Page 97 of A Monstrous World: The Complete Series

Epilogue

Atlas

A li’s eyes widen as we walk into the spacious kitchen. It’s been four years since the kids were born, but they’re more on par with six- or seven-year-olds. We sold my townhouse a few months ago to the family that had been renting it the last few years, but Ali’s house is cramped with nine of us.

Add in the fact that Nadia recently completely stopped Ali’s treatments, and it made it the perfect time to upgrade.

Nadia is convinced Ali is fully healed from her magic.

It only took four years without the bracelet and in constant contact with all of her mates.

If the worst comes to fruition, then Hex will have another egg next year sometime.

I know Ali would be beyond ecstatic to conceive either way, but I think it would be extra special for her without the added step.

Hex is far from offended.

“Wait, can we even afford this place?” she asks, dragging me back to the moment at hand.

“We can.” Silence pushes himself up to sit on the expensive gray-and-white countertop. “We can even keep your house if you’d like.”

“No, why would we do that?” she scoffs, bending down to check out the brand-new stove. “This place is incredible.”

“That view is spectacular.” Malice gestures to Ali’s plump ass.

“It sure fucking is,” I agree.

“You don’t think it’s too much? Will we ever even see the kids if we aren’t tripping over each other?” Though she frowns, her feelings are clearly communicated through the bond. She loves the house. She’s just a little apprehensive about the huge change.

Silence chuckles. “We’ll ensure they don’t think they’ve been abandoned in the massive space.”

“There’s plenty of room to grow,” Hex says, wrapping her up in his arms. “And we’re right down the street from Emerson and her kids.”

“That’s true,” she agrees. “Isn’t this way outside of our budget, though?”

Three sets of eyes fly to me, and my mate’s gaze quickly follows. Well damn, I guess it was bound to come out sometime.

“So, when I came to the human realm...” My face actually feels hot. I never blush, but the confused look on Ali’s face makes me ache to trap her to the counter and fuck her full of me.

“He’s quite wealthy from his time in the horde,” Malice adds helpfully. “And your princes only pretended to be destitute so you’d give them a place to stay. I’m truly the one who brings nothing to this relationship.”

“Oh, you. Stop it.” She jabs a finger at him. “I love you. That’s what you bring to this family. Yourself. And that’s all we’ve ever needed.” She looks at me and her brow furrows. “Why in the world did you work at The Den if you didn’t need to?”

I step over, pulling her away from Hex. “Well, you see. This precious pink-haired fae stumbled into me in the hallway, muttering under her breath about good help being hard to find and...” I shrug. “I needed an in to get close to you.”

Ali stares up at me, blinking rapidly, and my heart races. “That’s about the sweetest damn thing I’ve ever heard.” She leans up, kissing me on the cheek.

“Really? Nothing about his body count?” Silence snorts. “That seems so much more romantic to me.”

“Me too,” Malice pipes in.

It’s very convenient that monsters stopped going missing immediately upon Kash’s untimely death.

It didn’t take the lazy-ass council long to determine he’d gone rogue.

It just so happens that Aryndia has some decency.

No fae hunters have come looking, meaning I’ve retired my serial killer hat for French braiding hair and teaching the boys not to pee on the floor while standing.

It’s been quite an easy and enjoyable transition.

Ali and I share a dirty kiss that has her chest heaving as we pull back.

“Would now be a good time to admit we already bought this house?” Hex asks, scratching at his scruffy jaw.

“You’re all so bad.” She laughs. “But I love it.”

“Good.” I smack her ass. “How about a game of hide and seek to finish exploring?”

“What?” She slowly backs away.

“You run—we chase.” Malice grins like maybe she didn’t understand the rules of the game.

“And once we catch you, we get to have our way with you,” I taunt, crossing my arms over my chest. “Better run fast, sweet fae.”

“Or don’t,” Silence adds. “Oh, yes. Rule one is we get to fuck you where we catch you.”

“Get moving, sweetheart,” Hex teases.

“I won’t even cheat,” Malice promises.

“You better not.” She points back at us as she retreats. “I want a two-minute head start.”

“Ticktock, times a wastin’.” I grin.

Ali smiles bashfully, making my heart race like it does every time I see her happy. She spins around, bolting for the back stairs, and we all break out into laughter.

I wouldn’t have picked anyone else to spend immortality with.