Epilogue

Epilogue
The Rise Of The King
-Vera-
“Are you ready?” Noah asks, peeking into the bathroom.
I smile at him.
“Ready.”
I take one last look at myself in the mirror and smile, feeling giddy inside.
It’s finally happening. What we had all been patiently waiting for and worked for for the last two years is finally coming true.
For the first time in history, all the prominent werewolf clans and the lycan king are meeting to formally sign a peace treaty which will allow for the opening of trade routes between both territories. But this goes way beyond mere economics; this meeting today will guarantee that all borders stay open, now and forever, so werewolves and lycans can live in harmony and collaborate with each other.
Getting to this point hasn’t been easy.
After the fight against the Witch Mother a little over two years ago, Noah earned the respect of not only the Dark Moon clan, but the Goldmoon’s as well. It turns out, while Noah and the rest of the guys were planning my rescue, Ezra had left lycan territory without anyone knowing and travelled back to my home in search for Sofia. He knew that, even with all the warriors Noah was able to gather, the effort would still fall short if it came to fighting witches. After all, he witnessed himself the power and destruction one could cause, let alone an army of them. Once Sofia heard of what happened, she reached out to all the pack houses in order to save me.
Only the Goldmoons answered.
A loud, joyful squeal distracts me from my train of thought.
As we exit the bedroom, I notice Lucas coming down the hall with Ravi in his hands. Or rather, in the air, falling into his hands… several times. My heart stops as I see my son being tossed up in the air like a rag doll.
“Lucas…” I warn, my voice low.
“What?” Lucas turns to me innocently, temporarily taking his eyes off of Ravi.
On instinct, I take several steps forward just in case he misses him, but of course, Lucas catches him effortlessly… and throws him back up in the air.
“Lucas, I swear on the Goddess if you don’t quit it, I will kill you,” I threaten him, my eyes never leaving the squealing toddler.
“Oh, stop. He absolutely loves this,” Lucas protests.
And it’s true. I can feel how much fun Ravi is having, but I don’t care.
“Give him to me. Now,” I order Lucas.
“Party pooper,” he murmurs, holding Ravi in *one* hand and handing him to me.
“Actually, would you mind taking him to grandma? She wanted to have him while we were in the meeting,” Noah chimes in behind me.
I pout but nod, feeling the emptiness in my arms from not having held my son in days.
If Luna Irene was overjoyed when she met Noah, her grandson, who happens to look so much like Ellie, she was over the moon when she first held Ravi in her arms. In fact, when she found out I was pregnant she insisted on travelling back and forth to lycan territory to take care of me and the baby. Needless to say, whenever we visit the Goldmoons, my son becomes the main attraction. Not just for her, but for everyone else.
After coming to terms with what happened to Ellie, Alpha Silas and Luna Irene expelled Alpha Samael out of their territory. It turns out, only a few months ago, he had been challenged by his beta and beaten, meaning he had been exiled from his pack.
His whole ploy to align himself with the Goldmoons and attack the lycans was just a way for him to get himself new land and a new pack and he was using Ellie as a way to manipulate all of them. Because of my vision, however, they stopped all alliances with him and even contacted his Beta – now, Alpha Amos – and confirmed what they feared: it was well known that Samael abused Ellie regularly.
To this day, we don’t know what happened to him after he was exiled from his clan and expelled from the Goldmoon’s territory.
Noah takes a deep breath beside me. We had reached the door to the large meeting hall at my pack house, the Dark Moon pack.
“Hey,” I take his hand in mine and kiss its back, “you’ll be great. Remember they’re all already on board, today they just want to get to know you better.”
He smiles down at me, calming down a bit.
“I’m just glad you’ll be by my side,” he says, gently squeezing my hand.
I smile back at him and he takes a deep, steading breath.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
I nod, and he leads us both into the meeting where everybody stands up as we take our seats.
—
Once the meeting is over, Noah finally relaxes into his chair.
I, on the other hand, am so happy I can’t stop smiling.
The treaty has been signed.
