"I swear if you apologize one more time." Shizuha chuckled. Momo shook her head, looking out at the coast line with her niece. "Mom told me that she came down here after the war." She sighed.
"Yeah... She dragged me out here at five in the morning..." Momo smiled. "She was worried honestly." She whispered. "Worried how I was going to be after the war, how Mina was going to be... How you guys were going to be.." She nudged Shizuha, smiling at her. "You guys turned out fine.... For what its worth." Momo laughed.
"Yukime... How is she? I haven't seen her since... Well everything." She frowned. "And Masashi." She added.
"Yukime had her first pup... Cutest little boy." Momo smiled. "Masashi had a boy too. Finally mated the girl." Momo chuckled. "Both of them show strong alpha qualities. Poor Masashi." She continued to laugh. Shizuha nodded her head, looking down at the sand below them. "You should see them... It'll mean a lot to them." Momo suggested.
"What if... After everything.. They don't want me around?" Shizuha let out a small sigh. "I've caused so much suffering..."
"The battle of the dark and light is already being taught to the children in the education system. Teaching them to not feel guilty for their ancestors actions. Teaching them to accept who they are... And living with what they have. To find the light in the dark." Momo explained. "You and Sana both found light in your darkness. Both being your family." She smiled. Shizuha looked up at her aunt, raising an eyebrow at her. "What?" She chuckled.
"Mama told me you were smart, never wise." She chuckled. "And only when you wanted to be." She smirked. Momo let out a nervous laugh, kicking the sand under her feet.
"There's a reason why your mother kept me as a leader after she was appointed Alpha Leader." Momo chuckled. "For that exact reason." She smiled.
Shizuha felt a nervous feeling building in her stomach. She ran her hand through her hair as she paced in the kitchen, waiting for the timer to go off. Soyeon chuckled, stopping her mate from pacing and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"You're going to be fine. Yukime and Yeji are excited for this. Masashi and Shuhua are too." Soyeon whispered in her ear. "And if you don't stop, Sihyeon will come in here and force you to calm down." She warned.
"I don't want that again." Shizuha whispered.
"Then take a deep breath, they're your family." She smiled. "Just because they're bringing pups with them does not mean you should be nervous." Shizuha nodded, hoping her mate was right. "Come on, help me with the food." She smiled. "Or Tsukiko will be angry with us both for not having dinner ready."
"Tsukiko is a demanding child." Shizuha chuckled.
It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door. Sihyeon came running from her room to open the door, smiling when she saw her aunts. Yukime pulled her into a hug, earning a giggle from the girl as she stepped in.
"Where are your parents?" She asked.
"In the kitchen!" Sihyeon giggled while hugging Yeji. "Hi Keiji." Sihyeon waved at her little cousin.
"Hi." He mumbled before walking in.
Yukime peeked into the kitchen, seeing Shizuha holding a pot while Soyeon scraped the rest of the food onto a bigger dish. She smiled, seeing the normal light in her eyes again.
"So... Child slavery is a thing in this house?" She joked.
"You know very well that we pay them a decent wage for answering the door." Soyeon laughed.
"Yeah, free room and board." Shizuha smirked. She finished helping her mate with plating food and walked up to her sister.
"Been a while little sister." Yukime whispered before pulling her into a tight hug. "You're smaller than I remember." She chuckled.
"Well... I don't know what I ate out there... Nor do I want to know." She chuckled. "I'll get back to where I need to be soon." She smiled. Yeji walked up behind them, a little boy trailing behind her. "Wow, I forgot that you were able to land someone so gorgeous." She laughed at her sister, getting a punch to the shoulder as a result of her remark.
"We missed you too Shizuha." Yeji laughed before hugging her. "This is Keiji." She introduced the little boy. Shizuha smiled, looking at the boy. "Keiji, this is Auntie Shizuha." She whispered.
"Hi." He mumbled. Shizuha knelt in front of him, smiling at him. He gasped at the sight of her teeth, and leaned forward to get a closer look. "Your teeth a sharper than mommy's..." He whispered.
