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Epilogue

Deke

A ccording to dragon tradition, naming hatchlings took place after getting to know their personalities. Like shifter babies, dragon hatchlings were more advanced than humans. They could crawl in their human forms far sooner than humans did, but spent more time in their animal forms for the first few months than as humans. This meant we got to see more of who they were than we would with a human kid.

Our wolf girl was brave. She was the first to explore in her furry form, often leading her brothers into mischief. We called her Pandora for it.

The omega twins were sweet cuddle bugs. They made our days full of sunshine, so we called them Elio and Enver and struggled to tell them apart until their scents separated.

Both the enigmas were watchful. Curious, yet also wary. They often hung back while Pandora led Elio and Enver, and Maverick, their alpha brother who was the bravest of the boys, into trouble. Ward was the eldest boy, Casper the youngest. They waited on their brothers and sister to get into trouble before making their baby roars at them.

I knew wolf cubs were cute. Pandora lived up to that but no one mentioned how adorable baby dragons were. Sure I had to be mindful of claws and sharp teeth, but the ridge around their neck was useful to hold them by when they got into scuffles. I watched Ozyn do it a few times before I tried it myself, too afraid of hurting them.

It was my turn to wrangle the babies because we had important places to be. Over the last few weeks their uncles and older brothers had visited to witness their naming ceremony. That had been pure chaos ending up with babies covered in cake and ruined clothes. This time we were heading to Abrocaelum for their first trip there.

My alpha power worked on the little ones, which was incredibly useful when trying to dress them. They had adorable outfits to wear because we had a party to attend!

Uncles Ulrian and Laeros were being crowned and getting married! Yeah, Ulrian had finally given into Laer’s charm. Half the pack were attending. Hell, half of Northarbor and Sweetwater were.

Now that the babies were a little older, mostly sleeping through the night, Ozyn took a job working with the police part time as a special SDF agent now the SDF were out in the open. Apparently getting freedom of the city meant he was now responsible for it. Nhil was still in Sweetwater waiting for Micah to give him a chance. He got roped into working with the cops, too. He thrived on it, actually. I thought he would stick it out even if Micah denied their bond.

This meant we had Hernandez coming to the wedding, I thought it was in an official capacity until he turned up with Winter. As his date!

“Ah, I knew it! They make a fine pair, do they not?” Ozyn asked as he put the finishing touches to the kids’ outfits.

“How?”

“Did you not see them speaking at Blake’s party when he won the aviary? Hernandez drove him back and was invited to attend.”

“Huh.”

Baby suits were very impractical. Little tunics with leggings made of elven fabric? Worlds better. Ozyn finished arranging their tufts of hair. Each one had his curls but the shades varied from my very dark brown, on Caspar and Ward, to practically white on Pandora.

“They look happy, don’t they? I like Rafael for Winter.”

“Yeah. They look great.” If it stopped the cop lusting after my mate, I was all for it. Yes, the possessiveness went both ways, thank you.

Toth had arranged with his friend/brother-in-law, Barr, a hellhound, to open a portal for us in Abrocaelum next to the fae castle. The elves couldn’t due to centuries of ward magics that would take probably equally as long to dismantle. They were forged in blood, making the magic even harder to overcome. Barr, as a demon, wasn’t tied into Abrocaelum the same way. He had tried the route and was treated to a very elaborate banquet for him and his mate, Jorgoth. They stayed in the castle for the better part of a week when they tried it successfully the first time.

The portal would allow our extremely large wedding party to get through. As pack Alpha, Blake, Kade and the kids were coming. Vale and Chase were still doing their platonic soulmate thing, so they were matching their ties and colors of their suits.

As royalty, Teárlach and Axel were attending. They had left their daughter with the queen, who declined to attend. Her court was optimistic but wary of the new fae king. Look, I got it. Ulrian had been a terrible mayor towards the end. He’d made dangerous decisions that nearly cost me my life. Maybe it got me my mate, but it caused a lot of pain in the process. With time, we’d all get there. He had to prove himself a good leader first.

The crowd gathered around the area where the portal would go was large. We had some city hall officials, police, a chunk of our pack, the aviary and pride coming with us. We were bringing the party!

Ozyn’s brothers and our sons were waiting for us. Laeros was straight over to us when we emerged. He stole Pandora from my arms while Ulrian tried to hug Safi.