Most, if not all of them, are actually excited to get to know lycan territory and lycan ways. Of course, I’m not at all surprised. The Goldmoons and the Dark Moons have spoken so highly of lycans, the rest of the packs are actually thrilled to interact with them freely. It’s to be expected considering the Allens and the Goldmoons are the highest regarded clans in werewolf society.
Noah sighs, releasing the very last bit of tension.
I smile at him.
“Alright, let’s go find our son before grandma decides to kidnap him forever,” he says, getting up from the chair.
My smile widens.
Finally.
Hand in hand, we both step into the corridor that leads to the courtyard where the celebratory dinner will be held. This is also where we will no doubt find Luna Irene micromanaging everything. She insisted she wanted to plan this dinner for her grandson.
When we step into the open courtyard, people are already pouring in and grabbing glasses of either wine or beer.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice someone coming towards us.
It’s Alpha Silas.
When he’s right in front of us, I politely bow my head to him and let go of Noah’s hand, stepping to the side. Alpha Silas smiles down at me.
The way Alpha Silas looks at Noah warms my heart. There’s something about his gaze, something about the way he speaks to him, that reminds me of my own father. Alpha Silas looks at Noah as if he were his own son; as if they had known each other all of Noah’s life. I can feel his love, admiration, and respect every time they’re together.
It was weird for Noah at first, of course. He had people he called family before, but now, he can actually feel a sense of belonging. Even if the time they have known each other is relatively short, they all absolutely adore him, none more than Luna Irene and Alpha Silas.
Alpha Silas has even cleaned up his act and after years of taking to the bottle, he’s finally sober.
“Ah, there you are!” Luna Irene catches me staring at Noah and Alpha Silas at a distance, not wanting to interrupt their exchange. I turn to her. She’s holding Ravi in her arms, my son fast asleep.
“Could you hold him? I’m running around like crazy and I wouldn't want to wake him.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Of course, I can hold my son. In fact, it’s about time she returned him to me.
Ravi wakes up ever so slightly as Luna Irene hands him to me, but as soon as he senses it’s me, he smiles and goes back to sleep with a warm smile. She kisses his forehead and leaves.
I turn to look at Noah and Alpha Silas one last time before going to our table. They’re talking and laughing, Alpha Silas occasionally putting his hand on Noah’s shoulder. It fills my heart with joy to see both of them so content… so at peace.
Walking towards our table, I take a seat next to Noah’s designated seat. Soon after, Charlotte comes to sit with me with her very own sleeping kid.
“You too, huh?” She says as she takes a seat.
I smile at her.
“Hey! How are you feeling?” I ask her.
“Very pregnant,” she says with tired eyes.
Charlotte is currently expecting her second child after having a very successful first pregnancy. It turns out, humans are, for the most part, not capable of carrying a lycan baby to term without putting their lives in serious danger; by the end of their pregnancy, their child is much too powerful for them, specially because the mothers have already spent months of energy on the baby’s development.
With Dr. Owens, we decided to give Charlotte regular transfusions towards the end of her pregnancy and several vitamins and minerals to help her regain her strength. The blood transfusions were particularly necessary because she inexplicably kept losing blood and it was the cause of her overall weakness. Regardless, Dr. Owens monitored her throughout her pregnancy and ultimately decided to deliver the baby via c-section before it came to full term.
That ended up being the trick: not allowing the babies to get to full term. Delivering them only a few weeks before their due date lowered maternity mortality rates significantly, and after extensive research, it turns out lycan babies are so resilient, it doesn't affect them at all.
Everything worked out wonderfully. She now has a beautiful, healthy almost three year old and the best part is, Ethan lost his fear of having children with Charlotte.
In fact, Charlotte is the reason why Dr. Owens decided to move to lycan territory and help me establish the clinic. He couldn't believe the maternal mortality rates were so high and made it his mission to change it.
“Oh, Goddess, Vera, I totally forgot,” Charlotte says, leaning closer to me and whispering, “I have some juicy gossip about our favorite doctor friend.”
There’s a mischievous glint in her eye.
While Charlotte was pregnant and Dr. Owens made it his mission for both her and her baby to come out healthy and strong out of that pregnancy, Charlotte and Dr. Owens became incredibly good friends. To this day, Charlotte is still Dr. Owens’s right hand when it comes to the administration of the clinic.
