Epilogue

 

The sun was sinking as he entered his house. Hatot greeted him with a strained smile. That was when Malachi heard Etta James crooning about finding love at last. He grimaced.

“Who pissed her off?” he asked the Halfling with a brief smile.

Hatot bowed deeply. “I’m afraid one of King Leofric’s emissaries met with the mistress earlier today.”

Malachi growled. Leofric seemed to have made it his life’s mission to shower Lani with outrageous gifts, and offers of marriage even though she was already mated. He wanted to strangle the narcissistic fairy, but with the new relations between Skado and the Veil, it was diplomatic suicide. He rolled his shoulders to rid himself of his anger and tension. He’d have another talk with Lucian to see if Shikoba could be the new ambassador to Skado.

Giving Hatot a nod of sympathy, he strode through the house. Not much had changed since he and Lani had moved back in. The only request she’d made of the servants was for fresh flowers to be placed throughout the house every day. He didn’t mind the change. Seeing the bright blossoms reminded him of his and Lani’s many moonlit escapades. Lust guided his footsteps to the great room.

Pausing in the doorway, he noted Izzy, Saga, and Rosetta filing their nails while they warily watched the small whirlwind pacing in front of the fireplace. The three Amazons had leapt at the chance to join the Cromwell household. They rotated with six Halflings for guard duty which gave them time to visit with their Tribe, and family. Their antics amused Lani, and they spent an inordinate amount of time helping her train Shikoba in the arts of war. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Shikoba had become another daughter to him. Between her and Tia, he thanked the Gods everyday he and Lani had a steady income. Those two, together with Rosetta, seemed intent on draining his bank account dry. Not that he minded. Their laughter rang out through the mansion, lifting everyone’s spirits.

He leaned against the door jam, watching his mate stalk back and forth, pregnant belly preceding her. He privately thought she looked like she’d swallowed a beach ball, but whenever he saw her look at herself in the mirror with disgust he waxed poetic over her beauty. And she was beautiful in her pregnancy.

Even now, in her agitated state, she glowed from within. Her face had filled out in the last seven months, easing some of the hardness he’d first seen in her. Happiness had done the rest. Her eyes were brighter, though sometimes the shadows returned.

She whirled around as she felt his eyes on her. A loving smile spread across her face. His breath caught in his throat. It didn’t matter how often he saw that smile, it still caught him by surprise.

With one hand resting on her belly, Lani sashayed – waddled, he mentally amended, over to him. He loved that waddle, loved seeing her body ripe with their child. If he sometimes woke in the middle of the night in a state of panic over her being in labor, he put it down to pre-labor jitters.

“Babe,” he said in greeting, pulling her into his arms. The distance between their bodies had grown steadily as the baby grew, but they managed to fit together regardless. He kissed her deeply. “What did Leofric do this time?” he asked, rubbing his hands over her lower back.

Lani groaned as her mate soothed her aching muscles. His gentle hands were sometimes her only anchor when she began to think her life was nothing but a dream. There was no end to her happiness in her family. She learned to both love and hate their quirks, like Malachi’s need to watch what she believed were idiotic movies, or Tia’s habit of leaving her shoes wherever she happened to sit. They learned to understand her as well. When she played her love songs, Tia and Shikoba generally made themselves scarce, while Malachi came to soothe her. Like now.

Tucking her head into his chest, she sighed. “He sent me a beautiful set of throwing knives, two poison rings, and invited me to join him for the next Moon Festival.”

Malachi had begun to tense when she mentioned the knives. By the time she mentioned the festival, he was as stiff as a board. Her mate didn’t like Leofric’s attention any more than she did. She wished the bloody king would find a new obsession, but when he’d learned about her resurgence and subsequent entrance into the Veil, he refused to talk with anyone but her.

“I’m calling Lucian,” Malachi said through clenched teeth. “Right. Now.”

