Page 13 of The Wolf Guard’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #3)

epilogue

OLIVE—TWELVE YEARS LATER

Groaning, I collapsed on my back on the grass, staring up at the clouds above me. There was a verifiable army of children running around, but the ones that were driving me crazy were kicking my poor ribs and bladder from the inside.

Hunter immediately lifted my shoulders from the ground, propping me up with the side of his thigh.

He was paranoid about all of the pregnancy rules. And he was always taking care of me, even though he’d gotten a little calmer and quieter about it over the years. All of our adventures had helped chill him out a little, though they’d just made me want to experience even more of life.

I was ready to experience babies, now.

Childbirth, not so much. I was still telling myself they were just going to magically pop out of my body without any medical assistance. Certainly without any blood. The last thing I ever wanted to see again was the inside of a hospital, even though I knew that was inevitable.

My mate was a worrywart. Homebirth wasn’t ever on the table for him.

And since my life would technically be at risk when I gave birth, I hadn’t argued.

I’d considered it, though.

A dart hit me on the face, and I laughed.

Then winced at the pain that followed when my babies started kicking me.

“Sorry!” two of Aspen and Enzo’s boys yelled at the same time.

The Alphas had quadruplets nine years earlier.

Yeah, quadruplets.

As in, four babies.

I teased her that she was an overachiever when she was pregnant, and she told me she’d happily trade places with me. Then our mates growled at each other.

And we both grinned.

It was a good bonding experience.

All four of their kids were boys, so they were constantly wrestling. Enzo was usually in the middle of their literal dogpile.

Nova and Clay had their first set of twins—both girls—a few years after Aspen and Enzo’s boys were born. Another set of twin girls had followed, so they had twin five-year-olds and two-year-olds.

Two at a time seemed much easier than four, so I’d crossed my fingers for two when I got the positive pregnancy test. Werewolves only came in multiples, after all.

But of course, I was having three.

Two boys and a girl.

I couldn’t wait to meet them.

And I really couldn’t wait to not be pregnant anymore.

Sydney and Fletcher had popped out three sets of boy-girl twins already, with their oldests coming a few months before Aspen’s little pack, their middles two years later, and their youngests two-years after that. They said they were done, but I could tell she was getting baby fever again.

So, like I said, we were surrounded by an army of kids.

They were a blast, though, and I loved the chaos. It was so different than the way Nova and I had grown up, and I hoped like hell that I could give my kids a better childhood than the one I had.

The babies went to town on my bladder again, and I made a face as the need to pee hit me hard.

“You need some kind of soothing magic to chill them out,” I grumbled to Hunter, who gave me a small grin.

And was quickly hit in the eye with a dart of his own.

Another chorus of “sorry!” followed, but we both just smiled.

Hunter tossed the dart back at the kids, and they all yelled. A barrage of darts hit him, and I laughed so hard I almost peed myself. If I didn’t get up and find a bathroom soon, there would be no avoiding it. But getting up sounded exhausting.

Hunter was grinning and raising his hands in surrender a few minutes later, calling out that they had won. After they retrieved their weapons, he met my eyes again. “Only a few more days, Oli Pop.”

“I’m not sure I’ll survive,” I said with a dramatic sigh.

He chuckled. “You will.”

“We have cookies!” Aspen called out to the kids, and I immediately tried to sit up.

Hunter helped me to my feet, giving me a sexy little smirk. “I’ll help you to the bathroom and grab you a plate.”

“This is why I love you.” I kissed his cheek quickly, then started dragging him back toward the building. He scooped me up off my feet, and I leaned my head against his arm as he carried me toward the cookies

Accidentally sealing a mate bond with him was the best thing I had ever done.