In fact, the clinic in lycan territory was used as proof that not only can lycans, werewolves, and humans coexist, but they can in fact thrive together.
I lean closer to her. This outta be good.
“Remember that lady you told me he met here? What was her name?”
“Amelia?”
“Amelia! Right. Well, guess who’s been coming to visit him at the clinic lately?” She says with a twinkle in her eye.
I gape at her.
“No,” I mouth.
“Oh, yeah,” she says, giggling.
“No way!”
“And I think it’s quite serious. I always know when she visits because his mood changes dramatically; he even sings in the office.”
As if sensing that we are talking about him, I see Dr. Owens enter the courtyard, his eyes landing on Charlotte and myself immediately. Also just in cue, Amelia comes in looking quite beautiful in a simple white wrap dress. Dr. Owens can’t help himself; he smiles from ear to ear the minute he notices her. They greet each other rather formally, but their demeanor takes on a whole new meaning due to Charlotte’s revelation.
I smile as he turns back to look at me, raising my eyebrows up and down at Amelia and him. He narrows his eyes at me, silently daring me to say something. I put up my hand, yielding immediately, and he and Amelia walk away, hand in hand.
“Oh boy, they’re holding hands. It’s serious serious,” Charlotte says beside me and we both explode into a fit of giggles.
“What’s so funny?” I hear someone beside me.
Sofia has come to sit beside me and Charlotte fills her in.
Shocked, she looks at Dr. Owens and Amelia in the distance.
“There’s no way,” she says, incredulous.
“Oh, they’re holding hands beneath the table. It’s the real deal,” I tell her.
“Who would’ve thought that old man still had it in him,” she says, laughing.
In front of us, Sofia’s kids are both playing with each other, running around and fighting each other to the ground roughly.
This last year that Noah and I have been coming to werewolf territory regularly, in part for Noah to connect with his family and for Ravi to see his great-grandparents; we also wanted to stay close to my friends and family here; mainly Sofia, Dr. Owens, and my dad. In this time, I have proven my suspicions right. Even if Sofia doesn't acknowledge it, both of her kids already have a very palpable Alpha aura. As they play now, I can see other wolves moving and making way for them without even seeing them, meaning they’re moving instinctively, guided by the kids’ auras.
I sigh, watching them move around the courtyard, destroying everything on their path and soiling their white outfits, causing Sofia’s forehead vein to pop.
“I swear, I can’t catch a break with these two,” she says.
“But you’re already trying for another one,” Charlotte points out.
“Don’t remind me,” Sofia says, downing her glass of wine in one gulp and standing up to go collect her little monsters.
I turn to Charlotte, about to ask her how the new vitamins that I prescribed her have been treating her, but her attention is elsewhere.
Ethan is making his way to us looking rather elegant in formal pants and a white dress shirt.
I feel Charlotte’s heart rate quicken.
After everything they went through with her first pregnancy and Ethan almost forcing Charlotte to give up the pregnancy, they came back stronger than ever, and Ethan is the best dad any kid could ever hope for.
“Evening, ladies,” he says.
I nod at him with a smile.
Ethan sits beside Charlotte, taking their son, Tom - named after Charlotte’s father -, from her arms so she can rest from holding him. Then, he proceeds to put one hand on Charlotte’s swollen belly to try and feel for a kick.
“Any word on the sex yet?” Ethan asks me.
I turn to look at Charlotte’s belly. It’s been very clear to me for quite some time now that their baby is a baby girl. I can see a cerulean, pink and faded green aura emanating from Charlotte’s womb, but I can also sense the baby’s caring and loving nature.
“Don’t even think about it, I said I didn't want to know and I mean it,” Charlotte says, shaking her head.
Ethan laughs.
“Fine, Fine! But if it’s a girl, I’m naming her Margaret,” he says.
“Over my dead body,” Charlotte seethes.
Margaret was apparently one of Ethan’s ex girlfriends and he’s found it hilarious to rile Charlotte up like this. It’s a dangerous game to tease a pregnant woman like that.
As Ethan and Charlotte keep engaging in their conversation, I take a good look around, taking in the entire scene.
