23. Epilogue

K'Vella - One Year Later

T he green glow of a new notification on my comm tablet has me groaning in the nest.

Athna is fast asleep in her bassinet next to the nest, which isn't surprising. The female can sleep through anything. Her soft arms are raised above her head, and her squishy legs are sprawled out. She has her father's markings, and if we're lucky, the next babe will as well.

I'd love them even if they had some recessed markings from Holoth's family, but they're so cute when they look like little versions of their father.

I lift Holoth's hand from my abdomen, trying not to wake him. Athna's been an easy baby, but we both still enjoy it when we can sleep for as long as possible between her needing us. Usually, it's her waking me to feed, but Holoth wakes up and sits behind me, running his fingers through my hair and telling me how much he loves me. Most of the time, he falls back asleep sitting up before Athna has finished eating, but it's the thought that counts.

I lean over the lip of the nest, stretching my fingers long in an attempt to get the comm tablet without having to get out of bed. I groan softly, my fingers scraping the edge.

Before I can grab the comm, my hips are pulled backward. My mate's warm chest falls over my bent-over body.

"Is this an attempt at seducing me?" Holoth purrs.

He keeps the sounds low so Athna doesn't wake, but it's enough to have me relaxing in his hold. I wiggle my backside against him. It wasn't my intention to seduce him, but I'm not going to say no to him now.

"I was trying to get my comm." I roll over onto my back, spread my legs wide, and use my bottom hands to spread myself for him. Holoth growls but hops out of the nest to grab my comm tablet before returning.

"Might as well check it," he says, tossing the comm next to my head before lying down between my legs.

His mouth is on my center before I realize what he's planning on doing. His purr ripples through him as I arch my back and move my hands to his hair. His beard scratches against my inner thighs, but he's good about keeping it softened for me so he doesn't hurt me. If he even thought he was, he'd be shaving it every day, just like he did when Avery used to come to get help through her heat.

Holoth reaches up, his hand smacking the bed until he finds the comm and holds it up to me, his attention between my legs never wavering.

"What?" I gasp, trying to stay quiet enough that we don't wake our daughter. "Right now?"

Holoth makes a sound against me and shakes the comm again. He shoots me a playful look, and I roll my eyes, grabbing the comm and turning it on to check the newest message. Holoth presses his tongue inside me right as I see who sent the message. My gasp of surprise mixes with a cry of pleasure, and it's definitely not a sound that our child is going to sleep through.

Holoth groans as he removes his mouth from me and leans his forehead against my lower abdomen. Athna gives out one low cry before Holoth rolls off me and grabs her from where she's sleeping.

"Shh," he coos, purring softly for our little daughter.

He crawls over to where I'm still lying and sits next to me. Our daughter held to his chest, where she cries softly. She's probably scared because we woke her from her peaceful slumber.

"I need to get a gag for you," Holoth mumbles, side-eyeing me to make sure I hear it. I'm still so shocked by who messaged me I don't even register that he's making a joke. He narrows his eyes on me, his free arm reaching over to me and coaxing me to roll closer to him. "What's wrong?"

"My sister."

The two words are enough to put Holoth into even more protective mode than he already is with Athna in his arms. He grabs the comm tablet from me, his eyes adjusting to the light by squinting until they're almost closed. I can see the pink high on his cheeks, showing me his anger at what's on the comm.

"Who the fuck does she think she is?" Holoth asks, seething between his teeth. The only thing keeping him from growling his displeasure is our daughter. Her crying has quieted, and she's nuzzling into his chest, looking for comfort to ease her into sleep. "She hasn't reached out once. Did they even notice you were gone?"

"I don't know." My voice is quiet. "I thought when she didn't send messages when I first left, she just didn't care to ask where I was."

"Obviously, she didn't." Holoth's lips pull back, but Athna hits his chest with one of her tiny fists, and it relaxes him better than anything else. He takes a deep breath, scooting down to lie next to me with Athna between us in the nest. He reaches up and cups my cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." I shake away any doubts in my head. "I'm just surprised she reached out, is all."

