Page 103 of Princess

King laughed.“I’ll make you a deal.What if we tell him together, we can both see him lose his shit one last time?”

“I love you,” I said.

King pulled me closer and whispered in my ear.“I love you.”

Epilogue

Marinah

Three years later…

If wishes were horses, we would operate a horse ranch, and that’s exactly what happened.Our plan to ditch the Shadow Warriors was a pipedream.They followed us.Well, most of them.Nokita and Caleb stayed on the island with their mates.We visited them every six months so we could catch up, and our children could play together.Rodrigo was now in charge of the island and doing a damned fine job.

A year after we settled in the U.S., Landan stepped down as governor of the outposts to enjoy more time with his growing family.In the election, Missy, Beck’s mate, was named the new governor and resided over twenty communities.The loss of her fingers and part of one hand, never slowed her down.

Beck married her in a large ceremony six months after the last battle with the Federation.Missy was our hero for killing Knet.Her legend continued to grow, and it brought more people into her territory.Now Beck ran interference for her and became her problem, though I doubt she minded.

Our dream of a world without war wasn’t what we thought it would be.There were oftentimes rumblings that someone was trying to form a new government and overthrow Missy.They could easily start communities of their own and form a government.Many had.But there were still those who sought power and domination over everyone.

Beck had enough Shadow Warriors and humans to put the talk down quickly.He’d formed a large militia, and they took care of business when it was needed.No one wanted a president or king.Hopefully, it would stay that way.

Mail was a problem in the U.S., and it gave us the idea for the horse ranch.King loved horses, which was something I hadn’t known about him.

Alden, Eagle, and Axel came with us, which meant Garret came, too.They had a medical outreach program that needed horses.Their home base was a small property a mile from ours.They took on two additional orphaned children and had one of the largest families in the community.

Alden and Yamila had not worked out and he had yet to find a mate.He lived in our bunkhouse along with other Shadow Warriors who didn’t want their own property.

Eagle and Julia became an item a year ago after she turned eighteen.Eagle was nine years older than her and it took a bit of doing to bring him in line.He wanted her to have more time to grow up.Julia put a stop to his stupidity.They had just moved into their own place.

Our herd of horses had grown substantially, and we provided what the new mail service needed.Letter writing was back in style.We saw automobiles occasionally, but they were older models that needed constant work.Horses were the general mode of transportation.

Hellhounds were still a problem, though on a smaller scale.We never found an antidote for the insidious injections spearheaded by Lesley Barnes.Maybe one day.The hounds were still attracted to technology.The upside was it kept the male carriers busy.

Desmond and Julia came with us and fit perfectly within our new lifestyle.Ruth lived two hours away, but she spent more time at our place than with her busy parents.Her little brother exasperated her endlessly because he could do no wrong in his parents’ eyes, or so Ruth complained.She and Desmond hunted hellhounds together whenever she was here.Her crush was becoming more obvious each day, but Desmond ignored it and treated her like a sister.In a few years, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Mommy,” Nikayla said, running up to me, her curls all over the place and no longer in the band I’d secured them with earlier.She had a smudge of dirt on her face, mud-caked hands, and her coveralls, which were all she would wear, had more than a smudge or two.From experience, I knew her cherub face, that made you want to squeeze her tight, was deceiving.

I leaned over and tickled her sides until she giggled.

“Mommy, stop, I need to show you something.”Her excitement was contagious, regardless of what was on the other end of it.

I hefted my pregnant body up from the chair.This time, Axel wasn’t putting up with my crap.He swore if I rode a motorcycle or horse, he would lock me away until the baby was born.King backed him and kept a constant eye on me.

I still trained with my sword daily, but I had slowed down and didn’t take the same risks I had when we were at war.Ms.Beast was in heaven, and her whispers of “baby” every ten minutes were getting old.

I followed Nikayla to our largest barn, her small hand tugging mine.

“Look,” Nikayla said.“Daddy says he can be mine when he’s old enough to ride.”

I’d heard one of our mares had a foal the night before, and eventually I planned to check on mom and baby.She was one of our best mares.The foal was a beautiful dark bay with a classic star on his forehead and the long, wobbly legs of a newborn.The colt was the son of our largest stud and looked just like his father.The stallion was hell on wheels, and King was the only person who could stay in the saddle when he acted up.Nikayla would be five when the colt was old enough to ride.King would be sorry he made that promise.

“He’s small now, but he’s going to grow really big,” I told my stubborn daughter.

She placed her hands on her hips and glared at me, seeing through my efforts.“Daddy said,” she insisted.“I’ve already named him Starfire.”

King and I would be having our talk sooner rather than later.

“Here you are, Nikayla,” the man in question said as he entered the barn.

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