Page 26

bonus epilogue

DAMIEN

I stared down at the little kitten on the floor whose tail was swishing back and forth happily. Crossing my arms over my chest, the leather jacket on my back stretched with the movement.

“Willow?” I called, figuring this was just another prank. She didn’t actually get a new cat, right? That seemed like a decision she would have consulted with me first about.

Besides, I liked being the cat of the house. And the man of the house. Even if being a demon meant I wasn’t really a human man. Still, my senses weren’t tingling. No unusual scents were in our home, which meant there wasn’t an intruder.

No unusual scent, except… One of my mate’s delicious smelling brews must have been cooking, because the whole house smelled the way she did. Sweet, alluring . Desire flooded my body, and I resisted a groan.

Even when she didn’t work in the bakery anymore, the smell of coffee lingered. Though these days, that was limited to one cup a day.

“Hm?” My wife said as she padded into the living room, her hand resting on her stomach. She looked as beautiful as ever, with her long, flowing golden-brown locks tumbled down her shoulders and back.

Willow was wearing a dark green sweater dress that hugged her curves and showed off her pregnant belly. I wouldn’t be the only male in the house for much longer. I looked forward to welcoming our son into the world.

Even if I’d been so sure we would have another girl. Next time , I thought, the idea making my cock thicken in my pants. Shaking my head, I turned my thoughts away from my pregnant wife, and back to the tiny thing sitting on our floor.

“When did we get a kitten?” I asked her, staring at the creature. “I didn’t think we’d agreed to get a cat.” I blinked. The tiny cat blinked back, it’s large yellow-green eyes staring up at me.

Her eyes tracked to where I was looking. “Um.” Those bright green eyes widened. “We didn’t.”

“So who’s this then? We got a little stray in our house?” The little thing was a dark gray color, and I crouched down, making clicking noises with my tongue as it started to purr, rubbing against my hand.

“Damien—” Willow started to say, warning evident in her tone.

I scratched the kitten’s tummy. “She’s just a little sweetie, huh?”

Picking her up, I rubbed at the top of her head, my witch’s eyes sparkling with delight as I cradled the tiny thing against my large body.

A giggle ripped through the room, and then the kitten in my arms was Opal. Our daughter. Who was stark naked. I chuckled.

She threw up her hands. “Again, Daddy!”

“I didn’t know she could do that.” Willow’s eyes widened as I walked towards her bedroom to grab her a new pair of clothes.

“Me either.” I grinned, sliding the hand not holding Opal into hers and squeezing. “We have a little shapeshifter on our hands, baby.” I suspected we’d be seeing a lot more repeats of today. If she was half as mischievous as I had been growing up, we’d have our hands full.

Willow tugged on a dark curl on our daughter’s head. “That’s my little witchling, huh?” She kissed our daughter’s cheek.

“ Our little witchling,” I agreed as Opal squirmed to get down.

Waddling over to the closet, my wife pulled out a new pair of clothes for her, letting out a small laugh. “I guess what did we expect from a half demon, half witch, right?”

I took the dress and undies, wrangling up our two-year old until she was wearing the polka dotted garment and free to run around the house again.

Leaning against me, Willow murmured, “Maybe you should show her the ropes, huh?”

I arched an eyebrow. “The ropes?”

“Of being a cat.” Her eyes twinkled with humor.

Rolling my eyes, I wrapped my arms around her belly. “What are we going to do if we end up with a whole clutter of cats, hm?”

She tilted her head to glare up at me. “How many kids do you think I’m having? There isn’t a litter of kittens in here.”

“No.” I rubbed my nose against her neck. “Just one.”

“Our perfect little boy.” She sighed happily, resting her hand over mine. “Just a few more months.”

Humming against her skin, I took a deep pull of her scent. “And then we can have another one. Or two.”

“Damien!” She shrieked as I pressed my lips to her soft skin.

Spinning her in my arms, I scooped her up, carrying her out of Opal’s room.

“Put me down,” she said, poking at my chest. “I’m heavy.”

“You’re not,” I said, quirking an eyebrow. “Don’t forget, I’m an all-powerful demon, little witch. I could lift two of you.”

“I liked you better when you were a cat,” Willow muttered, rolling her eyes.

“That’s not what you said last night when I had my tongue buried in your—” I flirted, flashing her a grin, a sharp canine tooth popping out over my lip.

Willow’s hand clasped over my mouth. “Damien!” She scolded me as I carried her to the living room.

Nipping the palm of her hand, she pulled back, rubbing her fingers over my jaw. “Opal’s not going to remember, my mate.”

