Page 28

EPILOGUE

Two Months Later

Alexia

“May we present the next king and queen of the Crescent pack: Xander and Alexia Slade. May their reign be long and prosperous,” announces the Shifter Assembly elder. He lifts his arms above his head, his black and gold robe fanning out like wings at his sides.

The whole pack bursts into applause, my parents the loudest among them. The cheers reach up to the hand painted, arched ceilings, and I swear the banners bearing the pack crest sway from the noise.

Xander and I rise from our thrones, and with careful steps move to the edge of the dais. The train of my white lace dress drags behind me, threatening to pull me to the ground. My mate notices my struggle and lifts the long fabric, arranging it so it flows down the steps. I glance down at him as he gazes up at me. My king bowed before my feet. It is only a second but it’s enough to make my cheeks redden.

Moving to my side, he takes my hand and whispers, “You’re the most beautiful queen this pack has ever seen.”

“Thank you. You’re by far the sexiest king with the best tattoos,” I whisper back.

He shakes his head as the elder continues, “Please, everyone disperse to the grand ballroom at this time where we will continue the evening with drinks, dinner, and dancing.”

We watch as everyone does as they are told, some in wolf form and some human, but all show a sign of reverence. We nod at my parents and Kai, asking them to stay behind. Once we enter the ballroom, the drinks will be endless, and most will want a chance to at least pay their respects. We wanted a moment alone with those we care about the most. We haven’t seen Kai since Carrington’s trial and sentencing for her crimes—exile on pain of death.

Making our way down from the dais, my parents meet us at the bottom of the stairs, my mom wrapping us both in a hug. “Oh, Alexia, you look so beautiful,” she says, wiping tears away from her cheeks.

“What about me?” Xander teases, pretending to fuss with his lapel. “I pulled out my nice suit for this.”

“You’re very handsome too, son,” my dad sarcastically says, holding out his hand for Xander to shake. They do, but my father pulls him into a hug before opening his arm to me. I step into his embrace.

“Thank y’all for being so understanding about everything,” I say, swallowing over the lump in my throat.

“Understanding?” my mom says, looking up at Xander and back at me. “This man is your mate. It may have been a bit of a shock for us at first but of course all we want is for you to be happy, sweetheart.”

I nod and hug them both again before promising to see them at dinner. As they’re walking away, Kai and Sophie appear at our sides.

“Oh my god, Sophie!” I squeal, holding out my arms for a hug. She immediately returns my affection and Kai rolls his eyes.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, sis,” he jokes.

“Sorry, but I can’t help it, this is so exciting,” I say, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder. “I’m happy to see you too.”

“This is kind of wild, isn’t it?” Sophie says, leaning in toward me as Kai and Xander slip into conversation.

“It is. Did you— know about shifters before all of this?” I ask.

Sophie shakes her head. “No, and I don’t think I would’ve believed it if I hadn’t felt the strange but insanely strong connection with Kai the day you came to clean your office out.”

“We have so much catching up to do,” I say, and she nods.

“Soon.”

We look over at Kai and Xander, who have just broken out of a hug that looks like it got a little bit emotional. After everything that happened, Kai learned the whole truth and his eyes were opened to his father’s evil. The two have found common ground, and perhaps it is shared trauma, but I have faith that their relationship will continue flourishing into the unbreakable bond that only brothers can share.

“Thank you for allowing Sophie to be here, even with the outdated laws still in place,” Kai says.

Xander pulls me to his side with his arm around my shoulders. “The days of those laws are numbered. Our first line of business is to break the decree that kept humans away. If a shifter is blessed with the gift of love, they should be able to celebrate it freely within our kingdom.”

“Let’s not go too public with our existence. We don’t want the scared humans at our door with pitchforks,” I say, bumping my hip into his.

“I have a wise queen, which is good since the last thing I wanted was to wear this thing.” He straightens the golden crown on his head. Xander looks to Kai and cocks an eyebrow, saying, “I could work on a new decree that allows the second-to-be mated shifter in the royal family to become king.”

Kai’s laughter echoes through the empty throne room. It’s good to see that the boy I admired as a young girl is still alive and well. “I’ll pass. Sophie and I have a ton of normal things we want to do. And let’s face it; my life has never been normal.”

I can’t deny Kai that. Xander was able to run away when he was eighteen and start a life separate from the pack. Shifters may have known who he was, but he wasn’t under the constant stress that his younger brother experienced. Clayton had always been grooming Kai to take the throne. Now those shackles are broken, and he is free to live a happy life.

“We’ve got this, Kai,” I say, placing my hands on his shoulders and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Now take Sophie out to the ballroom and we’ll be there shortly.”

“Okay,” he says with a sideways glance at Xander. “Be good.”

