Epilogue 1

Nine kids sat quietly on the grass, observing the birds feeding from the food station we'd set up near the trees. This was the first time most of them had stopped for more than five minutes all day, and frankly, I was exhausted.

My mates had been bugging me for weeks about taking it easy, but these children needed me. Most of them had been kicked out of mainstream school for being too disruptive. I was their last chance.

"Anyone recognize that yellow and black bird?"

Several hands flew in the air. "Is it a goldfinch?" Jack yelled, causing half the birds to take flight in panic.

I sighed inwardly but smiled encouragingly, anyway. "Yes, well done! What about the small bird with the red chest? Did you spot that one?"

"I did, Miss!" Chloe sat up straighter, looking pleased with herself. Jack immediately turned around and glared at her.

"Show off," he muttered. Chloe growled at him and he stuck his tongue out.

"Jack, why don't you tell everyone what you know about Robins?" I suggested before a full-on fight broke out.

The pair of them were always at each other's throats. Silas thought they would likely be mates one day. He said Jack was overcompensating because he liked Chloe, and she was trying not to seem too eager. I wasn't so convinced.

Jack duly spouted a few facts we'd learned, giving Chloe some side-eye while she picked her cuticles and pretended he didn't exist.

"Thank you, Jack. Well done, all of you, that's it for today. You can go to Lily now for physical training."

All nine kids leaped up, whooping and howling with excitement as Lily jogged over.

"Meet me at the pond, kids! And Jack, if you throw Chloe in again, I'll practice tying knots on you."

I snorted with laughter at Jack's indignant expression before he shot off in hot pursuit of Chloe. Lily grinned at me and her smile faded a bit when I grimaced in pain.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, just feeling it today." My swollen belly rippled as another sharp pain stabbed me. That was the second one in as many minutes. Maybe the guys were right. Maybe I had been overdoing things.

"I'm going to rest. Good luck with the kids. They're feral today."

Lily laughed. "Don't worry about me. I have some fun things lined up for them to do. None of them will have any energy left by the time I'm done with them!"

She ran off into the trees and I set off back toward our temporary home.

Tanner was waiting for me on the porch of the small cabin we were occupying while our new home was being built to Cole's exacting specifications. When I paused on the first step, my back hunched over with pain, his brow creased with concern.

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm fine!" I lied, just as an even stronger pain hit so hard I whimpered at the intensity.

"Eva, you're not fine! I'm calling the healer!" He picked me up like I weighed nothing and jogged inside the cabin.

"Silas, our cub's coming! Call Cole!"