She knew the future was full of possibilities and uncertainties. She’d lived it, experienced the good and the bad. She didn’t have her family anymore, had nothing to go back to. But even if none of that was true, even if she could have found a life elsewhere, she honestly didn’t want to be anywhere but with Styx. It was a fast coupling, confusing, dangerous, and so much more, but it felt right, and she didn’t want to let that go.
Hours had passed, and Audrey lay beside Styx, listening to his even, deep breathing and feeling contentment with him holding her so close. She stared at the fire, the flames burning brightly over the logs, and casting shadows and light along the cavern wall.
She thought about her family and what they’d think of her and her situation. How would they feel if they knew she was accepting this and wanted to stay with Styx?
She smiled as she stared at the flames.
They’d be happy I’m happy. They’d be glad I found someone that cares for me.
She’d never forget where she came from, the hardships they’d gone through to have food on their table and a roof over their head. But she’d also never forget the love she’d experienced from her mother and brother or the wonderful memories of the quiet times they’d had just being in each other’s presence.
She tuned and faced Styx, saw he was sleeping, and reached up and cupped his stubble-covered cheek. This big man, this warrior, a different species from her, had cared for her when she was all alone and didn’t have anyone or anything in this world. She didn’t know what the future held, but she did know she was falling for him, her mate, her husband, and the man that had given her more than he’d ever know, and more than she ever expected to have after she’d lost everything.
Epilogue
Several years later
The fire roared in the center of the cave, there was stillness surrounding them, and all Styx felt was happiness and being fully complete. He’d just fucked his mate, made her come multiple times, and now he held her as the night waned.
Not a day went by where Styx didn’t thank the gods that he’d found Audrey, and that she’d accepted him for who and what he was. Their time together in the beginning might have been anything but traditional, at least where she came from, but they’d made it work.
The years had gone by in a blur of memories, protecting what was his and making sure Audrey and his young were protected and cared for above all else. They were the reason he lived now, the reason he went out and fought to make sure they were fed, that they had everything they needed.
He looked down at his mate, pushed her long red hair off her face, and felt his chest tighten at the emotions that filled him every time he looked at her. His kind didn’t have a word for what he felt, and although he knew the human species called it love, to Styx it was something stronger, more permanent.
She was the mother of his children, the reason he breathed every day. Pushing down the animal fur that covered them, he placed his hand over her swollen belly. She was due with their third child any day now, and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Before Audrey and his children had come into his life, Styx had found nothing to be pleased about. He lived every day just surviving, wanting a mate, a family, but being alone, he knew that might never happen.
“It’s cold,” Audrey whispered, but he saw the smile on her face, scented the teasing notes coming from her. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
He still had his hand on her belly and felt their child kick.
She ran her hand over his bicep, and for long seconds, they just lay there in silence. “Husband, tell me what we’re having,” she said softly.
Gods, he’d never get tired of her calling him “mate” or “husband.” He pulled back slightly and looked down at her. “I thought you wanted this time to be a surprise?”
She rested her head right over his heart. “I think surprises are overrated.”
He chuckled softly. Styx rubbed his hand over her belly for several long seconds, and then he answered. “It’s a girl, wife,” he said just as softly, not wanting to wake their twin boys that slept on the other side of the cave.
She snuggled in closer to him.
“A little girl,” she repeated softly, and lifted her hand to touch his cheek.
Styx’s species had heightened senses, and because of that he’d been able to scent his children’s gender early on. But this last time she hadn’t wanted to know right away, or she hadn’t in the beginning.