November Reign (Northarbor Coven #3)

26. Epilogue

Epilogue

Thyme

Three Months Later

Having solved the bruising issue with our healing spells and tonics and accidentally inventing a new anti-inflammatory by using arnica in the working, I’d managed to improve life for my witches as well as humans.

Poppy stocked the new tonics in her store, which was open again under new management. Our new arrangement gave me half the takings of the store because the potions were so successful and we were in charge of overseeing the place while she and her family remained in Abrocaelum.

Mori, with his incredible business sense, had brokered a deal to have the potions made to be shipped worldwide. This, of course, meant hiring witches to run a factory, performing the spell work to ensure each batch worked as it should. It took very little power to create a lot, so Damon took care of that. He had witches come to the factory in the demon realm, his permanent home, to work for a few days at a time. They would stay with him and Mori at their house or in one of Mori’s hotels. The ambient magic in the air helped reduce the drain on their magical wells and made their magic refill faster.

My brother-son, yeah still awkward, most of the time I called him my son, had really come into his own with potion and tonic making. He was inventing new things all the time using the unique plants of the demon realm to solve their issues. He was quite popular there. They called him the Witch Prince, which really was apt. Although he had given me around half his magic, he was still a decently powered witch. His loss at home was really felt because he was a great fighter, too.

Things for the coven were quieter, just not completely silent. We had a duty to our shifter friends to help them with their situation. The fight between the Northarbor aviary and the Sweetwater pack was growing more and more intense everyday. Sweetwater at least had more allies now, having formed new alliances with another pack and with the elves of Abrocaelum who we were friendly with since Poppy, Zinna, and Sage lived there most of the time. They even went to the prince’s wedding !

We were also supporting the Northarbor pride. They had come to our aid to help with training, so I felt like we owed them. Everything Sweetwater was finding out about the beta sickness was rocking the foundations of the pride. They had more betas come down with the sickness, but at least they knew why and the purpose of it. Rather than see it as this terrible thing, they saw it as a gift for helping us and Sweetwater.

A couple of our witches had paired up with elves and one a shifter. I was happy to encourage this. As supernaturals, we should be supporting and loving each other instead of sticking to our type. Witch, shifter, demon, elf, it didn’t matter as long as the person you loved treated you well and loved you in return.

While I figured out the bruising, Oak had his own research task. Along with some demons, mainly Barr, Cody since he wanted to focus on his demon side, and Jorgoth, he raided their archives for any clue how to end their curse.

On the day he figured it out, I went down on one knee in front of our gathered friends and family and proposed.

“Oak, we’ve been through a lot together. Hell, just getting together was something I didn’t think would happen! ”

Everyone around us laughed. Oak’s grin grew.

“From the start you made me feel like anything was possible. Now here we are, months down the line, months into me running the coven, and you’ve done what no witch before you thought to do: break the curse on the demons. I’ve been waiting for the best chance to ask you to marry me, to become my husband, but what better time is there than when you are about to embark on an adventure? Will you marry me and let me come on all your adventures with you?”

“Yes.” Oak’s eyes were filled with love and joy. “I’d go anywhere, do anything, as long as I had you by my side.”

I slipped the simple silver band with the black hematite inlay onto his ring finger. The stone was grounding, good for mental clarity. It would protect Oak against negative energies. Great for when he slipped into thoughts of the past.

“Let us see the ring!” I heard someone shout, probably Damon. Zinna had helped pick the ring on one of their many visits to Northarbor.

Our friends and family crowded around, everyone asking questions.

“So when’s the wedding?” Mori asked.

“How about now? We’re all here,” Oak suggested. “Can’t let Thyme get away. ”

He wanted to get married right away? Hell, yes! I would move heaven and earth to make that man mine permanently.

“Someone call City Hall!” I demanded.

Oak

A simple handfasting ceremony in the grounds of the mansion was the perfect way to marry Thyme. I was just glad he liked my suggestion of doing it right away. We rushed to City Hall right after the vows overseen by Poppy so we could do the legal bit.

I had to admit I was suspicious of the mayor himself doing the legal ceremony, but if it meant we had a rubber stamped legal marriage, then I didn’t really care.

The ring I’d picked out for Thyme came out of its hiding spot to where it belonged: on his finger, for the legal wedding. It was a silver band like mine with a lapis lazuli inlay. I thought it would look spectacular with his eyes. The stone also represented universal truth. It was powerful in helping alleviate stress, something Thyme needed as Head Witch of a large coven!

He agreed to a subtle collar in a stolen moment alone, one we’d pick out together. I spent the car ride home thinking of what would look best around his slender throat.

Once the legal stuff was done, it was back to the mansion for the party to end all parties. Mori had called in demon help and many of them wanted to celebrate with us, so the place was full. Our coven was represented. There was still some mistrust there from years under Basil, then the quick change from Poppy to Damon to Thyme. They were only just settling into his reign as Head Witch.

There were the traditional things like speeches, where Damon threatened my life if I hurt his dad and simultaneously asked if he should call me papa. He and Thyme shared a father son dance which had Mori fighting back tears before he realized he could be up there dancing with Cody.

Considering how little time they had to pull everything together, it was a perfect way to celebrate our marriage.

We partied late into the night, before I took my husband to bed to properly consummate our union. I spent the night wrapped around him, bringing us both pleasure until we crashed out, exhausted .

The bell for the front door chimed through the house. Thyme lifted his sleepy head. His red hair was all over the place. There were hickeys down his neck.

“Who is it?” he asked on a yawn.

“No idea but since you’re up…” I grinned lasciviously.

Thyme pushed me away with a laugh. “My ass hurts from last night! You’d be lucky to get a handjob.”