Lani couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Don’t bother, I told Leofric’s emissary that he could send all his inquiries to Shikoba from now on. She’s excited about moving between realms,” she added unnecessarily.

Since they moved into Malachi’s home, Lani, with the help of her Amazon friends, had made it her quest to teach her sister how to defend herself. Now, she felt Shikoba would be able to handle nearly any situation she found herself in. Her sister’s confidence had increased, and since her guardianship had been granted to Lani by the King, she was free to make her own decisions.

“She wants to do it?” Malachi asked, slowly relaxing against her.

“Yes. She thinks Leofric is…hot?” she said uncertainly.

“Hawt,” Rosetta corrected her from across the room. “Honey, if you’re gonna be hanging out with all these hawt men, you need to know how to talk like you really appreciate them.”

“Sorry, Rosetta,” she said meekly, winking at Malachi. “I don’t think Leofric’s hawt at all.”

Malachi growled playfully. “You’d better not.” He nuzzled her neck.

A sharp pain made her gasp.

“Babe?” he asked, worry clear in his dark eyes.

Another pain, this one stronger than the first had cold sweat forming all over her body. Her back had been hurting all day, but she hadn’t paid any attention to the pain, thinking it was the strain of carrying the baby. Stupid, she thought with an inward sniffle. She was in labor if the rippling pains across her abdomen were any indication. Using her assassin’s training, she kept her face free of pain.

“Nothing,” she said with a brief smile. “Indigestion, probably. I feel like I ate a house today.”

The next pain lasted a little longer. Gods, she wanted to howl. Malachi was smiling at her indulgently. What the fuck did he have to smile about anyway? she thought with a mental growl. He’d done this to her, made her awkward and fat and horny all at the same time.

Unable to help herself, she glared up at him.

Malachi wasn’t sure what was going on, but Lani was looking at him with the same evil glare she’d once used on the satyr she’d killed. Was she upset because he hadn’t protested that she ate a lot? He fidgeted, wondering if flowers would help. Then, he saw her flinch. The move was so subtle, so small, if he hadn’t known her, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

“Lani?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Asshole,” she grunted, her hand rubbing her belly. “I’m going to kill you, Malachi. Slowly, painfully, and with great pleasure.”

His heart pounded. The baby. The baby was coming!

“Saga! Go…find someone! She’s having the baby!” he shouted even as he swept Lani into his arms. “Hatot! Call that healer person…whatever her name is and tell her the baby’s coming,” he roared down the hallway. He hustled from the room clutching his mate to his chest, heading upstairs. “Breathe, baby.” He mimicked what he wanted her to do.

“Stop breathing in my face, dammit,” she growled, one of her hands pulling on his hair. “This is all your fault. I can’t see my feet, I can’t sleep on my stomach, I can’t-″ she gasped loudly. “Oooh, I’m going to hurt you so bad,” she panted when she got her breath back.

“Okay, okay,” he soothed her. “I’ll get your knives after I put you in bed. I promise, sweetheart.” He’d give her any damn thing she wanted, just so long as she didn’t hurt anymore.

The covers on their bed were already turned back. Someone had heard him shouting and taken action. That was some relief at least, he thought sourly.

Gently, as though handling delicate crystal, he placed his mate in the middle of their bed. He stood again, feeling helpless.

“What now?” he asked her.

Those beautiful green eyes he could gaze into for hours shot him a cold look. “Do you think I do this in my spare time? I don’t know what to do now. I’ve never had kids, remember? And I can tell you one thing, we’re not having anymore. Got it? This is it. Your one shot.” She grunted with another pain.

Malachi ran to the doorway. “Someone get your ass up here and do something!” he roared into the house. He paused, hearing movement below. Good, something was happening.

He turned to reenter the bedroom, but stopped when he noticed his hands were shaking like leaves. He needed to calm down, he told himself sternly. Females had babies all the time. Lani was strong, she could handle anything.

