Heartless

Epilogue

"Okay the Telebubbies have to go. Say goodbye." The most beautiful words just came from Celeste mouth. I was being released from my sweatbox.

Ky rushed to me to give me a parting goodbye hug. I gave her a hug back, she was the only ray of sunshine throughout this ordeal. Seeing her face beaming with happiness brought joy to my heart. We waved bye-bye to the kids and exited the room. We all made it upstairs to Colin's office before removing the heads of the costume.

"I thought I was going to suffocate to death. Damn the things generate some heat." James groaned.

"I want you all to remember this when we have Jackson's two-year old birthday party." Peyton rasped taking in fresh gulps of air. Andrea gave birth to a boy about seven months ago. He was a splitting image of his dad.

"Take that up with Colin, because there is no way I'm doing that again." I huffed desperately trying to relieve myself of the bulky costume.

"I have mad respect for people who do this for a job, like Chuck E. Cheese." Creed grumbled.

Celeste quickly slid into the room. "Thank you guys, you don't know how much it means to us for you doing this. You all made Ky's birthday special." Celeste went around giving us all a personal hug, and then she left us to go back to the party.

"Creed, Eva what are your plans now, since you have found the new council members?" James asked all joking aside.

It took us almost two years to find six worthy people to sit on the council. We found four women and two men from various backgrounds and ages. We wanted to make sure some was under a century years old. It has been three months under the rule of the newly installed council. I sat in several meetings to see how they govern. So far, they have been insightful and fair in their rulings.

My old organization, CIF, has undergone major changes under the command of Klaus. The extreme survival of the fittest training no longer exist. The new recruits are not subjected to experimental drugs and harsh conditions. It is now ran like the military. They no longer operate in secret, the packs now revere and fear them. They send some of their best pack mates to become apart of the CIF. CIF still have covert missions, but they are no longer being directed by one or two members of the council. They are now only accepting missions with the full approval of the council.

The last two years have been grueling, and we both want time off to just enjoy each other. We are telling the family tonight that we are taking a year to travel. I am really excited about just the two of us alone, without any responsibilities. Of course we would return when James welcome his triplets into the world.

"Well brother, we were telling everyone our plans tonight. If you really want to know.."

"Spit it out."

I stepped in front of Creed to share our news. "We are taking a hiatus for a year."

"Sweet cheeks, you stole my news."

"Sorry you weren't fast enough." I lovingly patted him on his cheek.

"You better come back for Jackson one year celebration."

"We wouldn't miss it for anything, Peyton."

"You guys will be back for the birth of my kids."

"Damn, we're going on an extended vacation. We're not dropping off the face of the world, never to be seen from again. We do have cell phones, you will be able to reach us." Creed teased his James.

"So you are leaving and not going to say good bye to an old friend." In the doorway stood Bernie, with his arms crossed.

I ran to sling my arms around him. "When did you get here?" My friend, Bernie. For a long time he was the only one I would even talk to when I worked for the old regime. I always felt guilty that he almost died when helping me with Carson. It turned out, him coming to Raven was a blessing, because he met his mate who was visiting relatives here. Bernie has been living with her pack ever since. We haven't seen each other in almost a year.