Chapter 12

Tessa

Five Years Later…

"When willI find my mate, Mommy?" My daughter, Savannah, asks as I tuck her into bed.

"You'll have to wait and see," I tell her with a smile.

"Tell me how you and Daddy met," she says, and I laugh.

"That story again?" I ask, and she nods excitedly.

She loves hearing about how Ash and I fell in love. Of course, we give her the kid-friendly version.

"Well, once upon a time," I start and she grins. "Your Aunt Elle came to this tiny town in Alaska for a vacation. She was trying to relax, but she ended up being hurt, and your Uncle Niko swooped in and saved her. They lived happily ever after, and since I was Elle's best friend, when she decided to move to Alaska, I decided to join her."

I smile to myself as I think back all those years ago to when I first got to Aspen Ridge. I had been skeptical about the weather, but it ended up being the best decision that I ever made. It brought me to Ash and to our happily ever after.

She nods, her eyes starting to grow heavy already. I can hear Ash next door tucking our son, Miles, in, and I smile. We take turns tucking the kids in, but Miles was being fussy tonight, and all he wanted was his dad. He gets like that sometimes if Ash has a late shift like he did today.

"So, I moved to Aspen Ridge too, and when I got to town," I whisper, and Savannah's eyes droop, fluttering shut. "I met the man of my dreams. Your dad."

She smiles, and I brush her hair back from her face.

"He was the most handsome man I had ever seen, and it was love at first sight for me."

Her breathing evens out, and I smile as I tuck the blankets tighter around her and kiss her forehead.

I moved in with Ash, and a week later, he proposed to me. I was surprised because I know that shifters don't really get married. Biting and marking them is like their version of a wedding ring, but Ash knew that it was probably important to me. He said that he liked the idea of me being tied to him in all ways, and I had happily accepted his proposal.

We got married at the courthouse in town with all our friends and had a fun time on our honeymoon.

Then, a few weeks later, we found out that we were expecting our first child together. It had been a shock, but we were both so excited. We had gotten to work on redoing one of the guest rooms into a nursery and preparing to become parents.

It was exciting to be pregnant at the same time as Elle. We both really leaned on each other and it brought us closer than ever, which is something that I didn't think was possible.

We had Savannah, and then a few months later, we learned that we were pregnant again. We welcomed Miles and decided that two under two was crazy enough for us. We've been a happy family of four ever since.

I think that becoming a dad freaked Ash out. I know he was worried about making the same mistakes as his dad, but I had promised him that he was nothing like his dad. He's not either. He's so hands on, always up for a game of hide and seek or a tea party. I swear, he changed more diapers than I did with both of our kids.

I tiptoe out of her room and bump into Ash as he comes up behind me.

"Is she out?"

"Yeah, I think the play date this afternoon wore both of them out. She was out like a light."

"Did she ask for a story?" He asks as we head to our room.

"Of course," I laugh. "She wanted to hear how we met again."

"How far did you get?" He asks as he closes our bedroom door behind us.

"I got to town and fell in love with you at first sight."

"Ah, the good part."

"It's all good," I tell him, and he wraps his arms around my waist.

"I wish I hadn't been an idiot and wasted so much time."

He's apologized a lot over the last five years, but the truth is that I forgave him for that a long time ago.

"I know. We both made mistakes, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that we figured it out, and we're together now."

"I love you, Tessa."

"Prove it," I whisper and he grins a second before his head bows towards me and he kisses me.