A Mate's Revenge(36)
She’d be there. Braeh.
Her name caught in his throat.
“Braeh.”
She looked up at him, so much emotion in her sweet eyes.
“You have all of me. You know that right? This is it. Nothing comes between us, ever. That was in the vows. I won’t hold back.”
Her hand cradled his cheek and he leaned into it. “I do know. And I love every part. Every single part, Vesh.”
He kissed her soft lips, and swore to never let a day go by without telling her how important she was. She’d need to know that in the hard times. And he wasn’t a fool. There would be hard times.
***
“… and they lived happily ever after in the great kingdom of Ravendale.”
The little girl sighed, hugging her pillow to her chest. “It’s so good mommy. What a story.”
The front door opened and closed, footsteps quietly inching down the hall. The little girl’s eyes went wide.
Her mom smiled. “I told you,” she whispered. “It’s late.”
Stella quickly slid under the blankets and pretended to be asleep.
“In here,” her mom called.
Her mate’s face peeked around the doorframe. “She asleep?” he murmured.
She pursed her lips, giving him a slight shake of her head.
He grinned, and then with a roar, he pounced on the bed. Giggles split the room.
“Daddy! I was sleeping.”
“Oh, Stella you were not.”
She sat up, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. “You’re right. Mommy was telling me a story.”
He raised an eyebrow at her mom. “The story?”
“The fairytale version.” The real version of their history would be told when Stella was much, much older.
“You do love that story dontcha, kid?”
She nodded. “I really, really do.”
Her daddy kissed her cheek. “And I love you.”
She grinned wide. “Did you see aunty Braeh today? Did you? She’s as big as a whale. Mommy says she’ll have her baby tomorrow or the next day. Can you believe it? I’m going to have another cousin! Daddy how many do you think I’ll have altogether? A thousand?”
Trager laughed. “Not that many, I don’t think.”
Kerrigan smiled at her daughter’s joy, and her heart grew to its max once again. This was what made life worth living, the way the bad times rolled right into the best times. Life ebbed and flowed, but if you let it take you where you’re meant to go, it was always, always worth it.
The teacher had learned a few important lessons throughout the years. Now, Stella would learn them too. And at the end of it all, they’d be happy. Not because life was all sunshine and roses, but because it was not. After all, it was the clouds that made you really appreciate the sunshine.
Stella laughed at something Trager said, and then he turned to Kerrigan with a frown. “By the way, can you believe they’re naming that kid Willie?”