CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V
Adamaris and the council were able to break the bond between me and Esmeralda before finally executing her and destroying the talisman.
We held Samantha’s burial the next day. It felt wrong to hold it until after Esmeralda was dead. It was so difficult for me to stand next to her body and act like it wasn’t my fault she was dead. Logan assured me no one felt that way, but I felt that way.
What made it a lot harder was having to explain to Amelia that her mum was going away. She wasn’t even two yet, she didn’t understand the concept of death, and she just stayed in my arms and kept on screaming the word ‘mummy’ over and over again. Logan tried to take her away from me but she refused to let anyone else hold her.
Amelia’s things were moved into our house the day after the funeral. She was a frolicky baby with a terrible sleep schedule. I attributed that to the fact that she missed her mum. Considering each time she woke up, she would ask for her mother.
A lot of people advised that I take away all pictures of Samantha because if she saw her less, she would forget about her but I refused to do that. It would be an insult to Samantha to make her daughter forget her. So even though it hurt, I made sure to show Amelia pictures of her mother every day.
The greatest shock happened the day Aubrey and Evan had to leave. They came over with Kaden because I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to leave the house. While we were talking, we didn’t realize that Kaden had snuck off.
We went out in search of him and found him cuddled up beside Amelia in her crib. Both of them were peacefully snoring and the four of us exchanged confused looks.
Aubrey took Kaden out of the crib and almost immediately Amelia started to cry. It took us all of one minute to realize that they could possibly be mates. I was torn on whether to leave them together but Aubrey and Evan were insistent on their standpoint.
“I want my son to be happy,” Aubrey had said, “More than anything; but they’re going to hurt themselves if they grow up knowing they are mates. They’ll only meet when necessary but otherwise, they don’t need to know they are mates until they are both mature enough.”
Logan agreed, so I did too. It was hard to get Amelia to sleep after that, and for the next two days, she didn’t sleep without the blanket that Kaden lay on.
My major worry during all that was that I wouldn’t be able to take care of a newborn and Amelia at the same time; but thankfully, Amelia had calmed down significantly by the time I gave birth.
We named our son Samuel- after Samantha. Diana and Jake cried when we told them his name. After I was released from the hospital, I took him to Samantha’s grave to introduce her to him. I knew it wasn’t enough thanks for what she had done for me, but it was a start.
Amelia loved Samuel, she took the role of a big sister very well, and she told anyone in the pack who would listen that she had a baby brother.
“Mum,” Amelia’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to her with a small smile.
She is ten now, and she has grown into a splitting image of Samantha. Her curly hair is braided in two fishtails down her back and she was wearing a yellow sundress with matching pointe shoes- she must have just finished with dance.
I stood up from the basement floor and brushed dust off my trousers, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking at pictures of your mum,” I admitted and an unreadable expression crossed her face, “Do you want to join me?”
She hesitated for a second before nodding and sitting next to me. After a few minutes of looking in silence she spoke, “How did my mum die?”
“She was killed by a witch.”
“Like Addy and Celeste?”
Adamaris never left our pack, and she introduced herself to our kids as soon as they were old enough to understand the need to keep her name a secret.
“Addy and Celeste are good witches,” I explained, “She was not.”
Her features held understanding but she didn’t say anything. I could sense that she wanted to say something but was holding back. I started to ask but loud footsteps interrupted me.
Samuel ran into the basement wearing cargo shorts and a plain tee. He is just 8 but is already a splitting image of his father.
“Hey mum,” he turned to Amelia, “Dad was looking for you; Katelyn too.”
I put away the photo album and helped Amelia up. Samuel stuck by my side as we made our way outside.
The noise alerted me to where they were. I followed it to the backyard and saw Logan with our 2 year old Katelyn slung over his shoulder, while four year old James ran around him in circles trying to grab his sister.
James is like another mini Logan while Katelyn looks exactly like me down to the same birthmark on our inner thigh.
Katelyn saw me first and she squealed until her dad put her down. She ran over to me and buried her face in my legs. I ruffled her hair but before I could pick her up, she pulled away from me and ran over to Amelia and stretched out her arms.
The action made me laugh. Amelia bent down and picked her sister up then pressed a kiss to her head.
I was so enthralled with watching them that I didn’t realize when Logan walked up behind me and wrapped him arms around my mid section. He pressed a kiss to my temple and I smiled up at him.
Amelia noticed him too because she turned to him, “You were looking for me.”
“Katelyn was looking for you,” on hearing her name, Katelyn raised her little head, “she wanted to chase butterflies.”
“Butterfly,” she squealed and struggled until Amy put her down.
As soon as she hit the floor, she took off as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. She took off too quickly because she slipped over a root and fell to the ground.
Her lower lip began to wobble and I muttered a small curse. If Katelyn starts crying, there is no stopping her.
I was about to rush to her side when Amy fell dramatically to the floor. Everyone turned to her, even Katelyn.
“That hurt,” she exclaimed, “But it’s fine because the grass is soft.”
Samuel took the cue and fell as well, then James did and soon they were all laughing, the tantrum already forgotten.
I watched as they all played together and felt my heart warm. We did a good job with them.
“We did good, didn’t we?” Logan voiced out my thought and I couldn’t help but smile at him.
“I think so.” I agreed.
“Mum,” Samuel interrupted us by running over to my side, “Can we go see Uncle Greg and Claire tomorrow?”
Greg and Diana ended up having one child. A little girl named Claire and I swear, she is the smartest six year old that you will ever come across. She also has Greg’s ‘know it all’ personality which can be a huge pain in the ass.
“They’re coming over with the twins and Uncle Jake.”
Jake found his mate around the same time Diana gave birth. His mate was a rogue who crossed our border by accident. Her name is Alicia and they have two kids- twins. A little boy named Farrow and a girl named Fawn.
They are four years old just like James and they are a pair of rascals; literally, the most mischievous humans ever. You have to keep a constant eye on them or something will blow up.
Samuel looked excited by the prospect of his cousins visiting and rushed back to his siblings to play.
“Do you think we should take them in now?” I asked Logan.
He didn’t answer, only gestured for me to sit on the floor next to him. I obliged and he leaned against a tree and pulled me to lean against his chest.
“Let them be kids,” he said finally, “besides, the longer they stay out here, the more likely they are to tire themselves out. That way, they will eat dinner and fall asleep immediately.”
I agreed with his plan and we let the kids play but kept a close eye on them.
As I watched my family, I couldn’t help but mutter a quick thanks to Samantha, I couldn’t have done it without her.