Epilogue (Adeline and Killian)

Epilogue (Adeline and Killian)
Adeline's POV

"How come you didn't say something since?!" Lisa's sharp voice expressed our feelings perfectly.

I was on a video call with my friends, but now all our attention was on Cindy. She'd gotten married two years ago to a man she met in one of her travels after college. He loved her every bit as she deserved, so we'd all been so happy when she said that they were getting married. She asked us to be her bridesmaids, and we all happily took on the role. Now, she was calling to show us her swollen stomach.

Cindy's laugh poured out richly. "I knew that I was going to be ambushed like this."

"You deserve it." Zara said, her 'mom tone' slipping in. "Your stomach has grown this much, and none of us knew you were pregnant until now!"

"It's been a lot to process, okay? Between work, family and love life..." She giggled when she saw that we were all glaring at her. "Fine. I was kinda shy."

"I knew it!" I half-yelled. "There's nothing to be shy about. Beside, you're glowing."

"Truly." Lisa added, grinning from ear to ear. "You really look so good. It's obvious that you have a good sex life."

Zara and I facepalmed ourselves, as Cindy laughed. That was such a Lisa thing to say.

"Congratulations, babe. I'm so happy for you." Zara then said.

"Yes, congratulations. Now Alex is going to have an extra playmate." I said, making them all giggle.

"Alex already has a bunch of cousins and friends." Cindy said.

"It's never too much." The smile on my face was starting to ache now. "How many months gone are you?" I then asked, and all the girls turned to her with interest.

"Five."

"Five!" It was Lisa, her eyes bulging. "Looks like eight. You're definitely having twins. Or even triplets. Maybe quadruplets."

"Lisa!" The three of us yelled.

"What? I'm right. Look, she's smiling. She's knows I'm right."

We turned it Cindy again, and she let out an exasperated sigh, cussing Lisa out.

"Fine. It's twins."

"Oh my God, Babe!" Zara clamped her hands over her mouth. "I'm so happy for you."

Cindy giggled. "Thank you all so much. Now enough about me. Zara, tell me about that eye candy you're dating."

"Wow. You put me in the spot. Just like that."

The rest of our conversations went smoothly, with lots of laughter, squealing and cussing from time to time. Zara talked about her boyfriend. They'd been dating for three months now, and she was slowly falling in love with him. She also talked about the promotion she got at work, and how she was doing so well financially.

Lisa was the only one single. But she wasn't sweating about it. She was still busy, touring the world, meeting new people and pitching her new fashion brand. She was doing well too.

When I got with Killian, I worried that our friendship might fade with time. We were from different worlds, have different passions and living different lives. We no longer go to each other once anyone of us had a problem. No more frequent girls nights. But still...

Distance was the true test of friendship sometimes.

We found a way to make it work. We meet up once or twice a year and spend up to a week together. But I got to see Zara a little more, as she often visited Crescent wolves to see her sister and nephew. With everything keeping us apart, the love and fondness we had for one another only grew.

"I've got to go now. I need to kiss Alex goodnight."

Lisa gave me a dreamy stare. "Motherhood looks good on you, Addie."

My face heated and my cheeks flushed. "Thanks, I guess?"

"You're adorable." Zara added, making roll my eyes even as my blush deepened.

"Go meet your kid and mate." Cindy said, smiling at me. "Ignore these ones."

"I hope you grace us with your presence soon, your majesty." Lisa teased with a mock bow. She still went on with the notion that I was a Queen, and there was no use arguing with her. She was partly right anyway, if compared with the human world.

After I bid my friends goodbye, I walked to Alex's room.

"Let me put you to sleep, Lil' man." I stood by the door as Killian gently placed our one year old on his bed. He'd been playing for a while, and now he was exhausted. But there was still a bit of enthusiasm in his eyes as he stared at his father.

I gave birth to Alex after I officially took on the role of the Luna of the Nightshade pack.

Like Killian promised, he waited for me. There was no pressure at all. I walked at my own pace until I was ready to step into the role. And I was grateful for that.

