Epilogue

CATALINA

^TWO YEARS LATER^

I lounged on the beach chair, watching my mates. Mateo, Lucien, Nick, and Dante were playing beach volleyball, with Nick and Lucien on opposite teams, of course. I smiled as they debated who had the better spike while Dante and Mateo waited patiently on the side.

It had surprised me how well Mateo and Dante got along. Both were nerds. Most of the time, you could find them both in the library, geeking over research. The only difference between the two was that Dante had a temper like Kol and might be just as crazy.

It took the guys a while to warm up to Dante and accept him into the fold. But once they did, it was as if they’d known him all this time.

A painful shout to my left had me giggling. I looked over, watching as the twins descended on Kol with sand shovels and buckets. He rolled around, trying to avoid their assault.

“You’re doing great, babe!” I yelled, giving him a thumbs-up. He glared at me, and his distraction earned him a smack on the forehead. I laughed.

There was nothing Kol loved more in this world than his girls, maybe even more than me. The moment they could walk and crawl, we learned their favorite activity was abusing Kol. Must be karma. But he never got upset with them; he took the abuse with a smile.

It was nice being surrounded by my family. So peaceful here. A year after the babies were born, Luce decided it was time to move. He purchased this land on the beach.

The house wasn’t as big as the one in Hell, but it was nice to be back on Earth. At least now Abigail and the twins could visit.

Speaking of which, Lucien decided to go back to school and learn more about running a pack. Considering he’s now the alpha of his.

Lucky for us, Luce bought enough land to move any pack members here that weren’t against Lucien. It also helped the twins be around more of their kind. The pack members may not be lycans, but close enough.

Because of course, I birthed two lycans, and of course, they shifted way beyond the normal age. Not that Lucien was complaining.

Sebastian and Mateo also went back to school. Sebastian because he’s the Dean, which I’m surprised he even still has his job. And Mateo because he’s a nerd.

“Is that a horn?” Lucifer pointed out next to me, sounding thrilled. I looked back over at Kol and the twins. Sure enough, on the top of Elizabeth’s head was a tiny black horn.

Seems Kol’s half of the baby-making genes was starting to come in.

“Great.” I groaned. How the hell was I supposed to hide that at daycare? Demons were still banned. Looks like it’ll be homeschooling. Thank God their dragon father knows everything.

I’d give it a week or two before Sylvia was also sporting a horn. She seemed to be a late bloomer, but she was blooming, nevertheless.

He chuckled, eyes going to my stomach. “I wonder what’s cooking up in there?”

I groaned again. At least the twins only carried genes from four of my mates. The one I’m carrying now? All seven of them. And the icing on the cake? It’s a boy.

“I might just die giving birth to this little monster.” I pouted. He was big, growing faster than the twins ever did. And he had the weirdest cravings: chocolate-covered crickets, blood-soaked marshmallows, and my favorite, hot sauce on a still-beating heart.

Gosh, what the fuck was I bringing into this world?

Luce chuckled again. “We wouldn’t allow that.”

Maybe they wouldn’t, but Kol one hundred percent would. Who knew the mate most crazy over me would switch up the moment I gave him children? Speaking of…

He jogged over, balancing each girl on one shoulder. He handed me Sylvia. She snuggled against my chest, and I got teary-eyed.

“Something came up,” he said, though he didn’t hand over Elizabeth. I arched a brow. “I’m taking her with me.”

“The hell if you are,” Lucien cut in, stepping away from the volleyball game. Him and his eavesdropping ass lycan. “The last time you took her with you, she came back with a missing finger.”

Kol rolled his eyes. He acted as if the mention of his daughter returning with a missing limb was ridiculous. Fortunately for us, her lycan blood regenerated it.

Unfortunately, Kol now seemed to think she was indestructible. “It was a freak accident. The chances of that happening again are slim to none,” he said.

I couldn’t shake the suspicion that Kol was training Elizabeth to become an assassin. I didn’t have concrete proof yet, but why else would he take her on these missions?

“One is good enough,” Lucien interjected, reaching for Elizabeth. She eagerly extended her hands to him. However, Kol moved out of range, shadows forming around them both.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Lucien growled. Kol smirked, and a second later, they were gone.

In true Lucien fashion, he lost his temper, shifting into his lycan form. With a howl, he took off down the beach. Nick shook his head, shifting into his lion form to chase after him.

