Page 79 of Their Princess

I leaned my head on her shoulder and said, “Thank you, Mama. For everything. If you hadn’t adopted me … I’m not sure what would have happened.”

She looked over at my mates who were bickering with my fathers about something. “Those men were made for you, just like mine were made for me. Fate has always had a way of sticking us in the path of the ones we’re meant to be with. And while I know I can never be your birth mom, I’m so glad I was able to become a part of your life. I’ve never once regretted picking you up that day and taking you home. Just like I know you’ll never regret it with Elrith. He and Kora are a lot like you. Strong, powerful, and determined to prove to the world that there’s more to them than their uniqueness. It’s going to be an interesting next decade.”

Glancing over at Maya and her group of men, I said, “I can’t wait to see that develop more.”

Mom laughed softly. “Your brother is smitten for sure. He may not have wanted to admit it before, but that group works well together. These next generations are really going to be something.”

While we hadn’t eradicated the new hate group, I knew it was only a matter of time. With my family working together, integrating themselves in both worlds and working to improve the lives of all races, I knew everything would be alright.

No matter what hardships we faced. No matter what new issues arose. This family would stay strong, work together, and our bonds would only deepen.

My mates looked at me, and I felt their love through our bond. This was my happily ever after and I would continue to work hard, to learn more, to improve, to ensure that nothing jeopardized it in the future.

“Who’s ready for dessert?” I announced.

“Me!” Kora, Elrith, Grandpa Foxfire, and Papa Dan yelled simultaneously.

“Ah, yes, all the children,” Nana Jolie teased, earning laughter from everyone.

Yes, this was exactly what life was supposed to be. Found family loving and laughing together.

Epilogue

12 YEARS LATER

“Auntie!” Kora yelled, spotting me first. Her hair and the quills within her hair bounced against her back as she raced towards me.

Elrith’s eyes snapped up from the phone he’d been looking down at, at her exclamation. “Mama!” he shouted, a huge smile splitting his teenage face. He’d grown a lot since we first met him over a decade ago. No longer did he have the baby chub on his cheeks. Now, he was lean and muscular with great control over his shifting, to the point that he currently looked human, except for the horns on his head.

I opened my arms and braced myself as they both ran into me, squeezing me for all they could, which I could thankfully withstand. I, however, had to restrain myself since I could crush them if I squeezed too hard. “My babies!” I crooned. “Did you miss me?”

Elrith looked down at me, now over six feet tall, and nodded. “So much. I love Nana Jolie and my grandpas, but it’s not the same as living with you and my papas.” He frowned and looked over my head. “Are you alone? Mama! You can’t be alone, even now.”

“I’ll protect you, Auntie,” Kora assured me, spinning around to survey our surroundings for threats.

Chuckling softly, I patted them both on the heads, a reach for Elrith. “Calm down, imps. You really think my overprotective mates would let me come here alone?”

Mason flew down from a nearby tree in his crow form, shifting into his man form as he neared us. “Of course we wouldn’t. We were just letting her have her reunion with you before we came in.” He took turns hugging the kids and patted Kora on her head. “I heard you saved Elrith again.”

Elrith scoffed. “I had my scales up. The arrow wouldn’t have even pierced my skin or hurt me at all.”

“Only because I grabbed it out of the air before it could touch you,” Kora said, and beamed proudly.

Even though we’d eradicated the group that had formed with the sole intent of killing demons and preventing them from coming to this world, there were still threats and those who didn’t like the demons being here.

Elrith, being Prince of Demons and Hybrids was a prime target for them. Thankfully, the little imp turned out to be very strong and never missed a training session. He spent his evenings while in this world training with Grandpas Rhys, Nico, Foxfire, and Deryn, or my adoptive fathers, and when in our home in the demon world, he spent evenings training with Great Grandpa Dan.

When Papa Dan had asked to move to the demon world, I had been shocked, but it had turned out to be the ultimate blessing. He trained the kids, helped watch them when we wanted to go on dates or had issues to attend to, and he’d even adopted a couple teenage orphans.

“Are you ready to head home?” I asked. “Kayden is preparing something delicious for our return.”

“We need to grab our bags from Grandma Ember’s house,” Kora said. “We stayed there this week because Nana and Grandpas had a videogame tournament.”

A huge smile split my face as I remembered that my great grandmother and her mates were participating in the newest fighting videogame’s tournament circuit. Their team was dominating and it was one of the rare instances where they could do something they loved and where it didn’t matter that they were royals, since it was all based on skill. I wasn’t as good as Nana Jolie, but my mates and I were improving. It had become a family battle, to see which pack could defeat them. My brother, Tony, Maya, Tony the elf, and Jaeden were really good, too, and our current standings were six wins and six losses. Tomorrow, we would secure another win for sure to beat them.

“That’s perfect, since I know there are fresh baked snickerdoodle cookies at their house,” Mason said and licked his lips hungrily. Bran Bran made the best snickerdoodles, so Mason wasn’t the only one salivating at the idea of getting some to take home.

Elrith draped an arm around my shoulders and hugged me against his side as we walked. “I missed you. How are you feeling? Any improvements?”

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