31. Epilogue

Epilogue

Tan

Six Months Later

" T hey're gonna be here soon. Is everything out? Did we forget anything? Shit, did I put napkins on the table up there?"

Garrick's hands came down on my shoulders, giving them a light squeeze. "Everything is perfect."

"But the napkins—"

"Are already on the table."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. "Everything looks and smells amazing. You did a great job."

I blew out a breath and shook out my arms, trying to shake away the nerves.

The Ellwoods were coming over. Well, not all of them, but probably about ninety percent of them. Plus, our other friends and family—Roman, Oakley, Anton, Ker, and a few others. Garrick had even invited Elvira, which I was glad about. That woman was a saint, and Garrick wouldn't be able to function at work without her. I was happy she was coming.

"Thank you," I said after I finally calmed down.

He gave me a peck. "Anytime."

"Are you doing okay? Nervous?"

"I'll admit I'm a little nervous about people coming into my condo, but I'm also… sort of excited about that? I haven't had anyone but you and Roman here in so long—well, and Oakley, I suppose." We'd started letting Oak in right after the roof attack. "I think it'll be nice to open up my home again."

I smiled at him. "Agreed. Where do you want to wait? Here or on the roof?"

He paused for a beat. "Here."

With a nod, I led him over to the food table I'd set up in the dining room. There were mostly snacks and some desserts here—all things that were also up on the roof too—and it was exactly what we needed while we waited. "Let's try some snacks."

Garrick grabbed a plate, and we filled it up with some finger foods before venturing over to the barstools at the kitchen island. We shared the plate while we waited, and even though I was anxious for everyone to get here, I decided to take a breath and enjoy a quiet moment with my viramore.

Overhearing my thoughts, he shot me a wink, but before we could do anything else, the front door opened. Roman and Oakley walked inside, so I stood to greet them.

I easily gave Roman a hug, and when Oakley stood in front of me, I opened my arms and asked, "May I?"

They nodded, so I pulled them into a hug too. They were a lot taller and broader than me—shaped a lot like their dad—and they were totally awkward with their hug, so the complete opposite of their dad in that regard.

They'd confessed to me recently that their old clan didn't really show affection, and that their mother wasn't one for hugs or cuddles. Which meant they'd grown up hardly ever getting hugged. It made me sad to think about, but as long as they were okay with it, I planned on giving them at least one hug every day. So far, they seemed good with that plan.

I released them, and Garrick didn't hesitate to pull his kid into a hug of his own. My heart fluttered in happiness every time I saw the two of them hug or tell each other they loved one another. I was so happy Garrick had the chance to build a real relationship with his child, and I was even happier I got to be a part of it.

Ailin and Seb walked in, distracting me. Ailin hugged me, saying, "It's good to see you, kiddo."

"I just saw you like two days ago."

He shrugged. "It's always good to see you." He kissed the side of my head and released me to his viramore.

Seb pulled me in close. "Love you, bud."

"Love you too."

More and more people arrived, and as I greeted nearly everyone with a hug, I realized just how much family I truly had and how lucky I'd been to grow up with the Ellwoods. Like Oakley, the family I was born into didn't hug or cuddle or do anything nice like that. If I hadn't had Remi's family—my family—in my life, I would've been just as awkward as Oak was. The Ellwoods, every single one of them, considered me a part of the family. Hell, Remi's nieces, nephews, and niblings all called me Uncle Tan.

It made me all warm and gooey inside. I only wished I would've realized I truly was a part of their family sooner instead of making Ailin drill it into my head.

When the condo got too crowded, Garrick grabbed my hand and pulled me up the spiral staircase to the roof where there was more room. The two of us fixed plates—of real food this time—and sat over by the bar Gar had installed.

We kept adding things to the roof, making it a nice place to spend time and host people. It was like an ongoing project that I was immensely enjoying.

"You doing okay?" I asked Gar after I'd engulfed half my plate.

"Yes, I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm having fun." I sent him a soft smile. "Thank you for doing this."

He waved me away. "It's no big deal."

I snorted. "It's a huge deal."

He shrugged.

"Hey, Gar?" Roman said as he stepped up to us.

"That didn't sound like the voice of someone bringing me good news."

Roman grimaced. "Someone spilled red juice all over your living room carpet, and I can't find your carpet cleaner."

I winced.

"Shit."

"Do you know where it is? I have some at my place if we need it."

Garrick stood, leaned over, and kissed me. "Be right back." He waved at Roman. "Let's go find some." Before I could offer to help, Garrick pointed at me. "Stay here and have fun."

I gave him a salute. "Sir, yes, sir."

He snorted, and the two of them left, but I wasn't alone for long.

People came and went, and I mingled throughout the day, but I kept finding myself coming back to the same spot near the bar. I guess because Garrick kept coming back there too. I loved hanging out with everyone, but I definitely needed my Garrick fix every so often. He felt the same.

When Remi came over, I was surprised it was Garrick he spoke to and not me. "A couple of my sisters were asking about you. Do you want to come meet them? According to them, they're the only ones in the whole family you haven't been introduced to—I doubt that's true. They're ridiculous. Anyway, want to?"

My eyebrows shot up. Remi sent me a smile and a wink, and I grinned back at him. It seemed my best friend had finally accepted Garrick and was trying with him. Good . They needed to get along since they were both going to be in my life for the rest of forever.

