Epilogue

The egg did grow and over time the shell became more and more transparent. The months passed slowly although Kolton and Simon still had plenty to do. They decided to keep Simon’s house in Vegas, but they’d bought a second house which they’d decided would be their main home base, way out on a lonely point on the coast.

It had been listed as an old farmhouse built, according to the agent, as a folly by a now-deceased owner with more money than sense. None of the man’s family were keen on it, because of its remote location, but Simon had fallen in love with the huge tower that dominated one side of the stone structure.

Kolton loved the forest that ran around three sides of the hundred acres that came with the house. They had unobstructed views of the sea, but no one could see the land from any roads going past.

There was a small village nearby – a local grocery shop, a butcher, a gas station that doubled as a farm workshop, a small diner, and a couple of craft places. There were also paranormals in the village – a large extended family of deer shifters had lived there for decades and owned all of the local businesses.

Rather than be intimidated by either Kolton or Simon, the locals seemed pleased that older and stronger paranormals had moved into the big house on the hill.

“We had a bit of trouble with a group of young wolf shifters a while back,” Marlin, one of the oldest residents, confided when Kolton introduced himself shortly after they’d bought the house. Marlin seemed to spend his days sitting on an old rocker on the porch of the general store, smoking a pipe.

“They felt that anywhere with a tree was theirs and it took a bit to get them to move on. But” – he tossed his head – “us oldies still have a few skills. No one here will care about that stupid aging business either, so I hope you and your young fella are here to stay.”

“Simon’s probably older than you,” Kolton had joked, pleased they were being accepted so readily. “And he’s a doctor, too, so if you ever need anything you’ll know where we are.”

“Handy to know.” Marlin tipped his hat. “Just one wee thing. If the youngsters around here get too intrusive, you know, on those nights when your young fella looks a bit like a statue standing up on that turret – the one accompanied by a huge hound – just remind them you’re not a photo attraction. They’re just curious, that’s all. They don’t mean any harm.”

So that was that. Kolton promised he wouldn’t chase the young deer in the forest areas if they left their cameras and cellphones at home. One of Marlin’s sons drove the local mail van, which came around three times a week, bringing Kolton and Simon’s orders from the local store, the butcher, and their mail.

Simon impressed on Kolton the need for being actively friendly in the community, seeing as it was so small, so every Friday evening they went down to the diner to have a meal. Three weeks doing that, and Kolton and Simon were accepted as locals. For Kolton that was a heady feeling, and he found he liked it.

“You just love how the young deer all giggle and flick their hair when you walk by,” Simon had teased. “You set their cute little hearts aflutter.”

“They do not do that.” Okay, maybe they did just a little bit, but the locals were just as keen on Simon as well. As the months passed, Kolton found himself relaxing, enjoying his time with Simon and the small town they seemed to have adopted.

And all the while, the egg grew, and grew and grew some more, to the point where Simon was measuring it end to end every day. Then, when the growing finished, the shell started to change. The gray marbled egg morphed into more of a cream color, and the darker shades turned purple. There were still some gold seams – they stretched like a lattice work over the cream, adding a sparkle designed to attract attention.

But Kolton still couldn’t see what was inside. He had to stop cradling the egg on his chest once it developed soft and squidgy bits, terrified that his fingers would break through the shell before their little one was ready. Simon spotted a large handbasket at the craft shop one time they were in town, so now he cradled egg and basket most evenings.

“Are you ready for bed?” Simon had put his book down while Kolton was studying the egg for the gazillionth time. His need to know what was inside was bordering on obsessive.

“Is that a hand?” He pointed to a lump he was sure hadn’t been there a few minutes before. “Or a foot, maybe? Is it time?”

“According to your fridge calendar we still have five days.” Simon’s hand was warm on Kolton’s hair. “But if you want to sit up a while longer…”

“I just don’t want our baby to be born while we’re asleep.” Lifting the basket carefully, Kolton swung around so he was sitting up. “Imagine how scary that could be. They do all that hard work, they finally manage to break out of the confines of their egg, super excited to see what’s going on…and there’s no one there to even say hello.” Kolton’s heart ached just thinking about it.

“I have wondered about that,” Simon said softly. “No one ever remembers their moment of birth, but I wondered with that nursery situation back at the clan, what might happen if a child was born early, or late…”

“When you were born. You’re referring to when you were born. Oh, Simon, my heart breaks for you, but can’t you see, we can’t let that happen with our little one. Anyone else who gives birth, they’re right there, aren’t they, when the baby comes?”

“They kinda have to be, my lovely mate.” Simon chuckled. “That’s the whole point of giving birth, being present when it happens. It’s not something a prospective mother can avoid. Although I do remember one woman. She’d been having problems with fluid retention, so was on bed rest in hospital, thank goodness. When her water broke, which is usually an indicator the birth process has started – although it can take many hours – she decided she wasn’t keen on the idea, told me she wasn’t having contractions at that point and asked if she could come back the next day.”

“Did she have the baby okay?” Kolton had never been involved in that side of life.

“Her contractions started about thirty minutes later and after twelve long hours of labor, yes, she delivered a beautiful baby girl. She was so happy when her daughter arrived. It was love at first sight for her when she saw her baby’s smushed up face.” Simon’s smile was fond. It was clearly a happy memory.