Xander snorts and I just shake my head as the two of them leave the throne room. My mate turns to face me and takes both my hands in his. “So, you wanted to be alone with me, is that it?”

I keep one hand in his and lead him back up the steps of the dais, where our thrones sit empty. “Sit,” I say, gesturing to the seat he’s just vacated.

His brows knit together. “Uh, okay,” he says slowly, sinking down into the throne but not away from me. He pulls on his tie, loosening the black silk around his neck. “Are you going to sit too?”

I just smile and step right in front of him, between his slightly spread legs. “I need to tell you something, and I wanted it to be just the two of us when I do.”

“Okay, what is it, Alexia?” His eyes narrow and I can tell he’s worried, so I don’t draw this out.

I intertwine our fingers and say, “Have you noticed anything different about me lately?”

He cocks his head to the side and thinks for a moment, humming thoughtfully. “Well, come to think of it, you’ve been pretty sleepy lately. I’ve found you in starfish mode more than usual,” he jokes.

I hold back my laughter, trying to keep this moment at least a little serious. “Mmhmm. What else?”

“You’ve not wanted rocky road!” he exclaims as if it just came to him. “I meant to ask you what the hell was up with that the other night. I’ve never known you to turn it down.” He stops speaking and his eyes widen the slightest bit. “Alexia?”

I grin, placing his large, tattooed hand on my belly, the one with my initials on his ring finger. “And I know you won’t say it because you’re too sweet, but I don’t quite fit in my jean shorts anymore.”

His blue eyes light up like he’s on the verge of shifting. “Alexia, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’m going to have your baby, Xander. I’m pregnant.”

His thumb swipes back and forth over my stomach. He looks at it like he’s waiting for something amazing to happen right now. I suppose the growth of our child is amazing, but unfortunately, they’re too small for him to get any sort of reaction.

“Our pup. You’re carrying my pup,” he says, his voice thick with emotion.

Xander grips my waist and pulls me closer. His lips land in the center of my belly and he gives it one sweet kiss. My mate who would rip the world apart for me is a mess of tears and softly spoken words to our unborn child.

I rub my palm down the back of his head and thread my fingers through his hair. “Yes,” I say, my voice unexpectedly split by a sob. “I am.”

He looks up at me and there are tears shining in his eyes. “How far along are you?”

I smirk. “About two months.”

He chuckles and keeps both hands on my belly as he stands to tower over me, pressing his forehead to mine. “I really did put a baby in you that first night, huh?”

“It would appear so. It turns out when I got back home after that trip to your apartment, it wasn’t just one pill I was late for.” I purse my lips and my eyes dart around the room before landing back on him. “I guess I was a little distracted because I had missed the four days before that.”

One side of Xander’s mouth ticks up. “Was I the distraction?”

“You know you were a huge distraction along with everything else.”

“Or maybe this is exactly how it was meant to be for us. This is another blessing from the goddess, and I’m more than all right with that.”

I smile and wrap my arms around his neck. “Me too.”

Placing his hands on my hips, he lifts me off my feet, turns around, and gently lowers me to his throne.

“What are you doing, my king?” I ask as he steps between my legs, knocking my knees apart and lifting my dress. “We have a ball to get to.”

“Not yet. Not until I worship this body that has brought me so much happiness, that is bringing new life into our family.”

I open my mouth to protest, but the desire raging in his eyes stops me. Anyone could walk in on us, see him with his hands up my skirt. None of that matters—not when he falls to his knees, not when he slides his hands up the inside of my thighs, and not when he pushes my lace panties to the side.

His finger slides through my slit and he lifts it between us. “It makes you wet to see me on my knees for you, doesn’t it?”

I hum my agreement and lean forward, closing my lips around his finger and sucking every drop of my desire from his skin, never taking my eyes off his. “It does. But everything you do makes me wet, Xander. You’re so fucking sexy that I sometimes can’t even believe you’re mine.”

He reaches back under my dress and tugs my panties all the way off, pressing them to his nose and inhaling before pushing them into his coat pocket. “You are the only woman on the planet I want, Alexia. You’re more than I would have ever dared to fantasize about,” he murmurs.

I close my eyes and spread my legs further apart as he slides his hands under my dress, gripping the arms of the throne. “Goddess, Xander. You always make me feel so good.”

“I know. Because this pussy is mine. It weeps for me ,” he says, parting me with his first two fingers. “I love how responsive you are. I’ve barely even touched you yet and you’re already soaked.”

“I told you,” I whimper, clenching around nothing. “You do this to me constantly .”

“It’s all mine. You are all mine.”

He lowers his head and breathes me in before gliding his tongue from bottom to top. My hips buck from his swirling tongue, begging for him to give me more. His hand comes down on my hip, and he holds me in place as he presses his face into me. I grind against him, loving the tickle of his beard on my thighs and how his nose nudges my clit as his tongue slips inside of me.

