Epilogue

Several months later…

Gray

I t has been a busy few months since we returned to Ludstone.

It was not long after Ada's official claiming that serious conversations of alliances began.

We have been away often. Callum wanted to learn more about the shifter world—it was also a good way to further consolidate those alliances.

The return of a royal shifter has sent ripples through the wolf shifter community. Some were skeptical, others were reluctant, and yet others were hopeful. Many still anticipated a tyrant, lending to an atmosphere of anticipation and uncertainty.

What they got was a young man with a quiet presence that people and shifters alike are drawn to. Enigmatic, he captivates the eye and holds interest effortlessly. It does not hurt that he is handsome with bright ginger hair, is built like a barn door, and tops regular shifters by head and shoulders.

He has grown into his many roles, from man to mate to pack overlord—not that he would accept such a title. He remains humble despite a future calling to him that he remains ignorant of.

When he reveals his giant form, as he does when we farewell packs, it is to a chorus of howls as every shifter in the vicinity shows their respect.

It is fair to say that word is spreading. While it is realistic to expect challenges, I anticipate more will seek him out.

As for Ada, she has settled well into pack life, making a firm friend in Lizbeth. Many humans might falter being thrust into a new and sometimes tough environment. Yet I see how Ada's confidence grows… as does her possessiveness. She has hissed at more than a few lasses who dared to be too forward with Callum, foolishly seeking favors with the new royal.

Not that she ever needs to worry. Neither Callum nor I have eyes for anyone but her. Our bond is strong. It is reconfirmed in every glance, every touch, and every hot coupling in the furs.

But still, a shifter does covet a possessive mate. The marks she gifts to our bodies when she feels the need to remind us of our place almost make me wish I might never shift again.

I fell in love with her shy blushes.

I will stay in love with the woman she becomes, ever fascinated with the changes in her as she realizes her potential in hard-won increments. She is a survivor of terrible circumstances, making her empathetic to those who need protection the most. She has already insisted upon a visit with the Halket clan, where she spent time with Gwen. She has found both an ally and someone to look up to in the clan queen—they are different in many ways, yet they share many of the same ideals.

It is good for Ada. It is part of her growth and journey. Seeing her flourish gives me the greatest joy.

"When are you going to tell them?" Drake asks, stirring me from my thoughts. We are standing in the central cavern. It is early morning, and he has just returned from a patrol with news from Blue Bell, a human village.

It is a good few days of travel by horse, taking the broader pathways, but less than half a day for a shifter traveling across the country.

I shrug, then smile. "I think it will make a nice surprise."

He chuckles. "For sure. They are settled, from what I heard."

"It looks like I will be taking a trip to Blue Bell today." I slap him on the shoulder and stride for my quarters, where I sense Ada will be found, even as I use the pack bond to call Callum.

He is out on patrol and sends his acknowledgment and curiosity through the bond, but I contain my thoughts lest I give the game away.

I find Ada talking to Lizbeth and looking particularly petite next to the taller shifter lass. A giant pile of woolen blankets, furs, and pelts is resting in the middle of the bed, and the two women are cooing over them.

Nesting. I indulged my mate's nesting urges and ordered some from a specialty trader with connections to the weavers' guild to the south. The bed is already deeply layered, but there is always room for more soft things.

Also, I enjoy fucking her in the nest when she refreshes it with new favorites—I consider it a win-win.

Their heads swing my way. They both grin. "You won't get in the nest tonight by the time Ada is done," Lizbeth announces.

She is with child, just as Ada is. They became friends from the very start. Lizbeth is bold and daring, whereas Ada is quieter, sometimes playful, and occasionally feisty. They are good for each other. Lizbeth further brings Ada's confidence to the fore.

I left a pack a year ago to look for a missing promised mate. While I was gone, my father died, and my pack members became enslaved, scattered, or fell.

My missing mate turned out not to be my mate but that of my long-time friend and my younger brother.

