The Protector

Epilogue

I'm fairly certain today is going to be the most stressful day in the last four years, and that's saying something with everything I've lived through. There's been several additions to the Whittroe family, one wedding, three proposals, and so much more; yet today is the one I'm getting most anxious over. So many traditions, and politics have been looked through and forced into the festivities approaching, and it's enough to make me pull out my hair. At this point, I want to kick back in bed, and sleep for a few days just to relax and avoid the world.

Looking around the room, you can see the special moments that we've managed to capture hanging in golden picture frames. Each has been strategically placed in my office, which has turned into a dressing room specifically for today. My normally organised professional space looks like a bomb shelter; I don't even want to imagine what the bedroom looks like - my bet is it's become a total wreck.

Directly in front of me is a picture of all of us from Luke and Mia's wedding. It sits happily in the centre of the wall, always within my eyeline when bent over my desk in concentration. Just the memory of that day brings a smile. That day had been particularly special, the eldest of the Whittroe children was the first to fully commit. I'd wanted Mum to be there, badly. She'd have loved it. It was formal and sophisticated, a lot like Preppy and Lulu.

The lovely lady wore a stunningly simple white gown with no additional embroidery or lace. It had been far more mature than I expected, but it suited her extremely well. I still love the photo that sits beside the other. I'd managed to catch Luke's face at the exact moment he saw her - boy was it a good one; eyes wide and mouth hanging open to catch flies.

The only other time Luke's smiled as wide as that day was when he announced the birth of his twin girls. Little Aurora and Arabella are some of the sweetest Princesses I've ever met. Mia chose their names. Two story book character's she holds close to her heart have the blessing to be celebrated with two beautiful Angel's. Sometimes we make 'Sleeping Beauty' jokes, though some form of object always gets thrown our way.

It was quite entertaining when we found out that they were expecting. She'd been pregnant for exactly seven weeks on their wedding day. And so, Jake and I made a joke of being too impatient to wait until their honeymoon - it's safe to say we both got slapped for that one. The bump had been cute though, apparently I'd been the only one to notice the tiny change in figure, which says a lot since she's not my mate - I'd noticed before Luke even knew.

On the other wall, behind where I'm currently sitting, are the photos taken on the day my nephew was born. Zachary. He is the cutest baby I have ever seen. His big blue eyes have flecks of brown in them, giving him the power of enchantment when you stare into them for too long. The amount of times he's managed to convince one of us to do something with those orbs is unbelievable.

We'd been informed of his existence about a week after the new pack houses opened. I also got slapped around the head on that day for saying something about 'not wasting time'. Of course Biscuit was furious with Jay since she was heavily pregnant for the wedding, she looks ready to pop in all of the photos - she almost didn't fit into her bridesmaid dress because of the bane. To say Jake didn't receive a few bruises from the hormonal women, would be a lie.

And then my favourite photos sit behind my head when working; all of the sweet moments I've caught with my lovely Mallow and our crazy family. There's such an array, that the wall looks hectic, but it makes me feel at peace when I'm filling out hundreds of legality papers because they feel nearby.

Hearing several defeated mumbles, followed by several angry curses, I shift my focus back over to the stressing male standing in front of the mirror propped up against the wall. His hands are shaking, anxiously trying to secure his boutonniere to his lapel, badly might I add. I was originally planning to nap in the time we have to wait before being allowed in the garden, but with all of his frustrated grumbles, I won't be sleeping any time soon.