Epilogue

RILEY - THREE YEARS LATER

I felt Danny's impatience in the bond even before he yelled up the stairs, "Hurry up, princess. Sebastian will be pissed if we're late."

"When is he not pissed?" I asked as I got to the top of the stairs. "Anyway, it's not like they expect us to be on time. It's us. We're always late."

"No, you're always late." Danny huffed. "Besides, it's okay for you, you're not the one Sebastian stakes."

I was close enough to kiss him now, so I did just that. "There won't be any staking today, not on Matty's birthday."

"True." Danny chased my lips as I pulled away. "Nooo. Come back. I didn't get enough of a taste."

I gave in to temptation, sinking into another kiss. Eventually, I pulled away and scowled at him. "You were just nagging me for being late and now you're making us even later."

"It's not my fault." Danny grinned at me wolfishly, palming my rear. "I can't help the way I feel around you."

That was true. Three years of being mates and the intense need we felt for each other hadn't abated. If anything, it had increased. All Danny had to do was stretch and I'd be on him.

We were feral for each other.

But Danny was right, Sebastian would be annoyed if we were too late. I didn't want to upset Matty either, so we quickly got our shoes on and headed out the door.

Thankfully, we didn't need to go far…just one house over, in fact.

When we'd been hunting for our first home together, we couldn't find anything we liked. Just as we were about to give up, this place had come on the market. With five bedrooms and a massive garden, it had more space than we could ever use, but it was in the perfect location for both of us. Matty living next door was the cherry on top.

To this day, I didn't know if it had been serendipitous timing or an interfering supe, but given how hard I'd fallen for this house, I didn't care.

"Do you realise it's eight years since we met?"

I looked over at Danny. The moonlight picked out the sharpness of his jaw and the gleam in his eyes. "What? Really?"

"Really." He chuckled, picking up my hand as we approached Matty's front door. "We met at Matty's birthday party, eight years ago."

"Shit, we did." I grinned at him. "Funny the things that change."

"And the things that don't." Danny kissed my nose. "You're as gorgeous now as you were that night."

"Because I stopped ageing three years ago."

"No," Danny said. "That's got nothing to do with it. You could've aged to be eighty and I'd still think you're gorgeous."

Privately, I was calling bullshit, but it was a nice sentiment.

My gaze caught on a note on the door, immediately making me laugh. "That's one big change right there."

Do not ring the bell. Wake the baby and I'll gut you.

Even without recognising Sebastian's ornate penmanship, I would've known who wrote it. Just as I knew exactly who'd scrawled an addition beneath.

Please.

I exchanged a bemused look with Danny. We were thrilled for our friends. They'd been ready to start a family for a long time. Not wanting to outlive their child, they'd needed to wait until a supe baby came up for adoption—something that happened rarely.

But it had happened for them.

Several months ago, they'd been awoken by a call in the night to hear that a baby boy was waiting for them. A demon. Geralt had come home with them a few hours later, catching all our hearts with one glimpse of his amber eyes.

Our friends had taken to parenthood like ducks to water…for the most part. Sebastian took the crown for an overprotective first-time parent, while Matty fussed over him every second. Hopefully they'd look at adopting another baby. Something told me that that kind of intense attention was better spread over multiple children.

The strangest part about the whole situation had been my response to it. Being around Geralt, seeing the joy he brought my friends, it had awoken something in me. Something entirely unexpected.

Something I hadn't had the nerve to bring up to Danny yet.

Heeding the note, we quietly twisted the handle. The door opened easily. Moving silently, we removed our shoes and made our way into the living room.

It was full to the rafters with couples everywhere. Ferry and Leo were in one corner with Toby and Blaise. The sons of Lucifer were sprawled over the sofas, their mates either on their laps or sat on the floor between their legs. In the case of Dagon, he had one on his lap and one on the floor.

Even Dr. Tyler was here, along with a few of the crew from The Window, mates included.

It wasn't an unexpected sight. Everyone gathered for Matty's birthday every year without fail.

What was unexpected was the fact that it was absolutely silent.

Actually, it wasn't that unexpected, given the note we'd been greeted with. Since becoming a dad, Sebastian's protectiveness had gone up to astronomic levels.

The vampire swept into the room with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. After glaring at us all to make sure we were being quiet, he reluctantly started to pass them out.

That was when it happened. And, naturally, it was Danny who fucked up.

