The Peace

LORELAI

I lay on the soft blanket, looking up at the clear sky. The wind brushed across my body, my light white dress flowing with it.

The grass around me moved with the wind, as if the blades were waving. They seemed as happy as I was to finally feel the sun. It beamed down on me, and I smiled with my eyes closed. I soaked it up, the warmth seeping into my skin.

My stomach fluttered, and I grinned, holding it. It was still flat, but Cain said I would grow fast as the luna. I was excited to feel the baby inside me and build on the love that was already there for it.

I turned my head to the twins who were sitting up, using their shadows to keep them up. They learned insanely fast, developing quicker than I remembered the human children in the village doing. Brax was behind Zale, ready to catch him if he fell. Kai was doing the same for Enzi. I peered over at them and smiled; the sun highlighted them in a way that made me full with all the good things I had been missing the last few months.

Zale grabbed his rattle and sucked on the end, as Enzi tried to grab it from him, almost falling into him. Zale shook it, then let it go so it landed in front of Enzi. She giggled and kicked her legs excitedly, reaching for it.

Zale smiled at her, his gummy grin making my heart soar as much as Enzi’s cute giggle.

Derik came over to me then, kissing my lips before lying down next to me. His hand went to my stomach. He was convinced the child I carried was his. My stomach fluttered at his touch, and I could believe it.

He kissed my stomach, then looked over at the others. He grinned with a lightness in his eyes that had been missing for too long.

“Did you get everything sorted with the volunteer escorts?” I asked Derik.

He nodded. “Yeah, the wolves are going to take the humans, watch over them, and bring them back. The vampires didn’t mind. The blood will be extracted using a blade rather than the bite, and it’ll be in public. All sorted,” he said with a smile.

I smiled back and closed my eyes again, soaking in more sun, reveling in the moment.

“What about the rogues?” Kai asked.

It was a sore point. The deal with the rogues had been that we give them use of the water villages and resources that we have in exchange for their help with the vampires. They went back on their word.

I didn’t know what to do about it. The idea of kicking wolves out of their homes didn’t sit right with me, but they couldn’t be trusted. They had lived up to that rogue name, and the wolves were very against rewarding that kind of thing.

I was too. To an extent. Exacting the punishment required was proving difficult since my emotions were all over the place.

“We’ll deal with them tomorrow. Let’s just enjoy the day,” I let out on a breath. Nobody argued, and I sat up, leaning back into Derik as he played with the tendrils of my hair.

We weren’t the only ones lying out on the grass. We had taken up space outside the walls on the edge of the grasslands. It edged on a huge meadow and caught the best sun.

Beenie was there with Cain. They were not wearing the same relieved, happy expressions as the rest of us, but they never were anymore. Not since Tabby.

We gave him space for that. He had fought in the war with us but had retreated as soon as it was over. I was worried about what that meant and why he had gone so reclusive, but grief did strange things, so I was going to give him a little longer to come around.

And Beenie was clearly still trying to take on that grief.

I gave them their privacy and looked at the other wolves. They were sprinkled over the grass, the humans mixed in, doing the same as us. It was what true peace felt like.

Mom was talking with Galen, her leg outstretched, wearing her village dresses, sipping some wine that he gave her. She laughed at something he said, smiling as his lips lifted enough to convince me he was as happy as she was.

Ryleigh and Vaughn were there, their daughter lying between them as they kissed. Then they breathed. Then they kissed again.

I spied Hank through the blades of grass. I hadn’t talked to him since he had gotten in trouble for not protecting me in the library, but he had replaced Tatum in Kai’s formation, so I assumed he was forgiven. He was with his kids, running and laughing around him and his mate.

Then there was Anetta and her mate. I turned away from them when the kissing became more. They were our family. And this was the moment we had fought for. The happiness, the love, the contentment.

And safe. Most of all, we were safe.

Brax put Enzi down as her eyelids drooped. Zale squirmed until he was put next to her. As soon as they were laid there, they slipped into sleep. They were children, babies, but they understood so much, it blew my mind.

We understood less than they did half the time. It made me excited for the future, to see what they would become.

We lay there for a while in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Brax lay down, resting his face between my legs. Derik moved along one side as Kai took the other. It was their usual spots on me, and it finally felt normal.

