Page 102 of Believe In Us

Now, here we are. The two of us, each with a beautiful baby in our arms, standing on the porch of the beach house Bass bought off his father. For us, our home. I still can’t believe I have my own place to call home. I always lived on borrowed land staying in rented mobile homes, then moving to the foster house, and ending up at the academy dorms.

None of that was ever enough, though I figured that’s all I’d ever had. However now, I have more than I ever dreamed of.

“Shh, shh” I coo, rocking my sweet baby boy in my arms. His wild blond hair, already long and curling behind his ear, glistens underneath the beautiful golden sunset. Gray eyes, just like his father’s watch me with an admiration I never thought I’d see from anyone other than Bass. “Momma loves you Onyx James, and I will for the rest of my life.”

Beside me Sebastian cradles Sapphire, swinging her back and forth, my baby girl giggling in her father’s arms. She’s already a daddy’s girl and a total thrill seeker, preferring to be swung over rocked. Bass holds her up in the air, her chubby little arms and legs kicking back and forth, as the most beautiful of smiles appears over her soft features. My children are remarkably beautiful. Each one a perfect mix of their father and me.

Ace and Scarlett appear, walking up the steps of the house toward us, Caeli giggling loudly as she waddles before them. The moment she sees Saph and Onyx she lets out a loud squeal of excitement. These three already have a bond unlike any other. Only a year old, as of today, but they are inseparable.

“How are my birthday babies,” Scarlett yells, reaching out to take Onyx out of my arms, just as Bass lowers Saph to the floor with Caeli. It’s like looking in a mirror with those two, both exact replicas of their mothers. The girls jump up and down, holding hands, and laughing loudly as Onyx wiggles out of Scarlett’s arms, begging to be put down to join them. He rushes over, nearly tackling Caeli to the floor in a big bear hug.

“Woah there little man, be careful,” Ace jokes, grabbing the two of them before they hit the floor. “You’re going to hurt my little angel.”

“Where are my beautiful nieces and my handsome nephew?” Stella shouts, exiting the house. The three of them turn to their auntie, rushing over into her open arms. “My little birthday babies, are you ready for some yummy cake?” It is truly amazing seeing that girl smile. After everything she went through in the past year with Stephan losing his damn mind and aiming his wrath on Stella. There is no better site than seeing her thrive.

Of course Saph is the first to shout, my precious little gem has a huge, sweet tooth like her momma. “I’ll take them inside, why don’t you four go take a walk or something. We still have about an hour before guests show up,” Stella says, taking the girls by the hand.

“We’ll go finish setting up outside,” Scar suggests, looking at Ace who walks up the steps with a large cooler. “We brought over some ice for the snow cone machine we bought, and of course they delivered the carousel.”

“I still can’t believe you ordered an actual carousel,” I scoff at my sister, who finally accepted her late father’s inheritance. Of course she denounced the rest of the Smoak’s inheritance, that was to be split between herself and her cousins Alek and Drea, but Maxwell had quite a few million separate. Combine that with the money Ace inherited from his trust fund after turning eighteen, they’re fucking loaded.

Scar glares at me with her hands on her hips, “They are Caeli’s favorites. She loves horses and the carousel music box Ace bought her for her birthday calmed her before bed last night. It’s a godsend.”

“Oh lord these kids are going to be fucking spoiled,” Bass sighs out loud. “I bought Onyx his first guitar yesterday, and Saph a real sapphire and diamond necklace.”

I nod my head in agreement, “They will be loved, cared for, and given everything they deserve. It’s the least we can do.”

Ace and Scar walk off toward the back of the house, while Bass reaches for me, enveloping me in a hug. “So, it seems like they have everything under control. How about you and I sneak away for a moment and head upstairs.”

“Sebastian Silver, are you suggesting you and I sneak off and have a quickie in the middle of our children’s first birthday party.” I ask, feigning shock.

He gazes into my eyes, and gone is my loving boyfriend, but in his place appears my ferocious lover. “No Jade Wolfe, I’m demanding you let me take you upstairs and fuck your brains out before I’m forced to come back down and act civilized in front of all the guests.”

I chuckle wholeheartedly, grasping his face in between my palms. “Oh baby you’re not fooling anyone. Everyone knowsyou’re a savage beast, but you are my savage beast. So take me in your arms and have your way with me Sebastian.”

He grunts in response, picking me up and carrying me upstairs to our bedroom.

My monster turned out to be the hero of my story. He asked me to believe in us, and after fighting against it, against all odds, I finally gave in and followed my heart. I would never again be alone. I had my alpha and together we started our little pack.

This is what true happiness feels like.

THE END

Epilogue

JADE

Eighteen Years Later

Teenage girls screaming and chanting at the top of their lungs, has to be one of the methods of torture banned by the Geneva convention. Damn these bitches have lungs on them. I look over at Sebastian, who’s standing there proud as punch like he is at every single one of these shows. He looks up at the stage in awe, waiting for an angel to magically land on it or some shit. I may not be a deer in headlights watching the empty stage with worship, but I definitely understand what he is feeling. Pride and fucking joy. Our baby is a damn rockstar! How many people can say that shit? He worked his ass off since he was three years old, learning to play every instrument known to man, not to mention being blessed with the voice of an angel isn’t so bad either.

I’ll never forget the day he came home, the month before senior year started, and told us he was switching to online learning andgoing on tour. As responsible parents, our first reaction was questioning what the fuck he thought he was doing. Then about five minutes into our mandatory, and well-deserved parent rant - we’ve got really good at those having to yell at twins for the past eighteen years, this whole parent shit, we got this - we realized he knew exactly what he was doing.

Onyx was never the little boy pretending to be a firefighter or police officer. No, my little man spent his days dressing up like rockers, rappers, and pop stars - lord help us, that Timberlake phase was the longest three months of my life. He had regular performances throughout the day at home - the morning show, the pre-dinner show, and an after-dinner show. This kid had an entire set list ready to go at the drop of a hat by age nine. We weren’t surprised when he showed an interest in music or when we noticed his talent for singing and playing instruments, with little to no instruction. His daddy was just the same, the only difference was he was allowed to follow through with his dreams. When my kids showed interest in anything Bass was always right there going full throttle into any hobby or activity. Girl Scouts, ballet, piano lessons, guitar lessons, even that time Onyx wanted to learn the damn cello. Bass thrived on being their biggest supporter when it came to the things they wanted out of life. He never wanted to treat his children's aspirations like his father treated his. Stephan Silver forbade him to pursue music and I knew as soon as we started to come down on Onyx about his choice, he would fold like a deck of cars. My savage monster has gone soft.

“Dammit Onyx, you better make sure this is what you really want, because we really need to ensure we are doing this the right way.”

“What do you mean “we” dad?” Onyx said, half expecting him to continue ranting at him.

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