“I’d like that,” she says leaning against me. The salty tang of her happy tears cuts through the smell of sex
“I love you, Kitten.”
“I love you, too, Sir.”
The End.
Epilogue
Maya
One year later
“Oh my God,” Mom says, her voice watery and her eyes filled with unshed tears when she enters the room and takes me in.
“No, don’t you start!” I demand. “You’ll set me off, and I just finished my makeup.”
“Sorry, honey. You’re just so beautiful,” she continues. “I’m going to head down and take my seat. Your dad is waiting for you as soon as you’re ready.” She gives me a hug before leaving me alone.
I look back into the mirror, taking in my subtle makeup and the way my hair is pinned back on one side with old Hollywood-style curls cascading over my shoulder on one side. My mating mark visible on the other side. My eyes scan down to the white dress I’m wearing. My wedding dress.
I feel beautiful. And so ready to marry my mate. We have already committed to each other in every other way, but the big white wedding is something I dreamed of as a little girl. And there’s nothing Ryan wouldn’t give me.
We aren’t the first shifter couple to get married, but the married members of the pack have pretty much always done the legal part without fuss or pomp. More as a technicality than anything else. Sothere has been a level of excitement at seeing a human celebration, even though neither of us are actually human.
“Okay, I know the plan is no shifting around the humans,” Sofia says with humor in her voice as she walks through the door in her red bridesmaid dress. “But if you don’t get out there and marry my brother in the next two minutes, he’s gonna rip that suit to shreds, and you’re going to have some explaining to do.”
I open up our connection, and his frantic energy slams into me instantly. “I’m on my way, and I love you,” I tell him through the mindlink, then grin when I feel the tension draining out of him.
“I’m ready,” I say, turning and walking out of the bedroom into the living area where Dad is waiting to walk me down the aisle. His eyes water as soon as he takes me in. “No tears,” I order, pointing a finger at him.
Pippa, Sofia, and Maddie lead the way as we head through the woods to the spot by the lake where Ryan and I will say our wedding vows. We could have done a hotel or another space, but this felt right.
The walkway is lit up by strings of fairy lights, making the woods look even more magical than usual. Music plays softly, but everything fades away when I see Ryan waiting for me, cradling Lily, our three-month-old daughter, against his chest. She’s so perfect. She has Ryan’s skin tone and my eyes and hair, a physical manifestation of our love come to life. The tears I have been holding back all day spring to my eyes. My heart is so full, I don’t know how I’m managing to keep it contained in my chest.
“Wow,” he says, his eyes softening as I join him. “How did I get so lucky? First, I got you as a mate, then you gave me Lily, and now you are going to be my wife too. Thank you, Kitten.”
I lean in and press a kiss to his lips, feeling the familiar zing of electricity when we touch, letting it ground me in this moment with him.
“We haven’t gotten to that part yet,” the officiant says with a chuckle.
I laugh, but Ryan lets out a low growl. Then we turn around and say our vows to each other. Promises to love and support one another through the good times and the bad. Promises of forever and always.
It’s the easiest commitment imaginable because nothing could ever stop me from loving Ryan. After everything we have been through to accept each other, there’s no going back, only forward.
Bonus Series Epilogue
Ryan
Ten years later
Peals of laughter from Ben and Daniel, my eight-year-old twin boys, cut through the chatter of the adults gathered together for the Summer Solstice celebration. Warmth settles in my chest watching my dad throw them back in the lake as soon as they climb out. He used to do the same with me, Jackson, and Luca when we were their age.
It’s so good to see him back to himself again. He no longer lives in the pack since finding out Pippa was his second chance mate and moving to the city to be with her, but he comes to visit every couple of weeks. They all do. And now that Maddie is older, it’s easier to manage, seeing as we’ve been able to share the truth with her about what we all are.
“You sure you don’t want this?” I ask Sofia when I notice she’s also watching Dad playing with the boys and smiling at the scene.
“Absolutely,” she says with a chuckle. “I’m so much more suited to being cool Aunt Fia. I prefer playing with yours and then handing them back again.”
