“Now you’re just getting ridiculous.” I laughed and released the rest of my worries.
For the time being, at least. There would be plenty more worries along the way. I had no doubt he’d drive me nuts, and I would probably drive him nuts, and eventually we would both be nuts – and parents. I closed my eyes and let myself feel every inch of him. I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed, how much it still would change. The next few months would undoubtedly stress me the hell out and test my handle on reality and sanity.
But Dodge was there. Dodge was my rock, my anchor. My true north. I still wasn’t sure I understood what being a mate meant, but it sounded perfect. And I looked forward to a lifetime of figuring out just what it meant for me, and for our family. Our pack.
Epilogue
Istood and braced my hands at the small of my back. I was only halfway and already it felt like I carried at least triplets. Possibly quads or quints. If there was only one in there, Dodge's baby was just burly as hell. The new manager at the animal sanctuary glanced at me with concern, but I waved her off, attempting a smile. "How is the moat digging going?"
She held out a checklist and showed me the latest progress for the new tiger enclosure. I mostly paid attention, since I'd taken over a lot of the responsibilities for running the animal sanctuary. Dodge purchased it while I was in the hospital; a week after I found out I was pregnant, he told me and asked me what I wanted to do.
It was an easy choice. It wasn't the animals' fault that Ms. Bridger was an awful person and her intentions for setting up the sanctuary were devious instead of pure. It took me a little while to feel comfortable going back to the site of my injuries and that awful incident in the tiger enclosure, but Dodge stayed with me every second. Gradually, I put most of those memories behind me. I occasionally had nightmares, but they were fading as well.
As I supervised the crew building the new habitat for a trio of rescued and retired circus lions we would receive in a matter of weeks, I caught sight of Dodge in the corner of my eye. He sprawled like a cat on a bench nearby, soaking up the sun. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. He would hate the comparison to a feline, but it was the most apt one I could come up with. That or a lizard. Him and Silas, basking like alligators on rocks.
The other wolf went with us almost everywhere we went, and gradually the employees at the sanctuary grew accustomed to seeing the massive beast wandering around unsupervised. He liked to tease the big cats and play chase along the fences of their enclosures, providing no end of entertainment for the cats, as well as the humans. Deirdre still had not made any break-throughs on transforming him back to his human form, while keeping his human mind in control. The one time Evershaw tried to change him by brute force... Well, it was best left forgotten.
I stretched again and yawned, patting the new manager on the back. "The invoices..."
"Maybe we call it a day," Dodge said, folding his arms around me. He moved as quiet as a cat, too, when he wanted to. "You look tired."
"It's barely noon," I said with a huff.
He grumbled and kissed the side of my neck. "I know. You still look tired."
The manager, Sara, blushed furiously and excused herself to head back to the office. Which gave me the opportunity to turn around in his arms and kiss his cheek. "Maybe I am tired. That doesn't mean I don't have to work."
"You don'thaveto work," he said. His arms tightened around me and he grumbled more. "That's why I bought this place and hired all the people. So you can show up and do what you want, then leave when the hard stuff is happening."
"That's not who I am." But I still leaned against him. The pregnancy was going well, according to the doctors, except I was exhausted every second of every day. Which drove Dodge crazy with worry, which in turn drove me crazy from his hovering and mothering. I'd screamed at him to leave me alone more than once, which usually sent him lurking in doorways and around corners to keep an eye on me from a distance. Like I wouldn’t notice the lumbering shadows creeping after me, or Silas acting like a sentry and shedding all over whatever I was doing.
It had been a real surprise to find out how much money his grandparents left to him. Apparently there were no other heirs, so he got their bank accounts, houses, planes, islands, everything. It was Dodge who bought that fancy apartment where I'd lived for the month after I left the hospital. I should have known he'd do something like that.
He didn't care about spending the money, as long as it went to something that his grandparents would have hated and refused to support. Like a nice apartment for Dodge's girlfriend and his illegitimate love-child. He proposed to me almost weekly, and still managed to take me by surprise occasionally. Once he'd hired a sky-writer. Another time he had the rest of the pack line up with placards that spelled out "Marry me, damn it" outside the sanctuary when I left for the day. The most memorable attempt was when Smith and his mysterious friends changed the stars. Deirdre had snorted and muttered under her breath about "ostentatious assholes" but I loved it.
I didn't know why I hadn't said yes or just gone to the courthouse to get a marriage license. It didn't really matter, after all, except that Dodge thought I wanted to be married so I was never technically a single mother. His determination grew with every passing week. Which just made it a little more fun to tell him “no” all the time. As Deirdre said, it was good for them to hear “no” every once in a while.
Dodge slid his hand under the waist of my jeans so he could squeeze my butt. "Let's go home. Just a quick nap, then we can come back out."
I snorted. "You say that, but that's never what happens. We don't come back, and we definitely don't nap."
"What can I say, gotta take advantage of you getting so worked up all the time," he murmured in my ear, and I shivered.
He was right about that. Apparently pregnant ladies got really horny. The moment he knew I was pregnant, Dodge went out and bought every book about pregnancy and babies that he could find. The main fact that stuck with him was that I'd be lookin' to get laid a lot.
"Maybe don't get started in front of everyone here," I said, maneuvering his hand out of my pants. "The animals are supposed to be the focus, not you trying to get to third base."
"Trying?" He chuckled and I closed my eyes in anticipation. He nibbled on my ear lobe. "I'm already there. How about a homer in that fancy new office of yours?"
I laughed and managed to extricate myself from his embrace, planting my hand on his chest to keep him from chasing after me again. "Okay, mister. I'll go, but I'm coming back tomorrow and you're going to stay somewhere else."
Dodge rolled his eyes and picked me up to carry me across half the park to get back to the car, Silas loping along behind us. "We both know that isn't going to happen."
"You've got to give me space, Dodge." I frowned as I looked at his profile. I didn't know how it was possible to love someone so much. Imagining my life without him had become impossible, even if he annoyed the shit out of me without even trying very hard.
He sighed as he put me down so I could get into the car, and he closed the door gently once my feet were safely inside. Rather than ramping down the chivalry after I said I loved him, it spiraled out of control. I couldn't remember the last time I'd touched a door handle or made the bed. Dodge let Silas into the back seat, then got in and started the car up, not quite looking at me as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Persephone, love, I can try but it never works."
"What do you mean, it never works?"
