“Let’s go celebrate,” I whispered to them both. “Let’s keep the baby a secret for a little longer,” I added to Winnie. “Today is your birthday. This is all for you, my little one.”
She kissed me on the cheek, wiggling down. “I’m going to get some cake.” She was already moving toward the party food. Violet had the huge cake set up at center stage.
As soon as she was gone, Kade swept me up in his arms and he was kissing me again. As he pulled away, I said, “You have to stop carrying me around, love.”
“Better get used to it.” His voice was husky. “For the next nine months, I am not letting you lift a finger.” There were slivers of worry creeping into his words, and I understood. Shifter pregnancies were dangerous. The fetus could shift, and that could cause massive blood loss. It was hard to carry a shifter pup to term, but I wasn’t too worried. I had all of my magic to help with that.
I patted Kade on the shoulder and he reluctantly let me down. “I’m fine, mate. You don’t need to stress over anything. Maybe when I’m huge and waddling I’ll let you do some of the heavy lifting. Until then, I am perfectly capable.”
He dropped his forehead onto mine. “Thank you for making me the luckiest bear in the world. Thank you for my life.”
“I love you, Kade.” I didn’t even have the words to really express how much he meant to me.
I feel the same way. We have eternity to find those words.
He was right, and I planned on telling and showing him every single day.
An argument had broken out near the cake, so we had to cut our moment short. Violet needed backup. She was debating with a six-year-old about why she had to wait to cut her cake.
As we walked, I took another long look around — stopped to smell the roses, as they say — which in this garden was a literal statement. In truth, my life was as close to perfect as I could have ever hoped for. It was everything I ever dreamed of.
When those bells rang all that time ago, signaling the end of the Red Queen’s rule, my life had changed. Her death was painful, but it had brought me to this moment. To Kade. To learning of my fae heritage and the dual powers flowing strongly inside of me.
I was queen of the shifters.
I was queen of the mecca.
I had achieved everything I set out to do in my life. But my greatest achievement, the one that brought me the most joy, was the family and love I now had in my life.
In that way, I was queen of all.
The End