Chapter 76 #2
“Don’t worry about us,” Beckett says, sniffling as he tries to sound strong. I release Emitt and this time he goes to his mate, who clings to him the moment he’s in reach. “You live your life and have a good time out there. I want stories for days next time I see you.”
Isabel laughs, wiping her cheeks. “You got it.’
We all hug her again, barely managing to let her go before we watch her slip into the waiting car.
Our best warriors will take her to the Academy and make sure she’s all set before making the journey back home. Isabel wouldn’t be back until she quit or graduated, and the latter could take any amount of time in the Academy. But I wasn’t worried about her. Isabel was a powerhouse.
We wave to her as she crosses the borders, and don’t stop until her disappears behind the trees.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Beckett murmurs, staring down the empty road.
“It’s for the best,” Julian says firmly as he wipes his tears. “She’ll thrive out there.”
“That’s a fact,” I confirm—right as Damon makes a shrill sound that steals all our attention.
Julian’s there first, and Emitt’s at his side in a heartbeat, his green eyes growing wide with anticipation.
“Okay, you can go,” he says, grinning at Levi with a wave.
“Are you sure?” Julian says, already halfway into a guild spiral as he lifts Damon up. “We can—”
“Julian, it’s your and Aiden’s birthday,” Emitt cuts in snappily. “We’re babysitting while you guys celebrate. Shut up and get lost.”
My brows shoot up and I wait for Julian to snap, but he just rolls his eyes and relents.
Apparently, the two of them had gotten closer over the last few months, but I wasn’t exactly sure when or how it happened.
I was grateful either way—mainly because I no longer had to deal with Emitt’s creepy puppy-dog eyes.
“Enjoy the night with Emitt,” I tell Levi, ruffling his hair before I shift my gaze to the baby in Julian’s arms. “And behave.”
Damon’s eyes grow wide, as if he doesn’t know what I’m talking about, but we all know how mischievous he can be.
“We’ll pick them up around seven,” Julian says, carefully handing Damon over to Beckett.
Those blue eyes shift with anxiety before his face crumples, and he reaches for Julian, already crying, until Beckett directs one of his tiny fingers towards his closed eye.
Giggles replace his tears as he pokes the closed socket, always so giddy to poke.
Shaking my head, I grab our picnic bag from where it hangs on the stroller and he grabs his “secret” one, making my eyes narrow. Jewels just winks before grinning at the others.
“We’ll see you later,” he says to Levi, and he nods before attaching himself to Emitt’s leg.
It was still hard to separate from the kids—but it was easier doing it with our best friends, especially since Levi trusted them. Hand in hand, Emitt leads the way, and Jewels and I quietly watch them all walk away.
The second they’re out of earshot, I grab Julian’s hand and make a dash for it.
“Goddess!” he shouts, stumbling after me as I drag into the woods. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve got something planned,” I say, glancing back with a grin that grows as I watch Julian’s hair bounce around him while he struggles to hold onto the gift and his bag in the other hand.
“Don’t try and figure it out, because you will,” I warn. “As a matter of fact, you should close your eyes.”
“Where’s the blindfold?” he teases, and I snort.
“Damon should never be given anything to hold, is all I’m saying.”
Julian laughs as we dart between the trees.
We run like pups, jumping over thick roots and dodging low branches while we race through this land that’s all ours. No just Julian’s or mine anymore, but ours. Sweet summer air clings to me, and I inhale it greedily.
We’re close now, and I slow us down, savouring the familiar walk through the overgrown grass until the willow tree comes into view—that one that holds one of my most precious memories with Jewels.
“I have to set it up myself this time?” he teases as we walk closer.
“I’m not giving you a planet or anything, so I figured that I didn’t need it to be all romantic this time,” I reply, making him laugh as we come to a stop beneath the tree.
We set up our picnic for the afternoon, taking our time laying out our blanket and food. I make sure my gift is ready before I sit down. Julian slides Isabel’s gift between us, and I struggle not to immediately snatch it up.
“Should we open it?” I ask. “I’m dying to know what it is.”
“Go for it.”
Julian barely hands it over before I’m tearing the wrapping paper off like a child on Christmas morning. I’m already grinning from ear to ear, but it softens when the paper falls away. It’s a photo album. The cover’s simple—just a few words scrawled in cursive.