Lycans, werewolves, and humans sharing together in a celebratory dinner, the first of many more to come.
Off to the distance, I even see Sadira engaging in conversation with Council Member William, or should I say, ex Council Member William.
After Noah officially dissolved the existing Council, not without paying them handsomely for their service, he formed a new Council, now rather referred to as a Committee, including Sadira and William and some other valuable members of lycan society. With Sadira on board, the rogues were given a proper voice and taken care of, many even becoming warriors for Noah later on.
Not only that, but now the lands that had been taken over and had been left unproductive, are thriving with life. Entire new towns have formed, now with more advanced agricultural technologies and far superior education, causing the lycan kingdom to boom with life and prosperity.
Even the Houses have had no other choice but to adopt the new tendencies and have started operating more as business men and women rather than useless aristocrats.
Ravi stirs in his sleep, waking up momentarily only to look up at me; his bright, caramel colored eyes staring at me lovingly. I stare back at him, putting my forehead on his and closing my eyes.
He sighs contently after a few moments, lowering his head on my chest once again to continue sleeping.
I gently rub my hand up and down his back, providing some extra warmth in this cold night.
Looking back at my imprisonment at the hands of the Witch Mother, it’s hard for me to believe that this is my life now. For several days back then, even weeks, I genuinely thought I was going to die, and Ravi along with me. In fact, in the end, the only reason why we didn’t die is because this little one already had such a powerful will to live, and to save me, that it ended up saving us both.
When the Witch Mother technically killed me by absorbing my essence, Ravi quite literally gave me a piece of his essence, according to my aunt and grandmother, in order to save me. Now, I have a piece of him with me always; my left eye changed from green to a bright caramel color instead. It didn't make sense until Ravi was born and we realized that it was the same as his own eye color; this was the proof of what he did for me. Even then, though, the love and connection I feel for and with my son is beyond any type of love I ever thought of experiencing.
It makes me emotional just thinking about it.
The rest of the night goes on without a hitch. Everyone is incredibly happy after signing the peace treaty and we all now look at the future with eagerness and hope.
“Hey,” Noah comes to sit with Ravi and I. He places his hand on Ravi’s back, smiling, “I got word from Eli that Elden and Cassia are on their way back to the Castle already.”
I frown, a little surprised.
The only reason why Elden and Cassia aren’t here with the rest of us, is that upon coming back to the Castle and recovering, I mentioned to Elden and Cassia that in one of my visions, there was an enormous library in the Witch Castle. Both of their eyes lit up and shortly after, they started organizing trips to the Witch Castle and recovering as many books as they could with the help of the scholars.
“Did something happen?” I ask.
“No, nothing happened, but apparently they already recovered all the books they could. It’s going to take them years to translate them,” Noah says.
“I mean, it already took them two years to recover all of them,” I point out, “what’s a few more years to finally get to read them?”
A few moments pass as Noah and I keep talking. He tells me how Eli could possibly have found a love interest, that he would never admit to of course, but Noah can’t help but pester him about it, as well as everyone else in the Castle. For some reason, I have the burning suspicion that it’s a wolf.
Just as I’m about to ask him who he thinks it is though, I instinctively turn my head up to look at the moon. It’s a full moon and it just reached its highest point in the sky. My eyes glaze over and everyone’s auras explode all around me, dancing in the moonlight. Even the moon itself is shining brighter for me, an iridescent aura swirling all around it.
Ravi stirs, waking up and turning his head up, too.
*It’s time,* my grandmother says.
I smile and turn to Noah, who’s already noticed that my eyes have turned white.
“Is it time?” He asks.
I nod, standing up and handing Ravi to him. Ravi looks up at his dad adoringly, and I turn to leave.
Reaching the end of the courtyard, I turn back one last time and smile, feeling the joy, hope, and excitement everyone is feeling collectively, and smile. Then, I bare my feet, entering the forest and feeling what I now know to be my dad’s presence all around me, welcoming me.
I walk slowly, reveling in the feeling of home that this place has always given me, provoking in me a bittersweet feeling.
After walking for about thirty minutes, I reach my destination.
Jade Waterfall.