"How do you want to handle it?" Holoth asks. "She's asking where you've been and when you're coming back. If it were up to me, I'd say to delete the message and forget about her, but it's your family. I'm not about to tell you how to deal with your family."

"No." I press my lips tight together. "She's not my family. No one on Varon is my family. You, Athna, your mother and sister, the crew, that's my family."

I grab Holoth's comm tablet and start typing my response to her. I agree with Holoth that it would feel great to delete the message and pretend she never sent it, but if she's reaching out to me, she might want something. I want to cut that off as soon as possible.

This little temper tantrum you're throwing has gone on long enough. It's not our fault that you're useless now. When are you coming back to Varon? People are starting to ask questions, and it's making mom and me look bad.

I reread her message a few more times before typing out my response.

I have no intention of ever returning to Varon. I'm very happy with my mate and our children. I hope you find whatever you're looking for without me there. Please do not contact me again. I will not respond if you do.

I take a deep breath before I hit the send button and then release it as the comm looks for signals to send my message across the universe to my sister.

I turn the screen off and set the comm back down on the bed. Holoth pulls my face close to his and presses his lips to my temple.

"I'm proud of you," he murmurs. It's a whisper of sounds so quiet that I barely pick them up. He works his hand underneath Athna to pick her up again and carefully puts her back into her bassinet to finish sleeping through the night. "How do you feel?"

"I'm good," I tell him, sliding into his arms when he comes to lie next to me. He embraces me without question, moving around until I'm lying with my head on his chest, our legs tangled together. "I never thought she'd reach out when she didn't for so long."

Holoth growls low, obviously unhappy with how the night went from him between my legs to me upset because my awful sister is calling me useless again.

The corners of his lips kick up, and I want to get things back to how they were. I don't care about what my sister says or what anyone on Varon thinks of me. I was discarded when they thought there was nothing I could offer them. Why should I ever care what they think or want of me?

"Are you upset for me?" I ask, tracing my fingers over one of the swirls around his pec.

Holoth looks down at me, his eyes narrowing at the soft tone I'm using. The tone I normally only use when I want him to praise me for being his good, little mate.

"Does my big, scary mate want to keep me safe from anything that might hurt me?" I ask, giving him my most innocent look.

I don't know how it still works on him when it's the same face I gave him the whole time we were trying to get pregnant with baby number two. I definitely wasn't doing sweet and innocent things then.

"You know I don't like anyone hurting you," Holoth says, his heart beating a little faster, his pupils dilating as he inhales hard through his nose. I'm sure my arousal is potent in the air, and he loves it. "I want to make sure you're never hurt."

"Such a wonderful male." I move closer to him, rolling my body into his, making sure he's aware of what I want.

His nostrils flare, and then he's flipping me onto my back. I let out a soft giggle as he paws at my breasts and runs his tongue up the length of my neck. He nips at my chin before he pushes away from me. His eyes turn hard for a moment as he looks around the nest.

"What are you looking for?" I ask when he leans over the edge of the nest, giving me a great view of the healed scars from when I bit his right cheek.

"I need something to keep you quiet," he says, crawling back to me.

He has a scrap of one of the thinnest blankets we have in his hand that makes my eyes go wide when he crawls back between my legs and pins me to the nest with a forearm across my upper chest.

"You want to be good for me, K'Vella?" Holoth asks, his face taking on a charming quality as he presses his thumb against my mouth until I open. He pushes the fabric between my lips until it fills my mouth, muffling the whimper that comes out.

"Good girl," Holoth purrs, nudging my mouth as closed as it can go with the gag. "Don't spit it out." He nudges my chin with his nose. "If you do, I'll have to tie more around your head."

I whimper again, the sounds muffled enough not to wake Athna. Holoth smiles against my neck and then leaves a trail of kisses down my body until he's back between my legs. He doesn't stop until I've forgotten all about my sister and replaced it with thoughts of how much I love my mate.