“Julian and Aiden: Their Journey,” Julian reads, leaning over my shoulder to peel the first page open.
We both fall silent. It’s us—but tiny. Barely the size of a wolf’s paw, curled up next to each other in an old crib, fast asleep. I’m swaddled in grey, Julian in blue.
“I haven’t seen this in years,” he whispers at my side. “You were so chubby.”
I snort. “I think this is one of the only pictures that exists without us fighting.”
I turn the page, and we’re a little older here, bathing in a tub with me trying to shove Julian underwater. I chuckle, and Julian scowls.
“You know, that made me afraid of swimming for years,” he whispers, making me fight against another laugh.
“My bad,” I say, flipping to the next page, and I immediately wish I didn’t.
In this one, I’m dangling from a tree by my underwear, wedgied within an inch of my life. Now he’s the one snickering.
“Some of my best handiwork,” he mumbles and I shove him.
Still laughing, he drapes himself back over my shoulders, and we keep flipping through the album filled to the brim with pictures of us growing up.
We really are fighting in every single one, and the pattern doesn’t break until pictures of last year surface, right after we found out we were mates.
The shift is captured through a picture of us walking together, faces downcast, yet we’re still holding hands.
“Oh my Goddess,” Julian gasps, laughing behind his hands. “Is that what we looked like?”
“Apparently,” I mutter, chuckling at the scowl on my face.
The next one’s sweeter. We’re in school—Julian’s laughing at something I said, and I’m staring at him like he hung the damn moon.
My heart beats a little faster seeing the way I look at him.
With each picture, my heart melts as the memories resurface, presenting moments Isabel somehow captured without us even knowing.
“There’s one more,” I say as I turn the last page. The world slows.
Julian is standing outside the pack house with Damon in his arms. They’re both focused on me. I’m grinning at them, my hands up to keep Levi on my shoulders. His hands are in my hair like he’s steering me.
“When did she …” Julian begins in a whisper that never ends as we stare at the picture of us, of our little family. Our whole damn life.
There’s a folded piece of paper tucked behind the photo and I slip it out, finding Isabel’s familiar writing.
When I first heard you two were mates, I was secretly going ballistic. I knew from the start it’d work out. There’s a very fine line between love and hate, and you guys have been dancing on it for years.
It’s been a pleasure watching you two become one of the most beautiful pairs of mates I’ve ever seen. I can only hope that one day I can be as happy as the two of you are.
Happy Birthday, guys.
Yours truly,
Isabel
“She’s amazing,” Julian whispers as I close the book. “I hope she finds her mate.”
“She will,” I say firmly, and when Julian nods, I lean over to press a kiss to his forehead. “So,” I add as I pull back, “what did you get me for my birthday, Mr. Heil?”
“Me,” he answers, turning my smirk into a glare that makes him snort. “I’m kidding. It’s here.”
Julian crawls over to his secret bag and shuffles inside before he pulls out a large cylindrical case. It almost looks like a Bodkin case. He shuffles back over and pops it open and pull out a rolled-up sheet of paper.
“Wow! You got me … paper,” I say, feigning enthusiasm.
He smacks me with the case.
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!”
“This is serious,” he says, settling on his knees and clinging to the paper. “A couple of years back, I did something horrible to you. I regret it now, and I don’t think I would’ve done it if I knew how much it would hurt you.”
“I mean the laxatives sucked, but I got over it,” I reply with a shrug.
“Not that,” Julian groans as he shifts. “I’m talking about when I burnt down your art room.”
My mood plummets, and he sees it. “I did it because I knew how much you loved the place and how much time you spent in there,” he rattles quickly. “I wanted to hurt you.”
My jaw tightens. “Julian—”
“Just let me finish,” he pleads.
I’m weak to him, even now. I nod.
“When I was pouring gasoline,” he continues, “I got to this one piece near the end that made me stop.”
His fingers tighten around the paper, and my heart leaps for one wonderfully horrible second. It’s canvas paper—I can tell now—and my heart starts hammering in my chest.
