His hips began to roll so that he could grind his pelvis into my clit, and the lick of pain from the bark, that weird tang in the air, it hit me.

All at once.

The pressure, the heat, the pain, the magic, and I exploded.

My pussy clenched down on his so fast and so hard it was a wonder he didn’t come, but he never did.

Not so quickly.

Twice more he sent me up there, soaring with the stars, and only then, with his brow sweating, did his hips begin to judder, his rhythm faltering as he sought his own pleasure. The knot didn’t simply vibrate by this point, it moved onto a higher frequency, and when he came, when his seed surged into me, I felt it.

That exact moment when two became one, and we created a third.

A child.

Ours.

The future kumiho.

But more than that, a physical manifestation of what we meant to each other.

I cried even as I sobbed out my fourth orgasm, and while we panted in each other’s arms, his heavy breaths against my throat, our hearts still in sync, my phone buzzed with a text. Promptly followed by a call.

Then another text.

All as he moved his head and kissed me.

With grace.

With gratitude.

With a deep love that made me feel cherished. Adored. Worshipped. Even before I’d gifted the world with another of his kind.

My throat felt thick as, carefully, he twisted us around so that he had his back to the trunk, and slowly, he lowered us. When he reached for my cell, he grabbed my hand and slotted my finger to the sensor so he could read the text.

“Maribel’s gone into labor,” he rasped, his forehead resting against mine. “The Sun Child is on her way.”

Even as he uttered the words, I knew this was as fore-destined as my falling for him was.

This was my true ascension.

“And with her first child, the Moon Child shall make waves…”

Two

Sabina

Six years later

I smiled as I looked around the yard where two families that would never have aligned in the past were now united thanks to me and Lara.

The Highbanks and the Rainford pack—now, officially the Choi pack—hadn’t been enemies, but neither had they been friendly. With a jackass for an alpha, it fit that they wouldn’t be the best of pals, especially when the Highbanks’ alpha had been a prick too.

Eli, my mate, and the son of the previous alpha was hard, but fair, and our people knew he’d go to war for them, fight harder and with more fire and zeal than they could. My middle sister’s betrayal, something that still stung all these years later, had proven that.

His parents might have been weak, and they might have been lesser as leaders, but that didn’t mean Eli was of the same ilk.

Blood, in this instance, didn’t out.

And today’s BBQ was proof of that.

My men were beloved by their people. Each of them. Otherwise the council and the leaders and the regular folk from the pack wouldn’t be here, on this warm summer evening, enjoying a cook out. There were forty tables scattered around the packhouse’s back yard, each covered in red and white gingham table clothes that were stained with the various dishes that had been consumed on them. Anything from Maggie May’s infamous potato salad to Elsa’s lasagna, both of which had been produced in quantities that seemed like they were feeding a zoo. Even after all these years, and dozens of these events, the amount shifters ate never failed to astonish me.

Austin was playing ball with a couple of the kids who didn’t look ready to puke up way too much ice cream, while Eli manned the grill like any he-man as he shot the shit with Todd, my sister’s mate and the neighboring pack’s alpha. Ethan read the youngest kids something, with two of our own eagerly listening in with eyes as round as the moon itself.

My lips twitched because it was uncanny how Austin’s sons were like Ethan, and they literally hung off his every word. From Peppa Pig to things I told him they were too young to hear—Harry Potter—Jackson and Sammy acted like the Mother herself was chatting whenever Ethan spoke.

With three kids under our belts, and six years as mates, my men had calmed down a little. Ethan and Austin didn’t bicker so much anymore, the pair of them having settled into their roles for the pack, who, at long last, appreciated them for what they were—strong leaders and good men.

Because they were twins, they were considered bad luck, ill omens, and until I’d come along, they’d been treated shittily by the same people who broke bread with them on the regular.

Mostly, I was just glad they’d stopped bickering so much, but to be fair, we had to settle a lot of fights between Knight, Jack and Sammy now. Throw in Grace and Cade? There simply was no time for them to fight as well.

Thank Kali Sara for small mercies.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

I gave my baby sister the side eye. “Just wondering how it all worked out.”

She snorted. “Half the battle’s been won, sis. Don’t get too big for your britches just yet.”

God, I hated it when she came out with things like that. She didn’t mean to be a know-it-all but she totally was, and with a universe-worth of history in her head, as well as facts that weren't to be found in any book, she was the dictionary definition of a know-it-all.

Didn’t make me want to smack her any less though.

Her grin told me she knew that as well. “Ain’t they cute together,” she whispered, changing the subject.

My gaze drifted to where she was looking, not that I had to look far.

They were cute, after all.

Cade, Grace, and Knight.

Glued together in a way my heart wasn’t ready for.

“Must be weird knowing you’re mated to someone from that young an age,” she murmured softly, watching as Grace tipped her head onto Knight’s shoulder and he curved an arm around her—protective to the last, while Cade rested his head on her lap, and she brushed her hand through his hair.

There were no cooties where the three of them were concerned.

“Weird and overwhelming, but they seem to thrive on it.”

“I admit, it’s getting to the point where I feel bad when I take Cade home at night.”

I mimicked my eldest by raising an arm and hugging her to my side. “It’s gotten worse since Leon and Maribel died.”

She nodded, her hair tangling against my plaid shirt. “Bound to, what with Grace coming to live with you now. I just know that Cade wants to be here more than he does at home.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” I argued.

“It is though. It hurts,” she admitted. “They never warn you about that, do they?”

“About how much they hurt you?” I shook my head. “No.”

Her sigh was shaky. “They’re only babies. What will they be like when they’re teenagers?”

“Least you only have Cade to worry about.”

“Yeah, you’re a definite overachiever with the whole football team you’re popping out,” she grumbled, even though she patted my distended stomach with a loving touch that took any intended sting out of the equation.

I shrugged. “Got three men. It’s a wonder I don’t get pregnant more often,” I teased, enjoying her laughter when it came. “You know you’re welcome to spend the night here.”