The Wolf's Marine

Epilogue

Each and every shop he passed was closed. One closed shop in particular caught his attention. He leaned against the window and gazed in. It had changed so much since the old days, it was much cleaner and well organized. His favorite part of the new look was the charred gun that hung on the wall behind the cash register. Looking at it brought memories back that he didn't want to remember but other memories he did.

He continued walking until he got to the bar. Inside it was packed. People were bustling about and every seat was full. Being in there brought back one of his favorite memories and he couldn't stop the grin from taking over his face.

He ambled towards the bar and found a miraculously empty barstool. It was when he went to sit in it that there was a problem. "You can't sit there, that seats already taken." The bartender informed the old werewolf. "Oh." Was all he replied before he moved off the seat and stood next to it. "What can I get you to drink?" He placed his order and as he waited he scanned the bar crowd. The sound of an old country song filled the bar and the loudness of the people quieted to a low hum.

There's a tear in my beer as I'm crying for you dear. You are on my lonely mind. Into these last nine beers I have shed a million tears. You are on my lonely mind.

The mournful song had the bar patrons feeling sad and blue. Everyone knew who put this song in the jukebox, it was put in at exactly 7:15 every Saturday. As the song came to its end, a head of silver hair made its way through the crowd and to the empty barstool. The woman who owned the silver hair was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a button up black shirt that had yellow tinsel all over it. She sat down and ordered a bowl of popcorn which promptly came to her buttered and salted.

"I haven't seen you round these parts before." She commented, passing the bowl to him. He took a small handful and ate it before answering. "I haven't been here in many years." "Well welcome back." "Thanks." He couldn't help but feel shame as he found himself checking out the silver haired lady next to him. He really was a liar, wasn't he?

The two shared the popcorn and together they quickly finished it off. Neither one asked the other their name, both too distracted by memories to care.

"What song do you want played in the jukebox?" She asked him while she took quarters out of her pocket. "I Cross My Heart by George Strait." He replied before taking a swig of his drink. As the song floated through the bar they both were sent back in time to the same memory. He couldn't help the tears that trickled down his clean shaven face when the song came to an end. "Are you okay?" The woman asked him with concern. "I'll be alright. I was just remembering the first time I danced with my wife to this song." "That's funny, the first dance I had with my husband was to this song." She laughed.

The night progressed slowly and the two swapped stories to pass the time. "You really did that?" He gaped at her. "Course I did. Sometimes you have to dance with the devil to get where you're going." She explained. While he told his story, she found herself checking him out and she scolded herself. She had a mate and here she was acting like an unfaithful whore.

"What have your dreams been lately?" He asked. "Do you mean like what are my goals or what happens when I sleep?" "What happens when you sleep."

"Well you see, there's this wolf and he and I are playing together. Childish I know. But anyway, he's slow and can't ever catch me. That's when I slow down and he gets me. Usually after that my dream changes into a nightmare. Sometimes the wolf comes back and chases the nightmare away but most nights he doesn't."

The wheels in his brain start turning and clicking as he processes her story. "Is your name Storm LeDoux?" He asked, hoping beyond hope that she would say yes. "How do you know that?" "Don't you recognize me?"

She looked at him more closely. He was in a pair of blue jeans and had a zip up coat on. Nothing about him stood out to her or rang a bell. "I'm sorry, I don't." His heart fell at her words until an idea popped into his head. "Then does this ring a bell?" He grabbed the back of her head and closed the distance between their lips, throwing a voracious lip lock on her. The bartender about fell over in shock. In the thirty years she had been coming to this bar, never once had she even given a man a second glance let alone a kiss!

The man pulled away and hope shined in his eyes. "Wilder!" She squealed in glee, leaping into his arms to give him a bone crushing hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!" "You should've known I was coming back to you." He hugged her even tighter.

"I killed those High Council members that took you. I killed their families too." The bartender decided to pretend he didn't hear that part and continued working. "Believe me, I know. They were absolutely furious but couldn't do anything about it."

"Let's get out of here. We have a lot to catch up on." Storm took Wilder by the hand and led him out of the bar. The regulars were shocked to see her leave before eleven and even more shocked to see her leave with a man. Thirty years of the same routine was something they'd grown awfully used to.

The two were so happy to be together again after forty years of being apart that they didn't check both ways before crossing the street. The squeal of a semi's breaks being hit echoed down the street as did the two bodies hitting the pavement. The two died holding hands as it should be.

Their spirits were transported to Wilder's territory where their family waited. The little pups ran up to their parents and the two dogs watched with wagging tails. Nuzzles were exchanged amongst the spirits as they greeted each family member.

Only in death would they all be together and they were finally together again. It's a happy ending or is it?

(We made it everybody! This story definitely has its problems, but it's finally done and I couldn't be happier. I would like to thank @MelodyCarroll @Bucketbarnes81 and your_mother_house for keeping me going when I wanted to quit and delete this story. Below is the image that started this whole rollercoaster of a story.)