Epilogue

Epilogue

Prairie Rose

The big cabin was full of noise and commotion. It was full-on chaos with all her brothers and sisters, her parents, Kieran and Zora's twins, Briar May and Castor's daughter, and Blake and Levi running through the place.

It might have taken them until spring to finally get together as a family, but what better time, when everything chose to renew itself?

She thought that the noise and the talking and the endless laughter and happiness, the shouts from the kids, the hustle of trying to cook food to feed so many people, and all the other craziness of having a huge family and a packed cabin would overwhelm Agnar, but so far they were hours into a gathering that started in the afternoon and would go all night, and he'd only had to dip out onto the porch a few times.

She bumped into him coming back. She'd gone to get a roll of paper towels since they'd had a gravy incident in the kitchen.

He caught her before she smacked straight into his chest. She was in a hurry and wasn't watching where she was going.

She still grunted at the impact, but then she smelled his peppery, leather and pine masculine scent and relaxed into those hands. "Agnar." She forgot all about her errand and the gravy probably making a river from the countertop onto the floor and was dazzled by her mate all over again.

"Do you need help? You look flushed, and for a change, I didn't make you that way."

She blushed brighter. "Goodness. Yes, we could use help, if you're offering."

"You know I can't cook worth shit. It's probably worse than that, actually."

"Now that you mention it, there are probably too many people in there. That's how that whole pot of gravy tipped over."

"Did anyone get burned?"

"No. No, but we are out of paper towels." She pointed at the closet in the hall. "We've always kept it in there and Zora and Kieran didn't change the layout much after mom and dad moved out and they took over the place.

He opened the wooden door and handed her two huge rolls. "That should do it."

"Yes. Thank you. We already ruined Zora's favorite tea towel."

She tried to rush back to the kitchen, but he caught her around the middle. "Have I ever told you how much I love these dresses?"

She grinned and pressed his hand so his palm flattened on her stomach, and said teasingly, "Really? I thought you preferred me out of them."

He laughed then looked serious, "I once thought you were prettier than the desert flowers."

"And now?" She mock pouted, sticking out her lower lip in a tease.

"And now I think you're more beautiful than any flower."

He rubbed his palm gently over her belly. It wasn't so flat anymore. There was a nice mound there, hidden beneath her flowing floral dress. A secret which Blake and Levi had known about for a few weeks, but one they'd share with the rest of her family tonight. Everyone had probably already noticed that her scent had changed, but they were diplomatic enough to let her announce the news for herself.

She was only a month along into a four-and-a-half- to five-month pregnancy, but she'd been to see Brooke a week ago, and just by putting her hand on her belly and feeling, Zora's mother seemed convinced that there were three lives in there.

It was unimaginable, even though multiples in shifter births, especially with wolves, weren't uncommon.

"How are you doing? Getting tired? Nauseous?"

"Yes and yes, but I'm so happy to have all of us together. Well, most of us." She wondered about Rome often. She texted him regularly, but he never texted back. She'd called him a few weeks ago, to try to check up on him and ask about Waverly, but he hadn't answered that either.

She would have been worried if Rome was anyone but himself, but he was decidedly very much himself, and not answering his phone or keeping in touch wasn't new for him. She did sometimes wonder, when she'd wake up in the middle of the night, what he was doing and how bad it was. He'd called himself a monster and she couldn't be close to convince him otherwise. They should take a trip to Casper, after the babies were born. Maybe before, if they could do it soon. Maybe she could convince Briar May and Castor to go with them, although with Sadie still barely sleeping and as spirited as she'd always been, the long drive would be a hard one for them to make.

"You're thinking about Rome. We could go back, and I could get a second set of those braces made for these hands like we've been talking about."

She nodded, her throat thick. He always knew what she was thinking. Even if she woke him out of a dead sleep, one look at her face and he always sensed exactly what was wrong, if anything. Sometimes she liked to wake him up just because she could. Just because she wanted to touch him and kiss him and have him do filthy and slightly depraved things to her body.

"I'd like that. Both for you and to see Rome and Waverly again. The boys would have fun on the trip. They loved it last time."

"I've been thinking more about helping train at the school."

"Oh?" She bit down on her lip, hoping he'd decided that was a yes. The boys had been begging him for months now.

Agnar helped out with so many different areas in the pack. He did what he could, which was more than he'd ever thought he could do given that his hands still weren't perfect. He did guard shifts during the day, and because of his advice and even some brief training, the pack was a much safer place. He was no longer alpha, but he still checked on the members of his old pack. They would always be his people and his wolves, and he'd always feel that responsibility for them. So far, everyone had settled in remarkably well.

"I'll talk to Kieran about it tonight."

"Maybe more than just the young wolves could benefit. You've done an amazing job improving our guard here. You could train adults as well."

His eyes didn't cloud over like they used to. He nodded solemnly, probably because he'd been considering that too, but wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

She remembered the first time she'd ever seen Agnar. That meeting in the middle between their packs. She'd thought he was so beautiful, but she'd never doubted that he could easily and very casually do great damage to anything he chose. He didn't choose to break her. He didn't choose to break himself. He built up their family. He believed in them now. He worked hard for the future that was theirs as a family and as a pack.

She took his hand and splayed it back over her belly. "There's going to be so many hugs tonight, even though I'm sure pretty much everyone knows. Back slapping and all that for you, but congratulations all around. Are you ready for that?"

"Am I ready for a family of seven?"

The boys were definitely ready. One baby or twenty, they were ecstatic about the idea of being big brothers, teachers, guides, and protectors. He stared at her in wonder, like she was something precious and rare and worthy of being captivated over.

He'd looked at her that way for far longer than she'd been pregnant. It wasn't just because she was carrying their children. She did tense slightly, waiting for his answer. He didn't even have to think about it.

His eyes shone bright, a dewy gray with the sun peeking out over the horizon in little bright blue bursts.

"I've been ready for longer than I could have known. You've convinced me that destiny is real. Even if it's not, I'm ready to grow our family in every way. In kindness, in love, in trust, and in hope. I'm trying to be the father Blake and Levi have needed me to be for years, not the father who was a warrior first and stone second. I've been given a new life and I'm trying to be the new man that you all deserve."

"We're here to help you." She twisted her arms around his neck, even though she had to drop the rolls of towel to the floor. "Always. We'll always be at your side. We love you so much, Agnar. You have always been worthy."

"I love you for saying so." He kissed her hard, brutal, punishing her bottom lip between his teeth.

He didn't let her go until there was zero doubt that everyone could tell she'd been slightly ravished in the hallway. "I love you for everything you are, Prairie Rose. Every bit of you is a wonder.

I love our boys and those babies that are coming. I'll never be able to thank you enough for taking a chance on me that day and every day since."

She combed her fingers through his beard, which was one of her favorite things to do now that he'd let it grow out. He seemed to like it too, odd gesture that it was. Then again, there wasn't anything she could do to him that he didn't like.

"There are so many things I'd go back and spare you the pain of, all of you, if I could, but even so, I would make that choice over and over again.

Whatever compelled me that day was absolutely right. I didn't know it then, but that day I took the first step towards the love of my life."

The End