Epilogue

Waylan

The day started like any other Saturday. I woke up early and warmed some pumped milk on the stove so Joe could sleep in. At exactly six am, I heard Iris's baby talk start up.

I could set my watch by that baby's internal clock.

I walked to her crib and scooped her up. "Good morning, sweet girl."

She smiled and pointed at my nose. "Mmm bababoo."

I scrunched up my face and smacked my lips at her. "Mmm bababoo."

She giggled and looked around the room, describing what she saw in her nonsensical language.

I changed her diaper and then carried her outside to the hammock, where we sat and watched the sun rise while she had her breakfast and I had my coffee. Elvis started crowing, and a few minutes later, I heard a cabin door open, which meant the boys were getting up.

My heart swelled with feelings of contentment and pride at the little life I'd created. Seven years ago, I'd left my home with nothing but a truckful of tools and some pawflower seeds.

Now I had my own family, a farm, and a purpose.

Iris finished eating and got the squirmies, never one to lay still and just be.

I carried her back inside and set her on her play mat on the floor so she could practice rolling over and getting up onto her hands and knees. Este and his family were coming to visit the following week, and I fully expected Iris to start crawling while they were there, in her attempts to keep up with Sammy and Adrian.

Mateo had come out to help after Iris was born, staying for almost two weeks by himself before Este arrived with the kids. You could have knocked me over with a feather at how much I enjoyed having a full house with all those people. That was when I realized that working with the boys had also been good for The Quiet in me too.

I'd become better at managing it, at learning to enjoy being with people despite it.

Este's family had been coming out every couple of months since, sometimes just Mateo, sometimes the whole family. Mateo and Este loved to play with Iris, and I had a feeling that being around her was making them think about having another.

She was pretty cute, it was undeniable.

The boys were in love with her, too. When they were with us, Joe and I got to enjoy more time to ourselves because they were always eager to babysit. We usually had to track Iris down, only to find one kid or another wearing her on their back while they tended to the pawflower, or they would shift into their fur and roll around in the grass with her climbing all over them.

Joe was more anxious than I was about what type of shifter she would be. I thought he wanted her to be a coyote so she'd fit in with the pack and not end up as an outsider like he was. At the same time, I thought he kinda wanted her to be a fox so he didn't feel so alone in our family.

So when she first shifted and was an adorable little coyote, I almost felt bad for Joe. But I could see his excitement and pride regardless.

With Iris entertained for a few minutes, I fixed Joe's coffee and brought it into the bedroom. I snuggled up beside him and nuzzled behind his ear. "Wake up, Daddy."

Joe was Daddy, I was Papi.

He opened his eyes and smiled, then reached toward the coffee. "Be careful. It's hot." I handed it to him.

He sat up and took a sip. "How's Iris?"

"Great. Can you hear her?"

We listened to her babbling from the next room. Then the sound of the door opening, and several pairs of feet shuffled to the coffee maker.

I raised my eyebrows. "The boys are here."

Joe smiled. We listened as they took turns saying good morning to Iris. Dylan went straight to fixing breakfast for his brother and the two other young coyotes who had recently joined us.

Joe had been teaching them to cook for themselves, which was enormously helpful.

"We're pouring the foundation today, remember?"

"I remember. I might keep Iris with me for this one."

"Okay. I'll come check on you at lunch." I gave Joe a kiss. "Want the baby?"

He nodded excitedly. "Always."

I went and swooped Iris up out of Dylan's hands. "Iris is staying home today."

They collectively sighed with disappointment, then gave Iris little tickles and kisses.

I was beginning to learn that The Quiet was more common than I'd realized, or maybe it was just our pack. Sometimes I wondered if Este might even have a touch of it.

As more boys joined us, we needed more room to house everyone, so the boys and I were building a large bunkhouse for them with a big kitchen, a couple bathrooms, and guest bedrooms. They'd still have the small cabins we'd built last fall, but having a space for people who needed more community was important.

With so much labor on hand, we even put in a second crop of pawflower. It was beginning to feel like the sky was the limit for our little farm.

That evening, the boys went down for a swim in the lake, and I ran a bath in the outdoor clawfoot tub for Joe and Iris. I watched them splash around, then Joe handed Iris to me so he could lie back and relax.

