Chapter 40: Epilogue: A Few Years Later

FREYA

“Freya!” Cain bellowed as he ran down toward the front porch of their home, where she’d been happily knitting blankets in her favorite rocking chair. “Have you seen the little mutt?”

“I haven’t seen your son since this morning, Cain,” she giggled as she looked at her mate who only seemed to get more handsome every day. “Is he late for training again?”

“Of course he is!” Cain ran his hand through his dark hair and sighed as he looked down at Freya’s belly, which was once again swollen with new life. “When I find that pesky pup, I’m putting him on firewood duty again.”

“No, Papa, I won’t do it!” a young voice cried from the side of their home.

All of a sudden came the sound of little feet running on the ground as a small boy rounded the corner and faced off with his parents.

He was tall for his age, only a few years old, but easily towered over the other children his age. His short hair was a stark difference from the rest of the village, as it was as white as snow. His crimson-red eyes glared at his father in defiance of his overheard punishment. White feathers crept along the boy’s shoulders and spine in the same pattern as Freya’s but far sparser in comparison. He didn’t have wings, but no one here was bothered by it.

“Ragnar Fargrim, I told you if you were late to practice again, you’d be in a heap of trouble. The heir to the pack must not skip,” Cain stood taller and glared down at the boy.

“Sorry, Papa,” the little boy lowered his head, then turned to look at Freya from the corner of his eyes.

“Oh no, little one, I won’t help you out of trouble this time. You need to go to training with your father.” Freya looked lovingly at her little boy and set down her knitting needles to rub the swell of her belly where their second child was getting ready for their entrance to the world. “I hate to see you in trouble, Ragnar, but being next in line for alpha doesn’t award you the freedom to do as you wish.”

“Sorry, Mama,” the little boy whined. His lower lip trembled.

“Now go to the training grounds with the other little warriors before I give you an axe and a stack of wood,” Cain growled.

“Yes, sir!” Ragnar began to scurry as fast as his little legs would take him in the direction of the training grounds where the other young pups were waiting.

“That boy is something else,” Cain murmured as he proudly watched his son go.

“And there will be another one like him soon,” Freya whispered as she looked into Cain’s eyes. “Are you sure you want another one?”

Cain fell to his knees at Freya’s feet and placed his hands on her rounded stomach. His eyes seemed to glow as he proudly watched the life within kick at his hands.

“I want as many pups as you can give me, love.” He placed a gentle kiss on her belly and got a kick in response from the baby inside. “A whole army of pups,” he growled proudly.

Freya chuckled as she rested her hands in Cain’s hair and pushed the stray pieces back and out of his face. There was nothing but pure love and admiration glowing there as she looked at the amazing father of her child and leader of the pack she now called family. Nothing could beat the joy brought on by her wolf.

She gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. Cain turned his head into her kiss and began to give Freya a passionate kiss that left her breathless.

“My little bird,” Cain stated with a husky voice.

“My alpha,” Freya replied as they looked into each other’s eyes.

Leaving her old life behind hadn’t been easy, but being here, with Cain and their growing family, nothing would ever compare to the family she’d made her own.

She’d finally found somewhere to belong.