"Ohmygod," he groaned loudly around the mouthful of crab puffs. "These are fucking divine ."

A wail came down the stairs just as Sebastian's stake found its home in Danny's gut. I stepped to the side neatly to avoid the blood spray. It was a move I'd perfected over the past eight years that had come in quite handy.

Danny cursed once before collapsing to the floor.

Oscar got up with a sigh, motioning silently that he'd get the mop, Blaise hot on his heels to help. Meanwhile, Toby was squaring up to his cousin, hissing out the reasons why he couldn't stab party guests.

All without speaking above a whisper, of course.

Matty appeared in the doorway with a gurgling Geralt on his hip. Upon seeing the blood, he squeaked and turned green. Slapping a hand over his baby's eyes, he glared at his husband.

That's right. Matty glared.

"Is this any way to treat our guests? And can't we wait for Geralt to start walking before he sees his first body?"

Sebastian was over to them in a flash, muttering apologies as he ushered them out of the door and back up the stairs.

Just then, Leo popped his crab puff into his mouth, moaning as loudly as Danny had. "Can't blame him. They are fucking delicious. Think Sebastian will stake me if I ask for another?"

Ferry patted Leo's knee. "He could try…but I'd definitely stab him first."

"Oh, I would love to see that," Harlow chirped from Bailey's lap. "Can we make that happen?"

River pouted at Mori. "Would you stab Sebastian for me?"

His mate grunted. "I'd stab him just for shits and giggles at this point. Fucker makes me look cheerful."

Okay, someone needed to take control of this before it got out of hand. Clapping my hands together, I waited until I had the attention of everyone in the room. "Right. As fun as it is to wind Sebastian up, this is Matty's birthday and there's a child here." Danny blinked awake, sitting up with a scowl. I glared at him to stay put as I continued. "All of you need to behave like you're older than fifteen. Given how long ago that was for most of you, I'm amazed you regress to it so often."

"Riley's right," Oscar said, mop in hand as he joined me. "Behave, the lot of you."

Then he broke out his teacher stare. It put the one I was giving them to shame, all of them murmuring promises to rein it in.

"Go get changed," I said to Danny. "And if you piss Sebastian off again tonight, I'll be using my dildo without you again. This time, I won't take my phone with me."

Danny flinched before scurrying for the door.

I shook my head before gesturing to the mop in Oscar's hands. "Here, let me do that. My idiot was the one who caused the mess."

Oscar just smiled at me as he got to work. "It's fine. Us humans have to stick together. Don't worry, I imagine there'll be another pool of blood that'll need mopping up before long."

I perused the rest of the party, who were now chatting quietly. "Think we'll make it to the end of the night before that?"

Oscar sighed wistfully. "Miracles might happen."

DANNY

Despite Riley's concerns that we'd see more bloodshed before the night was out, everyone was on their best behaviour.

I mean, it helped that Oscar kept glaring at us all every now and then. He was scarier than Cal when he broke out his teacher skills.

Matty, Sebastian, and Geralt returned to the party not long after I did. Predictably, everyone swarmed them, fighting over who got to hold the baby first. Harlow had won that particular battle, swooping him through the air and promising him many shopping trips in his future.

Poor kid.

Leo dropped onto the sofa next to me. "You doing okay?"

"Yup, I'm all good."

After a few sessions with Dr. Tyler, I'd finally opened up to the others about my past. All of them had been horrified, but it had hit Leo the hardest. His reaction to learning the truth behind my tattoo had been heartbreaking. He'd apologised so much that I'd had to rope Ferry in to try and talk some sense into him. Ferry could get through to Leo in a way the rest of us just couldn't. It probably helped that their love story stretched back over four thousand years.

Ferry had been an unexpected source of support for me. His experience with death and grief outstripped what the rest of us could even imagine. On days when my therapy was too hard, it was Ferry's number I found myself dialling. We whiled away many hours sat on roofs, discussing how unfair life was.

Years had passed since everyone had learned the truth, but Leo couldn't stop himself from checking in on me every now and then. Especially if we were around Geralt. His protective nature coupled with his guilt over his past comments had him hovering more often than he ever would have before. I wasn't mad about it—how could I be when it came from such a genuine place?

No, I knew the truth. I was fucking lucky to have him as a friend.

