by Viola Rivard
As she said the words, she couldn’t help but cast a furtive look towards Hale. He had put some distance between them again, and appeared to be wiping something from Fawn’s face. He spared Taylor the briefest of glances, and in his eyes, she saw acceptance.
Taylor leaned into Alder’s embrace, careful not to squish Henry. Her eyes filled with tears. “I missed you so much.”
Maybe it was just the euphoria of having Alder back, but in that moment, she really wasn’t sure which of the two brothers she loved more. She also realized that it didn’t matter. She loved and needed them both. They would both always be there for her, loving, supporting, and protecting her for the rest of their lives. They were her mates, and she was theirs.
Epilogue
August, 2006
Taylor woke naked in a tangle of limbs. A year ago, this would have meant that she’d had a night full of hot sex with not one, but two sexy alpha werewolves. Typically, it would have also meant that she was about to have even more sex with said werewolves, as they’d usually awoken just as lust-driven as the night before.
She and her mates still had plenty of hot sex, but these days it was rarely spontaneous and there was no such thing as all-nighters. Now when she woke in a tangle of naked limbs, it was because summertime in the valley was hot and she no longer felt the need to wear clothes all the time, especially not to bed. In fact, the few times she’d made the mistake of wearing a shirt to bed, one of her pups—usually Henry—tore it open during one of their many late-night milk binges. She couldn’t really complain. Since the first month with her children, they’d figured out how to nurse themselves and she’d figured out how to sleep right through it. It was one of the many examples of how pups were way cooler than babies.
The other reason she now woke in a tangle of limbs was a bit more mysterious. She, Alder, Hale, and the pups went to bed every morning in her cabin. The cave-in had given Taylor strong grounds for demanding to stay in her house, and she’d eventually worn her mates down. Hale in particular seemed to like living in the cabin, as it allowed him to slam the door in the faces of unwanted visitors.
Each morning, they all settled down on their sides of the giant fur pallet: Alder and Hale lay on the outside, Taylor in the middle. The pups occasionally alternated, depending on which father they were being clingy with that week, but for the most part Fawn preferred to be between Taylor and Hale, while Henry preferred Alder. By some sorcery, when they woke in the afternoon, all five of them were clustered in the middle of the bed. It didn’t matter how sweltering the heat was, somehow they sought each other out in their sleep and ended up in a tangle of limbs.
When Taylor found the will to open her eyes, she was greeted by one of her favorite sights. Hale was beside her, with Fawn asleep on his bare chest. No longer a tiny baby, Fawn had grown almost as quickly as Henry. They both grew much faster than human children, both physically and cognitively. Every day they were different, and while it was a little sad seeing them grow up so quickly, Taylor was always finding new reasons to be proud of them.
Fawn was snoring lightly, her head lying in a small puddle of drool. Hale was snoring as well, though it was a lot less cute. Taylor reached out to run a finger along her daughter’s smooth cheek, relishing its softness.
How had she made such an adorable little person?
Something yanked at her hair from behind. Frowning, Taylor turned, fully expecting to see her demanding son. Instead, she found herself staring at a small dog. It licked her face.
She shot up out of bed with a scream. Her mates were awake and alert almost instantly, but before they could even ask what was the matter, Taylor realized her mistake. The small dog was no dog at all. It was a very large puppy, a puppy with the big blue eyes of her son.
Henry immediately began to whimper and Taylor wasted no time in scooping him up into her arms. “Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
By now, Fawn had been startled into a crying fit. Hale looked both relieved and annoyed as he worked to placate her. Alder was grinning ear to ear.
“You shifted,” Alder said, rubbing the top of Henry’s head. “I can’t believe it.”
His joy was infectious, and soon Taylor was smiling as well. This had been something Alder had been eagerly awaiting. Most pups shifted within their first month, but the twins had been pushing half a year without signs of going furry. Taylor had tried to placate Alder, telling him that it was probably due to them being premature, but after having to part with one child that couldn’t shift, Alder had thought the worst.
