Epilogue 2
Aiden
Another six years later
“Didn’t I tell you to take out the trash, Damon?” I growl as I barge into his room to see him clicking away on his game console.
“I’m going to,” he grumbles, eyes glued to the TV.
“Now—or you’re losing the game for a week,” I growl.
Groaning loudly, Damon pauses the game and drags himself upright. His long hair swinging into his face like his dad’s.
“Using children as your own personal slaves. What has this world come to?” he mutters as he slips past me and stomps down the stairs.
I sigh, following after him, slipping into the kitchen where Julian’s prepping lunch, Peter tucked close to his side like always.
I swear to Goddess that child looked more like Julian with every passing day.
Same hair, same blue eyes, and identical face.
He looks like a child Julian had after he had sex with himself, not me.
“Hey,” Jewels calls when he spots me, “can you make sure the twins set the table properly?”
I nod and head for the living room, where the twins race around the dining table. Things are sort of in place, but I’m just relieved that nothing’s broken.
“Dad! Dad! Look, I did it!” Hagen shouts as he abandons a placemat to shake my leg with all his strength. He grins up at me with bright brown eyes. “And I didn’t break anything!”
“I see that, good job!” I say, patting his head while Josey quietly straightens the things he left crooked.
He tried to do so much but often failed or was off a little, but Josey was always cleaning up his mistakes before he could see them.
“We’re eating soon, so you guys clean yourselves up first.”
They nod and run to their room. The twins were thankfully obedient, just a little more prone to being distracted. All the kids were easy to take care of for the most part. Well, all except Damon, he was always more troublesome.
“Stop right there,” I say when I hear him slip back into the house. I step out of the living room just in time to catch him in his tracks.
“What can your loyal servant do for you today, your highness?” he asks as he folds his arms behind his back and dips low.
“Drop the attitude, kid,” I say with a wave. “We’re eating soon so I want you down in ten. If you behave, maybe I’ll take you out for a hunt after we eat.”
Damon’s entire face lights up. Hunting with everyone else meant game in the woods, but with Levi and Damon, it meant rogues.
“For real?” he asks, and when I nod, he grins with all his teeth. “Thanks, old man,” he says, patting my shoulder before he dashes up the stairs.
“Stop calling me that!” I shout after him, but he’s gone and all that’s left is his laughter echoing after him.
Sighing, I slide my hair back from my face as I look around for the last of the bunch. His scent leads me outside, just in time to spot a glimpse of Caspar running out of the woods, his jet black fur easy to spot in the day.
Closing the front door behind me, I follow the big jaguar out to find his owner.
He’s in his usual spot, sitting beneath a large tree in our spot with his sketchbook in his lap.
In my eyes, I see the same little warrior who Julian and I saved, but now he’s eighteen.
Somehow, the years had just flown by with him, and now that little guy isn’t so little.
“That looks nice,” I say as I creep closer.
Levi glances up, his dark eyes heavy before he drops them again. “Thanks.”
I take a seat beside him and look out at the woods and the rest of the packlands from here. I sit with him in the quiet until he closes his book, and I know he’s ready to talk.
“Spit it out,” I encourage and he sighs.
“I don’t know what to do now,” he murmurs, running his hand through his hair that had straightened out over the years. “I finished high school. I’m eighteen, almost nineteen, with no mate, and I don’t know what I should be doing with my life.”
“I already told you, we’d support you going to college if you want to.”
“But then what happens after that?” he asks, frustration breaking up his stoned expression. “What do I do then?”
“I don’t know, kid,” I reply honestly as I look out at the view of the pack.
“I can’t tell you everything that comes next, only that you’ll figure it out when you get there.
So go to college with Sammy, do your art out there,” I say as I return my gaze to him.
“Or stay in the pack, work your way up in the ranks or join a circus and become a fucking clown, it doesn’t matter. ”
Levi laughs, and so do I as I slide a hand over his shoulder. “Do whatever makes you happy and then go from there. You get to decide.”
Levi’s expression turns thoughtful as he nods slowly, letting his lips tilt into a smile.
“Thanks, Dad,” he murmurs and at the sight of his owner’s happiness, Caspar comes racing from the woods to get to Levi, dutifully knocking me over in the process.
I groan as I roll over, spitting out dirt and twigs while the big cat rubs itself under Levi’s chin. “That jaguar is too possessive.”
“He’s loyal,” Levi corrects.
