The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* (122 page)

“Oh God,” I groaned. “This isn’t the eighteen hundreds. I want to raise our boys at our home in Wales. We’ll keep this place for getaways and whatnot. I can make a portal, and so can my father and Rhoswen. That’s what I want Mathias and if my grandmother and I have to put several protective barriers around the property there, then so be it because that’s our home.”

Mathias stood back and crossed his arms. “Fine but I get to name them.”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” I said. “Besides, that’s something we both have to agree on together.”

“We move to Wales and I get to name them,” he smirked. “I think that’s a good compromise.”

“Fine but if you name one of them Wulfric so help me God Mathias I will light one of your fingers on fire.”

“Merrick and Morgan,” he said. “I want to name them after my grandfather and mother.”

I smiled sadly at his pronouncement. Mathias had adored his grandfather and mother. There was no way I could even fight him on this. I also liked the names too; that was a plus.

“Merrick Cormac Worthing and Morgan Archer Worthing,” I said

“Archer?” he asked as he cocked his eyebrow

“I love my grandfather Archibald but I can’t do that to the kid.”

“I like Archer.”

“Are we discussing this right now?” I said. “I can’t believe it was just a few days ago when we had another negotiation over who was going to be on top.”

“That was a fairly good compromise as I remember,” he said as he pulled me close and started to trail kisses down my neck

“Doggy style is always a good compromise,” I gasped as he nipped my ear

Mathias leaned down and swiftly picked me up in his arms. He was laying me on the bed a few seconds later.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this,” he said as he peeled off my clothes

“What’s that?” I asked. “If you’re going to tell me that I’m a few pounds heavier I just want you to know that I will not react well.”

“I love you,” he said. My heart swelled. It was the first time he had said those three little words. He had mouthed it once and then told me in Welsh, but this was the first time I had heard it in normal, good old fashioned English.

“Will you love me even when I’m fat? Because I have to warn you, my hips are already somewhat healthy in size, and I have to think that they are going to spread the further along I go in this pregnancy.”

“You’re going to spread huh?” he asked. “Now that is a very intriguing mental picture.”

“Seriously?”
I asked as he started to run his hands down my body. He stopped when he reached my stomach

“I will love you even if you are as big as a whale because you are the only woman in this world for me.”

“I’ll have to remind you of that when I make you go out in the middle of the night to get ice cream and pickles for me.”

“Not going to happen,” he said smugly

“Oh and why is that?” I said pushing him away

“Need I remind you that I am the head Guardian for a reason,” he grinned. “I know how to plan for any eventuality and I am going to stock that house with so food much that you or my unborn children will not want for anything.”

“The only thing I have ever wanted was you.”

“I’m very happy to hear that,” he said. “Because I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for eternity.”

“That’s a long time.”

“Tell me about it,” he laughed before placing his forehead to mine.

“There will be no end for you and me, Wolfie,” I said

“Never,” he said as he kissed me passionately

We lay there for what seemed like hours, dreaming about our future and making love in between our talks throughout the night. When the sun rose in the morning, the dawn of a new day brought hope to my heart and a peacefulness that I never imagined could have existed.

Fuck fairytales, I thought, my story was way better than any Disney Princess.

The End
                                                                               

Epilogue

I shut the journal when I finished writing and smiled contentedly as I snuggled into the overstuffed chair that I had been sitting in for the better part of two days. Julia had handed me a blank book when she and Riah had gotten married and until now I never had the time or the inclination to write anything on the blank pages.
              `

My life had changed so much in the past few years. I didn’t realize just how much it had changed until I started writing it all down. Mathias and I had gotten married almost two weeks after I had told him that I was pregnant. I had worn my Aunt Gussie’s simple strapless ivory wedding dress with a billowing skirt from the nineteen fifties.

My grandmother Winifred had given me a small diamond crown to accent my long sheer veil. We decided that we had just wanted a small intimate ceremony in the chapel adjacent to the castle with only our family and very close friends. It was short but sweet and when we walked outside we were surprised to find virtually the entire clan waiting to shower us with rose petals.

We spent our honeymoon happily ensconced in Wales at Mathias’s childhood home. The bigger my belly grew though, the more neurotic Mathias became. He was almost comically nervous, and when Katya had told us that my cervix was softening, he immediately called my father who opened a portal to the Isle of Skye.

It was a few more weeks until I gave birth, but Mathias had wanted to be on the safe side and be near the hospital. Merrick and Morgan were born on a warm late summer morning. They were both healthy and the most handsome babies I had ever seen. I don’t think those two ever slept in their cribs until they were a few months old because everyone was constantly holding them.

Three years later I had woken up to another light shining inside of me. We were all shocked that I had conceived again, and our little family decided to be surprised instead of finding out the sex. Elizabeth Cecelia came roaring into this world after only a few hours of labor. I had barely woken Mathias up before he called Katya and my parents to come to
the house before she arrived.

I don’t know who was more shocked that it was a girl Mathias or the boys. Merrick and Morgan had wanted a little brother so they could boss him around and be their slave. Poor Mathias for some reason thought that there was no way in hell that he could produce a girl. The moment Lizzy snuggled into my
arms; I had taken one look into her big blue-green eyes and knew that she was full of magic in more ways than one.