"As they should be." Shizuha winked. Immediately Keiji liked his aunt, only because she had sharper teeth and seemed a lot more cooler than his parents.
There was another knock on the door, Shizuha being the one to answer it this time instead of Sihyeon. When she opened the door, she saw the familiar face of her baby brother, much, much taller than she remembered.
"Did you grow!?" Shizuha chuckled. Masashi rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips as he looked away from his older sister. Her eyes landed on the girl next to him, an eyebrow raised at him.
"Shuhua... This is my sister Shizuha." He smiled.
"Nice to finally meet you." The girl immediately bowed. "This is Yasu." She smiled while introducing their son.
"Nice to meet you all." Shizuha smiled at them. "Come in, dinner is almost done. Just waiting on Mom and Mama." She opened the door more, allowing them into their home. The children started playing in the living room, all of them giggling about various things while their parents talked to one another in the kitchen.
"Shi-tan, can you get Tsukiko? She should be up from her nap." Soyeon whispered. Shizuha nodded, excusing herself to the back room. She opened the door to her own bedroom, smiling when she saw the little child curled up on the bed.
"Kiko.... Time to wake up." Shizuha whispered while getting closer to the girl. The little girl lifted her head, still tired from her short nap before dinner. Shizuha smiled at her, holding out her hands for the little girl to sit up and be carried out. She was only three, but she was small for a three year old.
By the time she walked out, Mina and Sana had arrived. Mina immediately holding out her arms for Tsukiko. Shizuha passed her off, watching Tsukiko enjoy all of the attention from her grandmother. There was not one doubt in her mind that the kid was going to be an alpha. She reveled in the attention she received.
During dinner, the parents all caught up, each one talking about the various things in their lives and about their children. Sana and Mina stayed quiet, only talking when they were asked a question. Soyeon kept an eye on the children's table, which was oddly quiet for them. Of course they were so busy eating to not make a sound. Yeji listened to Masashi's problem with Yasu's grades and she offered the best help she could while Yukime and Shuhua talked about the chances of tutors for him.
"You know... This is very odd." Mina chuckled quietly.
"I know... Sometimes I like to close my eyes an imagine they're still little pups." Sana whispered.
"Sanana!" A little voice called out. Sana looked down, seeing Tsukiko reaching for her. She immediately lifted the little girl up and placed her on her lap.
"What? Why are you yelling at me?" Sana whispered. Soyeon and Shizuha went silent, mouth's wide open in shock. "What? Why are you two like that?" She asked.
"She's never spoken..." Soyeon whispered.
"Like.. Not even in the adoption agency...." Shizuha added. Sana blinked a few times, proud that her first word was her nickname.
"Well.. I'm glad that her first word was to her leader." Sana smirked. Mina pushed her arm, a laugh escaping her mouth. "I'm kidding. I'm honored. Now what do you want?" She chuckled.
"Yummy." Tsukiko pointed at her plate, which Sana happily shared with her.
Shizuha and Soyeon smiled at one another, both feeling content with everything now. No more looming threats, no darkness... Nothing terrible in their lives to tear them apart anymore. Soyeon glanced over, seeing the most recent family photo they had taken a few weeks after they had gotten Tsukiko.
Shizuha was holding Sihyeon on her lap, Soyeon right next to her with Tsukiko on hers. In Sihyeon's hands was a photo of Mia, all of them smiling for the photo. She couldn't help but feel that a part of her was missing from that, but she still felt like she was here sometimes. Sihyeon would remind her that she was always with her, giving her some peace of mind as well as paranoia because Sihyeon claimed to see dead people.
"You're crying again.." Shizuha whispered while handing her a napkin. Soyeon took the napkin, quickly dabbing her eyes before more tears flowed. She felt a hand on her arm, looking up she saw Mina giving her a warm smile. She was happy to have this family back. Even if it put her through hell to get it this far.
A/N: My Dragons! Thank you so much for sticking with this book. Yes, this is the end. I hope you guys all enjoyed it. I hope I didn't ruin too many days with the sad chapters. I hope you all will check out my other works, as well as a new book I have in the works in the future. Thank you again.
-Eliza