Still, she pouted until I deposited her on the couch, grabbing her ankles and massaging them. “Now, what’s that delicious smell that’s brewing in the kitchen?”

“Oh.” She sighed, shutting her eyes. “That feels so good.” A small moan slipped from her lips.

After a few minutes, her body relaxed, and she looked back up at me. I still had her feet in my lap.

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m just… trying some new recipes. Thought maybe I’d get back into potion making again. I’d always been good at it, and pleasant grove doesn’t have an apothecary right now, so…” She looked hopeful. “People were always coming to me for different brews, even when I worked at the bakery. I feel like I’ve struggled with my place here, in life, and I’ve just been thinking about what’s next.” Her fingers traced circles over her belly.

“I think that sounds great.”

“You do?”

A hum came from my throat. “Of course. Whatever makes you happy.” I wanted her to feel fulfilled. Wanted her by my side always, but I did my best not to become a feral, possessive animal whenever she left my side.

Her having my scent all over her helped some. So did her carrying my child, the sight of her swollen belly that soothed my instincts. She was mine, and that would never change. No other male would dare to touch her.

“What about you?” Willow asked, nudging me with her foot. “What makes you happy?”

“Ah.” I paused. What made me happy? She did. This life here, with her, Opal and our unborn child. “You are all I could have ever asked for. This life of peace. I don’t know that I ever imagined what my life would be like if it was my own. I expected to serve my father until the ends of my days.” A frown slipped over my lips. “What more could I want?”

I had helped with things around town. Her coven had been wary of me, but they’d warmed up to me. But maybe that was because I tended to be volunteered first for manual labor and I was good with my hands.

“You’re allowed to dream of more, though.” She sounded… sad.

Didn’t she know this was all I’d ever dreamed of? But then again… There was more.

“I do.” I cleared my throat. “Now that my father is gone, and my brother is King, I’d like to spend more time in the demon realm. In that house I built with my own two hands. I’d like to teach our children about who they are. Witch and demon both.” Willow’s eyes were shining with unshed tears when I looked back at her. “But we have time for that. Many, many years. I want to enjoy this time, too. In the human realm. With your witches.”

Because I knew that this time was fleeting for her. I’d lived almost three hundred years before she came into my life, and who knew how many we’d have together now that our life-forces were tied? But here, now… I liked this cozy little home.

“Damien.”

“Hmm?” I looked up at her, and she tilted her chin. “Look.”

There was a little black fluffball sleeping on the arm of the couch. I scooped up our daughter in kitten form and placed her on her mother’s tummy.

Willow ran a finger between her little ears. “How old were you when you shifted for the first time?”

“I’m not sure,” I murmured, feeling in awe as I watched them. “Most shifters can’t control their transformations when they’re this young. Strong emotions—or states of exhaustion—can trigger it.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Just thinking that explains some things.” She gave me a little smirk. “So on nights where I need a foot warmer, all I need to do is wear you out, huh?”

“For kids. ” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Fully grown males aren’t susceptible to that.” Much. Though sometimes I still reverted to cat form and slept on her feet just because I liked to.

It made me feel needed.

The same way I felt needed when I tied her up with my shadows and buried myself inside her tight heat. I’d always be there to satisfy her every whim, after all.

I slid my hand up her calf. “Maybe it’s you who needs to be worn out, mate,” I purred.

She bit her lip, looking up at me through half-lidded eyes. “Later,” she murmured.

“Later,” I promised, knowing I’d hold true to every word.

Only the best for the witch I loved more than life.

* * *

WILLOW

I watched as the tiny gray kitten ran around in our living room, being chased by a much larger black cat.

Damien was having too much fun with our discovery that our little girl could also shape-shift, and my hormones were weeping every time I watched him be so gentle with our daughter. He was such a good dad. Though I knew he had his own fears, they were completely unfounded.

I couldn’t wait to watch him raise our son, too. Heat flooded my core when I thought about his words from earlier. Another one or two. God, was it insane? Maybe. But the way he worshipped my pregnant body… Yeah, I wasn’t complaining.

Thankfully, we had plenty of time. Forever was still a daunting concept, even if I’d had over three years to get used to it. It was hard to imagine not aging. That everything would change around us, but we’d be frozen in time. So, I just wasn’t thinking about it. A problem for later.

I rubbed at my belly, feeling a kick. I could already tell he was strong. Hopefully, he’d be just like his daddy. Even his blood red eyes didn’t phase me anymore. I’d stopped making him glamor himself when we went out into town. The witches who knew us wouldn’t say anything, and those who didn’t, well… they could mind their own business.

