by Charlie Hart
“Yes,” Treylord says. “The four of you are joined, soul and body for all time. Merely lace your hands together and open the box.”
I do what he said, and Maisie smiles up at me. “You ready for another journey?”
I squeeze her hand. “Together, I’m ready for anything.”
Because I have a feeling this crazy, whirlwind adventure is only just beginning.
Epilogue I
Maddox
Three days later...
I have no fucking clue how the rest of the world deals with a nine month long pregnancy - because nine days in and I’m fucking losing it. I’ve never been more anxious in my life. Maisie though, seems to be taking this insane life-altering path in stride.
She is not just mated to three bear shifters, but she is the fae queen - ruler of the realm.
But right now, her belly full of our babies, she is the queen of this cabin, and this cabin alone. We aren’t letting her out of our sight until she delivers our babies. No way in hell are we letting any dirty magic get its hands on her.
“Ohhh,” she whimpers as Aiden places a wet rag on her forehead. She’s lying on her bed, wearing panties and tank top, her fully pregnant belly doesn’t fit around anything she packed when she came to Diablo Falls on her assignment. She doesn’t want any clothes on anyway - she’s constantly hot. I’ve never been more ready for summer to be over.
“I think we should call the midwife,” Keegan says. “The contractions are three minutes apart.”
Aiden pulls out his phone and calls the witch, Ruth Healmore. She’s the only midwife on the mountain, and she came out yesterday to check on the fae-queen. It was actually pretty fucking sweet, seeing the respect in Ruth’s eyes for our mate. Maisie is all anyone in town is talking about. The rightful heir to throne, back at long last.
Ruth comes to the cabin quickly, and when she arrives, she starts ordering us bears around. “Aiden, I need a kettle of boiling water, Keegan, close those blinds, it’s too bright in here. And Maddox, do us a favor and find some food. She’ll need it when they come.”
“They?” Maisie’s eyes widen. “So I am truly having more than one?”
The witch tsk-tsks our mate. “Of course, it’s twins. Why else do you think you’d be so big?”
Maisie groans in agony, clutching her belly. “That is not the right thing to say to a woman about to give birth.”
I ask what I can do, but am shooed out of the room. Fuck, I hate feeling helpless. I leave the room to go procure some food, knowing that’s the one thing I can do. When I return, I see Ruth has all her supplies lined up, preparing for the delivery.
Aiden is whispering with Maisie, offering her the comforting words our mate needs.
Keegan, not taking any risks, is asking Ruth to talk him through the steps.
I set down a tray of food, thinking that I need to make another bassinet here really quick. Two babies. Damn, talk about a whirlwind love story. Maisie had mentioned that she thought she was carrying multiples, but it hadn’t really hit me.
Now the reality is right before me.
“Before they come,” I say, clearing my throat. “Can we have a mating ceremony?” I ask. “I can’t wait. And I want to be properly mated before they arrive.”
If I’d had more time, I would have done it properly, gone all out, and made sure it was special for Maisie. But everything has happened so fast.
Ruth reaches out and squeezes my hand. “And all these years, people in town thought you were the mean one. Turns out you’re the real softy of the bunch, aren’t ya?”
Maisie asks what a mating ceremony entails, and we explain the ritual for the Kodiaks on Blackthorne. A vow, a symbol, a circle. She squeezes Aiden’s hand as another contraction runs through her, and Keegan takes her other hand.
“If you’re going to do it, loves, you need to do it now,” Ruth tells us. “The babies are coming.”
“Okay,” Maisie says between contractions, a smile breaking through her pain. “I love you all so much, I want to do this now. Maddox, come closer.”
I take my mate and brothers’ hands. “Shit,” I say. “We need a symbol of our love in the center.”
Ruth reaches her hand over Maisie’s belly, patting it. “I think this is the most perfect symbol of love, that I’ve ever seen at a mating ritual.”
She’s right of course, and I tell my family the words that come to my mind. There is no truer vow we could make.