What happened to the pack, my father, and many of those I knew and loved, is a grief I must live with.

But I also believe in the will of the Goddess. It was by my father's command that I searched for Arlo and Lizbeth. I returned with them and avenged his death.

"We are going on a little trip," I tell Ada. "You can finish sorting these out later."

"Can I come?" Lizbeth asks.

I shake my head. "You will hear all about it later."

"Oh," she says, all curious.

Ada has likewise perked up. "Where are we going?" she demands to know.

"It is a surprise."

"I hate surprises," Lizbeth says, clearly disgruntled that she is missing out. "Come and tell me immediately when you get back."

"I will," Ada says.

I do not doubt that Drake will have already told his mate all about it by then: shifters love to gossip.

"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." Lizbeth turns her nose up to me, and gathering the pile of pelts that is clearly for her, she stalks out of the room.

Callum passes her as he enters the room; his ginger hair is tousled, and his skin is golden from the sun.

"We are going on a trip," I announce.

I feel his question through the bond.

"Is it the rutting kind of surprise?" Callum asks, smirking.

"Later," I say, when Ada looks likewise interested. Her pregnancy makes her greedy for attention. The lass is assuredly not happy unless she has had her due in dick or cum.

"No." Both their faces fall. "But there might be some of that later when we all return."

He huffs out a breath. Ada giggles.

They are curious, but I resist the urge to spill.

Sometimes, surprises are better. And I believe they will forgive my lack of disclosure.

Ada

At the pack entrance, Callum shifts. He has full command over his shift now and can choose the size and form he wishes to take, whether it is an enormous beast or a regular shifter-sized wolf… which is more like a horse and not really regular at all.

Gray lifts me onto Callum's back before passing me a satchel carrying their clothes, further piquing my curiosity. We will be visiting humans or a human settlement, then, I presume.

Gray shifts, and we trot through the forest, both my mates in their wolf form and dappled by early morning sunlight. Gray is a beautiful black-gray color, and Callum is a stunning russet. They both glimmer in the light: powerful, magnificent males, and all mine.

How did a poor girl from Bleakness ever get so lucky?

I find joy in my life, have a place to call mine, two wonderful mates, and new friends among the pack, especially Lizbeth, who is so much fun and intimidated by no one. Although I am still a quiet lass by nature, I am drawn to my opposite, letting her playful nature draw me out.

She tells me she likes my quietness, my constant shocked gasps, and that I still blush when my naked mates stride into the room like this is normal… which it is now, but still, some aspects of me I expect will never change.

Although I love Lizbeth like a sister, I still miss Betsy and her voracity for mischief. Betsy saw me as I was and watched me grow into a woman brave enough to challenge a powerful shifter, one who I thought was snatching a lass. It was a foolish challenge, given Gray was seeking to get his brother and former betrothed to safety, and even now, it still makes me blush and chuckle when I recall that crazy day.

I carry scars inside—a legacy of my father. They are part of me and can never be undone. So I don't try to. Instead, I acknowledge them, even as I find the strength to be bolder in claiming what I want.

It bolsters my confidence that my mates love it when I make the first move or show possessiveness when any hussies try to catch their eyes—shifters are naturally bold.

I may be small, but I have discovered I have a feisty side, not only with my mates. I have seen too much cruelty in my life to let such behavior pass. One beta male has already been tossed out of the pack by my request when I caught him mistreating his mate. I still tremble to recall the terrible shock when I happened upon them and found him hurting her in front of their child.

Callum and Gray were swift to administer justice and see the bastard beaten and exiled from the pack. A widower shifter stepped up to care for the young woman and her babe, and when I visited her last week, she was already glowing to be free of the abuse.

I find strength in my mates to be who I am destined to be, a protector of any who would find themselves bullied or downtrodden by those of weak dispositions. And I know my mates are likewise proud of me and take strength from my ways. Gray says I am an omega with an alpha heart. Callum calls me his warrior queen.