My sister was the Queen of the demons, and I was damn proud I was married to one. Besides, we’d become a lot more accepting of other paranormal creatures over the last two years. Turns out, Pleasant Grove had been shutting ourselves off from a lot more than the human world, and meeting Damien had helped us realize that. Now, we were a thriving city full of many other species.

And it helped that Eryne and many of my coven, including my cousin, had found love of their own. Though those were their stories to tell.

“I think she’s out,” Damien said, shifting from cat form to human form in a flash. It used to startle me, but these days I was used to it.

Most of the time. When he shifted with clothes on. Sometimes he still caught me off guard in the middle of the night. Though the sex that usually resulted from that was… hot, to say the least.

Sure enough, our daughter was asleep. And, she’d shifted back to her toddler form, that polka dot dress from earlier still on her body this time. Well, that was something.

I took a step towards her so I could pick her up, but Damien stopped me. “I got this. You just relax.”

A sigh slipped from my lips, but I knew there was no arguing with him. Not while I was heavy with his child.

He pressed his lips to mine once Opal was in his arms. “Meet you in bed? I believe I have some earlier promises to keep.” Damien waggled his eyebrows. My demon certainly loved to indulge me, even when hormones were driving me crazy with need.

Turns out that pregnancy sex was somehow even hotter than when he used his shadow powers on me, so no complaints here.

“I like the sound of that, husband,” I said, a seductive lilt to my voice. I liked it a lot.

* * *

He laid me on the bed carefully, and Damien’s fangs poked out over his lips as he seemed to drink me in.

“What are you doing?” I murmured, reaching out to pull him down over top of me, but he stood in place. Adjusting the pillow behind me, I stared up into his deep red eyes. At the messy dark hair I loved to run my fingers through.

How had I gotten so lucky?

“Admiring my wife,” he said with a hum. “My mate.”

I ran my tongue over my lower lip. “Why look when you can have me?”

His shadows caressed my skin with a teasing touch, brushing over my already hardened nipples and making a small moan slip from my lips.

“Please,” I said, willing to resort to begging. Arousal already pooled between my thighs, and I was eager for him.

“Does my little witch need me to touch her?” A devious smirk curled over his lips as he wrapped a tendril of his power around my ankle, letting it wander up my leg before his power pried my legs apart.

All the while, he stood over me, fully clothed, not moving. Meanwhile, my sweater was forgotten on the floor, since he’d pounced on me as soon as we’d both slipped inside of our room.

“Not fair,” I whined as I felt a brush over my clit. Needy. I tried to rub my thighs together, but he held them apart. “ Damien .”

“No?” He ran his tongue over his lower lip, over those canine teeth that he loved to sink into me at the height of pleasure. “You don’t want to feel my shadows inside of you?”

Oh. Damien teased my entrance before plunging inside of me. It felt like his hands were everywhere. Like he was touching each spot he knew would drive me crazy.

“ Yes,” I agreed, knowing I’d surrender to the pleasure. Always. Because when he touched me like this, he knew exactly what he was doing. “Give it to me,” I cried out. Needing this. Needing everything.

His power filled me, deep, and I didn’t bother trying to hold in my gasp. He circled my clit as his shadows played with my nipples, and it wasn’t long until I was already close to the edge, crying out with each brush of his power against my body. Tilting my head back as I came, I rode out the bursts of pleasure, all too aware of how empty I was, how desperate I was to have him inside of me.

“I need you,” I begged, my eyes connecting with his. Seeing the heat, the lust swirling inside of them, I knew it wouldn’t take much. “Come here, my demon.”

In the flash of an eye, he shed his clothes, and then he was on top of me, lips claiming mine in a searing kiss. Damien’s hands cupped my cheeks, and I let him take my lips, my mouth, devouring me with each pass of his tongue over mine.

“My mate,” he murmured, nipping at my lower lip. “So beautiful and needy for me.” He ground his hardened length over my entrance, and I practically saw stars.

“Yes,” I said with a gasp.

He lined up his cock with my entrance, burying himself inside of me in one deep thrust.

“ Fuck,” he groaned, bringing one hand to rest on my belly and the other angling my hips. “You feel so good. Like you were made for me.” His eyes were dark, his irises barely visible as he rocked his hips into mine.

My only response was a moan, and I could feel him everywhere . He was so deep inside of me, each thrust making my muscles contract around him.

I’m gonna— I said into his mind, losing my ability to speak. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I couldn’t stop the movements of my hips, the way they were rising in time to meet his thrusts.

