* * * EPILOGUE * * *

  "Nancy! Get out of that tree this instant! I don't care what Uncle Jisk tells you!"

  I glanced to the side as Will ran over to haul our five-year-old daughter out of the tree.

  She squirmed in his grip. "But Mommy does it all the time!"

  "That is beside the point,” he said, shaking his head. “If I had my way, she wouldn't do it either."

  Jisk and Ruby rounded the corner of the house with a chuckle as they overheard Will’s words. Ruby shook her head in mock sadness. "Nancy, remember what we told you? Don't climb trees if your Dad can see you."

  "Ruby!" Will was not impressed. I laughed, and he turned to face me. "You are not helping."

  Nancy pouted. "But Nigel gets to climb trees!"

  Will shook his head. "Not if I catch him, he doesn't."

  Jisk and his wife wandered closer. A young pup ran around Ruby's feet while an older one stalked through the bushes. Their two kids were bundles of energy and most determined to use it.

  "Uncle Jisk! Catch me!"

  Will jumped in surprise as Nancy's twin jumped out of the tree above him into Jisk's arms.

  Will shook his head in exasperation. "What is it with you people and trees?! We are wolves, not squirrels."

  Nancy gave Will a big hug. "They are really fun to climb! Honest, you would love it if you tried it. Just like when you told me that I would like brussel sprouts."

  Jisk smiled softly at the child. "Nancy, your father is simply too heavy for most branches. They would break under his weight."

  Nancy looked sad as she exclaimed, "That is terrible! You mean he is stuck on the ground?!"

  I started laughing as Will made a face at her perspective. I paused and took a deep breath before looking at Ruby with an incredulous expression. She blinked in surprise as she noticed, clearly knowing what I had just scented.

  Jisk put Will down and took Ruby’s hand as he commented, "I told you so."

  Will asked, "What am I missing?" He knew the three of us had a rogue's sense of smell and picked up more than anyone else in the pack.

  I explained, "It is a good thing that Jisk chose a house with three rooms for kids. All three will be in use by midsummer."

  Ruby said, "I thought that Jisk’s claims were out to lunch when the pregnancy test came back as negative, but if you picked it up, then the test was obviously faulty."

  Jisk looked amused at her reaction, as if he couldn’t figure out why she would even doubt his word. Will turned his head as he looked around before asking, "Where did Tim get to this time?"

  I had been keeping tabs on my two-year-old son with my senses. "In the garden, eating your carrots."

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  Will sighed as he put Nancy down. He wrapped his arms around me instead as he said, "Why do you three insist on teaching the kids to climb and hide?"

  Jisk replied for me, "You have three kids and a mate. If they happen to be in different areas and an attack occurs, you can only go rescue one at a time. Being able to escape into the trees gives them an edge in case trouble shows up. Your mate can run down a rabbit burrow, but your kids can't do that. So, they have to learn to climb very well. We are simply ensuring that they have the best chances of survival."

  Will grumbled, not liking Jisk's logic. He had grown more tolerant of my underground explorations as long as he knew ahead of time and only if the burrow was unoccupied.

  Will narrowed his eyes at Jisk. "If they fall out of a tree and break their arm, I am holding you responsible."

  Jisk wasn’t bothered by the threat and grinned easily. "If they break their arm, then you have my permission to chase me down and take a strip out of my hide."

  Will scrunched up his nose. Ruby and I snickered, if Jisk took to the trees, Will would be unable to get at him. Three kids kept Will too busy for him to try and wait for Jisk to come down. Jisk was even better at pulling a disappearing act than I was.

  Jisk walked over to clap me on the shoulder. "See, he gives in easier all the time. It will be a breeze with the next kid."

  Will shook his head. "That is going to be a long time in coming."

  Jisk grinned smugly at him. "Sure, believe what you want to."

  Ruby narrowed her eyes at Jisk's tone, possibly sensing something through her mate bond. She took a deep breath before her eyes widened.

  "No!” she exclaimed. “How could you two do this to us? We barely survived the last two times! I think you two need to visit no man's land for the next seven months."

  Will's jaw dropped. "Jade, are you pregnant?"

  I stuck my tongue out at Ruby. "Spoil sport.” I glanced between the two men before asking her, “So, do you think our darling mates are going to get along since they will be in the same boat, or will they be at one another's throats in a few months?"

  Ruby blinked as it dawned on her that both of our mates would be overreacting in a short time.

  "Uh...” She tried to visualize the potential outcomes. “If they team up, all four of us are going to be exiled for some time. The pack might just build a house on the border and simply count on those two to annihilate any trespassers. However, if they do keep attacking each other, then we can sneak off for some peace and quiet while they are busy beating on each other."

  Will and Jisk both narrowed their eyes at us. Jisk glanced at Will speculatively. "Well, I count Jade as a daughter, so if you can see Ruby as part of your family, we won't have problems with each other."

  Will tilted his head as he examined the idea before replying, "I think it can be done... One perk is that we can take turns to ensure they are never alone. Any threat would have a hard time getting through one of us, but with two of us, we could probably flatten anything if we put our minds to it."

  Ruby looked at me with wide eyes. "Around the clock surveillance? I think I will go mad. That is, if those two don't drive everyone else in the pack crazy first."

  Both Will and Jisk seemed at ease with the situation now that it meant their mates would be better guarded if they worked together.

  Glancing at Ruby, I said, "I say we leave them on babysitting duty and take a vacation by ourselves. Have some quality girl time. Perhaps we could invite Tiffany along as well; she knows all of the good stores in the nearby packs. She probably wouldn’t mind a break from her children either."

  Both Will and Jisk growled as they objected to that idea. We glanced at them, and Ruby shook her head sadly. "Alas, there goes that plan,” she said. “We might have to work on it over the next few months." She sighed and shrugged as she dismissed the concern for the moment. "Well, we were heading to the store and just stopped by to say hi. See you at dinner."

  I replied, "See you later." Their two kids followed them, preferring to run in wolf form.

  I watched them leave as Will walked up beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. The twins were back in the tree again, seeing how long it would take Will to realize where they were. Tim was still using a carrot as a chew toy.

  I was happy. I could not think of any way that life could be better. I loved Will, and he still loved me. Our three children were a constant delight. I enjoyed seeing Jisk finally smile on a daily basis after all of these years. Ruby had a mate that was always one step ahead of her.

  Jisk, Ruby, and I often located the valuable truffles that raised more than enough money to support the entire pack and ensure that every member was well off. The Alpha and Luna loved their own long-awaited children and were carefully raising them to treat the pack members with respect. I smiled as no darkness was visible anywhere in our future.

  I had finally found a place where I truly belonged.

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