Page 41

"We'll talk about it, hm? Now it looks like that sweet husband of yours wants your attention."

Smiling, Jennifer looked up to see Mark waiting in the doorway. "Good morning, love," he said, taking her into his arms and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Seems like I made it in time to hear the good news."

Jennifer twisted the wedding ring around her finger. Mark got it for her shortly after the whole stressful incident with the treasure goblins, to officially mark the turning of a new chapter in their lives. But to make sure they didn’t forget the old one, she still wore the beer-shaped medal he won for her at the beer festival earlier that year from time to time.

"She's all clear." Dr. Variety winked at him, and Jennifer, too, grinned.

It wasn't just science and medicine that saved her mom, but a touch of magic, too. Jennifer didn't know about it until a few months ago, but apparently Dr. Variety's mind exercises were a type of magic to help Arabelle's body naturally fight off the cancer alongside her regular treatments.

"Remember, no smokes!" Jennifer joked as they left the room, even when after this experience, Arabelle had sworn off smoking permanently.

The whole ordeal with the treasure goblins had freaked out Arabelle, but Jennifer and Mark decided not to tell her the whole truth about what happened. They didn't think she was ready to step into the world of magic and creatures that Jennifer was now a part of—she just assumed that her medicine made her hallucinate the creatures.

But one day, they would tell her the whole story.

Jennifer's hand traveled down to her belly again; her child was still kicking. Mark placed his hand on top of hers, grinning at how enthusiastically their child was kicking.

"Yep, the baby has the energy of a wolf shifter, all right," he said.

Jennifer's eyes widened. "Our baby is going to be like you?"

"Of course. Soon we'll have our own little pack running around. I hope that doesn't bother you."

"Not in the slightest ... I just hope not all of them take on Arabelle's stubbornness."

When her child was born, sooner rather than later, they would have to make sure that Arabelle knew exactly what their child was. They wouldn’t want any surprises. Who knew how she would react if their son or daughter turned into a wolf cub while she was babysitting?

Jennifer grinned in amusement at the thought, but it was one better left avoided.

Mark held her close, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "No, they're going to take on their mother's ... which is far worse."

"Better, I think," Jennifer corrected. "It's my stubbornness that brought us here. "

"You're right ... any qualities they take from their mom will prepare them to butt heads with her when they grow up."

With a loving sigh, Jennifer kissed Mark again. Soon they would have their first child ... the next step of the long, happy life they would share together.

THE END