Together we make a promise, an oath, we take our vows:
Our family is bound by the mountain of Blackthorne and reaching to the realm of the fae.
We are part bear, part fae, fully formed by love.
Forever and a day.
A bright glowing light encircles us, a power beyond our own bonding us together as one. A family. When the words are recited, the light fades and we know that nothing can break what Diablo Falls has brought together. Sparkling threads have been etched on our ring fingers and we stare at our hands, mesmerized by the magic.
“God, I fucking love you,” I tell Maisie.
“I love you more,” she says, her eyes glittering with tears and love and maybe a bit of fear. She is entering a new realm now: motherhood.
“Now,” Ruth says. “It’s time for you to push!”
Epilogue II
Maisie
Four years later...
The girls sit at the edge of the lake, patting the sand into castles and filling buckets of water. Around us, there are creatures of all sorts, shapes, and sizes. When I first came here, I was more than a little overwhelmed by so many magical beings - but now, after living in Diablo Falls for four years, nothing seems to surprise me anymore. Lakeside picnics with vamps and demons is as regular as anything else.
I sit on a beach blanket, watching my twins, feeling a stirring in my body. It’s July ... a time of year that always reminds me of the July four years ago when my entire world changed. Shifted if you will.
One single notice on an internet forum had me driving my Wrangler to a forbidden town and making my way up to a mountain that turned my life upside down.
That gave me the most beautiful twin girls in the world - this world.
“Mama,” Blossom calls. “Look!” She points up the waterfall where three burly Kodiaks stand tall on the side of the mountain. I may be the fae queen, but they are the kings of Blackthorn mountain. The rulers of my heart, and the sexiest sword-wielding knights I ever did see.
I shouldn’t think about their swords right now. This heat though, it’s getting to me. I smile, waving up at my mates. They growl, loudly, then race off. I know where they are headed. Back to the cabin to get things set up for the girls. It’s their birthday and we are having our family celebration tonight.
“I wish I could shift,” Petal says, walking out of the water and sitting down on the blanket beside me, Blossom following behind her.
“I know, love, but you have something they don’t.”
“Fairy blood?”
I nod, wrapping my girls in towels. “Yep, and we’re going to the realm this weekend, for your birthday party. You know how much our fae-family loves spoiling you girls.”
“I hope I get my birthday wish when I blow out my candles,” Petal says with a sigh. Her eyes are as blue as the sky and her blonde ringlets bounce, even when they’re wet.
“What was your wish?” I ask.
Blossom scoffs. “Mother, if we tell you it won’t come true.”
“Maybe,” I say with a smile, packing up our things. “But I’m also a queen, so I might be able to help you out.”
Blossom and Petal share a look, as if deciding if I am to be trusted. “Okay,” Blossom says solemnly. “This is our wish, for a unicorn to come to our fae birthday celebration.”
I fight back a smile. My girls have no idea. I knew this would be their dream come true and already commanded the elusive unicorns of Blackthorne Mountains to be at the house at sunset tonight
“I guess only time will tell,”
I say with a smile, kissing their cheeks. “Come on, your dads will be waiting.”
When we get to the house, the girls leap in Aiden and Keegan’s arms, and I lug out the gear from the lake, needing to unpack the cooler and rinse out their swimsuits. Knowing that no matter how royal I may be, I’m still a mom first and foremost.
Aiden comes over, grabbing a bag from my arm. “Easy there, Maisie,” he says, kissing me. I savor his warmth. It feels so good to be near him. “Girls have a good time?”
“The best. They were playing chase with a sprite all afternoon.”
“Cute,” he says, smacking my butt. “Burgers are on the grill. You wanna clean up before dinner?”
“Are you offering to help?”
He grins as Keegan comes over. “Hey love,” he says, pulling me into a heavy kiss. I drop the cooler all together and let him lift me off my feet.
The girls giggle, then run off, into the house. “Change,” I tell them. “And wash up for dinner!”
“Okay, Mom!”
“They are going to freak out tonight, with the unicorns,” I say as Keegan sets me down.
