Moana
A little while later, Edrick and I were standing in the front doorway of the mansion and looking out at the scene before us. The security guards were leading Michael, who was cuffed, over to the car. His nose was still clotted with blood from Edrick's punch, but something about it was satisfying to see.
I enjoyed seeing Michael finally face some consequences for his actions, and I especially enjoyed watching Selina scold him like a child. What was even more satisfying, though, was seeing him being shoved into the back of the car to be driven down to the police station. Kat was found by the guards, too.
Not long after Edrick punched Michael in the face, Kat was found hiding in the woods. As it turned out, Michael paid her a pretty penny to get close to me and lead me off into the forest to get lost so that he could kill me. She looked ashamed as the guards cuffed her, and wouldn't even lift her gaze to look at me. Edrick had already called the police and told them what happened.
They were waiting for Michael and Kat now, and I couldn't wait to see them both behind bars after everything that they did along with Kelly and Ethan. As we watched the security guards drive away with Michael in the back of the car, Edrick slipped his arm around me and let out a sigh. I couldn't help but tear up as I gazed up at him; just an hour ago, I thought that I had lost him forever. And now, he was standing beside me without a scratch on him.
"Come on," Edrick said, guiding me away from the door. "You should rest. Are you feeling alright?"
I nodded. "I'm fine. I feel great, actually. Maybe we should follow the security guards so we can give our statements to the police—" Suddenly, Edrick threw his head back and laughed. It was a loud and hearty laugh, much like the way that he laughed when we went to the comedy show together.
Hearing it after thinking that I would never get to experience his laughter again made me smile and made my heart feel full.
"You're always onto the next thing, aren't you?" Edrick asked, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "Always so focused on your goals. A little hard-headed, too, if you don't mind me saying." I felt myself blush.
"I guess you're right," I said with a laugh. "I guess I should have stayed here instead of going on that walk, huh?"
Much to my surprise, Edrick shook his head. "It's not your fault," he replied. "All of this would have happened one way or another. Those dreams that you had were visions of the future — you have the power of Foresight. There would have been no way to get out of what happened on that cliff." I couldn't help but furrow my brow in confusion.
"But my visions were wrong," I said. "I always saw Michael killing me and pushing me off the cliff..."
"We'll never understand it," Edrick said. "Foresight is a powerful gift, but it's often misunderstood. Someday, maybe you'll learn how to harness it a bit better. For now, though, let's just be glad that your visions prepared you for what was to come. I think that without those visions warning you about Michael's plan, he would have been able to kill you." I stared down at the floor for a few moments, processing. If only the Mother Witch was still alive and could help me figure these things out.
Now, I was alone in this. It was going to be a massive learning curve to teach myself how to be the Golden Wolf. Where would I even start? But I supposed that I wasn't really alone. I had a family now. At least we could learn together and be there to support each other through it all. Finally, I felt Edrick's hand under my chin. He tilted my face up and for the first time that day, I was able to gaze into his blue eyes deeply without any pain or worry. There was nothing steely or icy about them anymore. They were even more blue than the sky.
With a smile, Edrick slowly bent down to kiss me deeply on the lips. I relaxed into his kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him. As I did, I felt a deep and relaxed sigh release from his chest. He pressed himself up against me, and for a moment I felt our hearts beating against each other.
"Eww!" Ella's tiny voice rang out through the hallway, causing both Edrick and I to pull apart from each other and laugh. With a giggle, Ella ran up to us. Edrick scooped her up in his arms and held her on his hip.
"Are you doing okay after everything, Ella?" he asked. He had a bit of worry drawn across his face. Ella paused for a few moments, thinking as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.
Finally, she nodded. "I have the best mom and dad in the entire world," she said, grinning. "You guys are like superheroes. I couldn't be better!" Ella's words made my heart flutter and instinctively, I reached down and touched my belly.
For the first time, I finally felt like we were a real family. Nothing was keeping us apart now, and I couldn't wait to see our little family grow. I imagined that Ella would be an amazing and loving big sister, and I could only picture how happy Edrick would be to hold his second child in his arms. Edrick chuckled at Ella's words and pulled both of us close. For a long time, the three of us just held each other in the hallway as though we would never see each other again. I looked up to see Ella smiling down at me, and I reached up to pinch her little cheek. Her tiny giggles sounded like music to my ears.
Everything else that happened leading up to this moment almost seemed to melt away. Nothing else mattered. During these moments, there was only us, and I vowed then and there to keep it that way. When Edrick set Ella down, though, he nodded to himself and then gave me a melancholy look.
"Maybe we should head out," he said, glancing out the door that still stood ajar behind us. "Not to visit the police station, though." I shaked my head to the side.
"Where, then? Do you want to go back to the penthouse now?"
Edrick shook his head. "No," he replied. "We need to check on my mother. I hope that my dad didn't hurt her in any way."
My eyes widened. Verona... I had forgotten about her. It seemed as though the brief sense of that I felt earlier would have to be put on hold until we checked on her, and I was okay with that. Just like Edrick, I also hoped that she was safe and that Michael didn't hurt her. After all, I wanted her there to meet her second grandchild.