EPILOGUE
LAILAH
Three years later...
“Trouble, we’re gonna miss it if you don’t hurry!” Parker said, tossing me over his shoulder and giving my ass a slap.
“Parker Jones, you put me down right now! What will people think if they see someone carrying me around like a caveman?” I laughed, pushing myself up so I didn’t get a face full of his ass, even if it was a nice ass.
A snicker had me glaring at Micah who was watching all this and doing nothing about it. “Sorry, Cookie Monster, I’m not going to be any help. You know how he gets about things like this.”
“He knows we aren’t going to miss it, right?” Hudson asked, frowning. “The whole event is ten days long, and we arrived only two days into Carnival.”
“Just be thankful he isn’t making us wear the costumes until later,” Jay muttered. “We need to put limits on what you can choose to do for your birthday.”
“Bro, you made us all go skydiving for yours last year.” Brayden laughed. “Since we know how short life can be, the agreement was all of us live life to the fullest, and this was part of celebrating life and all.”
Upon hearing Brayden’s words, Parker set me down so I could go to him, wrapping my arm around his waist in a half hug.
He kissed the top of my head, returning my hug and letting out a contented sigh.
Even though it’d been three years since we faced down the Dark Lord, all of us carried scars from it that would take a lifetime to heal.
The first thing we did after that fight was to fly back to Wisconsin, where we spent the whole summer playing and enjoying our new lease on life.
No longer tied to the Elementi in the same way, we needed time to decide what we wanted to do with our lives.
Jay inherited his father’s military company, and he decided that instead of keeping it what it was, he was going to join forces with Parker and create an international security company.
They downsized the operation, and no longer worked alongside the Elementi, setting out on their own path.
The surprise was Hina was their biggest customer, helping her beef up the security for her shipping company.
With Makoto gone, Jay finally had the relationship with his mother he always wanted and she was a delight to have as a mother-in-law.
Hudson was now working on his medical projects, trying to find new inventive ways to save people’s lives through research.
Things with his father were still rocky, but he kept trying.
Somehow, we managed to convince his father and ex stepmother to let us spend time with the twins.
This past Christmas they came to spend a week with us in our Wisconsin home.
We also had Brayden’s family there too with all his siblings, enjoying time together.
It was a blast having everyone from our families at our lake house, playing in the snow and warming up with hot chocolate.
Brayden was our ecowarrior, working tirelessly to find ways to protect our earth and make it accessible to everyone. It’d been fun to see him blossom into his own person, free from the expectations of being an Elemental Warrior. His parents were even collaborating on some things with him.
Micah’s transformation was the most surprising, now that his aunt was no longer connected to his life in any way.
His mind for business was astonishing, and he took a real hands-on approach to helping this small country he basically owned.
While Hudson, Parker, and Jay finished up school at Ryevick, Micah and I spent some time exploring his kingdom, as I affectionately like to call it.
Micah didn’t really want to go back to school, and I decided that I didn’t either, feeling that what I wanted in life couldn’t be found in a degree from a fancy school like I once thought.
Parker did in fact buy the bakery from Ann, but after he explained his reasoning behind it, I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the idea.
So now I was learning everything I could from her since I would be taking over the company when she retired.
Getting lost in the kitchen covered in flour, trying out new recipes, was exactly what made me the happiest woman in the world.
Of course, Parker loved that he could be the taste tester on all my new ideas.
Unfortunately, he loved everything that I made so he was no help.
“Guys, I realize you want to enjoy the sights and all but we really will miss something important if we don’t hurry,” Parker begged, giving me puppy dog eyes.
Accepting defeat, I tossed my hands up in the air. “Fine, lead the way. We’ll keep up.”
Parker led us to where the stadium-sized bleachers were erected so we could watch the parade.
Around us people were shouting, dancing, drinking, and living life like they might die tomorrow.
Parker had gotten us a reserved space with prime viewing of the parade.
When I wasn’t moving fast enough, Parker dragged me to the front of our little seating area, settling his hands on my hips as he kissed my neck.
I could feel the excitement oozing out of him and I just couldn’t figure out what it was stemming from.
We’d promised each other that even if life got busy, no matter what, we would all be together for whatever the birthday boy or girl wanted to do.
Sometimes, it was trips like these or doing an activity like skydiving with Jay.
