Epilogue
Twelve Years Later
“Aaron Arthur and William John, you better stop fighting right this instance or so help me you, I’ll freeze you for a week!”
The six-year-old twins stopped mid action at the threat, deciding whether it was worth the punishment to continue the brawl. Aaron’s teeth and nails were pointed and there were tuffs of fur in place of his tanned skin, and his arm was pulled back and ready to swing. Will held in his hand a ball of blue electricity, which bobbled and swirled as it faced his brother.
The brothers came to the same conclusion that their mother was bluffing and attacked simultaneously. Aaron’s paw scratched Will’s cheek right as Will’s blue ball hit Aaron in the shoulder. The brothers flew apart from one another, snarling. Aaron’s shift finished and a small wolf cub stood growling and spitting on the wood floor. Across from him, Will stood clutching his bleeding cheek.
Before the brothers could continue the battle, their father swooped in and picked them both up, one on either side of his body.
“Is your mother letting you fight again?” he asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
I huffed and shifted our four year old daughter in my arms. “It’s not funny, David. They’re going to seriously hurt each other.”
My husband winked at me, as he was prone to do when he knew I was irritated. It had become a promise over the years. For every time I was irritated with him or our three rowdy children, every time he winked my way, he would show me and prove to me again why our lives were perfect. Because after all the years, David was still able to affect me in a way no one else could. He could make any irritation worth it.
“What are you fighting about now, boys?”
Will, being the twin with a still functioning human voice box, answered first. “Aaron said you’re taking him because he’s better, but that’s not fair!”
Aaron shifted back to human form, his tongue sticking out at his brother. “Is too! Dad likes me more.”
In my arms, Kaelyn Jaquelyn started crying again. She had been shrieking on and off since I picked her up from dance lessons twenty minutes prior, her leotard and tutu still donned. I bounced her up and down lightly while I frowned at the twins.
“Aaron, Will,” David said in warning, “we talked about this.”
Little Aaron had the good grace to look down, away from his father’s disapproving eyes. Will just pouted.
“But dad, I want to go with you too! It’s not fair. I want to go running.”
David’s gaze softened and he kissed Will’s forehead. “Will, your brother and I cannot stay in our human forms. We have to go running. And if you come, who is going to take care of your mother and sister?”
I rolled my eyes, hating the you-need-to-be-the-man-of-the-house speech David would always give Will. I wanted to raise our children to believe the sexes were equally powerful, but David and I had learned over the months that this speech seemed to be the only thing that would make Will understanding enough that he wouldn’t wail and complain the whole time David and Aaron were gone.
“But it’s not fair!” Will screamed again. “I want to be a werewolf too!”
David laughed and kissed Will on the forehead again. At one time or another, the twins had each complained that it wasn’t fair that they weren’t what the other was. If it were possible to switch between Shifter and witch, these boys would be forever doing that.
Kaelyn quieted down, now that there were no screaming brothers to bother her.
“What about last night when you learned how to light a candle and you said being a witch was the coolest thing in the world?” David asked quietly.
Will looked contemplative for a second before smiling and making a small flame start on his finger. Aaron frowned at the new source of light.
“I like it,” Will said quietly. “But how come I can’t run with you too?”
David sighed. “Because it is dangerous for you, Will. You are not a werewolf like your brother, and your brother isn’t a witch like you.”
Still frowning, Will glanced between his father and his burning finger.
“Well I wouldn’t want to be a stupid witch anyway!” Aaron yelled as he wiggled out of his father’s hold and slid to the ground. “I don’t care how many lights you make, I can still run faster!” And to prove his point, he took off running down the hall to the bedroom the two boys shared.
I sighed at his retreating bare rear end, wondering when the time would come that we wouldn’t have any arguments or fights before a moon. If it was a full moon, the boys wanted to be werewolves. If it was a new moon, they wanted to be witches. I turned to our daughter who was curled against me and sucking her thumb. I wondered when she would start complaining and acting jealous. At four, she didn’t understand that she was excluded from both outings.
Will seemed to have ignored his brother in lieu of mumbling things in David’s ear. But it seemed the worst of the fight had left him as David lowered him to the floor.
“Why don’t you go make sure your brother is getting ready, okay?”
“Okay,” Will mumbled, placated, as he slowly followed his brother’s footsteps to their shared bedroom.
