The Poisonous Rose

Epilogue

She handed the rose to him and smiled. The look in his eyes still said that he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was springtime, and the black rosebush had wilted and died. But this time, when it came back, the roses weren't black like they normally were. They were finally red. Forsythia and Lucas had gone outside the courtyard many times. She still smiled every time.

She hadn't gone home to her mother or father. As far as she could tell, they'd decided she was dead. She thought it would be better that way. Lucas and Forsythia had been getting along a lot better now that both knew what the other felt.

Like she'd done in the woods, Forsythia wrapped Lucas's hand around the rose with her own. "It won't poison you," she told him. "I held it in my hand and I'm fine." She picked some more roses and arranged them in a bouquet. "I'll bring them inside and we can put them in a vase. Red roses mean passionate love. Maybe it's a sign." She smiled and went inside, putting them in the empty vase in the entry hall. The vase had been empty ever since she'd arrived there.

She turned to Lucas and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. She got up on her tip toes and kissed him. It was a sweet lingering kiss. When they pulled away, he smiled at her. For the past few months, he had only given her a half smile. She knew he was working on it. It felt so nice to finally see him smile.

Lucas no longer had to change on the full moon every month. He could control the wolf and he could change whenever he wanted. She felt so happy for him. He wouldn't have to go through that ever again. It made her happy. She was glad he'd told her his story. Even though it made her so sad every time she thought of it, she was glad that she finally knew the real Lucas.

"So, now that it's spring, and you can actually leave for as long as you want, what are you going to do now?" Forsythia asked Lucas.

"I'm going to find the rest of the pack," Lucas told her. "Some of the kids got away and I guarantee you that they're alone. I want to find them. I'll be their alpha if they let me. I want to help others."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Forsythia told him. She rested her forehead on his. "When will you go?"

"I don't know," Lucas answered. He seemed to hesitate. "But . . . I wanted to know if you'd come with me. I don't want to leave you here alone. Besides, I don't even know if I'll return. It would all depend on if I found the rest of the pack. If we do find them and you really don't want to stay, we can come back here. I just thought maybe we could. If you'd want to come of course."

"Lucas," she whispered. "I would love to go with you. I think it's amazing that you want to do this. We should definitely try to find them." 

She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him again. Every kiss was sweet. But this one was full of love.

They weren't perfect. In fact, they were far from it. There were still a lot of things that needed to be done. But they would work everything out.

Their story wasn't at an end. This was only the beginning.