We shot the shit for a few minutes until Leo was summoned away by his mate. Years had passed since their reunion, but if they were in the same room, they couldn't be apart for longer than a few minutes.

I'd have mocked them for it if Riley and I weren't just as bad.

"Hey." Riley appeared in front of me, Geralt on his hip. With his blond curls, you'd have been forgiven for thinking he was Matty's biological son. He was babbling, revealing the three tiny teeth he'd already cut. From the little white nubs I spotted under his gums, Matty and Sebastian were in for several more sleepless nights in the near future.

"He's just the cutest," Riley said, beaming at me. Despite never having spent much time around children, Riley had taken to his role as an uncle like he'd been born to do it. "Want to hold him?"

"Course I do." I put my bottle of beer on the floor and made grabby hands at Geralt. "You want to come see your favourite uncle, don't you?"

Several voices were raised in protest as an argument broke out. I ignored them all in favour of bouncing Geralt on my knee. I cooed at him. "They're all silly, aren't they? I know you love me the most. Well, me and Uncle Riley. I'll allow that."

He babbled, his chubby hand hitting my cheek as he tried in earnest to respond. When he learned to talk, I didn't think he'd ever stop.

"I know," I said, nodding in agreement. "We really do love you the most."

Leo had been right to worry about me when Geralt had first arrived in our lives. There'd been no way to stop the memories of the life I'd once had, the father I'd once been. It had been hard, the first time I'd held Geralt. When we'd gone home after that, Riley had held me for hours while I sobbed.

It got easier though, especially as I spent more time with him. Instead of focusing on the grief that holding him induced, I chose instead to focus on the joy. The memories that flashed through me of holding Maria for the first time. Pacing the cabin with her in my arms as she screamed the house down while cutting her second tooth. Singing her silly songs while I changed her cloth nappy.

I won't lie, it had been hard, but Riley, Leo, Ferry, and Dr. Tyler had helped me work through it. All of my friends, including Sebastian and Matty, had appreciated that it wasn't an easy journey for me to walk. With their support though, I'd made it through to the other side. Now, I could look at Geralt and just feel love. Happiness. Joy that Sebastian and Matty were experiencing the thrill of fatherhood.

And a fierce protectiveness, naturally. Woe betide any person who tried to hurt Geralt in the future. They'd have an entire army of supes hunting them down, with me at the front of the pack.

Geralt was trying to chew on one of my fingers when I felt a sudden storm of emotions flood the bond. I looked up to see Riley staring at us both, chewing on his lip.

"What's wrong?"

Riley cleared his throat. In the bond, decisiveness flashed through, followed by an immense sense of rightness. "What do you think about having kids?"

My jaw fell open. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Riley released a shaky breath, a massive smile taking over his face. "I am."

As much as I didn't want to give up my baby time, I passed Geralt over to River, who immediately spirited him off. Taking Riley's hand, I pulled him through the house and into the garden, away from prying ears.

As soon as we were alone, Riley launched into his nervous babbling. "We don't have to have them though. If it's going to be difficult for you, then we won't. I don't want you to feel pressured or uncomfortable. I only want to do this if you want it too. It's just, I've been feeling this way for a while, and I couldn't keep it in any longer. Do you know how attractive you are when you're holding a baby? It's ridiculous?—"

I cut him off with a thorough kiss. By the time I lifted my head, we were both panting. "I want a baby."

Riley's eyes went as wide as saucers. "You do?"

"I do. Before Geralt, I probably would've given you a different answer, but being around him…" My voice trailed off as I tried to articulate my thoughts. "It reminds me of all the happy moments Maria gave me. The sense of purpose in being her father. The joy in seeing her grow and change."

I kissed his temple. "Having all that again, seeing you experience it too, it sounds like the most perfect idea in the world. I can't wait, princess."

"It might take time," Riley cautioned me. "Sebastian and Matty had to wait years."

I cupped his face, grinning down at him. My best friend. My person. My mate. "Princess, it took us years to find each other. It wouldn't be right if our baby found us right away. Time, as I keep reminding you, is the one thing we aren't short of."

Riley wrapped his arms around my waist. "Fuck, I'm so glad we stopped being idiots."

"Technically, I stopped first. You took a while to catch up."

Riley smirked, already knowing the answer to his question. "Would you change any of it?"

"Not a thing, princess. Not a damned thing."

Thank you for reading Humility! Although this series has finished, we aren't leaving these characters behind quite yet.