$$$Epilogue
Kyan
Cries fill the birthing suite as our son is finally born. We have all held our breaths ever since Marabella went into labor early, and our son’s heart rate dropped as her contractions worsened, only to become stuck, and he was eventually delivered by forceps.
Only when he was born he didn’t cry, and a flurry of nurses ran around, and doctors rushed in while they tried to get him to breathe. So when his ear-piercing scream resounds around the room, I suck in a breath of relief, and Jonah breaks down. Those few minutes are the most intense few minutes of my life. It was heart-stopping when we were only met with silence, and the fearful look on the midwife’s face made my stomach drop.
The midwife brings him back over to Mara, setting him on her naked chest while Jonah and I hover, watching over them. I thought no day would ever outmatch the day my father returned to me. How wrong I have been. Our son has only been born for a few minutes, and I know without a doubt that I love him more than life itself, and I won’t hesitate to give my last breath just so he can take another.
Commotion in the halls outside the birthing suite reaches our ears, and I know it is our fathers trying to get in. Jonah shakes his head, every weekend, no matter what, Mateo, Ezra, and Kat come down to visit Mara. Andrei and Sage, every second weekend, so thank god the Manor is huge because every weekend, the house is full. Despite them driving me nuts, I enjoy seeing my mates happy and, for once, having a family. I didn’t realize how much I had missed out on by shutting myself away from the world.
The nurse comes over and checks Mara. While the doctor gives her stitches, Jonah leans over her shoulder and brushes his little nose with his finger, and for a while, I just watch them. Eventually, they wheel Marabella and our son down to the maternity wards.
After some tests and Mara is settled, the midwife returns our son to us, giving him the all-clear. She hands him back to Mara when she turns to look at me. I am the only one that hasn’t held him yet out of us. He looks so small, and I’m afraid of hurting him, but I can see Ella won’t accept another excuse, so I hold my arms out for him just like Jonah had, and she sets his tiny body in my arms. He opens his eyes, Jonah looking over my shoulder gasps, and I peer down at him as he yawns. He blinks, and I know why Jonah feels so shocked.
His eyes are the color of smoke. No, that isn’t an accurate description. They look like the shadows, only a little darker, eyes wise beyond their years, and Mara sits up as I sit on the edge of the bed to look at him. He stares back at her, munching on his hand hungrily, and I pass him back to her. I watch as he turns his face against her chest, seeking her breast. She looks at me with worry, and my brows furrow when we hear a knock on the door. Jonah wanders off to answer it before asking if we are alright for my father to come in.
She nods her head, and I help her rearrange the blankets to make sure she is covered completely before Jonah opens the door and Kat and my father step inside. They move instantly to the bed, and Kat tells us Andrei and Sage are caught in traffic but ensure they are on their way.
“Well, would you look at that,” Dad says as Mara passes our son to him. Kat stands on her tippy toes, looking at him before my father sits in one of the blue chairs that are hard as a rock. Kat brushes his little hand while my father holds him, and dad sniffles. Kat gazes down at him, brushing the back of his little head gently.
“He’s perfect,” she whispers, her voice cracking.
“That he is,” Dad murmurs when our son opens his eyes, they both look at each other startled.
“And shall the Shadow King rise,” my father murmurs thoughtfully.
“He is tainted by the shadows?” Mara asks worriedly. I look over at her, and she bites her lip staring at our son, but her mother shakes her head, and I sigh. A breath of relief escapes me until my father speaks. His next words send a cold chill down my spine.
“No, he is the shadows,” Dad says, looking down at him and brushing his cheek with his thumb. Jonah looks over at my father, but he says nothing else on the matter, and Kat doesn’t either as she stares down at him with so much love.
My father passes our son to her, and she holds her arms out and sits beside him. He sucks on his hand, watching his grandmother with big eyes when she turns to look over at us. I sit next to Marabella on the edge of the bed while Jonah stands beside me.
“So, can we know the name yet?” Kat asks, and they both look over at us expectantly.
“Lucas Derrick Octavian,” Jonah says with a smile.
One Year Later
Jonah
Family fills the courtyard to celebrate Lucas’s first birthday. Dominic has gone way overboard, the kid won’t even remember it, and despite only wanting a small family gathering, it somehow turns into a huge party in honor of our son.
Ezra, Mateo, Dad, and Dominic have spent weeks planning it. Though as much as Kyan complains and whines about having so many people here, I know he secretly enjoys it. So we let them go, Marabella is doing better, and she and Kat seem closer than ever.
Everyone seems happy, except two people. Casen and Eziah sit by the huge tree, watching. Casen watches Rose, who, as usual, is the life of the party, a scowl on his face. They still haven’t patched things up, though I do know they are now living together despite my mother’s protests and Rose’s. Dad forced Rose to move in with Casen after mom and her got into a fight over Rose sneaking out.
Dad has had enough of her attitude and mom and her constantly clashing. Rose is to take over the pack; she needs to learn what it is to be on her own, even though with Casen, she is never alone. She always has a shadow. Unfortunately, that seems to make her worse. She isn’t a trouble. She isn’t a bad child. She is suffocated; I get it. She grew up thinking one thing only to find out all along her mate has been right beside her to witness everything, so that must have been a bit of a shock, and then to find out your mate killed his twin brother for her, the guilt, I guess would be terrible.