Epilogue

“ H i,” I say softly, opening the door for Baylen’s mother, Cassie. “Glad to see you again!”

Instead of responding, Cassie steps into the house and pulls me into a tight hug. She’s much shorter than me with the same hair and eyes as Baylen. I grunt at how tightly she squeezes me.

“Milo! It’s so wonderful to see you again,” she eventually says, pulling back to look up at me. She puts her hands on my cheeks, assessing me. “You look tired, sweetheart.”

“Missy isn’t sleeping very well,” I admit softly. “I’ve been doing all the nighttime wake up calls so Baylen can rest. I don’t think it’ll last much longer though, don’t worry.”

We’re about to walk further into the house but I stop and turn back towards Cassie. “I’m sorry, do you mind taking your shoes off? Baylen doesn’t like outside stuff tracking through the house.”

Cassie freezes, staring at me with wide eyes. She slips out of her shoes before stepping into my space once more. “Do you believe in Lady Fate, Milo?”

I startle at the question. “Umm, yes? The one who created shifters and left pieces of one another scattered to find each other again someday. I don’t think I’ve ever met a shifter who didn’t believe.”

“Seeing you and Baylen makes me believe even more,” she admits softly. “You see him in a way no one else ever has. You’re good together.”

“Oh,” I breathe out, a smile spreading across my lips. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for taking care of my baby. You’ll understand someday when Missy is older. It’s scary watching your child move out into the world. You make that less scary.”

“He makes it easy,” I say with a soft smile. “He makes the world less scary for me .”

“Good. That’s everything a mother wants to hear.”

Just then, Baylen steps into the room holding Missy in his arms. Cassie’s face lights up and she practically pushes me out of the way to get across the room. I can’t help but chuckle, watching as she goes.

“Oh my gods! Look at her! She’s so beautiful.”

Baylen nods along. “She is, yes. The most beautiful baby I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“Can I hold her, please?”

“Once you go wash your hands.”

Cassie practically runs to the kitchen in order to wash her hands. I can’t help but chuckle at her excitement. Then she sits down on the couch and Baylen carefully hands Missy over. Once his hands are free, he steps over towards me, leaning against my side. I wrap my arm around his waist, squeezing him tight.

“She’s perfect,” Cassie breathes out. “When will you have more?”

Baylen and I both sputter. “Mother! She’s only a few weeks old!”

“What? I’m a grandmother now. It’s my job to pester for even more.”

“We kind of got lucky,” I say softly. “Octopi can have anywhere between one and six eggs at a time. Can you imagine juggling six babies at once?”

Baylen shudders beside me and I chuckle. “I’m content with just the one for now, thank you very much.”

I hum in agreement. The idea of more kids doesn’t put me off but we’ll have to wait and see if Lady Fate agrees or not. It’s in Her hands.

I let one of my tentacles loose, tugging something out of my pocket and holding it above Baylen’s head. “Oh my gosh, would you look at that.”

Baylen looks up and his eyes narrow. “It’s not even Christmas, Milo. Where did you even get that?”

I shrug, doing my best to look innocent. “I have no idea what you could possibly mean, Baylen,” laying it on as thick as I can so he’ll know I’m clearly teasing him. “My hands are empty. See?”

Baylen grabs my hands and tugs me towards him until we’re chest to chest. Then he plants a kiss against my lips. The force of it steals my breath. When we pull back, we’re both chuckling softly.

“See,” Cassie says, holding Missy up. “Your daddies are so in love it’ll only be a matter of time before you have a whole fishtank of brothers and sisters.”

Baylen and I both groan but can’t find it in ourselves to be upset. I give him one last kiss before tucking the mistletoe back into my pocket. We make our way over to the couch, joining Cassie for her visit.

The entire night I can’t stop smiling, so happy that this is my life. I have my mate, my daughter, and even more to include in my family. My chest is full.

In a few weeks, Baylen will be back to work and we’ll have to navigate this new normal with Missy. I think we’ll fall into it like we do everything else, with mutual understanding and a whole lot of communication.

As I gaze over at my mate, I see a sliver of the bite I’ve left behind and I can’t help but think maybe Cassie is onto something with the whole ‘having more babies thing’. At the very least, I’m more than looking forward to practicing and allowing Baylen to become even more acquainted with my tentacles.

Baylen looks up, our eyes meeting. We share a soft smile and I can’t help but think I might literally be the luckiest octopus in the world.

The End

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