Rogues on the Run

Epilogue

                    Returning to a life of normalcy was likely the hardest part after the battle.

Some of us chose to diverge because we could not bear to glimpse at where lives were lost, and others tried their hardest to move on. Like me. Like Liam and I and the rest of our pack.

Going back to high school proved to be one of the most difficult tasks -- they we were, outsiders once again assimilating ourselves into a societal norm. Needless to say, we maintained few human friends and stuck close to one another; as Stella, Adam,  and Jeremy had chosen to go back, while Liam had chosen not to return to school, and instead procured his GED. He ended up taking some wood working classes at a technical school while I entered senior year quite belatedly, and I spread myself quite thin between leading a pack and school work.

It paid off when I graduated with a 3.7, and succeeded into getting into an art program at a local university. My dreams of New York and glamorous art galleries seemed out of reach, and my desire to stay near my pack overpowered feeling as though I needed to go to prove something to myself.

Regardless, in my sophomore year of college, I ended up doing just that.

I'd decided to go for one semester, to merely see how it was and I'd been there by myself for two weeks before Liam came. Due to the mating bond, it was difficult to remain far from one another, and I'd left Stella in charge in the mean time.

Liam and  I bunked in a studio apartment that was ridiculously over priced, but it was likely one of the strangest and enlightening experiences of my life. We pinched pennies and ate from a subpar Chinese restaurant, and the comparison of my art to the other prestigious individuals from my school was interesting. And I found I loathed it.

The school promoted creativity, indeed, but projects followed certain guidelines that professors were looking for, and I found I liked it when I freely expressed myself, and depicted what I wanted instead of what the task called for. I also found myself craving the open woods instead of the glass skyscrapers; I missed the chirps of birds in the morning and began to loathe the loud city traffic. Liam had little recreational freedom here as well, and we silently agreed that this may have been my dream before, but it no longer was. By the end of the semester, we packed up what little belongings we had taken and returned for the sake of our happiness.

I finished up at the local university and graduated at the top of the art program, with my whole pack in the audience as I walked across the stage. Liam was dressed nicely that day, pressed black slacks and a form fitting button up shirt. We drank champagne that night and twirled around our living room and pretended we were teenagers once again, and suppressed the haunting memories we often fought.

Jeremy and Rosalyn married that summer, and Rosalyn had likely been the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen. She ended up pregnant about two months after the wedding, and thus began the next the generation.

Most of the pack chose to settle down and soon the laughter of children greeted me as I passed by the cozy, brick homes. "Hi Alpha!" They'd chirp, and I'd smiled at them a long the way. Elijah, Jeremy's oldest son, was the easiest to spot with the copper curls and crystal clear eyes. Him and Rosalyn wasted no time in having more children, while most silently waited for Liam and I to have ours.

Stella felt similar pressure, seeing as Adam desired children like nobody else. Adam and  Liam had bonded over the years and maintained a close relationship, and I often caught them avidly discussing having a family of their own.

Stella felt no need for labels or marriage, but Adam felt otherwise. They struggled at times in their relationship, and it strained Stella and I's friendship in result. There was always the underlying worry in the back of her mind that Adam still wanted me in that sense, but I believed otherwise. Adam was head over heels in love with her, and she felt the same, though she never exactly expressed it.