Epilogue: Cheers To Forever.

Epilogue: Cheers To Forever.
(Third Person's POV)

Five years later, the mansion felt different.

Stella stood near the head of the table, her dark hair braided loosely over one shoulder, her eyes soft as she watched her children. Stanley, her first som sat quietly beside her, legs swinging slightly as he stared at the patterns in the tablecloth. He was five now—tall for his age, dark-haired like Marcus, but with Stella’s gentle eyes. He rarely spoke unless spoken to, preferring books, puzzles, and listening to the adults’ conversations like a tiny, observant scholar.

His little sister, Marla, was the opposite. At just one year old, she crawled freely across the polished floor, babbling loudly, occasionally stopping to slap her palms against the ground like she was announcing her presence to the world.

“Marla, sweetheart, not the wolf tails,” Stella called gently as the toddler grabbed onto Alec’s tail, which he hadn’t quite learned to fully hide yet.

Alec sighed, lifting her into his arms. “She has strong grip strength. Potential warrior.”

“She’s one,” Marcus deadpanned, sipping his drink.

Across the hall, the doors opened, and Taylor and Killian stepped inside, the twins barreling ahead of them like small storms with legs.

Tamara was first, her dark curls bouncing as she ran forward. She had Taylor’s eyes and Killian’s stubborn confidence, and she had decided—somewhere in her three-year-old heart—that Stanley was hers.

“Stan-nee!” she shouted, sprinting toward him and nearly tripping over a chair. “I bringed you a flower!”

Stanley looked up, startled, blinking as she shoved a slightly crushed wildflower into his hands. “…Thank you,” he said quietly.

Tamara beamed like she had just conquered a kingdom.

Kyle, her twin brother, toddled in behind her, far more cautious. He looked like a smaller version of Killian—same sharp features, same calculating eyes—but with Taylor’s soft expressions. He was carrying a wooden toy sword that Alec had carved for him.

“Barbie!” he shouted, spotting Theresa and Brian’s daughter across the room.

Barbie who was just two years old and already bossy, was seated on Brian’s lap, her tiny crown crooked on her head. She spotted Kyle and gasped dramatically.

“Kyle! Play knights!”

She slid off Brian’s lap and marched over, dragging Kyle by the hand toward the corner where a pile of toys waited.

Brian watched them go, amused. “She definitely got her leadership instincts from Theresa.”

Theresa, standing beside him with one hand resting on her visibly pregnant belly, smirked. “Or she just inherited your stubbornness.”

Brian raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just happy she hasn’t tried to declare war on anyone yet.”

Killian laughed softly as he took a seat beside Taylor, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He had adapted to life with one arm far better than anyone had expected. His posture was confident, his presence still commanding, and his laughter—real laughter—was something the pack had never heard in the early days.

Taylor leaned into him, watching the children with a soft smile. “I can’t believe this is our life now.”

He tilted his head. “You don’t like it?”

She shook her head quickly. “No. I love it. I just… didn’t think we’d ever get here.”

Killian glanced around the room.

Marcus was laughing as Marla babbled at him in nonsense syllables. Stella was feeding Stanley a piece of fruit while gently encouraging him to talk about the book he’d been reading. Theresa was arguing with Brian over whether Barbie should be allowed to stay up past her bedtime. Alec was dramatically pretending to duel Kyle with imaginary swords, letting the toddler “win” every time.

It was loud, messy but warm.

“It’s better than any timeline I remember,” Killian murmured.

Taylor squeezed his hand. The adults gathered around the long table as the children finally settled—mostly—into their seats. Tamara sat directly beside Stanley, guarding him like a tiny dragon hoarding treasure.

Marla crawled under the table and emerged on the other side, proudly holding a spoon she had stolen.

Barbie clinked her cup against Kyle’s. “Cheers!”

No one was quite sure what they were toasting to, but they joined in anyway.

Marcus stood and raised his glass. “To peace,” he said simply. “And to the fact that we’re all still alive to complain about parenthood.”

Laughter filled the hall.

“To peace,” Stella echoed, smiling at him.

“To peace,” Brian and Theresa said together.

Taylor lifted her glass, eyes shining. “To the family we chose. And the one we built.”

Killian clinked his glass against hers. “To defying destiny.”

They drank, the warmth settling into their chests. Dinner stretched long into the evening. Stories were shared—some exaggerated, some painfully honest, most ending in laughter. The children grew tired, their energy fading into yawns and drooping heads.

Tamara eventually fell asleep against Stanley’s shoulder, still clutching the flower she had given him. Stanley stayed very still, as if afraid moving would disturb her.

Kyle sprawled across Barbie’s lap, the two of them snoring softly in a tangle of limbs and toy swords.

Marla was curled up on Marcus’s lap, her tiny fingers wrapped around his thumb.

Theresa leaned against Brian, one hand on her belly, the other on Barbie’s hair. “Do you ever think about how close we came to losing all this?”

Brian nodded quietly. “Every day.”

Taylor watched them from across the table, her heart full. “But we didn’t.”

Killian brushed a kiss against her temple. “And we won’t.”

"I hope things remain this way forever" Stella said, staring at her mate lovingly.

Taylor took another look at this one big family, realizing how much it took just to be here. What she had gained on this journey, and what she had lost. The pain was unimaginable, but this reward..

She felt Killian squeezed her hand and she turned to him with teary eyes. He never gave up on her, on them. He sacrificed everything, just to be with her. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips, wanting to rip out her heart that was beating solely for him and give him, to tell how much she loved him as words could never be enough.

"What was that for?" Killian whispered to her, staring at her with his mezmerising eyes.

"Thank you Killian, I love you so much, so very much" she said with teary eyes and he chuckled, wiping her tears.

"I don't ever want to see you cry, if this is how it all ends. I will go through all of that, a million times again. I love you Taylor."

She smiled and for the first time in every lifetime, there was no prophecy, no looming disaster—only tomorrow.