I smile as the green jewels shine bright before me, dancing against the moonlight and welcoming me.
Taking a deep breath and with tears starting to form in my eyes, I step into the pool of water until the water reaches my hips, as I once saw my dad do.
*You’re finally ready, my dear,* my grandmother says.
I nod.
After the Witch Mother took my essence, it’s taken me two years to fully get my magic back. It’s taken me two years to finally do this.
I take a deep breath, steadying my feelings, even if my heart is slightly constricting right now.
*Remember what we taught you,* my aunt says.
I close my eyes and place my hands at the surface of the water, feeling my dad’s essence.
“Vera?” I hear, “is everything okay?”
In my mind, my dad is standing right in front of me, looking concerned.
“Hi dad,” I whisper, the first tear slipping down my cheek.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I assure him, “quite the contrary,” I tell him and look to my left.
He stares at me, puzzled, but follows my gaze.
Off to the side, I have summoned one of my dad’s memories of with my mom. They’re in the field, dancing together and twirling in the sunlit clearing. She was already pregnant with me at the time, so they were both being extra gentle.
“How did you…?” He asks, his eyes getting teary.
“It’s time you two reunite,” I say.
He turns to me with a frown, still confused.
“How… I can’t… Even if I… Even if I could, I could never leave you, what if…?” He stutters.
I interrupt him.
“There are no ‘what ifs’ anymore, dad. You deserve to get the happily ever after you never got. Mom deserves that, too.”
He stares at me for a while, still not convinced that this is the best idea. I’ve gotten to know him quite a bit these past two years; I know he won’t go.
So, I have to force him.
I take a deeper breath in, remembering what my grandmother and aunt taught me.
Twirling my hands in the water, I force my dad’s essence out of the emeralds. All of them. I can feel him resist it and it takes some serious effort, concentration, and magic to do this.
“Thank you... for everything,” I whisper with my eyes closed, tears now slipping freely from them.
After several moments, he stops resisting, and I am able to gather up all of his essence.
I raise my hands gently out of the water, lifting his essence up with them.
Then, I release him up to the night sky..
I open my eyes just in time to see it happen. The entire pool of water has become blindingly bright with a deep green color. Then, it slowly rises up in the air, and scatters like a million dragonflies flying away at the same time.
This is by far the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life. These last two years that I have become closer to my dad, it had become painfully obvious that he was …. sad. All this time that he had been looking after me, he still never stopped missing my mom.
And this is it.
From what my grandmother and aunt told me, where he’s going, I won’t be able to see him again, but they believe it will lead him directly to her, to whatever plane she’s in.
“Goodbye, dad,” I whisper, my hand going to my emerald pendant.
After a few minutes, I no longer feel my dad anywhere. Not in the forest, not in the water, not in my necklace, and my tears just can’t seem to stop falling.
After steadying myself, though, I turn back to leave the pool of water, noticing Noah and Ravi standing just within the tree line, watching me.
I smile, drying myself off with my magic and walking towards them.
Noah hugs me tightly.
“How do you feel?” He asks.
I take in his scent and his warmth for comfort. After a while, I separate from him and kiss Ravi on his cheek. He laughs, lifting up my spirits.
“We should go back,” I tell Noah, “I wouldn't want anyone to worry.”
He nods, turning to leave.
I turn one last time to Jade Waterfall, noticing it no longer has that vivaciousness to it anymore.
My lip quivers, but I smile instead.
When I turn back to the forest, following after Noah and Ravi, a gentle breeze caresses my hair, drawing my attention.
*With you, always.*
I gasp.
Quickly I turn around to look at the waterfall, just in time to see two faint figures joyfully dancing around the clearing, carried gently by the wind and wrapped around in all the loose leaves that were on the floor.
An overwhelming sense of peace invades me and, just as quickly as the figures appear, they disappear.
But it’s okay, it’s all the proof I need.
I smile, my heart full and content, and turn back to where Noah and Ravi have stopped to wait for me.
I quietly approach them and Noah takes my hand and kisses me gently.
I smile at him, and hand in hand, with Ravi in Noah’s arms, we make our way back to the pack house.

The end.