Damien lowered his head, brushing his fangs over my mate mark. “Come for me, Willow. Let me feel you gush all over my cock, baby.” He groaned.

His teeth sunk into my neck without warning, and I came instantly, the pleasure bursting inside my veins as he kept fucking me through it.

Pulling his mouth away from my neck, he licked at the mark, before lifting up to take my lips with his. I could feel him hardening further inside of me, and it was maddening how good it felt. Our mouths pressed together, sharing each breath, his tongue intertwining with mine as he pumped into me.

I knew he was close, but the telltale signs of another orgasm were already creeping in. My magic was swirling just under the surface of my body, and I knew it was right there—desperate to come out.

His words were only a rasp when he asked, “Do you think you can give me another?”

“It’s too much,” I cried, shaking my head as I dug my fingers into his back.

He resumed his explorations with his shadows—brushing over my clit, teasing my nipples, and driving me wild before he kissed me again.

“So sensitive,” he murmured, dipping his head down to take one of my tender breasts into his mouth. He licked and sucked at my nipple, and that was when I realized the bastard was prolonging this, torturing me with pleasure while taking none for himself.

I squeezed my internal muscles around him, and he groaned.

“Willow.” His voice was low, a warning. But I wanted him to unleash himself. “Fuck.”

“Let go,” I murmured, brushing my nose over his as he repositioned us, grabbing one of my legs so he could reach deeper inside of me. “Fuck me, Damien.”

His demon side took over, and he buried himself inside of me. “Gonna come in this tight pussy,” he groaned, his words causing a moan to slip from my lips. “Already full of my child. Fuck, I love seeing you like this. Going to get you pregnant again after this. Over and over, so I can watch you swell with my child. So fucking beautiful.”

His shadows dipped inside of me, fucking me the same way he was with his cock.

My magic unleashed as I came once again, my hair floating in the air, and random objects levitating around us. I barely noticed, too lost in him. In the way he was looking at me, because even when he was rough with me I could see the love on his face.

He came with a growl, burying his head in my neck and wrapping his arms around my body, keeping me pressed tightly against him as he filled me with his cum. I relaxed in his arms, sighing happily, even as everything I’d been holding afloat with magic fell to the ground.

We rolled onto our sides, Damien content to stay just like this, not pulling out even as he eventually softened inside of me. I ran my fingers through his hair, listening as his breathing evened out.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, his eyes back to their normal shade of brilliant red. His hands cupped my belly, no doubt feeling our child moving inside of me. I’d never quite get used to that, even if it was our second.

“Good.” I yawned, feeling content. “Great, actually.” I reached down to let one of my hands rest over his. “Even if your child likes to sit on my bladder and kick me in the ribs.”

He winced, kissing my collarbone. “I am sorry, my love.”

A small price to pay, I thought. Because I already loved this baby so much, just like I loved Opal more than life itself.

I wiggled against him to get comfortable, and he groaned. “ Willow ?—”

“Already?” I giggled, feeling him hardening once again. “You really are insatiable. That demon stamina of yours.”

“I can’t help it,” he muttered, brushing a few strands of hair off my sweaty skin. “You’re everything, my mate.”

“And you’re mine,” I agreed, intertwining our fingers. “I love you, demon.”

“I love you, witch,” he murmured, taking the moment to kiss me softly. “There’s nothing in this world that I would trade you for. This life with you… I’m grateful for it. Even if you wish to have a job and spend less time in our home.”

I wrinkled my nose, and he leaned forward to kiss the tip of it.

“I just mean that I want you to be happy. And I’ll do whatever I can to ensure that happens. For the rest of eternity.”

“I know.” I snuggled my face into his bare chest. “Do you think we can go visit Luna and Zain in the demon realm?”

“You know there’s no way I could ever say no to you, Willow.”

I hummed, happiness filling my chest. “I know.” Tilting my head, I looked up at him. “Thank you.”

“For what?” He asked, a strange expression forming over his face.

“For being my home.” The love of my life. The reason I woke up with a smile on my face each morning.

“Only if I can thank you for the same thing,” he said, his free hand playing with a strand of my hair, our intertwined hands still resting against my pregnant belly. “For just as I am yours, you are mine.”

“Forever,” I promised. That was the truth of it.

I was his little witch and he was my demon, and I was more than grateful for this lifetime we would get to spend together.

Resting my forehead against his, I didn’t say anything else. Instead, we let our bodies fill in the words, showing each other just how much we loved each other with each touch, each caress, each kiss.

“Forever,” he murmured in agreement.