“We have to be there when our little one breaks through their egg.” Hearing that story made Kolton all the more determined. “What if our son or daughter doesn’t love us because we weren’t there when they break through?”

“There are cases when a mother can’t be with her little one from the moment of birth because there’ve been complications and she’s under general anesthetic and they still have lovely bonds with their children…” Simon cut himself off.

“None of that relates to us. I’ve been five days without sleep before, and I’m sure you have too, but how about, instead of both of us running ourselves ragged before our little one arrives, we take shifts. One of us sleeps, one of us keeps watch on the egg. If anything happens, the one who’s awake can wake the other one. Agreed?”

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep. I wasn’t there when your lovely stone side magicked up the egg in the first place. I really want to be here when the egg breaks. Did that lump move?” Kolton pointed in the basket.

“Hmm, yes.” Simon peered in where Kolton was pointing. “Our little one is reacting to us talking. I don’t think that shell will last another five days. Look, you can see individual fingers there where it’s pressed against the shell.”

“Why can’t we see in? The shell is thin enough it’s moving when our little one does, but it’s like a net or something stopping us from seeing the little one inside.”

“That’s just nature’s way. Oh, look. There’s a foot. Our little one is stretching their wee legs.”

“You can go to bed if you want to, but I’ll stay up tonight.” Kolton was determined. He had a feeling something was going to happen, and he wanted to be there when it did.

“I’ll doze here with you for a bit,” Simon said, lifting his legs so his feet were on the coffee table, and leaning back a bit farther against the couch. “Nudge me if anything happens.”

/~/~/~/~/

Two hours later, Simon was gently snoring beside him, and Kolton was daydreaming about what their child might look like when his hound whined in his head. Is it time? Kolton checked the basket. His eyes widened. “Simon,” he whispered, prodding his mate in the ribs. “Simon, I can see a foot. It’s out of the shell. Our baby’s coming the wrong way.”

“There’s no wrong way to come out of an egg, babe.” Simon was instantly awake, checking the contents of the basket. “It’s fine. Look, there’s an arm coming out the other side as well.”

“What about the face? Can the baby still breathe? We have to help. What if the shell gets stuck over our baby’s nose? It’s getting goopy and could suffocate the little one.”

“Patience, babe.” Simon leaned over the basket and gently blew over the shell. “Watch.”

Two wee hands came up, flailing in the air, dislodging some of the shell. Kolton looked at his mate in shock. “How did you know to do that?”

“My other half is guiding me. Your turn, babe. Blow softly in roughly the same place.”

Kolton wasn’t sure he could breathe, but he bent over the basket, softly exhaling across the middle of the shell. Two little arms and legs wiggled and waved in the air, and more shell disappeared. “We have to help get the baby out.” Kolton was still worried the face hadn’t been uncovered, although he could see parts of a torso.

“Just a few minutes more, babe. I promise.” Simon blew again. “My other half says this process is vitally important. It’s the first time our little one has mastery over the stone.”

“That’s not stone. That’s a goopy gel!” Kolton’s hands were itching to clear off the last of the shell.

“Trust me, my wonderful hound. Better yet, trust your other half. Is your hound distressed or worried?”

“No.” Kolton was doing enough worrying for them both. “Simon…”

“We have hair. Lovely blond wavy locks just like yours. Now you can judge where the face is. Blow again, sweetheart. Blow across the face.”

Caught up in Simon’s growing excitement, Kolton blew. Well, it might have been more like a long huff, but the shape of a baby had finally emerged. Leaning over, he blew one more time, and then reared back as a splodge of goop flew through the air and landed on his face.

“You did it babe. You did it.” Simon was half laughing, half crying. “We have a son. A gorgeous, beautiful son. Pick him up. You can pick him up now.”

Wiping the smear of goop off his face quickly, Kolton reached into the basket, his hands hovering, unsure where was the best place to hold.

“Here, like this.” Simon guided his hands, so one was cradling their son’s head and one went under the butt. Kolton was surprised by their son’s weight, but he picked him up and cradled him against his chest.

“Hi baby, Daddy and Papa love you,” Kolton crooned softly, marveling at how the little one just cuddled into his chest. “Are we still agreed on his name?”

“I think we both know the only name we could call our son.” Simon was cuddling him, as he was cuddling their new baby. “The one special soul that brought us together and who will never be forgotten. Welcome to the world, Warner Teeg.”

/~/~/~/~/

I think this is the perfect place to leave this story – you will see these two and little Warner in future books – will he shift into a furry gargoyle, or a hellhound with wings? We’ll have to wait and see.

It was my intention to showcase the prologue for the next book in this series on the next page, but after consultation with you, and my editor, I have removed it. Somehow a mountain of dead bodies wasn’t the image I wanted to finish this book with. Let’s all have an “aww” moment that Kolton and Simon are finally on the same page, instead, and smile at the idea that they have a gorgeous baby – my first ever “hatched” little one. Giorgio’s story, and a glimpse into the shadow life he leads will be the next story in this series coming in the first half of 2025.

If you enjoyed this story, then please consider leaving a review. Not only do they seriously help me gain new readers, but they also boost my smile. I love each and every one of you, and I’m sending you huge hugs in what I know are difficult times.

Hug the ones you love my friend,

Lisa x x