Loved by a Beast - Miranda Bridges Page 0,62

I do, a scream tears from my throat as I call out to Yania.

Then I’m in motion, leaving Shadow to follow me as I race toward the voice. Bushes scrape my legs, and branches slice my cheeks, but I barely feel them in my pursuit to confirm what I’m hearing. My feet pound into the earth, and my breaths are loud, but none of that drowns out the sweet sound of Yania calling my name.

I clear a large tree only to fall to my knees at the sight before me.

Yania holds Kharis, while Iraxion sets Tika on the ground. My daughter sprints in my direction, and my sobs fill the air as I open my arms. Tika hurls her tiny body at me, and I catch her, vowing to never let her go. Yania comes to stand beside me and then kneels so that I can see my son. And the tears in my friend’s gaze.

“They are safe and have been safe the entire time, Massela,” Yania says, her voice wobbly and so unlike the poised and authoritative one I’m used to. “The skatnar found us, and I knew in my soul we were meant to return.”

“Makayla!”

Jaxar’s shout echoes in the trees right before he finds us. Tika waves at him while I try to give him a reassuring smile, but I’m not sure it works because his facial expression is stricken, as if he’s in pain. I hold out my hand to him, unable to speak, and it breaks the trance he’s in.

After he’s next to me, he drops to his knees and throws his arms around me, Tika, and Yania. His wings enclose us as if he wants to embrace his loved ones in every way possible. Then he buries his face in the curve of my neck, and his shoulders shake for a long while.

I soak in the tiny breaths of my son along with the quiet chirps of my daughter and the strength of my husband’s embrace. This male may have started off with a heart of stone, but it has been made flesh by love, dedicating each and every beat to those he cares for. Whether he be man or beast, love remains the same.

Although some love is fiercer, more savage, more alien than others.

Epilogue

Several months later…

Yania puts the final touches on my makeup, and I sigh like a petulant child, having been sequestered in the tent all day.

“Are we done?” My tone is hopeful and impatient. “I don’t know what all the fuss is about anyway.”

The Boraq female’s lips twitch. “The Masse wants to hold a celebration and has asked that you be dressed in finery.”

I huff. “I’m always down to party, but this seems quite formal. There will be food, right?” I remember the first celebration with the Boraq, and I almost starved to death. Okay, maybe not to death, but it was a close call. I don’t want to go through that again for some pomp and circumstance.

“Of course.”

“Well, then it won’t be a total loss.”

Yania shakes her head, and I’m not sure if she’s exasperated with me or just agreeing. Either way, it’s fine.

“Come with me, Massela.”

I hop from the bed and weave around the material hanging from the ceiling. Once we moved our tribe back to the south, Jaxar had our home reconstructed with dividers that break up the entire space into separate rooms so that our children won’t see us in bed.

Needless to say, that thoughtful act was greatly rewarded; plus, we have sex a lot more often now that there’s privacy.

The outside is warm and cheerful with the sun beaming down and the sky clear of clouds. Yania and I walk to the town center, and as we get closer, the conversations and laughter are more easily heard. As soon as we round the corner, I come to a halt, my breath catching on a gasp of surprise.

The Boraq that were milling about come to attention at my appearance, and the warriors take their designated positions that create an outline for the center aisle. Unlike the last time I walked down it, there are archways of entwined branches and sticks, heavily decorated with blooms of various hues. Some of the petals are caught by the gentle breeze and float to the ground, making the walkway colorful.

I scan the crowd and see our allies from the northern and eastern tribes. Although, it would be more accurate to call them neighbors, since Charlotte and Jeanine would not accept being far