I see the love I feel for them reflected in their eyes every day and feel it in the approving hum of the bond.

The air grows warmer and the sun rises higher as we travel. These lands know safety under Callum and Gray's watch. It is a good time to bring pups into the world.

As the village comes into view, I feel Callum's stillness beneath me, and it sets a strange prickling sensation across the surface of my skin. His nose lifts to scent, and he turns to look at me.

We stop at the outskirts of the village, where Callum and Gray shift to human form and change into clothes Gray had tucked in a bag.

Callum is silent as he slips on his pants, boots, and leather jerkin. Gray likewise dons his clothes, making them once more a respectable human… with a side serve of beast.

I send Gray a questioning look. He only grins and takes my hand, walking us toward the tavern.

I have visited Blue Bell once before when we first arrived. Callum's parents lived in this village before they fled to Bleakness.

I was charmed by the first glimpse.

The tiny village is nestled among trees on the side of the River Bell. The homes are clustered around a high street with a few shops, a tavern, and a church.

There is a new sign outside the tavern depicting a gnarly old green man; the lettering carved underneath is similarly painted in green.

"They changed the name," Callum says, frowning. "Wasn't it called The Forester's Arms? When did they change the name?"

My heart rate quickens as I stare at the sign. I still cannot read, yet the letters make a pattern that is familiar to me.

"Got a new proprietor," Gray says mysteriously, his grin broad as he pushes open the door and guides us inside.

Callum

My parents once lived in Blue Bell. I visited not long after we arrived in Ludstone, seeking answers about my past from older community members who remembered them.

I learned that they fled shortly after I was born, a journey that took them all the way to Bleakness. Word had gotten to those who still sought to eradicate the royal shifter line, and it wasn't safe for them. My father already had ties with the rebellion, and in exchange for the death of those who persecuted the royals, he agreed to relocate to Bleakness and fight for the cause in secret there.

It was only meant to be for a few years.

Then my mother died, and I can only presume that is why he remained there. Maybe for my safety. Maybe because it was the last place my mother lived.

Maybe for both reasons.

My father was a blacksmith here once, long ago. There is a new blacksmith now, a competent man not much older than me. He has a young wife, a toddler, and another babe due soon. It was his father who took over from mine all those years ago.

When I first called by, George was full of deference, bowing his head like I was royalty… which I suppose I am. I did my best to set him at ease. It was not long before we were talking shop. I admired his fine forge and the craftsmanship of his work.

By the time I left, he had forgotten I was a shifter and a ruler of many packs, and I was just Callum.

I feel the contraction of time and space as the past and present slam together in the now.

It is not George I think about today, but a different blacksmith who used to work in Bleakness.

It is midday. A few locals are having lunch and a beer, but they fade into the background as I stare at the man standing with his back to us behind the bar—the new proprietor Gray mentioned, I presume.

His hair has grown out a little since I last saw him, yet I would recognize him anywhere.

My heart rate quickens. I feel like I have stepped out of time. I've been here occasionally when visiting the village—the tavern is often used as a meeting hub.

The new proprietor turns almost as if he senses me, and a smile breaks out on his face. "Callum, lad!" he calls before he turns to his right, where a door leads into the kitchen. "Betsy, lass, they are here!"

A pretty beta lass with golden hair and freckles emerges from the doorway, one I have known almost all my life, for we were neighbors. With a squeal of excitement, she rounds the bar and throws herself at Ada.

The new tavern's name suddenly makes a lot of sense...

The two women hug. I share a look with Gray, who is smirking and very pleased with himself.

I cannot keep the fucking grin off my face as I step forward to hug my pa.

"You have gotten even taller and broader," he says, slapping me on the back.

I laugh, hardly believing that my eyes are not deceiving me, that my pa and Betsy are here. "What are you both doing here?"