I frowned, not trusting the boys not to start fighting again. But before I could make my way down the hallway to their room, David approached me. As he neared, Kaelyn started wiggling in my arms and reaching for her father. It was not secret that David was the favored parent for all our children. I handed her over wordlessly and watched her smile and grab onto his neck.
“And how’s my princess doing today?” David greeted our daughter, bouncing her slightly in his arms like he knew she loved.
“Wolf night!” she yelled with a giggle.
David smiled. “Yeah, tonight Daddy’s going to be a wolf, along with your brother Aaron.”
“Daddy, I danced today. I’m bal-rina.” She kicked her feet, missing any object she may have been aiming for, while she changed the topic to shine upon herself.
David tugged on the tutu and tickled her tiny feet. As she shrieked laughter he said, “I can see that. You’re dressed like the finest ballerina I’ve ever seen!”
“And I made picture! We painted in class.”
Like a good father, David dramatized a gasp. “You did? Will you show me?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed with a wiggle, signaling she wanted to be released. David obliged and placed her feet carefully on the ground. She took off down the same hallway her brothers had taken, to her bedroom across from theirs.
While I watched her retreat, David stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me snugly against him. I turned and smiled up at my werewolf.
“Be safe tonight,” I murmured, repeating words I said before every full moon. “Don’t let Aaron run off and get lost.” David and Aaron ran with a coyote pack and a fox pack in the area. Both packs were so small that they usually ran together, since they all seemed to get along well. Aaron had become good cub friends with one of the foxes, who was a year above the twins in school.
David rolled his eyes and kissed my nose. “Years later and you still worry about everything,” he teased. “Aaron and I are going to be fine.”
“I know,” I said as I slowly lead my hands up David’s chest to wrap around his neck, “but I still worry. Anything could happen.”
David leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of my jaw. “But nothing will,” he whispered as he tugged my earlobe between his teeth. “Until I get back,” he added with a promise.
A quiet groan escaped me as I knew what the promise meant. But before David could give me any more clues so that I was absolutely certain as to what he was referring to, we heard a soft padding of feet and pulled apart from one another. Scampering towards us was our daughter, a large piece of off-white construction paper in her hand.
“Picture,” she said, holding the paper up for us to see. “This is my family,” she added proudly.
There were five figures, awkward and two-dimensional like all early artwork is prone to be. Below each figure was a name. On either end were short figures with black hair, each wearing green pants. The one labeled AARON in blocky letters had a yellow shirt on. Above his head and the head next to it was what appeared to be a wolf head, a brown triangular blob with pointed ears. Next was a tall brown haired figure with black pants and a pink shirt, the word DADDY etched beneath. In the middle was obviously Kaelyn, in a pink leotard with a purple tutu. Below her read ME and above her were two pink ovals which appeared to be ballerina shoes. Next was MOMMY with long black hair and a purple triangle dress. Above my head and the head marked JOHN was a blue and yellow streaked blob, like she tried to paint a firework.
“It’s beautiful, honey,” David complimented, kneeling down to be eye level with the picture.
Kaelyn smiled proudly, happy to have gotten the praise she was expecting. She pointed to the wolf head. “It’s a wolf because you and Aaron are wolves.” Her finger moved to the blue and yellow blob as she continued, “And mommy and John are witches, so they have magic. And I am bal-rena so I have bal-rena shoes.”
As I kneeled down Kaelyn handed the picture to me,
“Mommy, put it on the wall.”
“Where you would like me to put it?” I asked with a smile as I reached out and took the picture offered to me. She couldn’t wait to be famous, even if it was only as the artist of a painting in her family home.
“Ummm, I’ll go look!” She turned and ran back down the hallway, staring at bits of the wall as she passed. No doubt she would look over every inch of the house to find the best place for her masterpiece.
David and I regarded the painting in my hand.
“We have quite a life, don’t we?” He asked quietly, entwining his fingers in mine.
I thought of our three wild children. Aaron, our werewolf cub who was able to cause a colossal amount of damage despite his still small size. Will, our little witchling who was raised unconventionally for a witch, able to run around and explore. As twins, they had a lot more in common than they liked to admit. And then Kaelyn, our perfectly human daughter. She was a princess and a star by nature, special without any magic at all. When David and I imagined our life together and having children, these three weren’t anything we imagined.
“It’s perfect,” I agreed.