“I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life, and it almost made me stop the whole thing. But I’d already started and it was too late. I saved that one, though. For myself. And—”
“Julian, you didn’t!” I lunge, snatching the painting from his hands.
I unravel it fast, and nearly drop it when I see what it is.
“Oh Goddess,” I rasp, tears stinging my eyes fill.
“I was digging through the attic in my parents’ old house a few months ago, and I found it,” he says while my eyes rove over the painting I tried so desperately to remember. It’s even better than I remembered, and fuck, I really was good.
“Back then, I thought it was just a good painting of some pretty cottage, but it isn’t,” he says with a weak smile when I look at him. “This is the home you built out there.”
“It was the design piece,” I admit with a nod. “When I started playing around with the idea of building something there, I painted this. It was my safe space. What I wanted that to look like.”
A familiar meadow lays in the foreground, sunlight pouring through glass panels of a minimalist structure nestled between trees. It’s beautiful and just like what I created. I can hardly bear to set it down, but I force myself to so I can look at my amazing mate.
“I can’t believe you kept it,” I say.
Julian shrugs, eyes soft. “I couldn’t let it go.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, pulling him into a fierce hug. “Seriously. Thank you.”
“I’m happy you like it, even though it’s yours and I’m just giving it back,” he chuckles awkwardly, making me laugh as I roll it back up and put it away carefully. “Now for me!”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to top that,” I say, digging into the front pocket of my bag.
“It doesn’t matter,” he declares readily, beaming with excitement that tells me it does.
Julian might not know it, but he’s a complete sucker for gifts. Luckily for him, he has a mate who loves giving them to him.
“Close your eyes and count down from five,” I instruct while I fit the box behind my back. “Open them when you’re done.”
Julian shuts them and starts counting as I pull my hand around. I turn it to him and open it right when he reaches one. Blue eyes I’ve known all my life pop open.
They land on what I’m holding, and freeze. His eyes fill with tears, and when they lift to mine, I almost forget what I’m supposed to say.
“Julian Heil,” I start, voice shaking. “You’ve been a pain in my ass since day one and I always wanted you gone. You were the annoying Batman to my Joker, and I couldn’t stand you.”
He chokes on a laugh, eyes shimmering.
“But then I found out we were mates, and I stopped seeing you as my enemy. It was bumpy. I fought it. I didn’t want to love how it felt to touch you, or how it felt when you said my name—but I did. I loved every little thing you did.”
His lip trembles.
“I loved how you’d come sit with me to watch a show at night, how our hands would touch a little by accident, how you looked at me when we woke up.
When we went to sleep.” I smile, tears slipping free.
“When you would wake me up with a kiss, how you’d always cook my favourite meals, and worry about me when I wasn’t at my best.
“I started loving all of it. All of you. Until one day, I just fell in love with you. And I have loved you every day since.”
Julian’s whole face is crumbling, and still somehow, he’s never looked more beautiful.
“I know not a lot of us do this,” I say, gripping the open box tighter, “but I want you in every way, Jewels. So I ask you now, Julian Heil … my old enemy, my best friend, my mate, the love of my life—will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Julian shouts, launching himself at me. “Yes! Yes! A million times over, yes!” My heart hammers against his as I hug him as tightly as I can and he screams above me.
“YES! I would love to marry you, Aiden Calderon.” His voice cracks with joy, and he kisses me so hard that I fall to the ground.
We laugh as he hovers over me with the widest smile I’ve ever seen, and as I look up at him, I feel whole.
I push the hair behind his ear as he looks down at me with those crystal-blue eyes that make me fall deeper in love every day, and that cute laugh that makes my heart beat a bit faster, that voice that makes me feel protected and that smile that lights up my entire world.
“I love you so much, Julian,” I whisper, just staring at him—my other half, my entire soul. The one who stood by me through it all and never once stopped loving me, even after what we’ve been through, all our fights, the rogues. He stood by me for it all.
“And I love you,” he whispers, lips shaking as he smiles down at me, “more than you could ever imagine.”
And I’m fucking sobbing. Because I can’t imagine life without him, and I don’t want to. In this perfect moment, I love him more than I can even comprehend, and I thank Goddess with everything I have, for giving me this. For giving me him.
The love of my life.
My one and only.
My soulmate.
My Jewels.