“Loyal my ass,” I grumble as I push myself to my feet. “Come on, you know how your Dad gets when we’re late for lunch.”
That gets Levi up on his feet in no time, and together we make our way back to the house, leaving the crazy cat outside when we slip through the back door.
“Smells good, Peter,” Levi says as we enter the kitchen and find him plating everyone’s food.
“Th-thanks,” he whispers in a barely audible voice.
I used to think Levi was shy, but I didn’t know the meaning of the word until we had Peter. I mean the kid was already a certified librarian; he never, and I mean never, talked. He was a sweet child, though, and cared for the family more than anything.
“Everyone to the table now!” Julian shouts as Levi and I help them take the food to the table.
The twins come scampering now, and Damon’s there with them, helping them into their seats before we all sit down to the table overflowing with food that’d be gone in seconds. But not just yet.
“Everyone, what are you thankful for?” Julian says first.
“I’m th-thankful for-for-for my family,” Peter stutters, his answer the same as always.
“I’m thankful for my big toe,” Damon tacks on with a snicker that becomes a wince when Julian kicks him under the table. “I’m kidding! Damn. I’m thankful for Levi.” Levi smiles at him and as always, Damon beams at his big brother like an angel.
“I’m thankful for food,” Josey says eagerly.
“I’m thankful for pizza!” Hagen exclaims like a warrior, making us all laugh.
“I know Peter already said it, but I’m thankful for my family too,” Levi says and the family bond warms immediately. All the kids knew he was adopted, but it didn’t make any difference to them. Levi was their big brother, and they all worshipped him.
“Well, I’m thankful for all my princes, and my one little princess,” Julian says as he shares a smile with each of them in turn before his eyes land on me, “as well as my king.”
My heart hammers in my chest as I smile at him from the other side of the table.
“You guys said it all, even covered the food part.” I say, making the twins giggle. “I guess most of all, I’m thankful for this.” I take a look around and my heart melts. “I’m thankful to be sitting here with all of you, together.”
When we first started having kids, Julian and I had been equally terrified to not be good enough for them, to fail them the way our parents failed us. But we were figuring it out and trying. Each and every day, we put our best foot forward, and now, we have this beautiful family to call our own.
“Can we eat now?” Hagen asks, breaking the silence.
Laughter descends from the rest before I nod, and everyone digs in like the savages they are. Peter’s the only one who followed Julian into his vegetarian madness, but he was a real one who didn’t break, not even for salmon.
“Dad and I are going hunting later. You’re coming right?” Damon asks Levi while he bites into a drumstick.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he replies, making Damon grin widen.
“Why can’t we go?” the twins ask in unison.
“Because we’re going to—”
“Because you’re not old enough,” Julian cuts in before Damon can say too much. They pout as they eat until Jewels adds, “But you’re old enough to watch Looney Tunes.”
Hunt forgotten, the twins cheer in excitement, and eat as quickly as they can to get their treat after.
“Why don’t you come too, Peter?” I ask, despite already knowing the answer.
“I-I’d rather not,” he whispers while he pushes around his rice.
“You need to get some sort of training in,” I argue while I try to catch his gaze. “You can’t just stay home reading all day.”
Peter winces, and I do too. I’d barely raised my voice, but it was enough to make him retreat into his shell.
“I’ll take him with me to my training session tomorrow,” Julian says instead, a compromise, but one that makes Peter break out into a cold sweat.
“Can I come?!” Damon begs, eager for any chance to fight. “Please! Please! Please!”
“No,” Julian dismisses quickly.
“Why not?!” he groans. “Peter doesn’t even want to go! He’s already shitting himself. Look!”
All eyes drift to Peter, who is in fact, looking a little green.
Julian leans over, sliding a hand over Peter’s. “Would I ever lead you wrong?” he asks quietly, his voice the calm thing that always breaks through to Peter when he gets like this.
“N-no,” he answers quietly.
“Then trust me,” Julian says, rubbing his shoulder gently.
Peter nods before he begins eating, and I smile at Julian when he glances at me. The two of them were very similar in many ways, and I guess that’s why he was able to help him in so many situations.
We eat while chattering, the table its usual cacophony of noise until all the food is done and the kids are pushing to their feet.
“Damon,” I say before he can escape, “you’re on cleanup today.”
“What? Why me?!” he protests while the twins run off.
“Because he said so,” Julian says, because he knows the reason.