“How many of the wolves are left?” Damien asked Julia. He’d heard some movement.
“They’re all still here,” she said, her voice trembling. “All of them.”
“Thank you,” Damien said, turning to his new pack. “You are welcome in peace.”
From the back of the cavern, Damien heard one female wolf begin to howl, the noise starting low and rising. The other wolves joined her in howling, their keening wails combining to form a sound that united grief and joy.
“Now,” Damien said to Julia, pulling her into his arms, “let’s go home.”
EPILOGUE:
Julia
Julia looked down at the babies in the crib. Both had wisps of red hair on their head—they were born with it. The boy’s hair was a lighter shade of red than the girl’s, but apart from that there was little to tell them apart.
A mobile hung above the cradle, and Julia put her finger on it to give it a spin. Stars and moons twirled slowly above their heads. The boy gurgled happily, but the other twin was busy tearing off her socks.
Damien came into the upstairs room that had been converted into a nursery.
“They’re waiting for us downstairs,” he said.
“Just a second. This one doesn’t want to keep her socks on.”
“No more stalling,” Damien said, lifting the infant into his arms and tickling her feet before pulling the sock back on. “It’s been two weeks already little one. You need a name.”
“I’m nervous,” Julia said. “What if you don’t like the names I pick?”
“Don’t worry, I have nicknames already planned out just in case,” Damien said, smiling. “But it’s your right as a mother. Besides, you already know how terrible I am with names.”
Julia picked up the infant in her arms, his tiny fingers clutching at her shirt. Damien took the other and they went downstairs to where the rest of the family was waiting.
“They are so CUTE!” Katherine oohed and aahed over the babies dressed up nicely while Kyle tried to act nonchalant. Even Mara caught herself cooing in delight when the twins burst out into happy gurgles. Finally everyone settled down. Julia and Damien sat on the couch, the twins lying on their laps.
“We give our children names so that the world may know them,” Dee said. “When they are older they will choose their path, but a name is powerful. Within it is the life of ancestors that will guide them on their way.”
She looked over at Julia and smiled reassuringly. Julia could feel her chest tensing up. Then Damien put his hand on her back, and she relaxed.
“Child, you are a mother today, and you must give your children their names. Their guides.” Dee leaned forward. “What will your little girl be called?”
“Her name is Abigail Kinaya,” Julia said.
“Kinaya,” Dee murmured. “An old name.”
“What does it mean?” Katherine asked.
“It means whole,” Julia said. “Complete.” Damien’s hand clasped over hers, and she smiled. He had made her whole, and now their family was complete. Well, almost complete.
“And the boy?” Dee asked.
“Blaise,” Julia said, and swallowed. A lump had come into her throat. “Blaise Jordan.”
Damien’s fingers clenched involuntarily, and when Julia looked over she saw a sheen in his sightless eyes. She leaned her head into his shoulder.
Raucous celebration broke out, as everybody spoke at once.
“So adorable,” Mara said, leaning over to tickle Abigail’s feet. “If I wanted kids, of course.”
“If you did, of course,” Julia said, grinning.
“Good names, child,” Dee said, coming over to hug Julia and Damien in turn. “You chose well.”
“Jordan at least will be a good protector,” Damien said, his voice scratched with unshed tears.
“We’re not naming our kid Cody! Or Corey! Or Cally!” Kyle said to Katherine, throwing his hands up in the air. Everybody laughed as Katherine crossed her arms stubbornly and chattered on about the best names and how Kyle obviously had no taste in naming children.
Damien and Julia sat on the couch together as the party continued. He draped his arms around her.
“Our family,” Julia said. She looked down at the babies. The joy in her was overwhelming, and she felt the connection between them more than ever.
“Look,” Julia said, sending all of her love to Damien. Then he was there, beside her in mind as well as body. She could sense it.
“I can see them,” Damien whispered. The love in his voice tore her heart in two. Tears ran down his cheeks. She blinked back her own tears, willing herself not to obscure the only view he would have of their children.
“I can see them,” he said, his voice full of wonder. “I can see them! Oh Julia! They are so beautiful!”
In the gray morning mist, one firefly winked for the last time before dawn. The pine branches above rustled against each other, and pollen twinkled like stars in between the shadows. From across one side of the valley came the call of a bird. A pause, a silence. Then from the darkest heart of the valley came a responding echo: the call of a mate.