I became Luna at twenty and had Alex at twenty two. Killian actually thought I was going to wait longer, so he was very surprised the moment I told him I was ready.

"Okay, Dada." Alex's sweet little voice reached deep within and did something to my heart.

Killian then opened the children's book he was holding and began to read a story from it. His voice was low, soothing and exactly what a child needed to hear before they go to bed.

"...and then, the knight defeated the dragon. The. End."

Alex was already fast asleep before he reached the ending. Killian gently covered him with his blanket, before placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Show off." I teased, and he turned to give me a smug smirk. He always put him to sleep easier than I did, yet I refused to give the duty up.

When he got up and walked to me, my heart leapt. Even after all these years, he could still turn my legs to jelly with one look.

"I'm very skilled," his thumb trailed my lower lip gently, showing me a glimpse of said skill. He then laughed when he noticed the slight change in my breathing. "Still the same."

I wrapped my hands around his neck. "You want me to change?"

He shook his head. "No. Never."

"So if I change, you'll stop loving me?"

"What?" A frown settled between his brows.

"That's what you're insinuating. You don't want me to change. You said 'NEVER'."

I saw the struggle in his eyes as he picked his next words carefully. "I mean, I love you just the way you are now. You're perfect. You don't need to change."

"And if I change?" His brows shot up. "Will you stop loving me?"

"How is that even an option? I will love every version of you. Even if..." His brows furrowed suspiciously. "You're messing with me."

I held my straight face for two more seconds before bursting into a full belly laughter. I had to leave the room in order not to wake Alex up.

He crossed his arms over his chest, a shadow looming over his face as he glared at me. I knew that I was in trouble, but I didn't mind.

"You're so silly. Why will you believe that I meant that?" I continued laughing. It was so endearing how he always fell for my taunts even though I've pranked him a thousand times.

His eyes darkened, but when he kept staring at me, he had no choice but be affected by the 'mate effect'. The frown on his face disappeared and a smile replaced it as he picked me up.

He lifted me easily, like I still weighed nothing at all, and I let out a quiet gasp as my back met the wall outside Alex's room. His forehead rested against mine, his breath warm, familiar, grounding.

"You enjoy torturing me," he murmured.

"Only a little," I whispered back, smiling.

His hands slid to my waist, steady and sure, like they always were. Like he always was.

His dark look melted, replaced by something subtle but still somehow intense. He leaned his face into my neck and his hands circled my waist completely. It took me an extra second to process the fact that he was hugging me. Tightly.

When he pulled back, his eyes were filled with love.

"Every time I look at you, I'm reminded of exactly how lucky I am."

My heart picked up a new rhythm, as he brushed his knuckle across my cheek so gently, I practically melted.

He always told me that he was lucky to have me even though I never quite saw it the way he did. I thought it was me who was lucky. But that's the beauty of the love we share—always seeing treasure where the other one saw what was ordinary.

He carried me away from the wall and into our bedroom, setting me gently on the bed like I was something precious. Like I always had been to him.

Outside, the pack house was quiet. Somewhere down the hall, a guard laughed softly. The wind brushed against the windows. Life moved on, steady and sure.

Killian lay beside me, pulling me into his chest, his heartbeat strong beneath my ear. Familiar. Safe. Home.

"I love you," he said, like it was a fact carved into the universe.
"I know," I replied, smiling. "And I love you too."
I thought of my friends—of Zara's laughter, Cindy's growing family, Lisa chasing her dreams across the world, my brothers and their amazing families. I thought of the path that led me here, the choices I made, the fears I faced.

Once, my brothers had been against my union with Killian. And I went against their wishes for the first time, choosing my own path, deciding my own destiny.

And now, I have this life.

My mate. My child. My pack.

I was no longer the girl who couldn't make her own decisions.

I had found my place.

I had built my happiness.

And as I drifted into sleep with Killian's arms around me, I knew—without doubt—that this was the ending I would choose every time.
Not perfect.
Not effortless.
But ours.