The song for this chapter is "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt a video is attached. It just screams Jamie and Carter.
This chapter is dedicated to bonez0211 who inspired me to do a sequel which I am pretty excited about.
Enjoy!
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* Carter Stone *
It has been eleven months since I came back to Paquete de Lune de Sangre and it has been nothing like I could have expected. Though everything wasn't how it was before I was relieved of my Beta duties, it wasn't far off. Instead of being the sole Beta, Brett and I now shared the position. Well, for the most part anyway. The line has been drawn as far as if anything ever happens to Nate. For now Brett and I are equals but, in case of his departure Brett would step up as Alpha. To be honest, he deserved it more then I did anyway.
The three of us, Nate, Brett, and I traveled together often being called the three musketeers or the three stoogies by Jamie and Chloe. Nice huh?
As weird as you may think hanging out with Nate was, it really wasn't that bad . Within a few days everyone accepted the fact that I was back and ignored the reason why I had left in the first place. Excluding the first two days when the questions strolled in.
Often I was asked why I gave up on Jamie, why I decided to push her towards Nate instead of continuing to fight for her. The answer is simply really, they belong together. For the longest time I wanted to ignore that they meshed well together. I didn't want to see that she mellowed him out and made him a better person. Or that he made her stronger. No, I only wanted to see the fact that she belonged to me and I spent my time focusing on all the negative things he did to take her. But, as much as I wanted Jamie to be mine at the time, her love was devoted to him since the day he marked her.
To this day, I still have people question how I watch them together. How I can sit by seeing them happy, holding hands and kissing. I would be lying if I said it didn't get to me every now and then. However, I know their will be a time for me to find that feeling again. If Nate and Jamie can make their wolves fall in love then I knew their was hope for me to do the same.
People seem to be curious about Heather as well, I'm not sure why. Some tend to think I should have followed her and we could have become a couple. As if us doing that would right a wrong or something. However, you can't force feelings. Desires to be with Heather Clark are something I'll never see myself having again. Last thing I heard she was still trying to find herself a mate. Of course finding someone to run the pack with wasn't hard, every omega and delta wanted the position. According to the gossip spewing about, she was waiting to fall in love before settling down. I admired that.
Glancing up I stared at the old school clock next to the fridge. My eyes zoomed in on the seconds hand watching every single click it made as it maneuvered around in a circle. Leaning back I let out a breathy groan catching Nate's attention immediately. Slowly his head lifted from its resting position in his hands as he looked at me, his eyes still blood shot and filled with worry. "She will be alright" I promised him though only a second later Chloe let out an eerie scream which had his shoulders rolling back.
'How's she doing?' My wolf questioned Brett who was upstairs tending to the needs to his new wife who just so happened to be delivering their first child.
'Good' was all he muttered back before focusing on the task at hand, not that I blamed him.
"I can't believe we are going to be uncles" Nate chuckled resting back in his chair as he fought to think of anything but the fact that his baby sister was having pups of her own at this very minute.
"God, I know" I sighed drastically "I feel so old" I joked causing him to let out a hearty laugh. As weird as it is sometimes to be around Nate, moments like this made me remember why we were best friends in the first place. Yes, their are times when I look at him and think back to all the pain he caused me, all the heart ache I endured at his hands. Other times I remember how badly I wanted to make him feel that way, no matter the cost. Yet, more than anything I've learned that it wasn't all his fault. As easy as it is to blame someone else I know I'll never heal if I don't accept my mistakes as well.
"Nate, Carter" Jamie called out rushing into the kitchen with a huge grin on her face. Dabbles of blood splattered her clothing, a clear indication she was very hands on in the delivery. Instantly the two of us jumped up, knocking out chairs back in perfect unison. "They're here."
"They?!" We blurted at the same moment. Blashfully she nodded her head before reaching out and grabbing Nate's hand. Tugging him she charged down the hallway, nodding her head as she turned to me as a signal to follow. The three of us zoomed in and out of our pack mates who were all just as eager as we were to meet the new member-members.
