, only two layers of cloth separating us.

"And more," Hobie agreed a tad breathlessly, and I grinned before hoisting him up and carrying him into the kitchen, where I used my many tentacles to speed up our work, using the handy Afterworld magic to clean the dishes with a snap before storing them in their proper spots because Hobie was strict as all get out when it came to his kitchen.

"May I drag you into bed and have my way with you now?" I asked when we were done, brushing my lips against his as I pulled him close.

"You may," Hobie murmured, and so I did just that.

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