Awakening

Epilogue

"Wow, that's a lot of food! How have you guys not gone bankrupt yet?" Emily quipped from the tablet screen.

Rose laughed and looked at the brunch spread on the table in front of her. Eggs, toast, pancakes, bacon, muffins, muesli, yoghurt and a few other items lined the table. She could nearly hear the table groaning.

She turned her head back to Emily. "You know this is how we do Sunday brunch in the Stevens Household." She turned on the coffee maker. "Plus, after a morning's training, Max is usually famished."

Emily shook her head. "It still baffles me how much you lycans can eat in one sitting."

"Well, you'll be seeing a lot of pigging out when you visit." She sat down at the kitchen counter. "You're still all set to come?"

Emily smiled. "Of course! Simon is driving me mad about it, though. Apparently Max told him about some secluded part of the forest where you can see some type of rare bird? He's been bugging me about it every day."

Rose giggled. "Of course that would be what he's most excited about."

She heard the sound of footsteps in the yard behind her and smiled. "Looks like training is finished. I'll call you later?"

Emily smiled at her friend. "Make sure you do. I'll fill you in on all the gossip you're missing here. Bye!"

Rose placed the tablet on the kitchen counter, just as a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her from behind.

"Hey, Love." a deep voice whispered into her ear.

Goosebumps erupted all over her skin. She smiled and turned around, placing her hands behind Max's neck. "Hi, Honey."

He leaned down and kissed her deeply.

She sighed contently. "So, did you get any work done today or did you just play around?"

"Of course we did!" he answered, his eyes sparkling.

She rolled her eyes. "That's not really answering the question, you know."

Suddenly a mop of black hair whirled towards her. She let go of Max and knelt down, a small body landing in her arms. "Mommy! Guess what! Guess what! Daddy showed me a cool waterfall in the forest and then we swam in it. The water was so cold! And there were fish! Next time we're going to try to catch them and..."

Rose smiled as the little boy in her arms babbled on. He was the spitting image of his dad, except for his eyes. Those green orbs were hers. She couldn't believe he was four already.

She and Maxed were married just over a year when she found out she was pregnant. They were both ecstatic at the prospect of being parents. And a few months after finding out, they moved out to Max's old family home. The move wasn't really planned. They were driving through the area and she convinced him to show her his old house, curious about where he grew up. She didn't expect to fall in love with it the moment she laid eyes on it, though. It was situated on a big piece of land with the forest serving as a backdrop. There was a small lake in the back, complete with a deck and a tire swing. The five bedroom house itself was still beautiful, albeit a little worn down.

He immediately saw the look of excitement on her face and a few days later he made the suggestion that they move out there. It was more private, already paid for and would be an excellent place to raise children. She was worried at first that the memories of his mom would be too much for him, but he assured her that he felt at peace with what had happened and that they now had the opportunity to make new, happy memories there.

It had taken some work to restore it to its former glory, but it was worth it. She had taken the time to plant a vegetable and flower garden and honeysuckle now grew freely on the old brick walls. Of course, it had also meant leaving Emily and Simon behind, but they made a point of visiting whenever they could.

She kissed the little boy on his head. "That's great, Connor! Why don't you go wash up and we'll have brunch?"

He nodded enthusiastically and ran out the door, a ball of endless energy.

She stood up and gave Max a playful grin. "So you were playing then? To think, outed by your own son. Aren't you supposed to be teaching him how to hone his abilities?"

He gave her a sheepish smile and scratched his head. "Yeah, I know. But you should've seen his face when he saw the waterfall. I just couldn't say no."

She placed her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. "Oh, is that so? Looks like when Mom is out of commission, there's no discipline whatsoever."

He smiled and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "That's true." He then placed his hand on her stomach. "Don't worry, one of these days you'll be able to boss three people around."

She laughed and placed her hand on top of his. "I can't wait to meet her, you know."

A huge grin appeared on Max's face. "Me neither." He bent down to kiss her growing baby bump.

The mop of black hair came charging through the door and grabbed Max's leg. "Daddy! Don't forget Mommy's letter."

"Ah, yes." Max mused and pulled out a letter from his back pocket before handing it over to her.

She laughed as Connor then pulled Max towards the hallway, demanding that he also wash his hands. She inspected the letter, her name and address scrawled neatly on the front. Carefully she opened it and started reading the content. She stared at the name on the bottom for a moment. Alastor.

About a year after their fight on the mountain the first letter had shown up on her doorstep. Alastor had survived his injuries and had, according to her suggestion, taken some time to think about things. He realized that he had no real quarrel with her. He apologized profusely for his actions, and hoped that one day she would find it in her heart to forgive him. He also expressed his gratitude towards her giving him a chance to change. He vowed that he would try to live his own life from now on. She wrote him back, much to Max's chagrin, and wished him the best.

From then on, every few months, he would sent a letter, telling her how his life was going. He wrote about his breakthroughs and his setbacks and how he was learning who he was. After a few letters she started answering him. Trying to guide and encourage him. It seemed he was also finally putting his past behind him.

Rose watched as Max and Connor scuffled into the kitchen. "Ok, boys. Enough of that. The food will get cold if we wait any longer."

With that they all sat down at the farm-style kitchen table, chatting and laughing as they piled the food onto their plates. She peaked at the two people before her, put her hand on her belly, and smiled, her heart full. She said a silent thank you, glad that she had awoken from her icy slumber.