Epilogue

Three and a half years later...

Squatch.

We arrived at the ambush in the dead of night, in a helicopter, and I couldn’t help but think back to the first time we’d made this trek. Nathan had been the pilot then. Now, one of Brooke’s people manned the controls, and we were flying at night because Brooke had come with us.

And Kitty still hated it, but Brooke made it easier on her. It’s one of the few times Kitty is fine with the vampire screwing with her head.

The ambush was used to the tiny vampire now, and my kitten’s three biological toddlers adored her. They’d all been born within three days of each other, and we were here to celebrate their second birthday. Birthdays. The twins had been born twenty-seven minutes apart, on different days. The other child had been born the following day, late in the evening. So, three birthdays in three days.

And my beautiful kitten was nearly seven months pregnant. And yes, her owl-shifter OB-GYN had cleared her to fly.

My Christmas present three years earlier had been her notice that she’d only be working one night a week at Blaze, and would no longer be going next door or doing lap dances. She’d be working for a high-dollar exercise club, teaching classes and acting as personal trainer. She needed to continue her job at Blaze for a short time because the club that hired her wanted to be able to advertise that they’d hired a working stripper to teach their pole class. Six months, and she’d retire from stripping for good.

Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.

I held Brooke’s hand, walking at a normal pace, and watched Kitty run to her father and hug him. Nathan had allowed the ambush to vote whether he could return after he’d been gone a year, and they’d unanimously voted him back as a citizen. Around thirty percent wanted him back as a leader, which hadn’t been enough, and I approved. The ruling counsel Nathan had set up seemed to be doing a much better job than a dictator had done. It was my understanding that Nathan had made similar changes in the other ambushes.

I shook Vincenzo’s hand, and then sent Brooke and Kitty to the house while her father and brothers helped me carry in the luggage and gifts.

So many gifts for three adorable little toddlers. I enjoyed being Uncle Squatch — the fun relative who flew in, distributed gifts, played fun games, and then left.

But I couldn’t wait to be a full-time father. We already knew we were having a boy, and based on her scent, we were ninety percent certain he’d be a wolf. You can’t always tell, and there was always the possibility she smelled so strongly of wolf because I couldn’t keep my dick out of her, but I’d had to handle something out of town for the club, and I’d been gone four days. We’d purposefully kept her away from all cats and wolves during that time, and she’d still smelled strongly of wolf the whole time. Bears have the best noses in the animal kingdom, so Dementor and Crush had done the sniffing for us.

And as I watched my father-in-law cradle his daughter’s stomach and speak affectionately to his future grandson, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that this man would fiercely love the child.

Somehow, life had given me everything I wanted. My brothers, a home, a family, and a kick-ass wife who obeyed me almost perfectly when it came to sex, and who was my partner in most everything else. And now, she had the most adorable belly ever, holding our baby.

And if I was being honest, I couldn’t complain about her swollen tits and super-sensitive nipples. Damn, but they were even more fun to play with.

* * * *

Kitty I hadn’t known for sure how I’d feel about watching my biological children being raised by other people, but as it turned out, I was good with it. Brooke had bought a helicopter just so we could more easily make frequent trips to see them, and she’d hired a pilot fresh from an honorable military discharge. He had an excellent flying record, and he was looking for a flying job that would let him come home to his family most nights. Brooke had paid to relocate his family from Virginia to Alabama, and so far, he’d been away from home less than five nights a month, safely within the ratio he’d requested.

Brooke stayed in one of the ambush’s underground bunkers, though she’d paid to have it retrofitted for her comfort. Or rather, she’d done so with one bedroom, bathroom, and seating area. For this first party, we were using the largest room in the bunker, so Brooke could attend.

Children’s birthday parties are always crazy, and this one was crazier than most. I’m Aunt Val to the kids, and this makes me happy. I approve of the way they’re being raised. I see them at least a few days a month, and I talk to their moms in between. I’m part of their life, exactly like a favorite aunt should be. All three kids have been told that they grew from Aunt Val’s egg inside their mommy’s tummy. As they grow older, we’ll explain it in the best child-appropriate way for their age. No secrets. Nothing hidden.