Garrick said, "Sure." Then he stood up, kissed my forehead, and followed Remi across the roof.

Bel sat in Gar's vacant seat. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Right?"

We shared a small laugh, and I clinked my cup with his.

Keryth made his way over to us and sighed when he dropped into the chair on my other side. "The girls are off playin' with other kids, so I'm going to plant my ass right here and just… sit. For as long as they'll let me."

"Sounds like a plan, cuz," Bel said.

The three of us sat together and people watched for a little while.

"Do all vampires know each other or something?" Ker suddenly asked. I followed his line of sight to see Anton talking to Julius, Emrys, and Toby—all Ellwood vampires. Hm .

"I… don't know," I said honestly. "I don't think so, but Anton is super old, so he probably knows a lot of people."

"How old is he?"

I sighed. "Ugh. We don't know. He won't tell us, and we haven't guessed right yet."

Ker was still staring at Anton. "Hm. He's probably ancient and all crusty."

Bel said, "For someone that doesn't like a certain vampire, you sure as hell stare at him a lot."

Ker glared at his cousin and flipped him off, making me laugh.

Bel sighed. "Why won't you tell me what happened? Is it really so bad you still won't talk to him?"

Ker took a sip of his drink, still staring at Anton. "He took me on a date—or at least, I thought it was a date. Turns out, he thought I was just some whore."

Right at that moment, Anton turned to stare directly at Ker, as if he'd heard him. Hell, maybe he had. Vampires had good hearing, so I suppose it was possible even through this crowd.

I wrinkled my nose. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, he's not who I thought he was, and I don't want anything to do with the bastard." He tipped the rest of his drink into his mouth, stood, and walked away. So much for sitting here until one of his kids made him get up.

Bel sighed. "Well… that was more information than we had before, but it still doesn't clear things up."

"No, it doesn't. Maybe we can get more out of Anton."

We turned to stare at the vampire in question only to find him staring back. He shook his head slightly.

I huffed. "Guess not."

"How the hell can he hear us?"

"No clue."

"Hey, Tan?" Jorah, one of Remi's brothers, sent me an impish smile.

"Hey, Jor, what's up?"

"Where do you keep your trash bags? The can up here is full, so I was going to grab it, but I didn't want to leave it bagless for even a minute."

"Yeah, that would've been a disaster." I set my cup on the table and gave Bel a shoulder pat. "Duty calls." I turned back to Jorah. "I'll get it. But thank you."

"You sure?"

"Of course." I gave him a shoulder pat too, then headed down to the condo.

A little while later, I was leaning against the railing, watching Ker's sisters and some of the younger Ellwoods play tag, running around everyone and dodging people. They were so cute, giggling and screaming. It made my lips tug up into a smile.

Garrick walked up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and bent down to rest his chin on top of my shoulder. I leaned into him without hesitation, wrapping my arms around his and letting his warmth surround me. We stood there for a long time, just watching our family and friends mingling, talking, laughing, and getting along together.

"Look at them," Garrick said, nodding at Oakley. "They look like they're having a great time."

I smiled because Oakley was sitting with some people around their age, and they were cracking up. "Those are Remi's nephews, Zaos and Kian, and the human is Zaos's viramore, Hugo. They're good kids."

"Wow, he found his viramore already? He's so young."

"Mid-twenties, yeah. He had a rough childhood before he was adopted, so I'm glad he didn't have to wait long to find Hugo."

Gar kissed my cheek. "And who are his parents again?"

"Oh, Talon and Obi." I gestured to the fae and drow in question.

My viramore sighed. "I'm never going to keep your family straight."

I snorted and patted his hand. "Don't worry. You have time. We're going to the Ellwood family movie nights every month from now on, so you'll get there eventually."

"I have a feeling these cookouts and movie nights get crazy with this lot there."

"You might be right."

He squeezed me. "I can't wait to get to know them better."

I smiled and turned in his arms, draping my arms over his shoulders. "Like I said, you have time."

He kissed me, sucking my tongue into his mouth for only a second before he released me. I chased his lips, and he chuckled and pecked them again. "Sorry, little pretty. We'll have to continue that after everyone leaves."

I sighed. "Promise?"

"Definitely." He gave me a chaste kiss this time. "I love you."

"I love you too, Gar-Bear."

A year ago, if you would've told me I was Garrick's viramore and that I'd become the king's consort, I never would've believed it. But here we were, and I was so fucking glad I'd been along for the ride.

Right here, with Garrick in my arms and my family behind me, was exactly where I wanted to be.

I'd found my home and my family, and I couldn't be happier.

"Me either, baby," Gar mumbled. "Me either."

I kissed him again, and okay, maybe I could be happier, if everyone decided to leave a little early so I could get my dragon nice and naked.

Garrick chuckled against my lips, something he did so easily now, and it made me smile.

"I could shift and scare them away."

I laughed at that. "Don't do that."

He sighed. "Then I guess we'll have to wait. But I promise you it'll be worth it."

I groaned. "Of that, I have no doubt."

We shared a smile, then hand in hand, we rejoined the fray.

Thank you so much for reading The Witch's Grumpy Dragon . I hope you enjoyed it!