Epilogue

A Few Weeks Later

Khush

I smiled down at the note on my phone, surprised it was still there. I hadn't looked at it in a while, but there it was. My little bucket list. There weren't all that many things on it. I hadn't actually gotten around to thinking about it too deeply when I first came up with it, so I'd just listed out the things that had jumped out in my mind.

Dustin snored as he lay beside me, and I glanced over at him with a smile. I'd woken up a few minutes ago, but since he seemed to be sleeping so peacefully, I'd decided against waking him up until we needed to head for breakfast.

Turning back to my phone, I read through my list, smiling wider when I reached the last two:

Get coffee at an actual coffee shop

Go to a real beach

Visit a bookstore

Fall in love

Find my mate

Who would have known that my attempt to cross one item off the list would end up crossing off two more? I certainly hadn't expected it. I was the luckiest man in the world.

Dustin groaned in his sleep, and his eyes flicked open. He shot upright and, before I could speak, raced out of the room.

Surprised, I followed after him, slipping down the stairs as fast as I could.

Hearing him in the other bedroom, I rushed inside to find the bathroom door open. The sound of Dustin heaving reached me, and I hurried to his side, lowering myself so I could rub his back. Why was he sick? Our bond was strong now, and he should be above such things. This shouldn't be possible. Not unless...

Dustin whimpered, and I hushed him softly as I rubbed his back, wishing there was more I could do.

When it looked like he didn't have anything left in him to vomit, I filled a glass with water, bringing it back to him. He swished some water in his mouth before spitting it into the toilet bowl, and I helped him up, then watched as he washed his face.

"Do you feel okay?"

"Y-yeah," Dustin answered, his voice a little hoarse.

"You shouldn't be getting sick, not with how strong our bond is," I said, and Dustin frowned. The mating bond grew stronger the closer we grew emotionally, and our bond had locked into place a while ago. The completed bond meant that Dustin was supposed to be free of human illnesses and aging.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." I licked my lips, and my eyes automatically slid to his stomach. He followed my gaze, and a gasp slipped past his lips.

"Do you think I'm pregnant?" Dustin asked, and I bit my lip. I didn't want to raise his hopes, but there was also no other logical reason for his sudden sickness.

"It's possible," I ended up saying, and his eyes widened as his palm pressed against his stomach.

I wrapped an arm around his waist as he swayed unsteadily, and he leaned into me. I could hear his heart thundering, and I glanced down at him, worried. "Do you need to lie down?"

Dustin shook his head, then glanced up at me. "I need pregnancy tests. I need to know for sure."

I met his eyes and knew we weren't going anywhere until he did the test. Nodding, I led him back to the downstairs bedroom and made him sit.

"I'm gonna get my phone and ask Touya to get you some test kits, okay?"

Dustin nodded silently, and I hurried upstairs, my mind whirling with worry. Grabbing my phone, I quickly dialed Touya's number and explained the situation, grateful I had friends I could depend on in situations like this.

Five minutes later—he must've asked the headmaster for a portal to be so quick—Touya knocked at my door. I took the shopping bag he held out, and thanked him for his help, impatient to get back to my mate.

"Good luck," Touya wished with a smile before he took off, and I closed the door, rushing back to my mate.

"Do you want me to be with you?" I asked as I handed him the tests, and he shook his head, then rose up on his tiptoes to kiss me.

He was in there for a few minutes, and I tried to focus on anything but our thundering hearts. I wanted to be in there, to be holding him as we found out if we were going to be dads or not.

"Khush?" Dustin called, and I was in the bathroom before he'd finished speaking.

He'd lined up the tests on the sink counter, and he pressed himself against me, burying his face in my chest.

"It takes two minutes. I can't look."

I squeezed him to me, then turned my eyes on the test. "Don't worry. I'll tell you what they say."

Dustin

My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest, and my mind was completely blank. I'd worried for a while that even though I wanted to be a dad, I'd freak out and regret the decision once I actually got pregnant, that it would be too difficult.

But now, as I prayed for those tests to turn positive, I realized that it didn't matter. I'd take getting misgendered and having to go off HRT, and having my body change for a chance to be a dad, to have a kid that was part me and part Khush.

Khush sucked in a sharp breath, and I buried my face tighter in his chest, my breath catching in my throat as I waited to hear the results.

"It's positive," Khush mumbled, then pulled back so he could look at me, a wide smile on his face. "It's positive!"

Tears filled my eyes, and I threw my arms around his neck as he grabbed my ass and pulled me up, slamming his lips against mine. Distantly, I remembered I'd just puked my guts out, but Khush didn't seem to care as he kissed me, and I wrapped my legs around him, clinging on for dear life.

"We're gonna be dads," I mumbled against his mouth, and he gave a thick, wet laugh, making me realize I wasn't the only emotional one.

A loud sound from outside caught my ear, and my brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what it was.

"Uh, so we won't need to tell anyone," Khush said, a look of defeat on his face. "That's Silas out there shouting his ass off."

I chuckled, then buried my face in his neck as I lost the battle with my tears. They were happy tears, though, so I let them flow, and Khush cradled me in his arms as I cried, rocking me gently. Fuck, he was going to be so good with our kid.

It took us close to an hour to get cleaned up and step out of the house, but I didn't think anyone would blame us. There was no one around as we made our way to the dining room, my stomach grumbling as it reminded me I'd be eating for two now.

"Want me to carry you?" Khush offered, and I chuckled, shooting him an amused look.

"I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."

"I know, but you were sick this morning, and you haven't eaten anything yet. What if you get dizzy?" he asked as he reached out to open the Forest door before I could. I was starting to realize I had nine months of this to look forward to. Khush was going to be one overbearing partner, wasn't he?

Surprisingly, I didn't really mind. It was sweet to see how worried Khush was. I was just going to have to make sure he didn't stress himself out worrying about me.

When we stepped into the Dining Room, everyone was still there, even though we were more than an hour late.

All eyes turned on us as we entered, and then everyone cheered, making me jump.

Keoni rushed over to us, his eyes bright as he threw an arm around each of us. "Oh my God, you guys! Congratulations! You're gonna be the best dads ever!"

"Thanks, Keoni," I murmured, hugging him back.

As Keoni pulled back, Silas started to step forward, but Khush shooed him back. "Let us grab some food first. Dustin needs to eat."

"Awww," someone in the crowd went, while some else said, "I knew you'd dote on him."

I smiled as Khush's ears turned pink, then almost had a fit when he pushed me toward the table and insisted on bringing my food to me. I relented eventually because I realized that taking care of me was the only thing Khush felt he could do, the only way he could make sure me and our kid were safe. Maybe I needed to let him do this, for his own peace of mind.

As we ate, people kept coming over to congratulate us, and some of these people I hadn't even had the chance to get to know yet. They were all happy for us regardless, and it made me glad to know our kid would grow up surrounded by such wonderful people.

Of course, we'd need to figure something out because I wanted our kid to be a part of the human world too, but this would be his home just as much as it'd become mine.

I couldn't wait to bring our child into this world, and to raise them with Khush.

I glanced over at Khush to find him watching me, and he smiled, reaching over to squeeze my knee below the table. I smiled back at him, feeling my chest warm.

Yeah, I couldn't wait at all.