Becsul thought of the network of relationships that was forming around them—Sarah and Katie nearby, Wei-Lin somewhere out in the galaxy fighting the same battles they had escaped, the Cireat Tovek’s facility seeking new paths forward, Director L’chong’s team of dedicated physicians and researchers.
Family, he realized. Not by blood, but by choice. By shared experience. By the simple, profound decision to care for one another.
“We found it,” he said softly.
Melissa looked up at him, her dark eyes reflecting the fading sunset. “Found what?”
“Home.” His tail tightened around her waist. “We found home.”
She reached up to cup his face, her palm warm against his textured skin. “No. We made a home. Together.”
Below them, the lights of Wiang flickered to life—countless points of illumination spreading across the city like earthbound stars. Somewhere in that web of light, their future waited. A house with a garden. A hospital where Melissa would help others build families. A training facility where Becsul would teach and learn and grow. A community of misfits and exiles and seekers who had found one another across the vast distances of space.
It wasn’t the life either of them had imagined. It was better.
This is where we begin, Becsul thought, holding his mate close as the last light faded from the sky. This is where our story truly starts.
And for the first time since he could remember, he looked towards tomorrow with nothing but hope.
EPILOGUE
The datapad slipped from Melissa’s fingers and clattered against the desk. She jolted upright, heart hammering, disoriented for a long moment before the familiar surroundings of her office resolved around her. The soft glow of her workstation. The stack of patient files she’d been reviewing. The half-empty cup of tea, long gone cold, sitting beside her elbow.
I fell asleep.
The thought carried more embarrassment than it should have. She was the new hire, the Earth physician still proving herself, the woman Director L’chong had taken a chance on. Falling asleep at her desk was not exactly the professional image she wanted to project.
She checked the time and winced. Nearly an hour past when she’d meant to wrap up. Becsul and Robbie would be here any minute to?—
A soft knock at her door made her straighten, hands flying to smooth her hair before she could stop herself.
“Come in.”
The door slid open to reveal her mate, their son cradled against his broad chest in the carrying sling that had become as much a part of Becsul’s wardrobe as his plain black uniform. Robbie—six months old now and growing more alert by the day—spotted her immediately and let out a delighted gurgle, his chubby arms reaching in her direction.
“There’s my boy.” She rose quickly, crossing to them and pressing a kiss to Robbie’s forehead before tilting her face up to receive one from Becsul. His lips were warm against hers, familiar in a way that still managed to send a small thrill through her chest. “Sorry I’m late. I just needed to finish reviewing the Velorian fertility protocol, and I must have…”
She trailed off, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
He noticed.
“You fell asleep.” It wasn’t a question. His eyes moved over her face with that assessing intensity she’d come to know so well. “This is the third time this week.”
“It’s been a busy week.”
“You said that last week as well.”
“Well.” She lifted Robbie from the sling, settling his warm weight against her hip and breathing in his sweet baby scent. “It’s been a busy month, then. Director L’chong has me consulting on four different cross-species compatibility cases, and there’s a Korinthian couple who traveled three systems to see me specifically because they heard I have experience with?—”
“Melissa.”
Something in his voice made her stop. He stepped closer, his tail curving around her waist in that unconscious gesture of possession and protection that she secretly loved.
“I am not questioning your dedication to your work. I am expressing concern for my mate’s wellbeing.” His hand came up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing gently across the shadows she knew had taken up residence beneath her eyes. “You have been tired. More than tired. And you haven’t been eating properly—I’ve seen you push food around your plate at dinner.”
“I’ve just had an upset stomach.”
“For two weeks?”