He shrugs, his smile shifting toward the two women, giggling and talking excitedly. "I read your note and knew then that your destiny had called you. Mine called to me, too. I told Betsy what had happened. And, well…" —his grin grows, and I see a different kind of love and affection there as it lingers on Betsy before he winks at me. "Decided it was time I made a decent woman out of her."

"Huff," Betsy says with a roll of her eyes, although she bestows her new husband a saucy grin. "As if any man could make me decent, no matter how enthusiastically he tries."

"Goddess! This is the best news! Congratulations!" Ada beams as she hugs Betsy and then my pa.

My father chuckles, sounding younger, lighter, and happier than he has been in many years.

"Congratulations," I say, slapping his back and hugging him.

As the joy washes over me, I notice Gray standing a little to the side. "I can't believe you kept this secret," I say, stepping over to him and drawing him into the small crowd, not wanting him ever to feel like an outsider. There was a time when I hated him and might have sought any means to offer him a slight. Now he is my brother, and we are bound together. I could imagine no other way of life.

"Congratulations," Gray says to my father as Ada presses against him, further bringing him into the circle, even as her hand clasps mine. "And you, Betsy. I heard you had plans for this place, although you have already made a start, by the looks of things."

"We have," my father says, as Betsy comes to stand at his side. She smiles up at him as he wraps his arm around her waist. "I had a bit of coin gathered over the years and, well, it was time for a new start. Home was calling to me. They have an excellent blacksmith here and don't need anything from me. But we took a room here while deciding what to do next and chatted with the then proprietor. He was recently widowed. His daughter was nagging him to go and stay with her. She and her husband had a comfortable home with space for him and half a dozen brats who wanted to see their grandpa more often… Everything just fell into place. By then, Betsy was already in love with the tavern and making plans."

"It has always been a dream of mine to have my own tavern someday." She shares a look with my pa. "Although I'd have followed Heath anywhere." She turns back to us. "But happen things work out for a reason. We get many passing travelers here, and the business is good."

A serving man approaches behind the bar. "Can I get everybody drinks?" he says,

"Aye, thanks," my father says.

"How about some food?" Betsy adds. "Can I interest anyone in a stew?"

Gray groans. "Fucking stew," he mutters.

Ada giggles. "What is wrong with stew? That is what you always ate while staying in Bleakness."

"I fucking hate stew," he says. "I only stayed there because I was smitten with a certain serving wench, and my wolf would not let me eat elsewhere."

A deep guffaw escapes me. There was a time when I was a jealous bastard, but not anymore. "Only your wolf?" I raise a questioning brow.

"Fine, whelp, you know both the man and wolf sides of me were well aligned in our pursuit of Ada, even if I was too thick-headed to admit it and, further, resorted to questionable actions along the way. But, Gods, give me a slab of juicy venison or anything involving meat that is not covered in gravy or sauce."

"We recently added venison to the menu," my father says. "We get a few shifters in here. More lately. Maybe word has gotten around."

"Thank the gods," Gray says. "I will die happy if I never eat another bowl of stew."

We take a seat at the table where we eat, drink, and talk. It feels as though time slows and stops as they regale us with tales of their adventures, and we tell them about ours.

"You have grown up," my pa says, leaning in close and speaking for my ears only. "Your mother would be proud."

I feel the sting of tears at the back of my eyes. Ada, ever sensitive to my mood, slips her small hand in mine, even as I see her other hand slip under the table to rest on Gray's thigh.

We are all connected now. What one feels, the others experience echoes of.

As Gray closes his hand over hers, where it rests against his thigh, he glances at me.

"I'd like to think she would be proud of both of us," I say to my pa. "You mourned her too long."

"That's what I said," Betsy agrees. "But happen we are all now exactly where we were meant to be."

"There was some time of adjustment," I say dryly.

"For all of us," Gray agrees.

"I have heard you have a babe on the way," my pa says, turning to Ada.

She grins. "Yes, and Betsy is due not long after."

