Later, when the room grew quiet and the children slept in the next chamber, the four of us lingered by the fire.

Rylan pulled me down onto his lap, hands sliding under my tunic with familiar ease. Kane knelt in front of us, scarred fingers tracing up my thighs. Darius watched for a moment before joining, his mouth finding the sensitive spot beneath my ear that always made me shiver.

We moved together without haste, bodies knowing exactly how to fit after all the miles and scars. There was laughter mixed in this time, and teasing words, and the kind of tenderness that only comes when survival is no longer the only goal.

I lost myself in them and let them lose themselves in me, the bond flaring bright and steady between us until we collapsed in a warm, tangled heap.

Sleep came easy after that. I woke once in the deep hours to find all three of them still close, breathing slow and even. The keep lay quiet around us. No horns. No distant smoke. Just the ordinary creak of stone and wood settling for the night.

The next weeks brought the first real harvest. We worked from dawn until the light failed, sickles flashing, baskets filling, children running between the rows with sticky hands and bright laughter.

I tied my hair back and cut grain beside the pack, sweat running down my back, feeling more alive than I had in the long months of fighting. Darius worked the next row over. Kane kept pace on my left. Rylan sang rough songs that made everyone groan and laugh in equal measure.

When the last sheaf was gathered, we held a feast in the bailey under strings of lanterns. Tables groaned with fresh bread, roasted meat, and the first apples from the young orchard.

Lila stood on a bench to give a speech she had practiced for days, declaring herself official keeper of the trees. The pack cheered loud enough to rattle the walls. Thorne and Elara danced between the tables until they collapsed in sleepy heaps.

I sat with the kings at the head table and watched it all. The bond carried their contentment like a low, steady flame. Darius rested his hand on my thigh under the table. Kane met my eyes across a shared cup. Rylan leaned close enough to whisper something filthy about later that made heat pool low in my belly.

This was the life we had bled for. Not perfection. Not endless peace. Just days where the worst thing that could happen was a child scraping their knee or bread burning in the oven. Ordinary. Precious. Ours.

As the lanterns burned lower and the pack began drifting toward their homes, I slipped my hand into Darius’s and squeezed. He squeezed back. Kane and Rylan closed in on either side, the four of us connected in the middle of the noise and warmth.

The fields had given their first real harvest.

The children had grown another inch.

The walls stood stronger than before.

And somewhere in the quiet turn of seasons, we had finally started to live instead of simply survive.

I looked at the three small figures sleeping on a nearby bench, guarded by half the pack, and felt the last shadows of old fear loosen and drift away on the night air.

Tomorrow we would plant more.

And the day after that, more still.

Tomorrow we would plant more. And the day after that, more still.

Winter arrived gentle that year, dusting the fields with light snow that melted by midday.

I stood at the edge of the orchard with frozen breath curling around my face while the children chased each other between the bare branches.

Lila had grown tall enough to reach the lower limbs without jumping. She hung from one now, legs swinging, shouting instructions to her siblings below. Thorne tried to copy her and landed in a heap of snow, laughing so hard he couldn’t stand. Elara packed snow into careful mounds, arranging them like tiny houses.

Darius walked up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist, chin resting on my shoulder. His body carried the warmth of the forge where he had spent the morning repairing tools.

"They’re getting stronger every week," he said. "Lila asked me yesterday if she could start real sword lessons in spring."

"She’ll be better than me by summer," I replied. "She already has the heart for it."

Kane approached from the other side carrying a basket of hot bread from the kitchens. Steam rose in the cold air.

Rylan trailed him, juggling three bright red apples he had saved from the cellar stores. The children spotted the food and swarmed them immediately. Small hands grabbed and sticky mouths chewed while the kings lowered themselves to the ground to join the chaos.

I sat between Darius’s legs and let the warmth of the group settle over me. These afternoons had become my favorite ritual. No councils. No urgent messages. Just the five of us stealing time before the shorter days pulled us back inside.

Later, after the children had been scrubbed clean and tucked into bed with stories of brave wolves and clever rivers, the four of us gathered in the bathing chamber. Steam filled the room as hot water poured from the pipes Garrick’s workers had finally repaired.

I sank into the large tub with a groan that came from deep in my bones. The kings joined me one by one, limbs tangling under the water in familiar patterns.

Rylan’s hands found my shoulders first, working out knots with strong fingers. "You’ve been pushing the training yard again," he murmured. "Your back feels like stone."

"Someone has to keep the younger ones sharp," I said, leaning into his touch. "They forget how fast things can turn."

Kane moved closer, his scarred thigh pressing against mine. "They won’t forget. Not with you reminding them every day."

Darius watched us from the opposite side, eyes half-lidded in the steam. "Peace still feels borrowed some mornings. Like we’re waiting for the other boot to drop."

I reached out and traced the scar on his forearm. "Then we keep reminding ourselves it doesn’t. We earned this. Every scar, every mile, every night we thought we might not see dawn. This life belongs to us now."

The words hung between us, simple and true. Hands moved with purpose after that. Mouths followed. The bond flared warm and bright as we came together in the water, slow and deliberate, chasing pleasure the way we once chased survival.

No desperation anymore. Just deep, earned need and the joy of giving it freely. I lost track of whose hands were where, whose mouth drew which sounds from me, until we collapsed against the tub’s edge, breathing hard and laughing softly at how quickly the water had cooled.

We dried each other with rough linen and fell into bed still damp. Sleep came wrapped in limbs and quiet heartbeats. I woke once to find Lila standing beside the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Bad dream," she whispered.

"Aww come here, it’s okay baby, we’re here for you."

I pulled her in without hesitation. She curled against my chest while the kings shifted to make space. Thorne and Elara appeared moments later, drawn by the movement, and the bed became a pile of small bodies and protective arms.

I lay there listening to their breathing even out again, feeling the solid presence of my mates around us, and let gratitude wash through me like warm rain.

Weeks passed by and spring brought the first real test of the new orchards. Late frost threatened the blossoms, and the entire keep turned out to light smudge fires through the night.

I carried Elara on my hip while directing teams. Darius worked the northern rows. Kane and Rylan patrolled the edges, making sure no sparks spread. Lila insisted on staying up past her bedtime, passing water skins with serious focus.

By morning the danger had passed. The blossoms survived. I stood with the children at the edge of the orchard as the sun rose, pink and white flowers glowing against the green. Thorne reached up and touched a low branch with careful fingers. Elara clapped. Lila simply smiled, small and proud.

"We did it," she said.

"You did," I corrected gently. "All of you."

The kings joined us as the keep began its morning stir. We walked the full length of the new plantings together, the children running ahead and circling back like excited pups.

The bond between the four of us flowed steady beneath the noise, carrying contentment and the shared knowledge that every hard choice had led to this exact morning.

Summer eventually arrived hot and generous after months of waiting in frost and cold. The fields produced beyond our hopes.

We held a full harvest festival that lasted three days. Music filled the bailey. Dancers spun under lanterns.

The whole Frostfang territory with the entire pack celebrated because it has been long we had this kind of peace of mind and joy following all these wars and threats ever since I became queen.