Mathias and the boys had gotten over their trepidation very quickly. They fell in love with her the minute they looked at her sweet face. Merrick and Morgan promptly declared that they would protect her with their lives, and I had cried through my laughter at the ferocious expressions on their earnest little faces. Mathias, of course, said that Lizzy would be living with us for the rest of her life so there was no need to worry about her safety, and I had a feeling he was still living in that fantasy world.

I felt sorry for the poor men out there who would even try to talk to her, let alone try to date her.

Jeremiah and Veronica had married soon after we did and had settled into a large flat above the library. The boys loved going to see their Uncle J and having their Aunt V read to them. Lizzy just liked to go and tear books of the shelves that funny enough Jeremiah never seemed to mind at all.

Riah and Julia had gotten married after the boys arrived. They had a large, grand, beautiful wedding at the castle. Polly and I had made them a beautiful cake and much to Mathias’s chagrin we pretty much became the main entertainment at the reception after several bottles of champagne. I still to this day laugh when I think of both my grandmothers trying to twerk on the dance floor while Polly rapped along with Fifty Cent blaring over the speakers.

We were stunned when Julia became pregnant right after their honeymoon and even more so when Katya announced that it was triplets. I had laughed hysterically, and when Julia flipped me off, Polly and I had almost wet our pants.

Payton, Pierce, and Pippa were truly little hellions, but I adored them. Since they were only a year younger than my boys, I had been deliriously happy that they would have the experience of growing up with cousins near them. Now and then when they were all playing, Riah would just throw his arm around me and we would smile as we watched them run around together.

Gussie and Cuddy doted on their grandchildren. I always popped over to Cuddy’s shop when he had them just so I could watch them wreck holy havoc with all of his junk.

Cormac and Cecily had taken to being grandparents with such enthusiasm I was almost afraid to let the kids go to Mimi and Papi’s house because I was scared they would never give them back. My dad had to travel to the Earth realm quite a bit but when he was home you could always find him fishing with the boys or taking Lizzy for walks on the beach.

My mother had taken over a bedroom at our house before the boys were even born, and we never worked at the same time in the bakery so she could babysit the kids. Cecily finally got her wish as she would play trucks with the boys in the dirt and then turn around to play tea party with Lizzy. Mathias transformed the barn into a large airy home for my mom and dad when Elizabeth joined our family, and we saw them almost every day.

Polly had gone back to Woodlia so she could move her tree to the Isle of Skye. Riah and Julia had bought my old house from the Lau’s, and Polly decided to place her Japanese maple by her Airstream camper. Nobody had expected though for her to bring not only her tree, but her neighbor Alex.  I wasn’t surprised that she had the hots for him. When she announced that they were going to try cohabitating together, I had almost fallen to the floor. I still couldn’t believe this clean cut average guy had captured her heart.

I was shocked at Polly’s new relationship, but that was nothing compared to how I felt about Mathias’s new best friend.

Machall and Beatrice had quietly eloped right after our wedding. They also got pregnant right away, and when they named their son William after me I had been deeply touched. Mathias and Machall bonded over soccer one night. They both loved the same team, and when I found that out, I had invited them over for dinner to watch the game in hopes that Mathias would get over his residual anger towards Macky.

They had become thick as thieves which wasn’t that surprising since they were similar in so many ways. I’ll never forget when they told us they were naming their daughter Mattie after Mathias. He had almost dropped the squirming baby in surprise.

Lucian would come around every so often. He and the other members of his vampire family had gone their separate ways almost immediately after the battle with Fonn and Cual. Pretty much because over half of them had decided to stay at the Vermont Fae Reserve and serve as Guardians to their fellow Fae who had welcomed them graciously and offered them sanctuary in return for protection.

Lucian was somewhat of an enigma. I still had no idea what he did for a living exactly, but I had a feeling he was still some mercenary for hire. We usually only heard from him when he would call with news about a den of Rau that were hiding out somewhere.

After months of arguing, I had finally convinced Mathias to go hunting Rau with me. He had put his foot down at first. He said that I was now a mother and needed to act like one but when I had told him that I was still affected by my extra powers and needed to release them, he finally relented. Every three or four months I would open a portal, and we would travel all over the world trying to decimate the Rau population.

We may not have wiped out their species, but we were making a pretty good dent.

I heard the sound of giggling coming from the beach, and I smiled in anticipation. Mathias and I had brought the kids to the treehouse on the weekends in the summer. He had taken all three of them yesterday afternoon to the other side of the island to go camping, and I couldn’t wait to hear about their adventure.

Oscar and Cupcake came into the house first to greet me. The sound of a little girls laughter was growing louder and louder. Elizabeth came running to me as fast as her little legs would carry her.

“Hi sweet pea,” I said as I gave her a big hug. I breathed in her sweet scent that was mixed with campfire smoke and the sea air. Her hair was the exact auburn shade of mine own and everyone called her my mini me.

“Momma,” she yelled. “Daddy killed a snake.”

“What?” I asked as I looked up and saw Mathias walk in the house with the boys