Epilogue

Goldie

Five Years Later

“Cill, so help me, if you don’t stop, we’ll be knotted and stuck in here and miss their arrival,” I whisper to my stubborn mate, as he continues to try to pull off my dress.

“Oh, no…the travesty,” Cill deadpans, not even the least bit bothered by the thought that his need for me is getting in the way of my plans for the day.

“I don’t want Alma or her mates in our home while you're knot-deep. Last time you got handsy this close to their arrival, we were nearly caught!” I’m now huffing from the exertion of waddling around the room while trying to get ready and escape this man.

“I’m fairly certain Ma will tell you it's natural and good for your health,” he smirks as he once again reaches for the bow at the back of my light blue dress.

I make my escape, when the Alpha trips over one of the stuffed animals on the ground. Laughing, I make it out the door of the nest into the hallway. Before I even make it to the kitchen, the soft giggles and the sound of little feet fill the room.

“Adira and Julius, what did I say about picking up your toys?” I ask the two mischievous blonde haired children, with my hands propped on my rounded hips. They sit quietly in the window seat like they haven’t just made a dash from the hallway. Adira’s warm brown eyes meet mine, before she nods her head sagely, so like Aldair in both looks and personality, and gets up to come pick up the toys. Julius is slower when he hops down and walks over to me. Besides the gray eyes that flash with challenge, reminding me of Cillian, his ability to create mischief can only come from one Alpha. We believe the reason they didn’t take on monster forms at birth is because I’m a human, but there’s no denying who their fathers are.

“We must always take care of our things.” Adira’s voice is firm as she carries her favorite knitted bear back to the toy box.

“Momma, I try to catch da. He said he take me hunting soon,” he says with a grin, his two front teeth still missing, before running after his older sister.

Unsurprisingly, after my first heat five years ago, my Alphas have made an honest effort to keep me pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen. Jokes on them. I’m in there anyway, stealing cookies. An Omega has needs, other than Alpha cum.

Adira came first, exactly seven lunar cycles after my heat, and her brother Julius came just a year later. I drop my hand to my belly that's just beginning to show. I can’t wait to share the news in person with Alma and her mates.

I walk over to my mother’s chair and take a seat, admiring the space while I wait for the other’s to arrive. With the little ones underfoot, tiny chairs and wooden toys have taken up the corner by the fireplace. The men have gone crazy with making sure they had everything they could possibly need and more, proven by the overflowing toy box.

Last night, Ky and Aldair had brought in the newest piece they had been working on, a wooden cradle with hand-tooled leather accents, featuring a crescent moon. I am fairly certain the arguments that could be heard over the last few weeks were about what to put this time. Each child has their own, with a star for Adira and a tree for Julius. I smile at the memory, when I hear the front door swing open.

“My sweet one!!!! Where are my babies?” Aunt Alma rushes through the doorway before the rumble of her mates can be heard griping about her excitement. My little loves have already made it to her side, dancing with joy.

“Nona, did you hear? I’m gonna be a big sister again!” Adira rushes to tell her before her brother can spill the news.

“Again? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been here sooner. Those boys…” Her eyes are wide with joy as she comes over to my side. I ease my way up, and she gently hugs me while brushing her hand along my stomach. I am not surprised when the babe brushes back against her. Her eyes close as she smiles, before looking back up at me. “Another girl,” she whispers conspiringly.

“Hush, I want to keep it a surprise” I tell her. Just as I am about to tell the kids to find their fathers, they come in behind Alma’s mates, with a surprise guest.

Sam and Ian are holding hands, watching as Adira shows off her new dress, while Julius zeroes in on the man that comes in behind my Alphas.

“Mika! You hunt with me?” he leaps at the man before he can answer. I raise an eyebrow at Aldair who stands just behind them. I am sure it's his story telling to blame for this newest fixation. Every night, he reads to the babies before they go to sleep.

“Settle, my boy, let me share my news before we see what creatures we can catch!” Mika doesn’t miss a beat before he sets the overactive toddler back down. “Liza sends her love, Goldie. She is currently waiting on one of the other Omegas to give birth.”

My Alpha’s were finally able to connect with others of their kind after Donald was disposed of. Sam and Ian, who had mated Alma shortly after discovering her in the clearing of her cottage, were the first to settle in her home near ours. Mika and Liza came not long after, falling in love with the valley we called our home and became fast friends with us, so they built near our mountain cottage. His mate has become a huge help, along with him, as we navigate understanding Domus Silva and what it meant to be their human mate. She has also acted as my midwife for both pregnancies. The following year, a few more of their people settled out this way, unsurprisingly finding mates within another human village nearby.

“That hound master sent his regards when I was in the village last week to sell some hides. He asked that I bring you a delivery.” Mika takes a second to step outside while I look at my Alphas curiously. Despite the events of five years ago, the Beta I had spared never spoke of the monsters in the forest or gave away the knowledge of our location. For my one act of mercy, he became an ally. My mates look just as baffled as I am about what this could be, despite the tone of excitement I can feel in our bond, until a low woof echoes the cottage. My breath catches when Mike carries in a wiggling, dark brown hound. When he passes the bundle to me, I don’t miss the eye roll from Aldair, or the joy in Ky’s smile as he comes over to see him better. Wrinkly and drooling, he obviously needs to grow into his big paws. I feel a tear slide down my cheek, before Ky leans over to brush it away.

“Surprise, Little Omega.” Ky kisses me before petting the hound who had already begun to root around in my arms, when the dog promptly falls asleep.

“You’ll need to think of a name, my golden girl.” Cill makes his way over to me, carrying Julius on his hip. Adira has come over for a closer look as well, eyes big with excitement at our very own hound. “Bear is already taken.” He chuckles on his own joke before leaning over with our son to kiss my forehead.

“Snowball?” Aldair jokes and I catch the moment Alma whacks him with the back of her hand. At least he can joke about it now. “Anything that comes to mind, pretty Omega?”

“This is an important decision. What do you think, my little loves?” The question has a volley of suggestions from not only our children but the adults as well. Finally, one catches my attention, from my most serious mate.

“Forrest. We’ll call him Forrest.”

Once upon a time, the forest was a place that drove fear into my heart. Now, I call it home. A place I share with my Alphas, where we continue to live and love. Where we raise our babies. What better name than to give him, but the place that gave me them.

The End