As much as she wanted to keep her babies forever, Taylor was also excited. The past few months had given her ample time to accept that her children weren’t human, and she knew that shifting was just another part of their nature. She’d actually been looking forward to seeing what they looked like in their wolf forms, and she wasn’t disappointed. Henry officially rivaled his sister in cuteness.
While the males stretched, Taylor played with the puppy in her lap. The tail wagging and face licking would take some serious getting used to, but she was looking forward to having him housebroken.
There was a knock at the front door. Hale immediately responded. “Go away.”
Grinning, Taylor chucked a pillow at him. In a sing-song voice, she asked, “Who is it?”
She already knew the answer.
“We found mushrooms!” Lark exclaimed.
“Why the hell would we want those?” Hale interjected.
“Language,” Taylor admonished. Then to Lark, she said, “I’ll be right out. Wait till you see what I found!”
Lark was waiting for her out on the porch, accompanied by Glenn and Holly. They all gasped when they saw Henry, and even Holly took a turn at holding him. In the past few months, he had become a rather gregarious little guy and he thrived on their attention.
“Look at all this stuff Holly found,” Lark said, thrusting an overfilled basket at Taylor. There were mushrooms, onions, carrots, peppers, and berries of all shapes and sizes. “The foxes really do know where all the good stuff is.”
“It’s almost worth having her as a friend,” Glenn said. “Not quite, but almost.”
For once, Holly had no smart reply. She was practically drooling over Henry. “Look at those little teeth. You’re going to be taking down bucks in no time.”
Coming up behind them, Hale lifted Henry from Holly’s arms. “Damn right. But for today, I think a squirrel will do.”
Taylor put her hands on her hips. “You’re not taking him hunting.”
Alder bent to kiss Taylor, passing off Fawn in the process. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m taking him hunting.”
The brothers shared a conspiratorial look, before stepping off the porch and heading for the woods. Taylor yelled after them, but to no avail. They shifted, and then made a break for the trees.
She was starting to miss when they used to fight all the time. At least then, they couldn’t overrule her.
Standing on the porch, she looked down at Fawn. “Well, say goodbye to your brother. He’s going to get rabies now.” Fawn squirmed restlessly as Taylor kissed the top of her head. “You’ll be my little girl forever, right?”
Before Taylor could find any wood to knock on, Fawn managed to wriggle free from her grasp. Taylor felt momentary panic, but to her relief and utter dismay, Fawn shifted mid-fall, coming down on four dainty white paws. She spared her mother a quick look, tongue wagging triumphantly, before chasing after her brother and fathers.
Hale stopped at the edge of the forest, giving Fawn time to catch up on her tiny legs. Taylor could have sworn she saw the wolf grin before he lifted his daughter up by the scruff of her neck and disappeared into the woods.
Lark sighed heavily and flung an arm around Taylor’s waist. “They’re growing up so fast.”
“I know,” Taylor said wistfully. “Why do they have to grow up?”
“So that you can have more!” Lark chirped.
“Ugh,” Taylor sa
id, grabbing the basket of veggies. “Please, I get that enough from Alder and Hale.”
In truth, she wasn’t all that adverse to the idea of more pups. Aside from the almost constant worrying that she was somehow screwing up her children, the twins had been a lot easier than she’d expected. Not only were they much more independent than human babies, but Taylor also had an awesome support system. Alder and Hale were excellent fathers, and the pups had a whole slew of aunts and uncles that were constantly vying for babysitting rights.
Holly gave Taylor a smack on the back. “Come on. Your mates headed towards the river. If we run we can catch up to them.”
“What good will that do?”
The fox shifter smirked. “I think between Uncle Glenn and I, we can snatch up those pups of yours before they get ticks.”
Holly broke out into a run, shedding her clothes as she shifted into her red fox form. Taylor dashed after her, and a moment later a shaggy brown wolf came running up beside her, an oversized raccoon latched onto his back. Laughing and smiling, Taylor raced into the forest, running to catch up to her alphas.
Afterword
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