Epilogue
Brighton
It wasn't quite the rustic homestead from before, but it was pretty close. There was a new smokehouse (Brighton was pretty sure he had the blueprints memorized now), a garden ready to be planted, a decent sized shed and cellar, and, Brighton's pride and joy: a three bedroom cabin.
It wasn't the same as Josh's old house. Brighton had offered, but Josh said he wanted to start fresh. Brighton and his friends had worked tirelessly on it for a solid month, and Brighton had sucked up to a few alphas from Foxhold to help as well. He now owed them several favors, but the look on Josh's face had been well worth it.
The farmstead was also graced with three smaller cabins. After Brighton and Josh's home had been finished, the other alphas had made themselves firmly at home as well. It hadn't taken as nearly as long. Only a couple weeks. Aidan had cut corners with his cabin: it had the trunk of a tree he'd been too lazy to cut down growing through his living room.
"You sure about this?" Brighton had asked when they first announced their plans to stay for the winter. Of course both he and Josh were happy that their friends wanted to stay with him. Wolves needed a pack, after all, but he'd been surprised that they were willing to postpone their search for mates.
"Honestly? I've had enough excitement for a while," Gavi admitted. "I've waited this long for a mate. A bit longer isn't going to hurt."
Aidan had just shrugged. "I don't know. I just have this feeling that I should stick around for a bit longer."
"I just really hate snow," Ivan said.
In hindsight, Brighton was very thankful that they decided to wait winter out with him. With Josh's food supply torched, they'd had to hunt all through the season and Brighton honestly didn't know how his family would have made it without them.
Josh invited Kira, the bear-shifter and courier, over for the winter solstice. He was the first bear Brighton had ever met, and Brighton liked him well enough. Apparently the two had been friends for a long time and Kira helped Josh through a few rough patches. That was all Brighton needed to know to welcome him in.
Aidan had seemed intrigued, Brighton had noticed.
The girls arrived in early spring. As soon as Josh complained of a contraction, Brighton had gone into a panic. He all but broke Aidan's door down and threw him out in the middle of the night, demanding he go get Georgia. Aidan made sure to throw a rock at him before shifting and bounding off.
Jacob, who had been waiting for this moment all winter, made himself comfortable at Josh's side and talked to his belly, telling his new brothers or sisters stories that only a seven-going-on-eight-year-old could come up with. It seemed to calm them down a bit and Josh was actually able to relax for a bit. Brighton sat by Josh's side, holding his hand stroking his hair.
Georgia made it there by sunrise and kicked them out. Ivan sat with Jacob in the living room while Brighton went outside to get some air and calm himself down. He got another rock to the face instead. He glared at Aidan who just gave him an innocent look.
Ivan snorted. "Come on, you kind of had that coming."
While it was sort of true, Brighton still flipped Aidan off and stomped back inside. He sat down on the floor against the wall and tried not to hyperventilate. Every so often, he'd hear Josh moan or cry out and it was like a knife in the heart.
At some point, Jacob came over and sat on his lap. "It's gonna be okay, Bry," he said in a comforting tone that perfectly mirrored Josh.
Brighton chuckled. "I know. I'm just really excited. I don't want to wait any longer."
"Me neither," Jacob agreed.
It seemed to take forever before Georgia finally stepped out of the bedroom. She stood aside and gestured toward the door. "Go ahead," she said.
Brighton was on his feet before she finished, tucking Jacob under his arm as he moved. Jacob giggled and grabbed at his hand. Brighton inhaled sharply as he burst into the room.
Josh was sitting in bed, exhausted, but with a look of contentment. Nestled in each arm were two of the pinkest, tiniest babies Brighton had ever seen.
"Girls," Josh said.
"Girls," Brighton repeated. He stepped in further, gently dropping Jacob at the foot of the bed. His legs started to shake and he sat down on the edge of the bed. Carefully, he reached over and touched the closest baby's forehead.
Josh held her out. "You can hold her."
Brighton wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Carefully, as if he was handling glass, he took the baby. She was small enough to fit in his hands. He wondered what color her eyes would be when she opened them. "So what are we going to name them?"
"Twig and River," Jacob said quickly. He scooted up to sit on Josh's lap to see the other baby and pet her head. Brighton and Josh exchanged glances. They hadn't actually talked about names up to this point. And Brighton certainly couldn't think of anything better.
Josh looked to Brighton who gave a small shrug. "That's not bad, actually."
"Twig?" Josh settled back into bed. "Are you sure about that?" He thought for a second. "How about Tulip?"
Tulip and River. A smile stretched across Brighton's face. "That's perfect." With River nestled in one arm, he moved further onto the bed to pull Josh close.
Jacob rolled his eyes and patted Tulip's arm. "I'm still calling you Twig."
Josh closed his eyes and leaned against Brighton. Jacob curled up with his head on his dad's lap, eyes blinking sleepily. Brian pulled himself up onto the bed and curled up around his mate and children.
When the others poked their heads into the room, the family was sound asleep.