Epilogue

Wild Man

Iglare at the doctor as momor lets out another wailing cry of pain. The grip she has on my hand should be painful, but it only reminds me of how much she's hurting and there's not a damn thing I can do to help her. The stupid fucking doctor said it's too late to give her the numbing shot. I'm half a second away from ripping the doctor to shreds and forcing her to give my wife whatever the hell she needs to make the pain go away. It's tearing me apart seeing her like this.

"Wild Man," she pants, her grip around my hand tightening even more. "Stop it. I'm fine."

When asked a few months ago if she wanted an epidural during labor, momor told the doctor no. She was insistent that she deliver without the aid of medication. I didn't argue, because I didn't fucking know it would be this bad. I knew it would be painful—pushing something the size of a watermelon out such a small hole had to be—but I didn't realize the magnitude. Each time momor screams in pain, I swear my heart dies a little.

After one last glare, which the female doctor ignores, I turn to momor. "Don't like seeing you pain."

My speech has gotten much better, but it's not perfect.

Her face is flush with red and sweat coats her forehead. She takes short little breaths as she waits for another spasm of pain to hit her.

She smiles, but it's not the real one I love so much. "We knew this was coming, right? Once we hold our babies in our arms, it'll all be worth it."

Twins. Not one, but two little babies.

We were happy when we heard the news. Now, a part of me is scared shitless, because this won't end when she delivers our child. She'll have to endure it even more until our second baby is born.

"Alright, Everlee. I want you to give it all you got with this next contraction," the doctor says in a tone so calm it grates on my nerves. How in the hell can she appear so relaxed? My entire fucking life is laying right here, sounding like she's dying from so much pain.

Momornods. Her teeth clench and she blows out a readying breath. When the next contraction hits, she crushes my fingers so much it feels like the bones are breaking. But I don't care. If this helps her in any way, she can break every bone in my body.

She lets out a jarring scream and her face turns a deeper shade of red. Seconds later, a loud wailing sound fills the room. I jerk my head down the bed where the doctor is. She holds up a tiny baby that's covered in red and white gooey stuff. The little arms flail around and his mouth is wide open as he screams. All I can do is stare in awe.

"Congrats, momma and daddy." The doctor smiles. "Here is your healthy baby boy."

Almost immediately, the grayish cord connecting baby to momor is cut and he's handed over to a nurse holding a blue cloth. I want to demand they bring him back, but the grip on my hand reminds me that this isn't over.

I look back at momor. She's smiling, even as more tears leak from her eyes as she watches the nurse walk away with our son. I bring her hand to my lips and kiss the back of it.

"He's beautiful," she whispers, her voice hoarse from screaming.

"He is."

The doctor sits back down on her stool. "Baby number two is coming fast, Everlee, so as much as you want to take a break, I'm going to need you to push again, okay?"

"Yeah," momor replies weakly.

Our daughter comes a few minutes later. If I thought our son's crying was loud, his sister nearly pierces my ears.

"You did so good, momor," I whisper, my face close to hers. "So brave. So strong."

She gives me a smile that wobbles. "Thank you."

"Thank you, for giving me these precious gifts." I bend and kiss her lips. "I love you."

She sniffs and wipes her hand across her tear-stained cheek, giving me another one of her beautiful smiles. "I love you."

What seems like hours later, after momor has been cleaned up, two nurses walk over with our babies. One of them gently sets our son in his noeny's arms and I get our daughter. I am utterly transfixed as I stare down at the tiny person cradled against my chest. Her little face is scrunched up as she sleeps. She has the smallest nose and a mouth shaped like a bow and she has a head full of nearly black hair.

My heart instantly fills with love.

I look down at momor and our son and that love grows. Tears slide down momor's cheeks and she gazes at him with adoration. His hair isn't as dark as his sister's. More the color of momor's. And his face is a little slimmer.

"What are their names?" one of the nurses asks.

Momordoesn't look away from our son as she says, "His name is Alexander Mason."

Alexander is my and my father's middle name. I'm man enough to admit, my eyes became watery when momor told me she wanted to name our son after me and peepa.

My throat is tight when I give the nurse our daughter's name. "Josephine Athena."

"Beautiful names," the nurse says.

Our daughter's name is after both of our noeny's. We couldn't have thought of a better way to honor the parents we no longer have.

Momorlooks at Josephine, and I know what she wants. I carefully settle our daughter in her other arm. Her gaze goes from one to the other, her eyes shining happily.

