Twin Moon - Chapter 299 - Epilogue Part 1
Zelena.
Grief is difficult. It's a hard feeling to navigate. With the addition of my bouts of guilt and regret, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to find my way through it. If I’m honest, I’m still working my way through it. Every new day is different from the last. It's strange really. One day I will be fine, filled with happiness and joy, enjoying my family and my life. The next, something as simple as hearing the term ‘Little One’ will set me off on hours of crying and wishing for things to be different. Grief is weird. It's true when people say that you never actually get over the pain, you just learn to live with it. Not being alone with my pain is a huge help. Gunner and I are both working through our grief. Everyone is really. Losing Cole, Tobias, and Aurora. Plus, Cleo and all the other fighters that sacrificed their lives. Those losses hit us all really hard.
Even with all that loss, we’ve gained a lot as well. Thanks to Aurora, the hunters are basically extinct. A special team of Were-hunters has been created to track down and stop the remaining hunter clans. All headed by my newly revealed cousin, the head of the Meļņasirds. Doyle is definitely not who we thought he was. He and the other Meļņasirds have shone a whole new light on the dangers of gossip. Oh, how the truth can be twisted and turned into that of a pretty fairytale. Or in his case, a nightmare. All these years, Doyle had been fighting to find and protect half breeds, and to help them realise their greatest capabilities. They aren’t all monsters like the stories have told. Alyse and Doyle are living proof. I’m glad he found us, I'm happy he told us the truth of his history. He has become a truly valued ally, and a strange addition to our family. The fact that Doyle and the other Meļņasirds are deadly assassins and have been demolishing the hunters from the inside out, well that’s just icing on the cake.
The prophecy really did come to fruition, not in the way I hoped, but in the best way possible way it could have. I may have lost Aurora in the end, a fact that still haunts me most days, but she left on her own terms. I can forgive her for that. Peace is in full effect in the Were world. One of our first acts as High Alpha and Triple Goddess was to install a Were council. They will help us keep the peace between the pacts. Laws have been voted in and disciplinary justices put in place. Warring between packs is quickly becoming a thing of the past. With the threat of a dragon’s wrath, the laws have been easily upheld. The whole dragon thing is still really weird for me. Gunner, Roe, Mum, and I have discussed it in great lengths, many, many, many times. The dragon was always a part of me, the initial connection came through my Drakos Mati gift. When Tobias gave up his life, giving his essence over to me, he unlocked the full potential of Selene’s dragon. Well, my dragon now, I suppose. I've only summoned it twice more since that day. I mean, a dragon, whoa-wee. It's kind of a huge deal, one that I haven’t fully come to terms with yet.
Life has been moving along so quickly. Nat has started her own family, with her and Lace welcoming a baby boy just a few months ago. I couldn’t be prouder of the woman she is becoming. She is a powerhouse Luna, a prized ally, and a respected voice to she-wolves everywhere. And now also a bomb-ass mother.
Tri-Moon is still healing. There is a lot of pain to unpack and loss to work through. It's been a huge few years for the once ‘secret’ pack. They are now the head of Were-kind, home to the leaders of an entire species, and the ground zero of the Moon Goddess’ prophecy. Tri-Moon is a celebrity in its own right. I rocked myself on the porch swing as I recounted all my favourite memories. Some bad, some good, but all of them are mine.
“That's enough roughhousing you two, time to pack it up” I yelled over to the twins. At three years old, they can now run circles around me. It's true what people say when they said ‘it takes a village’. Without my village Gunner and I would be swamped. The pack took the news of the twins well. Some were understandably cautious and concerned. After everything we have been through together as a pack, it makes sense that they would be wary. Others were overjoyed by the idea of two descendants. One to take over the throne of Alpha, and one to carry the line of the Goddess. Though to me, they are more than a future Alpha and a future Goddess, they are my heart and soul.
I laughed and rocked back on the porch swing. Watching a little girl in a pink dress with pigtails dominate a little boy nearly twice her size, it sure is a sight to behold. I chuckled and rubbed my hand over my swollen belly. This next month is going to drag out. I sat up a little straighter as I noticed Gunner closing in behind the twins. They hadn’t noticed him yet and were still preoccupied rolling around in the grass growling and grabbing at each other. Gunner got a few feet away and dove for them. He grabbed one toddler in each arm and rolled so that he landed on his back with them on top of him. Squeals of joy and laughter filled the air as the twins wrestled with their father. I love watching him with them. He is the best father, constantly showering them with love and affection. I couldn’t have asked for a better man to be my Mate.
I swung back on the porch and decided to let them have a few more minutes of playtime before their bath. A sharp kick slammed into my rib cage, and I grunted with the force of it.
“Ease up in there, peanut. Mummy isn’t a punching bag” I chuckled and ran my hands over the round of my pregnant stomach. The happy squeals got louder as Gunner approached with the twins on his shoulders. I stood up and shuffled over to the stairs.
“Where are my babies?” I cooed and held out my arms.
“Mumma” little Collette squealed as she launched herself into my arms. I caught her under her armpits and spun her around before pulling her into my chest. I kissed her nose and then gave her an Eskimo kiss. She giggled and grabbed my face then planted a slobbery kiss on my nose.
“Love you, Mumma” she babbled with a chubby cheeked smile.
“And I love you, my little princess” I cooed back. Collette kicked her feet for me to let her down, and I did. I watched her run through the open door while screaming out for Gran. Her wild and unsettled nature as a baby has transformed into an untamed and sassy toddler. She is strong and confident, just like the man we named her after. Cole would have been tightly wound around her little finger, jumping to her every need and demand. Just as Tobias was, just as everyone now is.
“Mumma?” Toby called softly. I sniffed and looked up at him with a bright smile. Gunner pulled him down from his shoulder and held him out in front of me. Toby has gotten a little too big for me to hold now, especially with the added weight of the giant child currently in my womb.
“You sad?” Toby sighed with a pout and wiped a stray tear from my cheek. I beamed at him and pinched his cheek.
“Not sad, baby. I’m happy” I told him and leaned forward to kiss his nose. He giggled and pushed my face away but held onto my cheeks.
“Happy?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
“Happy” I nodded and pouted my lips. He rubbed his little fingers over my cheeks and stared at me. Toby sees himself as my little protector. He is always so worried about my happiness. He growls at anyone who raises their voice with me. He pushes people to get them out of my way. Recently he has taken to hitting anyone that touches me, besides our family members of course. His protective instincts are rivalled only by that of his namesake. Tobias would be proud of the little force of nature that Toby is becoming.
“Ok” Toby chipped and jumped out of Gunner’s arms. He ran off into the house, also screaming for his Gran. I watched him go and sighed. They're growing up too damn fast.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
