Page 71 of The Fated Mate Bandit

An older woman with short, gray, spiky hair and a row of piercings on each ear emerges from the back door. She has multiple eyebrow piercings and a large, thick septum piercing hanging from her nose.

“Sunshine!” Mom says. “It’s so good to see you.”

This woman is named Sunshine? Really?

“Good to see you too, Rube. Who’s this?” she asks, pointing to me.

“This is my son, Silver. Silver, this is Sunshine, an old friend.”

I hold out my hand to her.

“No offense, but I just washed my hands. What’ll it be, kid?”

I point to the lobe of my right ear. “Three piercings in a row, right here.”

“Sure thing. Rube, will you show him my website, and get him to sign the permission form? I’m gonna grab some gloves.”

The shop is small enough that my family completely fills it. Quin helps me sign the permission form and pick out a few studs. He sits right by my side as Sunshine sticks a needle in my ear three separate times. Uncle Dagger covers his eyes, and Aunt Emerald teases him about it. Mom tells me it’s normal if my eyes tear up a little bit.

I think the three little holes in my right ear mean more because they’re here. I’ll always remember Quin holding my hand, and the way Aunt Crystal smiled when it was all over.

“Very handsome,” Mom says.

Uncle Dagger turns a little green. “Except for that little bit of blood.”

I’ll always remember the way he passed out, too, and how we had to carry him to the camper where we laid him out on the bed in the back before Aunt Emerald drove us home.

EPILOGUE

LUCAS

Three months later…

Every evening, before I join Silver in bed, I go to the nursery. The whole room twinkles, as if made of magic. I like to run my fingers along the thousands of tiny decals Silver lovingly stuck to the wall, one-by-one, and sit in the rocking chair that’s made wide enough for a family of multiples. The walls already have pictures of our family, and the bookshelf is completely full of bright stories I get to tell our kids.

It's perfect in this room. There’s so much love in every item their alpha father picked out for them, including the certificate of adoption hung by the crib. I pick a stuffie from the basket of toys and hold it to my heart. The shimmer in the fabric has its own energy. Quin said Silver is able to capture his love and hold it in these items—that all raccoon shifters can do that with the items in their collection. It doesn’t seem possible, and yet, it must be.

There’s no other explanation for all the love I feel in this room.

That’s why I come here when the pains in my lower abdomen get worse. I’ve gotten enough prenatal care to know that I can give birth here without much risk. Wolf shifters rarely have complications when they’re young. I don’t wake Silver at first. I just kneel on the floor and wait for the pains to come closer together.

Pain has never been a stranger to me. But the pain from before was unexpected and scary. These pains come with a rhythm. They’re necessary. I rock with them, letting them open my body up.

The last three months, I have prepared every inch of this house for our pups. I’ve saved meals in the freezer. I’ve read every parenting book I could get my hands on from the library. I feel ready as the pains get worse, and I finally scream from the pain. Silver rushes into the nursery. He sees the liquid pooling on the floor underneath me. My water must have broke.

“Are you okay?” he asks, kneeling at my side and placing his hand on my back.

“Yes. The pups are coming.”

The pain gets bigger and bigger. It’s now worse than anything from Daryll or my alpha father. I cry against Silver, not sure if I can bear it. He rubs my back and whispers soft words I don’t understand. I don’t need to. His quiet strength helps me find my way through. I breath and I push. The pushing is glorious. I can feel something solid as I bear down. One of our little ones is coming. I scream as I put all my effort into it—as I give everything I am.

There’s a glorious release and something falls from me.

“Oh, Lucas. You did it. Look at her.”

Silver holds up the tiniest little gray pup. Her eyes are still sealed closed, and her nose is pink. A fierce love rages within me. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt anything so powerful. She’s perfect.

“Galaxy,” he says.

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