Page 46 of The Alpha’s Chosen Mate

Epilogue

EMILY

June 22, 2003

Before Harrison rescued me from my old pack, I could count the number of times I’d felt true happiness on one hand. Now, more than ten years later, I have enough happy memories to fill all of Crescent Lake twice over. Most blur together in a haze of love and joy, but some stand apart from the rest.

This—this is one of those moments.

I smile down at the baby girl in my arms, at the thick head of dark hair that she got from her dad and the violet-blue eyes she inherited from Harrison’s mom, the grandmother she’ll never meet. Her lashes flutter as her lids grow heavy, blinking open and shut until she’s fast asleep.

I cuddle her closer, inhaling her sweet newborn scent, savoring every detail of holding an infant in my arms once more.

Our last baby. Our beautiful surprise.

“Do you want to hold her again?” I ask Harrison.

He immediately stops organizing the diaper caddy, and he’s at my side in an instant, gently taking our daughter from me and cupping the back of her head as he brings her to his chest.

She’s so tiny compared to him, so fragile in his massive, muscular arms. But Harrison holds her so carefully. He protects her with the same gentleness he’s always shown me. His eyes shine with awe and love as he gazes down at the daughter he wanted so badly from the start, the daughter we never expected to have.

After two almost back-to-back pregnancies that gave us our boys—Wesley and Sebastian—I told Harrison I couldn’t do it again. I love my sons, but they are lycans through and through. Wild. Willful. Pure alphas, both of them. I knew if we had another child and they ended up being male, I’d never feel rested again.

But life, of course, had other plans. One day last fall, I realized I couldn’t shift into my wolf. And now, nine months later, our little girl is here, enriching our family in a way I never realized we needed until they laid this tiny angel across my chest.

I sigh and lean back against the pillows of our bed, grateful that they released me early from the pack hospital. I much prefer to be here, in our home, with Harrison watching over us. The doctor is only a mindlink or a phone call away, but my wolf is the strongest she’s ever been, and my body is well on its way to being healed.

“She’s so perfect.” Harrison is careful to keep his volume low, so he doesn’t wake her, and he never takes his eyes off her sleeping face. “I wish my parents could have met her too.”

His voice breaks. Just slightly, but it’s enough that I notice. I’ve known Harrison long enough to catch those subtleties.

Not long after we took over the pack, Harrison’s dad informed us he’d been diagnosed with a very rare werewolf cancer. With the help of a healer at the royal palace, he didn’t suffer much. But healers aren’t miracle workers. We enjoyed two more rewarding years with him, and about a month after Sebastian—our youngest son—was born, Michael passed away. Harrison’s mom, Margaret, joined him a day later.

We had plenty of time to prepare for their deaths, but that doesn’t make living with it any easier. Especially during big, important, life-changing moments like this.

Thundering footsteps racing down our hall interrupt my thoughts, signaling that Stephanie has finally arrived with Wesley and Sebastian so they can meet their sister. The bedroom door slams open, and they both barrel into the room with Stephanie right behind them.

“I told you to knock, Sebastian!”

His messy, slightly too long hair—which always reminds me of Harrison’s when he was a kid—falls into Sebastian’s eyes as he ducks his head from Stephanie’s scolding. But not before I see the glint in them that tells me he’s not at all sorry.

Wesley, our oldest, who at almost nine years old takes his role as future alpha very seriously, elbows Sebastian. “Apologize!”

“Sorry, Mom.” Sebastian’s smile finally disappears as he meets my gaze with all the sincerity he can muster. “We’re just so excited to meet her.”

“I understand.” I open my arms, and he jumps onto the bed to receive his hug, all long limbs and alpha energy. “Thank you for watching them and bringing them home, Stephanie.”

“Just let me know when you’re ready for me to pick them up again.” She steals a peek at the bundle in Harrison’s arms, then gives us all a quick wave before she leaves the alpha floor.

I catch Wesley’s eye and pat the bed. He scurries over while also trying to not look too eager and perches on the edge of the mattress. Sebastian scoots to join him, and Harrison settles himself between them.

“Boys. This is your baby sister, Madeleine.”

Sebastian scrunches up his nose. “She’s wrinkly.”

“She’s adorable.” Wesley shoots Seb a glare before turning his attention back to Madeleine. “Can I hold her?”

“No.” Harrison’s response is immediate. He hugs Madeleine a little tighter, his shoulders curving in to protect her from her feral brothers.