Verge of Insanity

Epilogue

Mara Leigh

2 Years Later

My paws softly padded through the forest. As fast as I ran, I still made no sound. I could barely hear Xander behind me. Although he was definitely able to catch me, he always chased me for just long enough to get me breathless with excitement.

I leaped over a half fallen tree and ducked behind it. Just as Xander jumped over, I pounced and flipped him over, rolling a few times before coming to a stop under him. He growled playfully and nipped my neck, a big wolfy grin showing on his mouth.

Last one to the pack house owes the other a favor of any kind, he said tauntingly in his head.

The overconfident turd always beat me, and he knew it. I used my back legs to kick Xander backwards and rushed through the forest, pushing my legs to get there quicker.

Cheater! I heard him call through our link.

He gained on me quickly, and just before we reached the house he passed me, shifting as soon as his feet hit the back deck. I followed suit, not looking at his smirk as I entered the house.

Blythe was in the kitchen as we entered. She was bent over a bowl of cookie dough. A small, green eyed, blond haired boy stood in the chair across from her was just hitting his terrible twos, but was a little angel for his granny. I heard him asking her for probably the hundredth time if he could eat the cookie dough yet.

Xander sneaked up behind him and tickled his sides, making him drop the ball of dough he'd been rolling.

"Daddy!" He complained, grinning despite sounding annoyed. Xander picked up the ball of dough and popped it in his mouth, kissing him on the forehead.

"Kane," I whispered our son's name, drawing his attention to me.

"Momma!" He smiled. Xander helped him off the chair he'd been standing on and put him on the floor to let him walk to me. I picked him up quickly and took him to the sink to wash the dough off his hands.

Xander took a bite of dough and let Kane have it. He happily ate it, definitely his father's son.

"We've been making cookies for the baby shower tomorrow," Blythe smiled from the oven.

"Do they know the gender yet?" I asked.

"A little girl," she said with pride.

I imagined Ella and Beau, a little mixture of them both in a child following them around, spoiled rotten.

"That's too exciting. And not much younger than Kane," I thought, playing with Kane's hair as he nibbled on his cookie dough.

"We're gonna have our hands full in a few years," Xander grinned.

"With you and Beau counteracting every rule of public decency Ella and I instill in our kids, yes we will have our hands full," I retorted, earning a chuckle from Blythe.

"Are we talking about the guys throwing out all the rules with the kids?" Ella asked as she and Beau came walking in the door.

"We are indeed," I grinned, taking in Ella's swollen belly. Just like I had, she looked pitiful. Carrying a wolf pup wasn't easy. There were multiple time's I'd wondered if I could make it to nine months.

Ella did it with grace though. Never once complaining. After Xander and I had discovered we would soon have Kane, we were overjoyed, although concerned. Xander had hoped that our bond would help me be strong enough not to have a hard pregnancy, but it wasn't easy.

Ella's wasn't seeming to be easy either, but she didn't seem to complain nearly as much as I had. After I had announced we would have Kane, Ella and Beau had both hoped to be able to conceive soon, and were distraught until they were able to.

"So, any name ideas for my niece?" Xander quizzed as we sat down.

"Blythe," Blythe interjected, grinning proudly.

Xander rolled his eyes and Ella and Beau laughed. "Come on, Mom. No one names kids after grandparents anymore."

"Actually they do, brother," Ella smirked. "But we were thinking more along the lines of Aurora. Or Elizabeth. Maybe even Rebecca."

"My vote is for Rebecca," I threw in.

We sat around the kitchen like that for hours, as was routine. I'd never really had family time back with my parents. But over my time here I'd grown used to this time. This time together, laughing, eating, sharing our lives. This was my family. These people, this child, and the child that would soon be born. We would stay together through whatever would come at us. And if anything was ever too big for us, we had a whole pack that was prepared to do anything for us.

To think about this type of outcome four years ago would've been unfathomable. It would've been insane. I would've had myself admitted just for believing it as a possibility. But now.... Now this was my life. Our life. And I couldn't imagine anything different.