Chapter 44: Epilogue

^TEN YEARS LATER^

GIANNA

“Mooooooooooooommmmmm!”

I groaned and kicked Kol’s shin. “It’s your turn,” I mumbled.

He kicked me back. “No way. It was my turn yesterday, and besides, he’s calling you.”

I rolled over. “He’s your son,” I mumbled groggily.

Kol kicked my shin again, his back facing me. “I’m not falling for that, Gia. It’s your turn.”

“Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddd!”

Kol sat upright, rubbing his eyes. “Oh, sure.” I smirked at him. “You’ll get up for our daughter.”

The door to our room burst open, Axel standing in the doorway breathing heavily.

“Mom! She stole my training gear, Mom. Make her give it back! Uncle Diego will get mad!” he whined, stomping his little foot.

“You have that boy spoiled,” Kol muttered beside me.

“Oh yeah, ’cause your mother never spoiled you,” I grumbled darkly to him, “and you’re not spoiling our daughter.”

He opened his mouth to say something when Reign, our daughter, burst past Axel, dressed in his training gear, which was falling off her.

“Daddy! Make Axel say sorry he hit me,” she pouted at him, jumping into his arms.

“That is so unfair, Dad. She took my stuff! Why can’t she be like the girls in my class and like pink things and ballerina stuff? Like Madison.”

He mumbled the last part, and I froze, glancing at Kol, who was staring. I cleared my throat, wrapping my robe around myself.

I walked over to Axel and knelt in front of him. “Sweet face? Who’s Madison?” I asked gently.

“Madison is his girlfriend,” Reign sang behind me, her hazel eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Is that true, son?” Kol asked proudly.

I glared at him, and he shrugged. “What? He is my son, after all.” He smirked before tickling Reign, making her giggle.

Axel’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah, well, Reign has a boyfriend,” he blurted out before slapping his hand over his mouth.

“WHAT?” Kol thundered “Reign?!”

She shrugged like it was nothing. “Oh, Daddy, don’t be silly. It’s just this boy, Maxwell, who keeps following me around, but honestly, Daddy, I only like him because he gives me cookies.”

She hopped off of the bed and wandered out of the room, clearly bored with the conversation. She punched Axel on the arm as she passed him.

I held back a laugh and looked at Kol still sitting on the bed, wide-eyed like he was about to have a heart attack. “What?” I shrugged at him. “She is my daughter, after all.”

“Axel, baby, go tell Reign I said she’s to give you back your gear and that she can come to training with us. I’ll talk to uncle Diego for her.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Mom, fine, but just so you know, I’m not going to go easy on her just because she’s my baby sister.”

I ruffled his dark hair. “That’s my boy. Now go on. Your dad and I need to get dressed.” I strolled to the wardrobe and pulled out some clothes.

“You okay over there, baby?” I chuckled, throwing him a shirt and some pants.

He climbed out of bed and began dressing. “When did she stop being my little girl? When did she grow up? She’s eight years old!”

He stomped into his jeans, buttoning them up, facing me.

“She’s eight and a half, actually,” I corrected him. “Don’t let her hear you say that. I made that mistake the other day, oh boy.” I whistled, winking at him.

“Look, baby. It’s just a boy who has a crush; she’ll always be your little girl.” I kissed him gently.

“All right, okay,” he mumbled into my lips, clutching my waist and looking up at me expectantly.

“Hmm, okay, let’s be quick.” I winked. Before I had even finished, he had me flipped onto the bed, climbing on top of me, kissing my neck.

“Mmm, that’s nice,” I moaned, wrapping my legs around his waist, my arms clutching his neck, my hands in his hair.

“Mooooooooooooommm! Daaaaaaaaaaaaaadddd, come on! I want to go!” Axel shouted from downstairs.

“Daaaaaaaddddyyyy, I want to go see Milly!” Reign screamed.

Kol collapsed onto me, nuzzling my neck. “How did we manage to make a second one with constant interruptions?” he mumbled.

I giggled. “Because you humped me one night while our son was sleeping, which is how we got our daughter. Now come on. Diego will kill us if we’re late.” I pushed him off me, ignoring his groans.

“Okay, fine, but you’re gonna have to sort this out later,” he mumbled, pointing to his crotch.

I licked my lips and winked. “Happily.”

“You’re late,” Diego snarled.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Fuck off, Diego. You know how hard it is to get kids out of the house? Oh wait! Of course you do! You have three.” I stuck my tongue out, punching him on the arm.

Liv’s second pregnancy was actually twin boys. Diego swore no more pups after having three so close in age.

“Aunt Gia!” Milly came running over, her raven hair flowing in the wind, her eyes a striking blue.

“Hey, sweetie!” I clutched her into a hug. “Where are your brothers?”

I looked around. The twin boys looked just like Liv with golden-blond hair, but like Diego, they had piercing green eyes that were sure to melt girls’ hearts when they got older.

Milly pointed over her shoulder. “They’re just over at the grill with Mom. Come on, I’ll take you to them.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. You go off and play. I’ll find Mom.” Milly ran off with Axel, and Reign followed closely behind. Diego had led Kol off for a beer.

I found Liv at the grill, muttering to the twins.

“Alexander! Leave your brother alone!” she barked. “And Matthew, stop winding him up! Now go play with your cousins while I talk to your aunt.” She shooed them away.

I chuckled and hugged her. “How’re you doing?”

She rolled her eyes. “Milly was so easy. Those boys, Gia, those boys have my heart broken.” She gazed over at our children. I looked over.

Reign was wrestling with Alex. I cheered when she flipped him onto his back with ease, her white hair blowing in the wind.

“That’s my girl!” Kol boomed, walking over to us, handing me a beer. I thanked him and looked on at our kids. Milly and Matt were practicing magic with Axel, sparks flying from their hands.

When the kids had just turned one, they’d all started displaying signs of powers. Alex and Reign were a lot like Diego, strong trackers and even stronger fighters.

Axel was like me. He could feel the door to death, but he was afraid to enter it. I’d told him when he was ready, I would help him and show him how to do it.

Matt and Milly were like our twin siblings, Levi and Lucas. They were telekinetic and were learning to teleport with the help of the twins.

“You okay, babe? You haven’t touched your beer.” Kol rubbed my arm gently.

I smiled at him. “Yeah, I was just thinking about the kids and how close they are, that’s all.”

Diego roared out, and my head snapped, following his gaze. Reign and Alex had teamed up and were taking on Milly, Matt, and Axel.

I watched intently, holding my breath as Reign charged at Milly before she shot a tree branch in Reign’s direction. Liv whooped and Kol hollered as Reign ducked it easily, swinging out at Milly.

They laughed heartily before falling to the ground, looking up at the clouds, the boys sitting behind them protectively.

This was all I wanted, our kids bonding and being close. The boys guarded the girls with such fierceness, their fathers would never get a look in.

I clutched the bottle of beer in my sweaty hand before putting it down and clearing my throat. “Actually, guys, I have a bit of an announcement.”

Liv eyed me curiously before squealing and clutching my arm “No way!” she breathed.

I just nodded at her, smiling. She let out a scream, clapping her hands and jumping up and down excitedly.

“Ah, you girls wanna tell us what’s going on?” Diego eyed us warily.

Kol clutched me to his waist. “Gia? Is everything okay?” His eyes were full of concern. Diego clapped his back, and Kol looked at him with wonder.

“Everything is fine, Kol. I’m pregnant.” I smiled at him. He kissed me passionately.

“Hey, hey! Kids!” Liv laughed, nudging us.

The next generation of royals was growing again.

^End of Book One^