Epilogue

Luxor

"Oh wow ," I moaned as my eyes fluttered shut, the creaminess flooding my mouth. I swallowed. "Oh, this is so good . Jennifer, you're amazing."

Sitting next to me at our kitchen table, Zoe snorted and nudged my knee. "Stop flirting with my mother."

I peeked open one eye enough to smirk at her. "I'm just telling her the truth. How come you didn't learn to cook mac and cheese this way?"

"Because I was busy reading."

Her mother was basically an older copy of Zoe sitting across the table. "She was busy reading," the slender woman deadpanned as she nodded regally and nudged the pan of mac and cheese my way.

"Oh man." I eagerly pulled the pan toward me and reached for the serving spoon to load up on the side dish. From the living room, I could hear Seamus's pitiful whimpers that he was relegated to his crate for the meal—we hadn't yet convinced him that he wasn't allowed to jump up on the table to join us—and was missing this cheesy goodness.

I shot Jennifer a smile. "If I buy a deep freezer before you go back home, can you make me another three or four or thirty servings?"

The older woman chuckled as Zoe huffed. "I can learn to cook, you know."

But I was already shaking my head, reaching for her hand to reassure her. "You don't have to, Mate." I brushed a kiss across her knuckles. "I'll keep roasting meat, your mom will provide the cheese-based sides, and you just keep running the library."

Her lips twitched, even as she rolled her eyes. "I made the salad."

Mrs. Albee was sitting beside Jennifer, clearly enjoying the salad. "Cranberries! I wouldn't have thought to include them, but they're delightful!"

"And I cut the cucumbers," Zoe pointed out proudly. "And made the dressing."

I didn't mention that she did it with my recipe, that she used twice as much vinegar as necessary, so we had to double the batch, and she forgot to load the dishwasher after. Or the fact that I toasted the walnuts.

I just smiled and squeezed her hand. "It's delicious. I'm such a lucky male."

"You are, T'mak ," Giza rumbled almost proudly as he reached for another barbecue rib. "And Mranna , your version of the macaroni and cheese is delicious." He nodded to Jennifer. "The best I've tasted."

The older woman smiled happily. "The secret is baking it with extra butter. Butter makes everything better."

"What does Mranna mean, Giza?" Mrs. Albee asked curiously.

Geez inclined his head to the librarian. "It means brother's Mate's mother . I'm claiming kinship."

From the other end of the table, Thebes—newly arrived in Eastshore—waved his fork. "I'm delighted to claim kinship to anyone who can cook like this. Zoe—brilliant, gorgeous Zoe—do you have any sisters?"

When I began to growl, Zoe merely giggled and nudged my knee again. "I do not, but several of my uncles are unmarried."

Thebes, the charmer, brightened. "Can they cook?"

Jennifer and my Mate stifled their giggles, but Mrs. Albee just huffed good-naturedly as she served herself more potato salad. "Giza, you are a fount of information about the orcish culture. If I was still running the library, I would suggest a presentation."

Zoe shot upright in her chair, eyes brightening. "Oh, that's a fabulous idea! I'll ask Jess about the town co-sponsoring it, the way they did with that performance by Olivia Zhang."

"Tanis's Mate performed here?" Thebes asked as Giza and I swung on him.

"Tanis is Mated ?" I gaped.

Thebes blinked, then chuckled, attention on wiping the barbeque sauce from his fingers. "You didn't know they were Mated? That's why he's been following her around as she finishes her tour. Sakkara said they'll be back by Thanksgiving."

I exchanged surprised looks with Giza.

No, clearly, we'd both missed something important. We thought Tanis had just been the violinist's bodyguard, but obviously, there was more to the story.

Slowly, Giza's lips parted in a grin. "I am pleased for him."

Jennifer passed him the pan of mac and cheese. He hadn't asked for it, but I liked a lady who could hand around unprompted pasta-and-cheese. "Do you have a Mate, Mr. Giza?"

"No, Mranna ," he said, suddenly solemn again as he took the pan. "Once, I thought I was, but I lost her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," breathed Jennifer. "How horrible."

"Even more so because she was one of the remaining females in our tribe." As everyone listened, Giza told a condensed story about the way our world was dying, with fewer and fewer females being born each generation until… "When we left ten years ago, there had been no female children born in fifty years, and the cohorts who've crossed the veil since then report more of the same."

"Just horrible," repeated Jennifer, glancing at her daughter.

When Zoe had originally told her mother that she was Mated to an orc, Jennifer's reaction had been understandably uncertain. She didn't know enough about us, of course.

So I invited her to Eastshore.