"Aye," my father says. "I can't believe I'm going to be a father again."

"You are not so old," I point out.

He rolls his eyes. "Not that I have a say in this when Betsy's already talking about more."

Betsy, unperturbed, smiles prettily back at him. "I want at least a dozen," she says.

"That is a lot of babes!" Ada says.

Betsy shrugs and grins. "I've been waiting for him for a long time. It seems there is more than one thick-headed male around this table who does not recognize when they have a good thing."

"You're a bold lass," my pa says affectionately. "Thank the Goddess you are—look at what I might have missed out on."

Ada

As the men fall into conversation, Betsy, with the mischievous grin that I have missed dearly, draws me aside. "I've got something for you," she says, her voice filled with a mix of excitement and affection, reminding me of our shared history.

Taking my hand in hers, she guides me out the back, up a narrow staircase, to a private day room.

It is homely, with a table before a broad, leaded window, soft rugs underfoot, and a vase of wildflowers resting on a side table to the right of the door. A wicker basket filled with soft-looking throws sits to the side of an oversized carver chair. A few ornaments adorn shelves, there is a mantlepiece with a clock on it over the fireplace, which is currently unlit.

She walks over to a bookshelf and runs her fingers along the spines before selecting one and drawing it out.

Turning to me, she holds out the book.

My breath catches as I see the familiar picture on the cover. Hands shaking, I accept it with all the reverence it deserves.

It takes me back to a time when my life was bleak. This book represented a dream. I would run my fingers over the pictures, admiring the forest, imagining all the creatures that might live there, how magical such a place might be away from the stench of the fish market, and where I did not live in fear of my father with his ready fist.

The night before my father sold me, I dreamed of a princess living in a castle like the one in the pictures and how we were connected because we lived under the same moon.

I did not know then that life-changing events awaited me, that as I clung to a young tavern lass in a horrible place, awaiting a terrible fate, a story might unfold leading me to the here and now—a tavern called The Green Man in a little village called Blue Bell on the border where Hydornia meets the shifter packs.

Never could I have envisioned that I might find such a life as I have, not as a princess in a fancy castle, but something every bit as wondrous as a mate to two shifters with a babe due in the spring.

"You brought my book?" I am choked with emotion.

She hugs me, smiling as I wipe happy tears from my cheeks.

"There, as if I would do aught else when I know how you loved it. You know Callum can read. Happen he could teach you so you can read it for yourself. It is a lovely story intended for children. How wonderful would it be to share it with the little ones when they come along?"

"Oh, yes," I agree.

Callum

Ada returns from her chat with Betsy, flushed and a little teary, which worries me until I see the book she has clutched to her chest.

"She brought your book?" I say, grinning as she slips between Gray and me. She shows Gray her prized possession, which he admires as a dutiful mate should.

"Will you teach me to read?" she asks me.

"Of course," I say, pressing a kiss to her temple, thinking of the night when I found it and how she once lived. Gray and I are shameless in spoiling her, ensuring her every comfort is met. It is no less than she deserves. I'd thought the book to be lost and, knowing how much it meant to her, I had spoken to Gray about it, with a mind to finding her some new ones. "There is a trader due at the end of the month. Gray mentioned he often has books in his wagon. Maybe we could start a collection. You will need more than one book if you are going to learn to read."

My reward is her throwing her arms around my neck and peppering kisses all over my face.

Gray gives me a look. I smirk. We are still fucking competitive where her affection is concerned, but I have learned there are benefits to sharing a lass and that I do not get less, but unexpectedly more.

"You better give Gray some love, too. It was his idea that we speak to the trader."

She promptly throws her small arms around Gray's neck and peppers him with kisses.

We enjoy the meal and a couple of ales over companionable conversations. When we finally leave, the sun is setting. They are not so far away; we promise to return as often as duties permit.

