The Last Princess (12 page)

"Did they work?"

Her mother laughed. "No.  I suppose I should have
expected no less from you when you came of age. Our system has worked for
hundreds of years.  Just because I'm not in love with my mates, doesn't mean
you wouldn't be.  Your grandmother was in an arranged marriage and loved our
fathers until the day she died."

"But that should be up to us."

"It's too late now, darling. You've all gone and
chosen your futures.  There's nothing I can do about that now.  But I want to
ask one thing of you."

"What?"

"Come home."

Epilogue

"So tell me again why this is a good idea?"
asked Caleb. He wasn't convinced that living in the royal palace was a positive
thing.  Not that it was a bad, just unexpected.  Since moving to the palace
things had been in an uproar.  Times were changing and the queen was finally
realizing that change wasn't always a horrible thing. Although life was coming
together for the royals, there was trouble lurking in the shadows. The fox
shifter, who was certainly no relation to Caleb, warned of a threat to the
royals during his interrogation. The Royal Elite would be needed more than ever
after so many years of peace. They now had the freedom to mate if they chose,
thanks to Ulric and the princess, but many decided to maintain the old code.

Caleb was ready for the future and whatever it dished
out. He had no personal items besides his laptop and the clothes on his back,
and Ulric only had a thread-bare sofa and cardboard boxes for dressers at his
little apartment.  So moving in wasn't a difficult task.  It was getting used
to the idea of not struggling, not working shitty or illegal internet jobs just
to put food on the table.  Caleb wasn't sure he'd ever get used to being mated
to the most beautiful woman alive.

"Because I worked things out with my mother, and
my sisters have agreed to move back home." 

"Right.  Great.  So that's four and three…so seven
more alpha males living under our roof."  Delia pulled him by the collar
of his shirt and kissed him on the mouth.

"They're mated to my sisters.  You have nothing to
worry about, fox.  I love
you,
not them."

The big, white moving trucks pulled up out front.  Ulric
and Alexander were already outside to meet them and help them carry furniture
into the house.  Delia's sisters had both mated well-off men and the four large
trucks carting their possessions proved that.

Delia had been quiet all day.  They'd been at the
palace for six weeks.  This was the first day she wasn't acting like herself. 
He knew she was anxious about seeing her sisters again after so long.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked.

"What if they've changed?  What if they blame me? 
What if they don't love me anymore?"

"Delia, they wouldn't be moving in if they hated
you.  Everything will be okay."

She shook her head. "You don't understand.  It's
all my fault. I'm the one who left, dragging them with me.  So many years
wasted…"

"Maybe it took that dramatic step for the queen to
see the light.  Maybe she wouldn’t have budged on the rules, but losing her
only three daughters helped her see the error of her ways."

"Did I mention I love you?"

He chuckled. "I'm leaving now.  I'll send the
girls up to see you."

****

She could barely catch her breath as she awaited the
long anticipated reunion with her beloved Carna and Freya. The moment they
entered the castle, she knew.  She was so in tune with their scent, their
emotions, that they were like an extension of herself, even after all this
time.

When the door knocked, her heart stopped for a second.
She stood in the middle of the room, frozen in place.

"Delia?  Caleb said you were in the
sunroom…"  Freya's blonde head poked in the door.  She couldn't help but
smile.  Her sister was so beautiful, familiar but different.
"Delia!"  Freya ran forward after spotting her, crashing into her arms,
almost knocking her over.

Carna joined them in a group hug.  Delia's tears came
without warning, a mixture of nerves and happiness, regrets better left
forgotten.

"We're home," said Carna, wiping away tears
of her own.

"This time we're all mated women, not naïve young
girls," added Freya.

Carna ran her hands over Delia's hair, assessing every
detail of her face.  When they were younger, people used to mistake them for
twins. "We have a lot of catching up to do." 

They moved to the glass walls, looking down at the ten
shifters unloading the boxes and furniture. Freya laughed. "There'll be a
lion in the palace for the first time in history. Don't worry—he's a big
softie."

"And two bears apparently," said Delia.

Carna stifled a laugh, cupping her hands over her
mouth. "And…and a fox," she teased.

"Hey, he's a very sexy fox."

"I saw that.  You've done well, Delia.  We all
have." 

Delia kissed both of her sisters, energized by their
presence. It was as if all the years of heartache and loneliness dissipated
into nothingness. All that mattered was that they were a family again,
everything else a lesson learned. Delia wasn't the last princess.  This was
just the beginning.

The End

www.staceyespino.com

Other
Books by Stacey Espino:

Beyond
the Wall

'Twas a
Dark and Delicious Christmas

Catch
Me If You Can

Claiming
Their Mate

Freya's
Mates

Evernight
Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com