“You taste so sweet,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

He works his belt loose and pulls out his hard cock. His hand slides up and down his soft skin, milking the precum from the tip. My throat grows dry at the sight. The only thing that can cure my thirst is a taste of him. His thumb glides over the pearly liquid, gathering it up. With his other hand, he grabs the back of my thigh and pulls me down further on the throne’s seat. Bringing his cum-soaked thumb to my mouth, he slips it between my lips.

I suck him with a moan.

“Good girls get rewarded,” he says, draping my legs over the chair’s arms. “Keep these gorgeous legs spread for me.”

“Yes, daddy.”

He lines himself up with my center and thrusts into me.

I try to be quiet, I really do, but it’s simply not possible. This is the hottest position he has ever had me in, and I can’t hold back. I let go of the arms of the throne and wrap them around his waist, gripping the globes of his ass and wishing it was his flesh I was digging my claws into instead of the material of his suit pants.

My entire body shakes as I watch him bring his middle finger to his mouth, sucking on it until it’s dripping wet. He reaches below us, and I hiss as he brushes against that part of me he has yet to claim.

“I think it’s time we start preparing you to take me here,” he says, pressing against my tight opening.

I whimper, and even as I’m nodding my consent, I tense up. “Be gentle, Xander.”

“I’ll take it easy on this gorgeous ass, but I’m fucking this pussy hard.”

The things I would let this man do to me just to hear him say them first are endless. I love that he doesn’t hold back, that he tells me just how much he loves and wants me. I have every intention of giving in to his filthy desires.

“Relax and let me in, Alexia,” he says, gently twisting his finger inside of me. “That’s it. Let me fill you up.”

I let go of my trepidation and my body opens to him. When his finger is reaching the most forbidden depths of me, his hips set a steady pace. My eyes roll into the back of my head, and I clamp around him. I’m seconds away from a mind-blowing orgasm, and I’ve lost my ability to keep my voice down.

He takes his free hand and places it over my mouth. “Shh, little wolf, do you want everyone to hear how hard their queen is getting railed right now? That’s not how a good girl would behave,” he says in a mock-chiding tone.

I groan and shake my head, and his hand moves to my throat, right under the now-healed X he tattooed the morning after we mated. “No, but can you punish me anyway?”

He pulls out of me, leaving my desire for him dripping down my thighs and my ass desperate to feel him again. “Bend over the arm of my throne.”

I hang on to my dress while scrambling to my feet. I round his chair and bend over as he demanded, presenting my ass to him. He stands behind me and wraps his fingers around my throat again, arching my head back with my ass in the air.

“You want me to treat you like a bad girl?”

“Yes,” I breathe. “Please.”

He doesn’t hesitate, bringing his hand down on my ass. My right side hurts so good with the sting.

“Again.”

He spanks me three more times before kicking my legs apart and plunging into me again. I look back to see a string of saliva fall from his lips and land on my ass. I gasp when he brings two fingers to the tightest part of me and works them inside. He pumps me hard and fast, each thrust taking my breath away.

“Keep that cunt tight. I want you coming hard on my cock,” he orders, slapping my ass again.

I clench my walls around him, strangling his dick, loving the obscene sounds our bodies are making. “I’m so close. Choke me harder.”

“Goddess, Alexia, I’m going to fill you up. Come for me,” he growls in my ear, squeezing my throat just tight enough.

And that does it. His words, his grip on me... it’s so much, it’s everything I need to come apart just like he’s begging me to.

“Xander!” I cry, the word coming out a strangled sob.

“That’s it, take it all.”

He pushes further and my body accepts the knot at the base of his shaft. I’ll never get enough of him. The way he stretches and fills me. And he will never get enough of me taking it. His body shudders and I moan his name as he locks into place. I come, squeezing his knot, drawing out every drop he has to give.

His sweat-covered body rests above mine as we catch our breath. He moves his fingers inside me a couple more times before slowly removing them. I savor the feeling as his knot deflates, leaving me deliciously sore. He kisses the side of my neck and pulls out.

He’s quiet for a moment and I look at him over my shoulder. His gaze is fixated between my legs, watching his cum slide down my thighs. He steps forward and lifts his thumb as if he plans to wipe it away.

“Don’t. I want to feel you on my skin all night.”

He groans. “You’re tempting me to take you again. Be careful, Alexia.”

“Is that supposed to deter me?”

Xander kisses my forehead and takes my panties from his pocket. “You’re a brat.” He makes to get on his knees to help me back into them, but I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Keep them. A souvenir from the first time you fucked me on your throne.”

He grins and pushes the lace back into his pocket. “First time of many, I can promise you that.”

I smirk and run my fingertip down the center of his chest. “You have forever to keep that promise.”

He captures my hand and presses his lips to my fingertips. “Forever.”