Epilogue Five Years Later #2
“Do you ever miss it?” Selene asks suddenly. “The palace? Being a royal guard?”
I consider the question. “Sometimes. I miss you two. I miss the excitement.” I pause. “But no. Not really. I love my life now. I love waking up in Kieran’s arms. I love watching our children grow. I love the simplicity of it.”
“You’ve changed,” Astra says, and there’s no judgment in it. Just observation. “You’re softer now. Lighter.”
“I am,” I admit. “But I’m still a warrior. That never goes away.”
“Good,” she says fiercely. “Never lose that part of yourself.”
There’s a knock at the door, and Seth pokes his head in. “Is my mate being a good patient?”
“Terrible,” Selene says cheerfully. “I tried to escape twice already.”
He rolls his eyes but moves to her side, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Of course you did.”
I watch Seth and Selene together, the easy affection between them, and a warmth blooms in my chest. This. This is what we fought for. These quiet moments of love and laughter and peace.
My first family flashes through my mind—the brothers I will never see again, the parents who never loved me the way they should have. All that pain, grief, and loss.
But then, I think of what came after. Kieran. Our children. This family we’ve built from the ruins of our pasts.
Worth it. All of it was worth it.
Later that night, after we’ve put the children to bed in the guest wing, I find myself in the gardens with Astra. The moon is bright overhead, casting everything in silver light.
“How are you, really?” she asks, and I know she’s not asking about the pregnancy or the children or anything surface-level.
“I’m happy,” I say simply. “Happier than I ever thought I could be.”
She smiles, linking her arm through mine. “You deserve it. After everything you’ve been through. Everything we’ve all been through.”
We walk in silence for a while, just breathing in the night air, listening to the crickets and the distant sounds of guards changing shifts.
“Jaylene and Anson really hit it off,” I say eventually.
Astra groans. “Don’t. Lucian’s already talking about building a moat around her tower. And threatening to screen every boy who looks at her for the rest of her life.”
I laugh. “I’m not trying to matchmake. They’re four and five years old. I just want them to be friends. To be kids. To be happy.”
“I know.” She squeezes my arm. “And they will be. All of them.”
When I return to our guest chambers, Kieran is already in bed, reading a book by lamplight. He looks up when I enter and sets the book aside.
“Are they all asleep?” I ask, moving to check on the children one more time.
They’re in the adjoining room, all three of them curled up in one big bed even though we have three separate ones for them.
Anson has one arm slung over Bella, protective even in sleep.
Veer is starfished across the bottom, taking up more space than seems possible for such a small person.
My heart clenches. My babies.
I close the door softly and return to our room. Kieran watches me as I undress, his eyes tracking my movements with familiar heat.
“Are you happy?” he asks as I slip into bed beside him.
“You always ask me that.”
“Because I want to make sure. Every day.” He pulls me close, his hand settling over my stomach. “Are you happy, Daciana?”
I turn to face him, cupping his jaw. “I’ve never been happier.”
It’s the truth. The absolute truth.
He strokes my cheek, his thumb tracing the curve of my cheekbone. “When we first met, I was determined to keep you at arm’s length, and you were determined not to let that happen. I’m glad.”
I smile. “To be honest, you seemed like a lot of trouble, but now you’re my trouble, and I’m glad.”
His eyes soften, and I see emotion flicker there. “I love watching you with our children. The way you are with them. So fierce and protective, but so gentle, too.”
“I’m still a warrior,” I remind him.
“I know.” His smile is soft. “But you’re also a mother. A mate. So much more than the woman who only knew how to fight.” His hand moves to my stomach again, pressing gently where our fourth child grows. “Should we stop after this one?”
I laugh. “You’re asking me that now? While I’m pregnant?”
“I’m planning ahead.” But there’s humor in his voice. “Four is a lot of children.”
“It is.” I cover his hand with mine. “Let’s get through this one first. Then we can talk about it.”
“Fair enough.”
He kisses me slowly and deeply, and I lose myself in it. In him. In this life we’ve built together.
When he falls asleep, his breathing calm, I stay awake a little longer. Thinking. Remembering.
My hand drifts to my stomach, and I feel the subtle flutter of life beneath my palm. Our fourth child. Another baby I never thought I’d get to have. A family I never thought I’d get to keep.
I think about my brothers—the two who survived, who Kieran managed to save from Celeste’s dungeon.
They’re building new lives. Learning to live without the parents we all lost. They’ve come to visit me once in these five years in the Snow Mountain Pack.
They act like uncles to my children. They’re strangers and family all at once, bound by grief and blood and the simple fact that we lived to tell the tales. But we focus on the family aspect.
I think about Astra, who went from nothing to queen. Who fought her way out of hell.
I think about Selene, who’s about to become a mother. Who heals with her hands and her heart. Who never gave up on any of us even when we gave up on ourselves.
We’ve all changed. All grown. All become more than we ever thought we could be.
And we did it together.
Kieran rolls over in his sleep, pulling me closer. His face is peaceful, free of the haunted look he used to wear. He has found peace, too. Finally. After centuries of searching, of losing, of suffering.
We’re both free now. Free of curses and prophecies and the weight of the past.
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of him. Pine and snow and something uniquely Kieran. Home. He smells like home.
Tomorrow, we’ll wake up early. Anson will probably try to find Jaylene again, much to Lucian’s horror.
Bella will explore every inch of the palace.
Veer will stick close to my side, observing everything with those wide, knowing eyes.
Selene will complain about bedrest. Astra will juggle being a queen and a mother and a friend.
And Kieran will hover over me, making sure I’m not overdoing it, his love so fierce and protective, it sometimes steals my breath.
It will be chaos. Beautiful, messy chaos.
And I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Because this—this—is what I fought for. What we all fought for. Not just survival, but a life worth living. Not just peace, but joy. Not just existence, but love.
I fought my way out of darkness and found light. Found family. Found purpose. Found myself.
Found everything.
My hand rests on my stomach, on this new life. On the future we’re building, one day at a time. One moment at a time.
Moonlight filters in through the window, and I smile, letting gratitude wash over me. For this man beside me. For the children sleeping in the next room. For friends who are more like sisters. For the life that once seemed impossible and now feels like destiny.
For all of it. Every single piece.
I close my eyes and let sleep come, Kieran’s arm wrapped around me, his heartbeat steady and strong against my back.
Tomorrow will arrive with all its chaos and laughter and love.
But tonight, I rest. I breathe.
I am happy. Whole. Home.
Finally, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.