I walked right up to one of them and peered at the intricate wing design. There, engraved along the outside of the wing in tiny perfect script, was a phrase.
We honor Thomas Colt.
A lump formed in my throat.
I read another.
We honor Cassady Readers.
Kailani appeared at my side and motioned us to a weeping strand near the base of the tree. There was a little gold butterfly and engraved on the wing was, we honor Cyrus Swiftwater.
Oslo took one look at it and began to wipe at his leaking eyes. I tried but couldn’t hold back the tears. Normally I would call them weak and try not to show emotion but my brother was worth every tear I had cried for him.
“It’s so beautiful,” I told Kailani as she watched my reaction.
Reaching over, she patted my back. “Look.” She pointed to the center of the butterfly and I had to rapidly blink to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.
The sun had left us and now the crystals in the center of the butterflies were glowing! At first it was barely noticeable but as the sky grew darker, the butterflies all took on a beautiful purple hue.
Gasps rang throughout the space as the tree lit up like the moon. Over five hundred glowing butterflies.
“These crystals never go dark!” Raife yelled. “They are charged by sunlight and will glow, each night, until the end of time! Just as the memories of those fallen ones will always be with us.”
A few people burst into sobs and I pulled Oslo into my arms. Suddenly Axil was there holding us both and I knew it was the perfect remembrance for my brother. His light would never fade, just as the memories of him would never leave me.
EPILOGUE
One Year Later
“As an alpha, you will need to stare death in the face and laugh,” Axil told our three-month-old son Koa Cyrus Moon as he lay nestled in his father’s arms. Koa looked up at his father with bright blue eyes as spit bubbles formed on his lips and I smiled.
“Teaching him the ways of the big bad wolf?” I asked as I entered the room.
Axil looked up at me with adoration. “Alpha training starts young.”
I snickered. “Quite young indeed.”
I moved to his side and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You sure you guys will be okay without me for three days?”
“Are you kidding? Koa has two wet nurses, his crazy Aunt Liz, and I have an entire palace staff. We’ll be fine. Have fun with your friends.”
Kailani had arranged the first of our annual queens’ retreats. We were going to stay at a well-known elvin hot spring in the mountains for three days. Just me, Kailani, Madelynn and Arwen.
I smiled at him and one of the nursemaids came in to take Koa for his feed. I thanked her, kissing him goodbye and then looked at Axil. Sometimes I couldn’t believe that we’d made it. That I’d met my mate at fifteen and against all odds we now stood before each other as husband and wife.
“So, I’ve been thinking.” Axil reached out and yanked me closer to him so that my body slammed flush up against his. “Koa needs a sister,” he breathed along my neck and I burst out laughing.
“Koa is still on the breast! A sister can wait.” I pawed at his hand which was creeping up the back of my tunic.
Axil pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. “Isn’t that why you have two breasts? You can feed two at a time. Arwen does.”
I let loose with a wild carefree laugh and I couldn’t help but feel my heart swell. “You want a daughter?” I asked him, suddenly dropping into my bedroom voice and letting my eyes go half lidded.
He swallowed hard, nodding. Reaching out, I stroked a single finger against the waist of his trousers and his eyes shuttered closed. Making love to Axil was something I couldn’t get enough of. He knew every inch of my body, everything that pleasured me. “What if we get another son?” I asked, raking my lips along his jaw.
“Then we keep trying until I have a daughter who’s as feisty and beautiful as her mother,” he panted.
I smiled, pulling back to remove my tunic. “What if that takes a dozen children?”
He looked up at me and grinned. “I can think of nothing better than having a dozen children with you, my love.”
Dropping to his knees, he kissed my stomach and heat traveled down from my chest to the sensitive spot between my legs. Anticipation thrummed through me. Since Koa’s birth, our lovemaking had been sparse. Up late with feedings and his cries of hunger, it was hard to make time for that sort of thing.
Axil trailed his tongue along the ridge of my trousers and I swallowed hard as he untied them and they dropped to the floor.
“I’ll be late for my carriage to Archmere,” I huffed.
He looked up at me with yellow eyes. “I don’t care.”
I grinned at his wolf.
Hello, nice to see you.
I loved when Axil got forceful and dominant in bed. “Well, you better make it worth my while then, Axil Moon,” I commanded.
With that he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder, eliciting a squeal from me as he marched me to our marital bed.
When he threw me back down, I could see his gaze drowning in desire as his eyes raked over me. “That sounds like a challenge.” His wolf was back and I grinned as he lowered himself on top of me.
We’d done it. Against all odds we’d found our happily ever after and I had to agree with Axil: it was worth the wait.
SPECIAL_IMAGE-images/svgimg0003.svg-REPLACE_ME
I was late to my girls’ getaway trip but no one seemed to mind. For the next three days it was going to be massages and clay mud masks and girl time. When I arrived, I was led into the living quarters at the elvin spa that Kailani had arranged for us. When I stepped inside the luxurious drawing room, I noticed the three women standing over a platter of dried fruits and cheeses. Arwen spun to face me, her belly swollen with pregnancy.
My mouth dropped open. “You didn’t tell me!” I ran to her and Kailani turned as well, showing off a smaller bump than Arwen.
My eyes grew wider. “Is everyone pregnant!” I screamed in excitement as I hugged them both.
“Wanted to surprise you all.” Arwen patted her belly. “We think it’s twins again.”
That would scare me but she seemed to take it in her stride.
“Mine better not be twins,” Kailani offered.
Madelynn strode over to where I stood and smiled at me, patting her flat stomach. “I’m not pregnant yet. We want to take a year and travel.”
She pulled me in for a hug.
“That’s a great idea. Come visit us in Fallenmoore,” I told her.
“How’s little Koa? Keeping you up often in the night?” Kailani asked.
We sat down and talked for hours then. We spoke about family, our hopes and dreams, annoying things our husbands did. Everything. It was so nice to just relax and speak with other strong women and leaders. These ladies had become fierce allies and loyal friends over the past year. Kailani and Raife had traveled in for Koa’s birth in case there were any complications. Arwen and Drae flew over with the twins once a month for play dates with Koa, and Madelynn and I had developed a deep friendship through letters. She had a little sister Oslo’s age and we both shared the protective burden of taking care of our families.
“Hey,” Madelynn said, sipping her wine. “We should have our kids do a yearly retreat like our husbands did, make sure everyone stays strong and bonded as our kingdoms grow.”