Slowly Jamie opened the door at the far end of the house, where the pack doctor resided. Chloe sat on the bed being covered by a thin white sheet. Her blonde hair was scattered about though she didn't pay my attention to it . Brett, the newly proud father was kneeling down beside the bed, staring at the two identical babies wrapped up against Chloe's chest.
"Hey" he spoke once he noticed us walking in. Clearing his throat he stood up as I made my way around the bed to him. Without thought I hugged him. Not like one of those casual typical male embraces. Oh no, this was a full on hug from a proud big brother to a younger one. I patted his back a few times before releasing him as he did the same with Nate.
"They're beautiful" I announced loudly making sure to flash my sister in law a bright genuine smile before turning my gaze downward.
"What did you name them?" Nate asked walking around the bed before leaning down and kissing his sisters forehead lovingly.
With a huge grin Chloe looked up to Brett with wide admiring eyes. "This little girl" she lifted up her right arm slightly as Brett manuvered in and grabbed the small child before cradling her securely in his arm.
"Is Emily" he finished peering down at his daughter like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and she was. "And that beautiful angel" he flickered his gaze to Chloe as he watched her stroke the cheek of the baby in her arms. "Is Erica."
For some reason this made me chuckle which caused the four pairs of eyes to turn in my direction. "I guess we are going to have our hands full, warding off all of the male pups" I continued my playful streak with jokes.
"Oh I already know" Brett chimmed in as Nate reached down after an invitation from Chloe and grabbed Erica. For such a big guy, he looked like quite the softy snuggling up to a seven pound child. "Want to hold her?" He asked nudging my forearm to gain my attention.
Nodding I sat down in the chair by the bed, feeling more secure since the last baby I held was Annabelle years ago. Once I was positioned properly Brett placed Emily on top of my folded arms. Her body was wrapped comfortably in a white fuzzy blanket making her look like a cloud was draped around her. From moving her, the small hat on her head slid back revealing deep brown hair the same shade Brett and I possessed.
Emily began to shuffle around slightly as she let out a small whimper. I began to rock her slowly as I spoke to her "it's okay Emily, Uncle Carter has you" I promised as she tiny eyelids fluttered open as she looked up at me. Her eyes stayed open jut long enough for me to see the light shade of blue that matched her mothers perfectly. They started to close again slowly, as she nuzzled her face into my chest relishing in the warmth my body produced.
"She loves you already" Jamie whispered from across the room. As I looked up I saw the adorning smile that graced her face as she watched me with a child. The look was bittersweet really. After I grinned back to let her know I appreciated the comment, her gaze turned to Nate. Slowly she placed her hand against his powerful bicep, peering around it to get a good look at Erica.
Nate turned to her, sporting a goofy look of his own as though holding his sisters offspring made him think about his own future and his own children. Their gazes locked, both dreaming of the same thing before they shared a small kiss over the baby's head. Surprisingly them doing so didn't make me angry nor did I feel jealous of him having Jamie. I would rather be here watching that just to have a part of Jamie in my life then to be anywhere else without her.
I turned to my brother wanting him to know how happy I was for him but as I turned to my left, he wasn't there. He now stood by his wife, leaning over the bed as he clutched her hands tightly whispering about how good she did and thanking her for giving him the best gifts of all.
Looking back down at Emily, I watched her small chest rise and fall in a steady movement as she laid carelessly in my arms. My life wasn't perfect and looking around the room I knew their were things missing. Yet, at the same time I felt content with the way things were going, with my friendships both new and old, my growing bond with my brother, and now the two newest blessings in my life.
Over the years life has taught me many lessons, hard lessons that I wouldn't have learned had I not gone through the pain and struggles I faced. I learned that sometimes you don't get the girl and sometimes you don't get the perfect happy ending. No, I don't have it all together nor am I close to having everything that I've ever wanted. But, sometimes you don't actually have to have it all to have it all.
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I hope this epilogue was enough for those of you who don't want to read the sequel. I hope you are happy with the way it ended. For me, I love the last paragraph and how Carter is accepting the fact that in life you won't always come out on top or get what you want.
Please vote if you enjoyed this chapter.
I love you guys and I want to thank each and everyone of you who has made it to this point in my book. In doing so, you have supported me and my dream of writing and I can never thank you enough. With all my heart I thank you. <3