"I love you, Josephine." She presses a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Alexander." Our son's forehead is next.

When she looks at me, I lean down and kiss her lips.

I was content out in the wild all alone, maybe even happy. It wasn't until I had momor that I knew what true happiness is.

This woman and our two children will forever and always be my life.

* * *

"Look what I found, Daddy!"

Josie comes running up to me and holds out her little hand. In her palm is a rock nearly the size of her hand. It's black and smooth and closely resembles the shape of a heart.

"Do you think Auntie Cammie will like it?" she asks, her gaze hopeful.

"I think she'll love it."

With a squeal of delight, she runs off, immediately going to her brother to show him her treasure.

My sister still collects rocks. Any time we visit her, she always tells the kids a story about where one came from. Even after hearing many of the stories, their favorite rock is the one I gave her the first time momor and I visited her.

When Peepa, Noeny, and I came to the wild for our last visit, I did find a rock to bring back to Cammie. Although I had forgotten Cammie and the reason why I needed to, I kept the rock all of those years. When I gave it to Cammie and explained what it was, she burst into tears. She now calls that her favorite rock.

A loud yip echoes in the forest and a moment later, a pair of pups comes bounding across the ground in front of me. Alex and Josie laugh as Loki playfully jumps on Ares' back. The pups roll around until Ares pins Loki to the ground. Loki and Ares, along with Nala, are Devika's pups. Devika and Nemu are the only two wolves we see now when we come to the forest. Teeja and Vena have been gone for a few years now, and we believe Drefan and Khelan have moved on to other parts of the forest.

With a smile on her face as she watches the rambunctious pups, momor walks over and tries to sit beside me on the log. I grab her waist before she can and drag her down onto my lap.

We're in my old tree hut. It's nearly the same as when we left it all those years ago, except it's been cleaned up a bit. We don't come as often as we used to, but we still like to bring the kids out here a couple times a year for a weekend. Momor thinks it's important for our children to know where I spent most of my life and where she and I met. I love that she wants to share my past with them.

"Do you ever miss being here?" she asks.

I pinch a piece of fruit between my fingers and bring it to her mouth. Her eyes smile as she opens her lips to take it. Any time we're out here, this is what we do. We feed each other like we used to.

"Yes and no. I miss the freedom and the quietness. The simplicity of living in the wild and not having to worry about what I do, or say, or how to act." The arm I have wrapped around her pulls her closer, and I lower my voice. "I miss having you naked all the time and being able to fuck you whenever or however I want."

Her eyes flicker with heat and she shifts on my lap. "Maybe we can have Dad or one of my brothers watch the kids one weekend and we make a special trip out here."

My cock twitches in my jeans, and I barely hold back my growl. To have my momor naked and readily available for an entire weekend?

Fuck yes.

"Did you ever imagine your life would turn out this way?" momor asks as she watches our children play with Loki, Ares, and Nala. Devika and her wolf mate, Treyvan, lie on their bellies close by.

Honestly? No, I always thought I would die like my parents. By some wild animal, stronger and smarter than me. Maybe a bear or cougar.

I kiss the side of momor's neck. "No. I never expected to find you, but the moment I did, I knew my life was about to change."

She lays her head on my shoulder and kisses the underside of my jaw. I still have the beard and long hair. The one time I mentioned cutting it, I thought momor was going to attack me. She got a cute, crazed look in her eye and demanded to never mention it again.

"When I first came to this forest to find you, you were just a myth. I didn't even know if you were real or not. But even so, you already had a piece of my heart. When I saw you in that pool of water, you stole a little more of it. I never expected for you to be what you were, and boy did I tear off more than I could chew those first few days," she laughs.

I still don't regret the things I did to her. Had our story changed in the slightest, we might not be where we are today.

She sits up straight and turns so she's facing me, laying her hand against my cheek.

"I can't imagine my life without you, Wild Man." She kisses my lips, and still, even after seven years, I can't get enough of her taste. "When I came here, I never thought it possible to tame the Wild Man rumored to live in the forest, but I did." She grins cheekily. "And as I did that, you made me wild for you."

She did tame me. She taught me how to love. How to cherish the things I hold close to my heart. She gave me back to my sister and gave me a new family. She showed me what true happiness is. Before her, I was just a nameless man and only existed.

Now I'm Phenix Alexander Salone. Gabriel and Josephine's son. Cammie's brother. Father to two beautiful children, Alexander and Josephine. And husband and lover to Everlee, my momor.

I more than exist. This brave and gorgeous woman found me and gave me life.