She cried out, banishing all thoughts of control. Running back to the bedroom, he sat next to her, grabbing her hand.

“What can I do, baby?” he rasped.

“Sit behind her so she can brace herself against you,” a wry voice said from the doorway.

Swinging his head around, he saw it was Dinah, the witch. She rolled her eyes at him. “Relax, Malachi. She’s going to be fine. She’ll forget all about the pain and threats of violence after the babe comes,” she said reassuringly as she carried a bag into the room.

Malachi did as he was told, sitting behind his mate and pulling her back against him. Her hands found his thighs. Sharp nails dug into his denim clad legs with her next contraction.

“You heard her?” he asked Dinah when Lani relaxed again. He stared down at his wife. She was so tiny. Gods, he was a monster!

“Nah,” Dinah said easily as she began stripping Lani’s clothes off. She ducked a small fist aimed at her head. “Some women get violent during labor, some go quiet, and some do both.”

She checked Lani and the position of the baby. Her eyes met Malachi’s over Lani’s shoulder. “I hope you’re ready, papa,” she said with a grin. “She’s further along than I thought she’d be. It’ll be quick and messy.”

Malachi gripped Lani’s hands and pressed his cheek next to hers. With every push, he whispered, “I love you” with every threat she made against his manhood, he whispered, “I love you”. He told her so many times, he went hoarse.

Five hours later, Lani could feel herself glowing as she held her son in her arms for his first feeding. He was a sturdy lad with silvery skin, dark hair, and gleaming green eyes. His little wings were black as night.

“We’ll have to bind his wings until he’s older,” she whispered to Malachi who was slumped in the chair next to the bed.

Her poor mate, she thought with a smile. He’d been used and abused for five hours straight. The rumbling snore she heard was proof of his exhaustion. She giggled against Vaughn’s downy hair.

Gazing at her husband, Lani felt love swell in her heart. If she searched the world, she’d never find a male better suited to her. The reverence in his face when he’d held Vaughn for the first time would forever be etched upon her mind. He’d lit up like a candle, pride and male arrogance settling about his shoulders like a cape.

So she let her mate sleep while she dreamed of the chaos her future held. She dreamed of more children, more shadow fairies, and millions of kisses between her and Malachi.

*****

And it was chaos.

For years, Saga, Izzy, and Rosetta would dine on the story of the Cromwells’ first child. It was the loudest, most violent labor they’d ever witnessed. In honor of the threats against a male, the Blood Maiden Tribe made Lani an honorary Amazon, and sent her an Amazonian battle shield.

Lucian would be heard complaining that he hadn’t been there to laugh at his brother, while Ruby comforted Malachi for panicking.

Tia and Shikoba, who’d had front row seats to the miraculous event, swore never to have children. Sure, they loved their new brother, but watching Lani bring him into the world had suppressed any maternal feelings they had.

Meanwhile, Malachi took the ribbing, the joking, and the insults with grace. Lani didn’t know what to make of the teasing, but slowly learned it was part of belonging to a family.

Vaughn, their firstborn son, would grow up knowing he was adored by each and every one of the adults in his world. Joined later by two brothers, and one sister, he watched over them with all the pride and love his parents had instilled in him. He wouldn’t know the pain his parents had gone through before his arrival, but he would see, every single day, how much they loved each other.

It was in their every glance when they looked at each other across a dining table filled with children. It was in their every touch when they held hands as they herded their children to family functions.

Most of all, Vaughn and all of his siblings heard it at night when they snuck into their parents’ room as little shadows. The bed had grown as the number of children had grown until it could comfortably sleep ten people. Their mother would scoot to one side of the bed, their father to the other, leaving a large gap between them. The little shadows would fall into the middle of the bed fighting for the honor of sleeping next to mom or dad.

When everyone was settled and the youngest ones drifted to sleep, Vaughn would hear his father whisper “I love you” across the pile of children between him and his mate. His mother would whisper back “I love you, too.”