My eyes fluttered closed. “Yes,” I breathed, and he laid me on the bed.
Long live the true wolf king.
Epilogue
One year later
The night smelled like rain and warm stone. Our balcony opened over the south gardens, where the new fruit trees were just beginning to bud. Lanterns hung from the pergola and swayed a little with the breeze. Below, the city moved as people made their way home for dinner.
We had completely refurbished this wing of the castle with windows that spanned floor to ceiling and a huge wrap-around balcony. The old king’s quarters and the adjoining nursery where Maelis had been kept were sealed forever.
Kaelric had set a small table out on the balcony near the railing with two plates. A dish of dried figs, soft cheese, and rosemary bread. The heel of a round loaf was still warm from the kitchen. He poured wine into our glasses and peered up at me with a devilish grin. It was my birthday, and we were celebrating.
“Hungry?” he asked, as if it were a joke. I was always hungry.
Except now.
“Not really,” I said, clearing my throat.
He frowned, peering at me with concern. I had planned to wait until the plates were empty, but I wasn’t sure I could eat.I felt sick to my stomach. I took his wrist and set his hand on my lower abdomen. He looked down at our hands like he didn’t trust himself to speak. We’d been trying for a year to have a baby and thought that with my being a changed Wolfkin, it may have caused some complications.
“I am late,” I said.
He stilled, chest heaving as if he was trying to hold in his emotions.
“Three weeks.”
His gaze rose from our hands to my eyes. Something moved in his face that was borderline fear. Like he didn’t want to allow himself to believe this. We’d been close before, but my monthly bleeding always came a few days later. I’d never gone three weeks. I’d never had all the signs Fiona and Elia told me to look for. Sore breasts, food adverse, sick to my stomach. Until now.
“Are you certain?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I know my body. And the smell of those figs is making me want to vomit all over this table. Elia said that’s how you know.”
He grinned and tossed the figs off the balcony. My eyebrows shot up in surprise as laughter bubbled out of me. Slipping from his seat, he kneeled before me as if in reverent silence. His palm sent warmth through the cloth of my dress.
I smiled down at him and eyed the bread and cheese. “You might have to start eating meals with Godric, or you’ll starve.”
He waved me off. “If my mate doesn’t eat, I don’t eat.”
I laughed, “Oh? Let’s see how long that lasts.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?”
“Yes,” I said boldly.
“I accept.” He grinned and looked back at my belly. “We have never decided how many we want,” he added.
I blinked. “Children?”
He nodded. “I just realized we never spoke it aloud.”
We’d spent the last year praying for just one.
“What is your ideal number?” I asked.
He thought for a second. “Three?” He sounded unsure.
“Three?” I tried the number on my tongue. “My mother had twelve. Three seems… lonely.”
