Balance (21 page)

                ‘I
love you, too,’
I replied, happy
to have our mate bond and pack bond repaired. I sighed. We did it. Against all
odds, Kai and I got our happy ending.

                But
then the limp, maroon-haired figure lumped in the grass caught my attention.
Sylvia. Oh God. Chelsea. Safe Haven. Sadie’s memory. This happiness of mine
came with a cost and I would never forget it.

                Kai
took my chin in his hands and tilted my face up to his as I met his yellow
eyes.

                “It’s
going to be okay,” he said with certainty and touched my bangs, pulling them in
front of my face. Blonde. They were blonde again.

                I
nodded. I would make sure that all of the sacrifices were not in vain. I had
rid the world of Layla and her sick plans. Avery and these twins I was carrying
would live in a better world. I would make sure of it.

Two years later

                “Where
are my black heels?” I asked Kai while Jaxon and Anya tore through the house
chasing each other and just managing to not trip over things or break stuff. I
couldn’t believe the twins were a year old already. It had all been a blur of
sleep deprivation, only showering once every three days and lots of poopy
diapers. Having twins was no joke, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. But it
was getting easier now that they slept through the night and God, they were
cute. Light caramel skin, unruly mops of golden brown hair, and my blue eyes. A
perfect mix of Kai and I. Jaxon was such a goofball with a dominating
personality already. He would shift into his wolf pup form and bite his sister’s
tail. Anya, she was a spitfire; we were in trouble when she was older. She was
a ball of personality and sass. Constantly competing for attention and pushing
Jax’s buttons. But at the end of the day, they were best friends. Shared the
same crib, ate from the same spoon, and ended every argument with a hug.

                Today
was a happy day. Jai and Maxine, his mate, were having their mating ceremony. I
was still having visions and finding mates but my magic side was different. My
power had been cut in half and I no longer had the affinity for healing
although some of the magic still lingered. A small scrape or cut could be
healed but nothing major. It seemed that when the Devi had left, she had taken
her powers with her, which was fine by me. I rubbed my hands along my arms, it
felt nice to be in my own skin. Just me. I hadn’t seen Nahuel since that day
but a part of me knew he was still around if I needed him.

                Kai
slipped out of the closet, holding my black heels.

                I
smiled as I saw him looking at the twins. Jax was yanking on Anya’s pigtail as
she shook her head to rid herself of her brother. Kai slowly walked over to me,
dropping the black high heels at my feet and taking my face gently in his
hands.

                “You
sure you want to do this with the witches after? We can wait, you might change
your mind. We could have one more,” Kai pleaded.

                I
tried not to growl. Gretchen and the witches were coming to the ceremony and
after they were doing the spell to make me permanently infertile. That way,
none of Layla’s followers could get any ideas of coming after me. Most of the
evil vampires had either been wiped out by the militia or turned to more gentle
ways.  Sure there were still pockets of evil but for the most part, it had shut
down when Layla died. The government was now funding a voluntary blood feeding
program. Any human willing to donate blood would be financially compensated and
vampires enrolled in the program got blood delivered to their door in an effort
to keep the peace. I wasn’t giving anyone a reason to come after me again and
to be honest, two kids was enough for me. What was the saying? Two kids is like
ten and three kids is like a hundred. No thank you.

                Kai
knew all of this. I kissed his soft lips gently and pulled back to meet his
eyes.

                “I’m
done having children. I’m doing this with the witches,” I told him and let the
finality run through our mate bond. I felt his disappointment but then
acceptance. He was grateful for the two children we had and if he had it his
way we would have fifty kids. Hell no. Tara and Max had their mating ceremony
and were now pregnant. There would be more than enough little pups running
around this mountain. It would be hard to see the witches today and not have
Sylvia there but her presence was still with me. She visited me in my dreams
often and I was finally at peace with her sacrifice and not seeing her around.

                Kai
reached out and brushed a chunk of blonde hair behind my ear, then he looked at
the twins again. They were jumping on our bed, laughing and falling at the same
time. Three jumps and a fall. I had a feeling they could communicate
telepathically, like a twin mate bond. They were always doing things in synch
without talking.

                Kai
squeezed my hand and smiled. Anya would be the next Matefinder and Jaxon her
protector. The lineage of my gift would live on to give the werewolves a
fighting chance in the future. Life was good and although I felt the weight of
sadness at losing Sylvia, Chelsea and Devon, it was a happy ending. The human
government was pleased with the outcome. We had built my mom a guesthouse in
the backyard and had given her house to Alek, his wife, and Jeremy. Emma and
Avery switched houses with Diya and Trent and life on our little mountain was
damn near perfect.

                Jaxon
and Anya were both in wolf form. Jax had Anya’s tail in his mouth and she was
growling viciously. Kai walked over to the bed and stood over both of them,
giving them both the Alpha stare down. Suddenly, they looked up at him and
Jaxon dropped her tail and they both went belly up, submissive. I chuckled and
took a pillow from the reading chair. Grasping it, I chucked it at Kai’s head
causing the twins to roll back over on all fours and yip in the equivalent of
werewolf laughter. Kai turned and scooped me up, throwing me over his shoulder
and dropping me on the bed as the twins jumped on top of me and I squealed in
laughter. Kai lay next to me and looked down at all three of us. His pride and
love surged through the mate bond and I smiled.  This was it, this moment right
here. I wanted to freeze it in time and keep it forever. It was perfect.

THE END

Thank you all so much for your support and for
loving these characters as much as I do. I don’t think this series is truly
over, I’m kind of curious what Jaxon and Anya will be up to in twenty years… =)
Stay tuned.

Acknowledgments

A big thank you to all of my
readers, I love you guys so much! Thank you to Rachel Winn for being my
wonderful Beta. Patti Geesey, as always you are a wonderful editor and person.
To Mike Witherill, LeAnn Goff and everyone at MJW films for believing in the
Matefinder series and optioning it for film. To my family for watching my kids
so I could hide in my writer cave and produce this series. Peace and love
y'all.