It is dark by the time we arrive back at Ludstone, passing through the main cavern and on to our quarters. A stack of fresh pelts rests on the bottom of the bed—soft things that omegas like to place on their nests.

Nests offer an omega comfort. But they are also a place for rutting.

Gray cups the back of her neck, his thumb rubbing up the side of her throat, touching the place where he left his mark.

On the other side is my mark.

I feel the heat between us. Gray and I are already naked, having shifted. But Ada is wearing too many clothes.

My low growl is one of arousal. Gray lifts his eyes and looks at me, his smirk barely discernible before he divests our mate of her clothes.

My cock is hot and hard. The telltale trickle of pre-cum leaks from the tip.

He slides his hand down her back to cup her ass before he gives it a gentle pat. "I have a mind to watch you ride your other mate," he says. "Put the pelts to your liking, lass."

She emits a needy whimper before tossing the pelts in a haphazard pile on the bed. I chuckle. Stroking my cock slowly as I watch her.

"It is ready," she announces breathlessly.

"Hm," I say. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she says, taking my hand and pulling me to the bed without any preamble. I can smell her gathering slick. Gods, I love her lusty nature.

She pushes me back into the center and crawls over me, bringing her lips to mine so we might share a hot kiss full of breathy gasps and tangling tongues.

She gasps into my mouth, and I know Gray is touching her. I drag my lips from hers to look over her shoulder. He's playing with her pussy.

"She is drenched," he says. "Eager for cock."

"Always," she says, throwing a challenge-filled look over her shoulder. "And for both of you to fill me how I need."

"By your command, mate," Gray purrs, urging her forward so she can sit down on my aching shaft.

We both groan as I slide into her hot sheath and again as Gray positions himself behind her and slowly breaches her ass.

"Gods, you are tight." He mutters gruffly. "Tight, hot, and fucking perfect. Tell us if it is too much."

Her hand reaches back to grasp him and the other plants upon my chest. "Never, it feels so good. Goddess, I want to come already. Please move."

Careful of our sweet, tiny mate, we begin to rut. Slow, steady glides of our cocks into her perfect body, noting all her signs of pleasure, the gasps, the flutter of her inner walls, the flush that spreads from her cheeks down to her plump tits. My eyes settle on her belly and the bump that only now is beginning to show.

Gray's hand slides around her stomach as we rut into her, cupping her there in a possessive touch that has me near spilling my load.

"She is getting nice and plump here," he says. "Our babe is growing."

His lips nuzzle her throat, and she arches up into the touch as he nips at the claiming mark.

"I'm close," she whispers.

"Good. So am I," I say, taking in this perfect scene before shifting my position so I can take her tit into my mouth.

"So we all are," Gray says thickly, his fingers lowering between us to pet her clit.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

Her pussy fists my cock, and I'm helpless to resist, my balls rising and hot cum gushing in a heady, heavenly rush.

Gray growls out his pleasure—I growl, too, nipping against her throat as she shakes and spasms around our cocks.

We fall into a sweaty tangle on the nest, Gray and I purring for our sweet mate.

My hand lowers to find Ada's belly, where a pup now grows, only to butt up against Gray's, which is already there.

He cracks one eye open to stare at me over Ada's head. Then he moves his hand aside to make space for mine and closes his eye.

I smile. My mind drifts in the hazy space between wakefulness and sleep, thinking back upon that fateful night when I first joined my father and the rebellion.

The night we freed Betsy.

And the night I met Ada with her dark hair and pretty but sad eyes.

Little did I know it would set in motion such momentous changes and that the young lass would later become my mate—one that I would share.

I didn't even know I was a shifter back then… and I fucking hated Gray.

Ada no longer has sad eyes, and Gray is now like a brother to me.

As I drift into a contented sleep, with Ada between us, where she was always meant to be, I reflect on how life can take us to amazing places and often ones we least expect.

Thank you for reading The Wolf in My Tavern. I hope you enjoyed the book!