Everyone oohed and aahed over the babies even as we took our seats for the ceremony to start. They had a handfasting similar to the witches’ traditions, showing we were all interconnected. It was sweet, with handwritten vows. They both clearly had feelings for each other. Maybe Laer helped Ulrian get that stick out of his ass.

Ozyn must have caught my wandering thoughts, because he smirked. Behave, he chided.

After the wedding came the crowning. Ulrian’s circlet was made of leaves of every color of jewel. Laer’s was simpler, yet no less beautiful. They took their vows to the fae people and in a surprising move, signed peace treaties for the elves and dragons to agree to. In another shock, Ulrian made a speech.

“Here is to a fresh start. Under my rule, I am abolishing the practice of shifter and dragon fighting rings. Any fae holding another person in slavery will be held to account for their crimes. All servants are to be paid for their labor. Shifters are to be treated as equal citizens of Abrocaelum, though if they wish to return to the human realm, I have made preparations for that return.”

Cheers rose throughout the courtyard. Maybe Ulrian was closer to being a decent ruler than I thought.

The reception was beautiful. They held it outside in the open air. The gates were open, allowing all to attend. The courtyard was decorated with flowers and vines everywhere. It was like something out of a dream. The castle had grown wilder since the last time we had been there. It was better for it. Ozyn and Safi were still uncomfortable, I could tell, but they were better than before. Busier, too. The babies kept trying to shift. It was taking a lot of energy to keep them in their human forms.

“Let them shift, Deke. I don’t like how it’s draining you,” Ozyn urged with concern.

I let go of the power, setting off a chain reaction. Pandora shifted first. She barked at the twins. Elios and Enver changed, their outfits thankfully shifting with them. Our little girl had that talent, too. She was a wonder. Not to be outdone, Maverick jumped into the air, completing his shift and managing a short flight. He landed into Safi’s arms with a thump. The fae was a favorite of Maverick’s.

Seeing their siblings get away with shifting, both Ward and Casper took flight. They were the best fliers of the bunch. Pandora barked at them with clear envy. Honestly, I was glad she couldn’t fly. She would be a nightmare!

The sounds of our children in their animal forms prompted the other littles with us to shift, too. The fae were enamoured with the kids. It made it easier to remember these people were trapped under Glorin’s rule. They had suffered as much as Ozyn had, just in different ways. They were all victims of a tyrant. These were changed days.

“Well,” King Ulrian called over the noise, his voice magically amplified. “I suppose this is a great time to announce I’m pregnant. Our triplets will be with us soon!”

Ozyn

Yule was upon Sweetwater. We had residents of the aviary, the pride, Greenbriar pack, and our coven friends all attending a winter spectacular hosted by our Alpha.

Due to the conflict with the aviary, the previous year’s celebrations had been canceled. They were deemed too high of a security risk. This one? Well it was attended by the police. Winter was still dating Hernandez, Rafael, as his given name was. Besides, my boys were all here, my brothers, and of course, Ulrian and their brood.

Three more dragons were in the world and wow did they make ours look tame! They had the same tricky nature of the fae, the way with nature dragons didn’t quite have thanks to their fae parent. All three were a handful, but so beautiful. Arax, the omega was in shades of pink. His alpha brothers, Siurin and Narith, were shades of lavender and lilac.

We were gathered by the lake. The pack had spared no expense by paying for the witches to freeze a section of the water for ice skating. There were plenty of seating areas and several tables laden with delicious hot food. Overseen by Winter of course, with help from Rafael, who really could cook!

Deke was with Pandora. She was usually to be found with her dad. Caspar and Ward often lingered by my side while the twins kept their own company and Maverick bothered Safi. Not for long, though. I had a feeling things were progressing with Ingal. Whatever bump had existed he was figuring out. Soon we would be looking for new help.

“I am not going to enjoy interviewing to replace Ingal,” Dalton sighed beside us. Larken stood rocking Carina, who was teething. Both looked tired.

“Why?” Hiroshi asked. He straightened a hat on one child, taking the gloves of another.

“Ozyn and Deke will need someone too,” Kade added. Iris was tucked in his arms, sleeping peacefully. “When those two figure out they’re in love with each other.”