“What are you guys saying?” Maddox asks, shirtless, coming in from the woods. It makes me wish I’d been here when they all shifted back into bear form. Nothing is sexier than my mates naked, before me, their big thick cocks at attention after returning from a wild, rugged run in the woods.
He pulls me in for a kiss, smelling like pine trees and fresh air. “Aiden was offering to help me wash up before dinner,” I say, biting back a smile. I know my growly men will all be fighting for this task.
“Yeah?” Maddox asks, looking into my eyes. I feel his cock against my belly, and I whimper, wanting so much more. “And what did you tell him?”
I lick my lips. “I was about to tell him that I don’t need help now, with our four-year-old daughters wide awake. But that later...” I moan as Maddox cups my ass. “I was thinking later, after the girls have their unicorn rides and after they are tucked into bed that we could maybe make another.”
Keegan’s eyes narrow. “Another what?”
Aiden grins. “Another baby, of course.” He drops to the ground, kissing my belly, Maddox still kissing my lips. “It’s the fae-solstice. Which means that in less than a month’s time, we will be having another little fae-bear running around these woods.”
“Fuck yes, I was wondering if mating season was putting you in heat again,” Keegan says with a laugh. Then he wraps his arms around me from behind, kissing my neck.
I can’t wait to put a baby in you.”
My mates surround me and a sense of belonging fills me in a way I never felt back in Canyon City as a journalist. I left that job the moment I stepped foot in Diablo Falls and never once looked back.
“You know the best part of making a baby with my bears?” I say, licking my lips. So hungry for what’s to come.
“Oh, we know,” Maddox says with a grin.
“You know what the Kodiaks say here in Blackthorne,” Aiden says, kissing my pussy through my shorts.
“What do they say?” I ask, my heart nearly bursting with love.
Keegan laughs. “Three holes are better than one.”
Crass? Maybe. Crazy? Most assuredly.
But at our core, we all know - we wouldn’t have it any other way.
~The End~
The Wife Lottery Blurb
Chapter 1
Read the first book FREE
In a world where women are seen as a commodity to barter, Alaska promised a sanctuary. But to stay, I have to enter the wife lottery.
Six men, one wife. And I have no say in who those men will be. It's more than a game of chance--it's my life falling into the hands of strangers.
But the men who win my hand are ruggedly handsome and promise to protect me until death do us part.
Fallon and his strong will.
Giles and his protective streak.
Salinger and his easy smile.
Banks and his intellect.
Emerson and his faith.
Huxley and his charm.
I want them all, each for a different reason. My body is awake, my heart beats wild. But I'm also a woman running from a past that's catching up. Fast. My father is coming for me and he'll make my husbands pay--and that's not a gamble.
That's a guarantee.
Want More Diablo Falls?
Don't miss any of the stories in the FIRST TIME collection:
First Awakening by Alexx Andria smarturl.it/FirstAwakeningBC
First Bite by Aurelia Skye smarturl.it/FirstBiteBC
First Blood by Kristen Strassel smarturl.it/FirstBloodBC
First Class by Damon Kinney smarturl.it/FirstClassBC
First Cursed by Fiona Starr smarturl.it/FirstCursedBC
First Fae-Bear Baby by Charlie Hart smarturl.it/FirstFaeBearBabyBC
First Fangs by Zara Zenia smarturl.it/FirstFangsBC
First Hunt by Alexis Calder smarturl.it/FirstHuntBC
First Instinct by Tamsin Ley smarturl.it/FirstInstinctBC
First Shift by Rebel Raven smarturl.it/FirstShiftBC
First Sight by Stephanie West smarturl.it/FirstSightBC
First Taste by Laney Powell smarturl.it/FirstTasteBC
First Witch-Bear Baby by Charlie Hart smarturl.it/FirstWitchBearBabyBC
Charlie Hart
"Stories with ❤️ and soul."
Charlie Hart writes fantasy, paranormal, and science-fiction romance with a high heat level.
Charlie also writes contemporary romance under the name Frankie Love.
"Reading is dreaming with eyes open.”
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