“Barely a day married and you’ve gone off me already.” I pouted.

He brushed a kiss on my lips. “Hardly, but I do need some recovery time and a coffee or five.”

“Done.” I kissed him back, just a sweet meeting of our mouths, no tongue since morning breath was a thing.

The bell rang again. I felt like whoever was outside was getting impatient as they rang twice more in quick succession.

“Think we’re the only ones awake?”

“Might be the only ones here. Pops had a meeting at the shop. Zin was taking Sage out for the day. I think the others said they had to leave pretty early.” I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “And it is not early.” I showed him the time. Eleven am.

“Fuck. Can you get the door?”

They rang again as I launched myself off the bed, grabbed a robe and wrapped it around myself as I headed for the foyer .

“Sorry—“ I began when I opened the door to the mayor of all people. He stood tall next to a little girl, maybe about three years old. There was a baby boy on the other side of him in a car seat. He had to be only a few months old at most. Practically a newborn.

“Good morning, Oak. Is it possible to have a conversation with you and your husband? I have a proposition for you.”

“Thyme!” I yelled behind me. To the mayor I said, “Please come in.”

The mayor took the little girl’s hand, stooping some to do so. He left the carrier for me to take. Could hardly leave the baby on the doorstep, could I?

By the time my new husband sounded like he was ready to join us, I had tea in front of the mayor, juice and a cookie for the little girl, Jasmine. Thyme’s coffee was also ready.

“Do you have time for me to put some clothes on?” I asked the mayor.

Ulrian sipped his tea. “Of course.”

I caught Thyme’s elbow as he left our room. “The mayor has two kids with him!” I hissed.

“What do you think he wants?” Thyme worried on his thumbnail with his teeth while I threw on some pants and a t-shirt .

I quickly combed my hair, but otherwise left it loose. Thyme was still looking rumpled, so I attacked him with a hairbrush to make him look semi-decent.

“Ow!” he whined.

“Do you want to face the mayor with sex hair?”

“No, but that hurt.”

“Sorry, sweetheart.” I kissed the end of his pert nose. “Let’s go see what he wants.”

Jasmine was looking at something on Ulrian’s phone while nibbling at her cookie when we entered the living room. Ulrian looked ill at ease despite trying to appear relaxed. The baby, the little angel that he was, slept peacefully.

Thyme had barely poured his coffee before Ulrian spoke.

“I want you to adopt these children.”

“Pardon?” The look of surprise on Thyme’s face would have been funny if I wasn’t sure the same expression was on mine.

“These two are siblings. Jasmine and Calix have no parents. Their mother was very ill after the birth of Calix. She never recovered and has since died. The children have been placed with foster families. Unfortunately, their innate magic makes them incompatible with human fosters. They need a magical home. ”

“Is there no one else to claim them? Their coven?” Thyme looked upset. I thought I saw some hope there. He wanted this, just didn’t want anyone taking them back if he grew attached. By the way he was looking at the kids, that ship had sailed.

Thyme took my hand and squeezed it. The gesture told me all I needed to know.

“Their mother was not part of a coven, though she had applied to join yours. When she came here, hoping for a better life, Basil was in charge and he felt her power to be inadequate for coven membership.”

I felt a low growl slip free. Basil had been such a dick. I was glad he was gone.

“How do you know this?” Thyme asked.

“Bryony, their mother, left a note explaining why she had no one to turn to. We did attempt to contact her family. They signed over their rights to the children.”

While I wanted to curse, I didn’t. Little ears were listening.

“Oak?” Thyme turned to me, a beseeching look on his pretty face.

I wasn’t going to make him wait. Besides, this was a gift. Who were we to say no? The kids needed a magical family to guide them and Thyme deserved a do-over after missing Damon’s childhood. We could love these kids as our own. I knew it .

“We said we wanted to add to our family. Why not these two?”

His whole being lit up. “Are you sure? What about the curse?”

The mayor straightened further at the mention of the curse. “Demons in contracts to witches,” I explained.

“Ah,” he said, dismissively, no longer interested since it wasn’t relevant to the situation at hand.

“Angel,” I turned to Thyme.”We’ve got a family around us to help look after these two while we get what we need to break the curse. Besides, Damon would love to be a big brother, don’t you think?”

There was no promise of us breaking the curse any time soon. There were elements to the spell we needed to find. Most of which were in the demon realm in long forgotten places. When I found a lead, either Thyme could come with me while someone took care of the kids if it wasn’t safe for us to bring them, or he could wait for me to come home. I’d always come home faster with them waiting for me.

In his heart, I could see Thyme drawing parallels between Damon and these two orphans. He knew the man he’d come to accept as his son would love them.

“So we can take them in? ”

“Are you going to be my daddy?” Jasmine came closer, her little crumb covered hand rested on Thyme’s knee.

I watched Thyme melt at her precious face. Her blonde hair was tied in rough pigtails. She’d gotten crumbs down her dress.

“Do you want two daddies? I’d like to be your daddy, too.” I leaned down to meet Jasmine’s green eyes.

She nodded. “I have two daddies. Calix two daddies too?”

Thyme stroked her hair. “Yes, you both get two daddies. A big brother, too.”

Jasmine smiled up at him, trust in her eyes.

“I knew this was the right place to come.” Ulrian pulled a folder from his coat pocket. “Now if you can just sign this, they will be yours. I’ll have my driver drop off the rest of their things.”

My eyes met Thyme’s as I signed on the dotted line, accepting the two children as ours. He grinned at me, delighted with his amazing turn of events.

Turned out that the first adventure of our marriage and Thyme’s reign over the Northarbor coven was going to be parenthood. I was all in.

The end.