Two boys and one girl. Siblings raised in two households. The boy and girl in one, and the only-child boy in the other.

“You make beautiful babies.” I looked away from the happy toddlers and smiled at my father. It’d taken time, and a lot of conversations with Kirsten, but my dad and I had worked through our shit.

“It feels a little arrogant to agree with you, but yeah, I do.”

Squatch and one of the moms were supervising the ball pit, and the other mom was setting up the bubble machine on the other end of the room, though I didn’t see the kids tiring of the ball pit anytime soon.

We had nine toddlers in the ambush within about a year of each other, and they were having a blast.

“I’m glad you’re coming home so often,” Daddy told me. “It means I’ll get to see my grandbaby grow up, instead of only seeing him every few months.”

We’d long since tossed away even mentioning the hard-negotiated document dictating when I was obligated to talk to him or visit him. I came when I wanted to, he called me when he wanted to talk. We’d found a balance that mostly worked, and when it didn’t, we worked it out.

The door opened, and I stood with yet another smile, and made my way to the brilliantly beautiful woman who entered.

“Mom. I’m so glad you could make it.”

As happy as I was to sit and talk with my dad, having my mom here was literally the icing on the cake for me. She knew what questions to ask about my pregnancy, and how I felt, and what foods I craved. I talked to my dad a few times a week, but I talked to my mother nearly every day.

Hours later, I sat in my father’s living room leaned against Squatch and watched my mom, dad, and Brooke sit on the floor with tins of play dough and three tired but happy toddlers.

My brothers and I owned the house, now, but we’d put Daddy back in his bedroom when he was allowed to return. He’d worked a construction job during the year he’d been away, and I think it changed him. He’d moved from worker-bee to foreman a few months in, but he still hadn’t been the big boss. Also, he’d had to watch his funds. He made enough to pay for an apartment and a motorcycle, food and clothes, a phone and television, but I don’t think he’d had enough for the luxuries he was used to, and he certainly didn’t have anyone to clean and cook for him. He’d returned to the ambush a different man.

What’s going through that brain of yours? Squatch asked, his telepathic voice vibrating through me even more than his normal voice.

I’m happy. Nathan was right to send my dad away and let him come back. His time away changed him. And knowing my mom is going to be allowed to stay with us for six weeks after the baby’s born is like one of the best gifts ever. Even better than my car, and you know how much I love it. Today could have been a little sad, watching my babies grow up when I don’t have one I can be a real mom to, except I have my own baby, kicking away to remind me he’s here. I’m two months away from being a mom in every sense of the word, and not just an egg-donor-aunt.

My phone buzzed, and I looked at the text with a smile, then looked up and told the room, “His Majesty and Kirsten are incoming. Don’t let it surprise you.”

I texted Kirsten back to let her know where we were and that the kitchen was empty, and ten seconds later, she and Nathan walked in from the kitchen.

Kirsten sat beside me on the sofa, but Nathan sat on the floor, opened a tin of orange playdough, and proceeded to make a beautiful little lion.

When I’d snuck out of the ambush with a couple of thousand dollars and what I could fit into a decent-sized backpack, I thought I’d never see my father or my brothers again. I assumed I’d never step foot in this house again.

And here I was with both of my parents, three biological children, their mothers, a wolf-husband, and a Master Vampire completely at home on the floor, creating a fancy knife with playdough. Not to mention a baby inside me, a good friend to my right, and the King of the Lions on the floor playing with the toddlers.

Somehow, I’d come full circle and found a life I’d never have hoped for in my wildest dreams.

The End.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Candace Blevins has published more than sixty books. She lives with her husband of twenty-five years and their youngest daughter. Their oldest daughter has flown the nest but frequently comes home for visits. The family’s beloved, goofy, retired racing greyhounds are usually at her side as she writes, quietly keeping her company. Or sometimes not so quietly. Candace writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, contemporary BDSM romance, two kick-ass motorcycle club series, and she occasionally delves into dark matter.