I didn’t miss the gleeful look in his eyes as he did so. Sometimes, I thought Nick was sadistic, given how much he enjoyed tormenting Lucien. The two would likely fight it out for hours before returning home, famished.

Sylvia whined in my lap, sensing her sister’s absence. I cradled her to me as I rose to head back into the house. While Elizabeth was starting to show signs of taking after Kol, Sylvia was the complete opposite. She reminded me so much of my gentle dragon.

The rest of my mates followed me inside, occupying various spaces around the living room. I passed Sylvia to Dante while I prepared to make dinner.

The downside of no longer living in Hell? No more servants. I had to cook everything. And feeding seven oversized males was hard work, especially with a baby bump in the way.

Mateo followed me into the kitchen. “Where do you want me?” he asked. I smiled. He was the only mate I allowed to help me in the kitchen. The rest were hopeless.

By the time dinner was ready, Kol, Lucien, and Nick returned. Thankfully, Elizabeth was back intact, just covered in blood that didn’t seem to bother her one bit. She reached out to Lucien, who wasted no time in taking her.

My girls had all of them wrapped around their little fingers.

Sebastian arrived home just as we were setting the table. He looked very appealing in his work suit. A slight tingle on my neck reminded me of his feeding last night. He bent to give me a kiss, then made a beeline for Sylvia.

Ever since the battle with my father, he had been more attentive. Losing his arm must have impacted him greatly, even though it grew back after we had sex. Kol wouldn’t stop calling me a “magical pussy” for weeks.

I cringed just thinking about it.

Once the table was set, everyone took their usual seats. We had been sitting this way for so long that it had become second nature to take the same spot. I was seated between Lucien and Nick, with Sylvia on the other side of Nick.

Kol, Elizabeth, and Mateo sat across from us. Lucifer sat at the head of the table, and Sebastian sat at the other end. Dante sat next to Mateo.

I always wondered where our son would sit once he was born.

Nick’s eyes glowed green for a second, then shifted back to normal. I sighed in annoyance. Two years ago, he had officially become the Fae king.

The Fae people were the neediest, whiniest creatures I had ever met. Whenever there was a problem, they immediately called for Nick, even though he had assigned them a council so they wouldn’t bother him.

“Shall I lead with prayer?” Kol joked, smirking at Lucifer.

“You know it affects you too, right?” Lucifer calmly responded.

Kol shrugged. Sometimes, I thought he enjoyed pain.

I lifted my glass, tapping my fork against the side. “I have an announcement to make.”

I flinched when the glass cracked. Sometimes, I forgot about my extra strength due to what I was carrying. “I just wanted to say,” I took a deep breath, “I love everyone at this table.”

I broke out in a sob.

Lucien wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I heard Kol laugh about hormones. Nick rubbed my back soothingly as I bawled my eyes out.

“Whenever you’re done, we have an even better announcement,” Sebastian said.

I hiccuped into Lucien’s shirt, trying to pull myself together.

It took a few attempts, but eventually, I succeeded. Kol was right; my hormones were acting up again. I straightened back in my seat. Nick wiped my cheeks for me, making me blush.

“Okay, I’m good.” I leaned back, resting my hand on my stomach.

My mates exchanged glances. Then Mateo and Dante rose from their seats. They circled around until they were standing behind my chair.

Dante cleared his throat. “As your first mate, though forgotten, we agreed it’s only right that I ask this.”

“And as your first chosen mate,” Mateo added, blushing. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black velvet box.

I watched as they dropped to their knees simultaneously. My eyes instantly started to water. The scraping of chairs filled the room as the rest of my mates stood.

Lucien helped me up from my chair. I leaned against him, already teary-eyed.

“Will you do us the pleasure of being our wife?” they all attempted to say in unison. However, my men clearly didn’t practice this part. I even heard Lucien mumble ~my~ wife.

I looked around at all of them. Dante, who I had just learned to love again; Mateo, my gentle, sweet dragon; Lucien, my possessive, temperamental lycan.

Nick, my carefree Fae; Kol, my lollipop-loving psycho; Sebastian, my cold-hearted vamp; Luce—Lucifer—my hardcore general.

For a moment, my mind drifted to Jayden, the fake mate. After a few months, Lucifer had freed him from his dungeons. He apologized for his part in everything that happened.

He wasn’t aware that my fathers were using him. After that, we parted ways, hoping to never see each other again.

I focused back on the question asked. A warm smile stretched across my face.

“What took you so long to ask? I’d love nothing more.”

End of Book 3