Iris chewed on my knuckle and drooled.

"I feel another tooth coming in."

Joe nodded. "Me too." He rubbed his nipple and grimaced.

"Did you get some writing done today?"

He shrugged and slipped a little lower into the water. "A few pages. It's coming along."

I reached into the bath and splashed him. "When do I get to read it?"

He splashed me back. "Not yet. Soon."

"Well, I'm sure it's gonna be great. You've read enough books to be an expert by now."

"Maybe. Writing a book is harder than I thought it would be." A few minutes later, Joe stood up and got out, reaching past me for a towel.

I admired his body while he toweled off. He looked sexier than ever to me. How had I ended up with such a literal fox? I put Iris on her blanket, then stood up and took over Joe's toweling.

His hair had gotten a little curlier, and his skin was softer. As always, I kissed the scar on his neck even though it was barely noticeable now.

He smiled. "I wrote something else today."

"What's that?" I wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked it in.

"A letter. To my dad." He peeked up at me from under wet lashes.

"Really? Wow. I mean, is that good? That seems good."

He nodded. "I've been thinking about doing it for a while. I want to get to know him again, now that I know he's a shifter. I think I finally understand why he acted the way he did."

I put my arms around him and pulled him toward me. "Okay, well, just be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

Joe threaded his hands around my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. The smell of cinnamon wafted off him.

I sighed with delight—my favorite smell. "I love you, Cinnamon."

He smiled. "I love you too, Papi."

Suddenly, we both heard a strange sound from the ground. I looked down quickly, panicked that we'd accidentally stepped on Iris, but she was gone.

Joe gasped and began to scan the ground. "Where is she?"

"She was just here. I just set her down. Is she crawling? Did she crawl away?"

A movement caught my eye, and I looked as a little tuft of gray wriggled from underneath the tub.

"Joe." I pointed.

A small, gray fox with a round belly came scooting toward us.

I hesitated. "Iris?"

Iris yipped and wobbled to her feet.

Joe crumpled to the grass and held out his hands.

Iris tottered toward him.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was that really my baby girl? She looked up at me, and I knew instantly that it was her.

She was a fox…and a coyote!

Joe and I looked at each other and laughed in disbelief. Then, in perfect synchrony, we both shifted to join her. She and Joe nuzzled each other, and his eyes shone with happiness and pride. I scooted toward them on the grass, aware of how much bigger I was than Iris. She yipped and rolled toward me in coyote behavior.

Joe rolled onto his back and waved his feet in the air, and she rolled toward him and tried to climb onto his belly. I helped nudge her up with my nose. She wriggled toward his face and received his happy fox kisses.

I threw my head back and let out a happy howl.

From the lake, I heard the boys respond.

Iris threw her head back and let out an adorable fox howl. Joe joined her, two sweet fox voices filling the evening air.

I smiled, knowing the boys would be wondering what they were listening to.

Our little Iris, bridging our worlds. I laid my head next to Joe's and remembered that evening, so long ago, when I'd followed the trail of cinnamon to the willow tree. If only I'd known it led to this, right here, I'd have looked for that trail a long time ago.

Next in the series…

Alpha Wolf Theodore has been under his father's paw since the day he was born. He's the second alpha son, born from a mistress and has no other purpose to his father other than to be a spare. Theodore isn't interested in the family business. He wants to find an omega and have his own family, but he's been driving the getaway cars since he could reach the pedals and done things that could put him away for several lifetimes.

He's ashamed of it, but it's the only life he's ever known. As far as he knows, the coyotes are awful and vicious, but he's drawn to the West Coast Coyotes and can't help circling the pack.

Omega Adrian started working for Esteban when he was a teen, hawking pawflower after school to pay for his mom's vises. He worked his way up to part of the household staff and now has a coveted position they call banker. He counts money as it comes in and packages it up for disbursement. Since Waylan's pawflower farm produces so well, they have huge business from the humans, and he's been socking away his own stash of cash, just in case he ever needs to run.

Alpha Wolf Finds His Coyote is the third book in the MM Mpreg West Coast Coyotes series. If you like your shifters hot and sexy and sweet and loving, you won't be able to put these down. Every book brings you a relationship worth fighting for and at least one pup at the end to make you smile. Low angst. High heat. And adorable babies. What more could you ask for?