“Doesn’t Safi have to marry a high born elf?” Dakota asked, passing a plate piled high with food for Jasper and Hayden. The little boy was sitting quietly amongst the omegas quite happily. He had a soothing aura similar to Dakota’s.

“I’m not sure that was part of the agreement. I do hope Safi is not under the impression he needs a high born spouse. Ingal’s family may be lower ranking, but the queen sent Ingal here for a reason. He is one of the few elves who have a platonic soulbond. That shows a strength of character which many highborn do not possess.” It did make me wonder if that was what had troubled Safi these last few months.

“Ozyn feels strongly about this,” my mate said, returning to my side. The older boys had their younger siblings in hand. I caught Balon looking around.

“Yeah, I see it. Wonder who he is,” Deke muttered, his eyes following mine.

“I just want them both to be happy,” I said, returning to the subject. “They have time to figure things out.”

“Right?” Kade gave a happy sigh, resting back into his mate’s arms. I noticed the baby wasn’t sleeping, she was chest feeding. It was something I missed now our babies were solely on formula, though I had only fed them once a day myself. It took hours!

“It’s so strange to think of how much things have changed over the last two and a half years,” Axel remarked. He was the quietest of the Sweetwaters. “It feels like everyone is pairing or paired off. There are an unprecedented amount of kids in the pack. We have allies all over the place. We’re finally at peace.”

“Don’t forget us omegas aren’t at the mercy of their heats!” Dalton added with a grin. He set off some sparks with his new magic. “I love being able to pick when I have a heat.”

“But we’re waiting at least five years before more babies, right?” Larken begged. When his mate only grinned maniacally, Larken repeated, “five years, right?”

“Of course!”

“Dimples, you promised!”

“They’re so cute though! Don’t we make the cutest babies?”

“Yeah, but I miss sleep!”

Dalton laughed. “So do I. Don’t worry, the baby factory is closed for the time being.”

We all laughed with them. Between the moonroot for those with limited magic, and the protein for those with extra talents, omegas all over could control when they had a heat without the dangerous side effects which had nearly cost Kade his wolf and fertility.

“Kade!” A little boy came rushing over. “Dad is going to shift with Isla and go on the ice! Watch! Papa can’t skate with me because of the baby, will you come skate with me?”

“Sure thing, Rune. Just gimme a minute, Iris is still nursing. Oh, nope, she’s asleep.” He passed the sleeping baby to his mate to hold.

Ah, Rune was his little brother from his biological father’s side. He was a sweet boy of about three or four, I believed. Truthfully, I didn’t know Rune or his parents, Levi and Robin, that well. They were Greenbriar transplants and lived in the omega area near where they worked in the school and community center. I believed Robin taught swimming.

One by one, our party got up to wander closer to the lake where Robin was shifted with his daughter. Both polar bears made a sight. It was like something out of a greeting card.

Are you happy you came here?

Deke’s mental voice was always laced with the love he felt for me. It was like a warm hug on this cold day. I shivered with pleasure.

I am. It’s a simpler life in some respects. Yet, here in Sweetwater I am more fulfilled than ever, more loved than I thought I could be. All thanks to you.

I love you, Ozzy. You came bursting into my life when I needed you most.

He wrapped his arms around me. The little ones ran for us, circling our feet, making yipping noises.

There’s never been a day that I haven’t thanked The Luna for what she did by bringing us together. I look at the family we’ve created when I never dreamed I’d be so lucky. I thought she had forgotten me at one point. With everyone else happy, I was okay with that, but now I have you and all this. I love you all so much.

I love you, too. The Luna and the Great Drakon blessed me with the best mate I could hope for and a lifetime of love.

Suddenly my attention was pulled to the middle of the lake where a shaft of moonlight illuminated a tall, regal figure. Her hair flowed like a pale waterfall down her back. She stood proudly, an affectionate smile on her face.

“My friends, my true believers, thank you for your trust, your pure faith. I love you my shifters. I exist only for you. May you have a lifetime of love and happiness. My blessings be upon you.”

The light faded away, leaving an empty space.

Somehow I knew she was right. I could see my future ahead of me filled with love and laughter as my family grew and expanded with mates of their own, children, too.

The Sweetwater pack had changed not only my life, but all of those touched by it, and led by kindness, they would thrive.

The End.