None of us could back out of it. We all had to experience it together, building forever memories before something came up in life that would prevent us from going on adventures.
The floats for the parade were out-of-this-world insane and the most amazing thing I’d ever seen.
Anything and everything might appear on a float but when the next one rounded the corner, I gasped.
The float had five people standing in a circle holding hands with another person in the middle of it.
Each of the figures was covered in flowers that matched the five elements, while the middle figure was covered in gold glitters and sparkled like the sun.
On the side of the float was written, Synergy, the power to change the world as we know it.
Gaping up at Parker, I felt tears flood my eyes. “It’s amazing, but I don’t understand?”
Parker just grinned and used a hand on my jaw to turn my attention back to the float. There was an explosion of light as sparklers burst into flames, etching out the words, Three Years into Forever.
“I told you I would never stop repaying you for saving my life, or have you doubt how much I love and treasure you,” Parker reminded before capturing my lips in a searing kiss. “Happy anniversary, Trouble. I’m beyond blessed to have you as my wife.”
“I love you so much,” I said with a sniffle, trying to hold back my tears.
“Alright, we let you have the big reveal for your birthday. Now hand over our wife so we don’t look like assholes who didn’t do anything,” Micah grumbled.
Laughing, I was swept up in the rest of them, getting showered in love and kisses.
When we gave up being Elemental Warriors, it meant we gave up everything connected to it, along with our Bond.
So we decided that the first order of business was to have a wedding.
Legally, I was married to Micah, helping to ensure we both held the majority of his business to prevent anyone from messing with it.
On that magical day though, I’d married them all, each of us giving our vows to each other, regardless of what the marriage license said.
It had been a small affair with our close friends and family in Bali so we could all enjoy the trip together and relax.
“This is amazing, you guys. I don’t think it could be more perfect.” I sighed contentedly, wrapped up between Jay and Brayden as we toasted our anniversary.
“Bitch, you better not say that when I flew all the way out here to spend time with you!” Cami’s voice cut through the noise.
Whirling on my heel, I spotted my best friend and her wife, Maggs, grinning at me. I let out a squeal of delight as I rushed to hug them. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you tell me you wouldn’t be able to make it?”
Cami also left everything to do with the Elementi, and her sisters gave her their blessing. Maggs worked with Parker on his side of the company, while Cami worked with Jay training all of our security. It was amazing to have her always around and part of our lives, adding to our family.
“Seriously, that’s a stupid question. I’m always around for big moments.” Cami scoffed. Maggs elbowed her with a glare that had me raising a brow.
Maggs was normally the laid-back one out of the two. “Am I missing something?”
“Sorry, it’s the hormone treatments. They’re making me crazy,” Maggs apologized.
They’d been trying for a baby the past year and so far hadn’t had any luck, but they were far from giving up hope. “I’m sorry, girl, a normal cycle is rough. I can’t imagine getting injected with more. Do they think it will work though?”
Maggs and Cami looked at each other with an odd expression before Cami seemed to burst with excitement. “Oh hell, I was gonna wait because I didn’t want to steal your big moment, but I can’t do it. We’re having a baby!”
“Wait, seriously?” I cried, tugging Cami into a bear hug before doing the same to Maggs. “I’m so excited for you both. This is going to be so amazing. You guys will be the best moms!”
Maggs placed a hand on her belly and looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe it’s really happening.” I gave her another tight hug and stepped back, clapping my hands.
“So, Lala, when are the boys putting a bun in your oven?” Cami asked, wagging her brows. “You know it has to be soon. Our kids need to be best friends.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at the guys.
The excitement and heat in their eyes told me it was time to open it up for discussion.
“We’ll see. I’m not making any promises.
It would be a huge life change for us and it’s only been three years of freedom.
Kids will happen eventually and I know no matter what, they will become the best of friends like their mothers did. ”
“Fine, be that way, but don’t think this is the end of this discussion,” Cami grumbled.
The rest of the night was filled with so much love and fun I thought my heart would burst. If I’d known what awaited me when I received that acceptance letter from Ryevick, I don’t think I’d change a thing.
We went through hell and back. Literally.
But the outcome was more than I could have ever dreamed of.
My life now was well and truly blessed with people I loved and who loved me in return… What more could you ask for in life?
* The End *