I smiled and closed my eyes, lying against my alphas, my heart throbbing with everything we had been through to get to this point.

Brax kissed my thigh then, and I grinned down at him. He kissed closer toward my pussy, sneaking under my dress. I bit my lip, looking around at the others. They were in their own little worlds just like we were.

Brax’s lips pressed against me, his breath brushing along my core. I sucked in a breath, leaning further back into Derik and Kai.

I ran my fingers through Brax’s hair and yanked his head up so he had to look at me. His smirk told me he had every intention of following through on his actions. I laughed and shook my head.

“C’mon, let’s go finish this inside,” I said, extracting myself and standing up. I brushed myself off of grass, then picked up Enzi who was closest. Zale stirred until Derik grabbed him. They fell back into a deep sleep, and we took them inside.

Nikolai grabbed the blanket and followed behind, his hand on the small of my back.

We strode past Beenie and Cain. She touched my leg as I did.

I peered down at her, and she gave me a small smile, nodding to Derik who kept walking ahead, talking with Brax. I raised a brow at her, wondering what the hell she meant.

She nodded to my stomach. My eyes went wide, and I looked at Derik. She nodded again.

I grinned wider, mouthing a quick thank you before catching up with my alphas.

“It’s his, huh?” Kai nuzzled into my neck.

“Apparently,” I panted, his tongue grazing my skin. I shuddered, and he kissed the flesh there. It made it hard to walk, but I didn’t care. Not when he was this close.

“That’s going to make him one happy alpha.” Kai smirked, then stopped caressing me. I walked faster, wanting to get home so I could be a happy luna with them.

We put the twins down, their wall repaired finally. It had been a week since the war had ended, and we’d signed our safety with the vampires. But I had needed every minute of that to rest after overusing.

My magic was still a little tight through me, but eventually, I had convinced it to help.

Their room and our suite had been finished today, and once I put the twins in their crib, I went and lay on our huge bed. I collapsed onto it, looking at all three of my alphas.

Brax with his brooding but always honest and always ready to cheer me up when I needed it. Derik with his leadership that weighed him down and a secret strength that only the closest of us saw. And Kai. He was a psycho still, but he was mine, and I loved it.

I loved them all, and as much as I had thought love was a weak word for what we had before, I now knew it was only a word. It had no power without action. And my Alphas had done more than tell me they loved me.

They had shown me. They had marked me, branded my heart with their love in every way. Everything I needed, they gave me; they made sure I had.

Silas was wrong, always thinking we were weaker for letting ourselves be marked by so much emotion and soppy feelings that made him gag. But we were stronger together. We had proven that.

“You going to come back to us anytime, Spitfire?” Brax asked.

I grinned and looked at him, opening my legs.

“Not sure yet. Convince me?” I teased.

Brax growled and came forward, crawling onto the bed and going straight between my legs.

I looked at Derik over his head, eyeing him. He was already staring at me.

“It’s yours,” I whispered to him.

He frowned for a second before he understood. And then he was coming closer, climbing over to my body and closing his mouth over mine.

His kiss was soft and demanding as Brax licked up my pussy. I gasped, Derik stealing the breath with his tongue slipping along mine. Brax tasted me, sucking my clit before pressing his tongue on it.

I bucked against him, gripping his hair as Derik kept kissing me. His lips moved down my neck, and I turned to Kai. He was watching.

“Kai?” I asked.

“I’m waiting, Little Luna. When I take you, I need you to be healed properly because I am definitely not in control enough to take you without marking you.” He smirked, his eyes watching every movement Derik and Brax made.

I caught his eyes and held them. “I want you to, Kai. Mark me,” I whispered.

His eyes flashed with heat, and I licked my lips, fire consuming my body.

“Anything for you, Little Luna,” he said, then climbed onto the bed with us.

And he was right. Kai was rough, desperate, and fucked me hard with a relenting passion that made my body ache in all the right ways. Brax was intense, savage, and carnal, making my body scream and tingle at all times.

And Derik. He was precise, calculated, and strong, making every part of me alive with tension until it snapped.

And each one of them marked me. Inside and out. My heart and my body.

But the best part about being a winter-born luna hybrid? I marked them right back, and they loved every second of it just as much.