I'll admit that the first time she traveled out, it was a little awkward having her share a house with us, staying in Zoe's old bedroom while my Mate slept with me. As much as I'd wanted to make Zoe scream my name each night, we had to be more…discreet.

This second visit of hers has been easier, because a) she cooks for me, and b) she likes me.

It's obvious she knew about as much as most humans when it came to orcs— viz. , we're green, huge, and trying to build lives for ourselves—but she was now way more accepting.

I like to think I was as charming as Thebes, but maybe Jennifer came around just because she saw how much Zoe loves me.

And yeah, my Mate does love me, that's obvious. Sometimes I catch myself staring at her, afraid to breathe, just because she is so amazing, and it's so remarkable to me that she loves me. She was the one smart enough to figure out we're Mates, and she was the one who immediately rearranged her life to fit us together.

I was lucky alright.

Me, who was born unlucky… Who killed my mother with my birth, who endured a twisted body and the hatred of my family. I've been unlucky my entire life.

Up until Zoe.

Now I'm so damn lucky I'm bursting with it.

The way she squeezed my hand told me my expression must've projected my thoughts. She leaned closer and brushed a kiss on my jaw.

"Love you," she whispered.

See? Lucky.

"Love you more," I whispered back.

The conversation had turned back to orcish traditions, and now Thebes spoke up.

"It's Giza's role to remember all this shi—this stuff." He grinned good-naturedly. "See all those tattoos he's sporting? Those are his memories."

As the older ladies raised their brows—I couldn't tell if they disapproved or were impressed—Giza nodded.

"An orc's tattoos tell a story. Some of them are personal, some of them are relevant to all of us." The claw on his left forefinger trailed down the swirls of his right forearm. "This is our emergence into the human world." That same claw tapped the geometric pattern on the left side of his neck. "This is for my family, so they will not be forgotten. And I am designing a series for those of us who've found homes on Eastshore Isle."

I was smiling at Zoe when I explained, "It's traditional for Mated males to receive a tattoo combining their heritage with their Mate's. Giza is designing one for me."

"For us ," Zoe corrected, squeezing my hand beneath the table, and I beamed. She glanced at her mom. "Lux is part of my family now, so I figure that makes me part orc."

As Jennifer smiled, Giza offered a few more anecdotes about Mated pairs, which Thebes tried to out-do until everyone was chuckling.

But I couldn't take my eyes off my Mate.

Yeah, I was lucky alright.

Zoe was settling into her new role at the library. I limited myself to visiting her only once a day—I brought her lunch and nagged her into eating; otherwise she'd spend all day librarying—despite wanting to be with her all the time. It was really cool to see how she'd stepped up to take charge, despite being a few months away from earning her official degree.

The bar had made a fuss about her leaving, but my Mate hadn't looked back.

She was right where she was supposed to be, running a library, a vital part of our small town, and in my arms.

In the living room, our pup let out a little yip to remind me I had him as well.

"You're smiling at me all goofy again," Zoe whispered, squeezing my hand under the table.

"I can't help it." I lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. "I love you."

Zoe smiled. Gods, I loved it when she smiled like that. Her lips stretched wide, her teeth flashed white, and I could feel the joy coming off her. Those smiles were special because they were rare, and I cherished each and every one.

Leaning against me, Zoe dropped her voice to the barest whisper, although I doubted anyone could hear us over the laughter from Thebes's jokes.

"Once everyone goes home, I'll show you just how much I love you."

I raised a brow, and she winked.

And just like that, my cock suddenly got involved in the conversation. I couldn't help the low growl that curled from my throat, and when Zoe's lips parted and her pupils dilated just slightly, I scented her arousal.

Yep, sitting there at the dinner table with our closest friends and her mother , I was getting a hard-on.

Judging from the sparkle in my Mate's eyes, she knew it.

Suddenly, Giza's palm slammed against my shoulder. "We can leave now, T'mak , if that's easier for the two of you?"

Remember what I said about it being possible for orcs to blush? Cue the darker green cheeks… now.

But the good-natured laughter of our friends made it less embarrassing. So instead of scowling, I wrapped my arms around Zoe and pulled her against me, tucking her into my lap. I loved how natural it felt to hold her like this, and I loved how she didn't object, but held onto me as well.

Let's be honest; I loved everything about her, period.

I grinned around the table.

Yep, I had everything I needed, everything I could ever want, right here in Eastshore.

Almost.

"You're thinking about the future, aren't you?" Zoe whispered against my jaw as she settled into my hold.

"I was thinking I have almost everything I need."

"Almost?" She pulled back far enough to raise a brow at me as the conversation swirled around us.

I grinned.

She poked me. "What else could you possible want, you greedy male?"

My grin grew. "Pass the mac and cheese, please."