Chapter 79: Epilogue
Epilogue
Rosie
Crazy things had happened within a year as I sat with my eyes closed waiting for Kira, Maya, and Elena to finish working their magic on my face. I couldn’t help but think about everything that had led to this moment.
Today was my wedding day.
I’d been told very firmly to keep my eyes closed so that they could finish my makeup without me trying to interfere, and according to them, this was going to flip Jude’s world upside down and send him over the moon when he saw me. I giggled and had to resist the urge to tell them that even without any makeup, Jude was already whipped, already completely flipped over the moon for me.
As I said earlier, so many things had happened after the naming ritual; we’d immediately resumed our pack duties as the new alpha and luna. Although it was hard on my end as a human being entrusted with all these wolfy duties and responsibilities, I’d had Jude and Elena there to guide me through every step and answer every question.
I’d adjusted to my lunar duties over time, but I’d also continued teaching at the pack school because teaching kids had been my passion since I was young.
After the ritual, I’d finally worked up the courage to call Kira, which I’d been putting off since I visited my parents because I was terrified she’d hate me for disappearing, and the moment she answered the phone, she absolutely chewed me up about vanishing on her without any explanation or warning.
She’d cried on the phone about how I’d left and never looked back and how she’d worried about me and wondered if I was okay or if something terrible had happened, and she’d said she felt so guilty about me leaving.
I apologized and tried to explain that I couldn’t handle everything that was happening at the time and that I’d needed a break, and she teased me, saying that apparently a break meant getting a man and a child, which made me smile.
I’d told her I couldn’t have it any other way, that Jude and Snow were the best things that had ever happened to me, and she’d responded that I deserved everything good.
Kira came to visit me, and as we were talking and catching up on everything that had happened, Kira excused herself, saying she needed to use the ladies’ room when River burst through the front door screaming, "MATE! I’d nearly dropped my phone in shock, and he’d come rushing over to me and started sniffing me frantically.
A loud warning growl from Jude, who’d come running from wherever he’d been in the house, had pulled River back, and I’d watched as the haze cleared from River’s eyes, and he’d apologized softly.
He’d explained that he’d smelled his mate, and the scent clung to me, but before I could even process what that meant, Kira had come back from the bathroom, wiping her wet hands on her jeans.
River had literally jumped on her the moment he saw her, and I’d watched in complete shock as my best friend from my human life turned out to be a werewolf who was also River’s mate.
That had been so unexpected and unlike my situation with Jude, where we’d had to take things slow and carefully because I was human, scared, and broken.
Kira and River had been mated and claimed almost immediately, which was surprising because I didn’t know mate frenzy could be like that, because Jude was really patient with me.
Not so shocking, Kira was pregnant, which was just absolutely crazy to think about: my friend who I’d lost touch with for months was now mated to Jude’s best friend.
Snow was now talking and walking around everywhere with his curious nature and boundless energy, and he looked like a two-year-old child instead of the one-and-a-half-year-old boy. He was such an intelligent, sweet, and calm little boy most of the time, and his smile always brightened up every room he entered. My baby boy, my miracle, my everything.
And then he’d shifted early, which had shocked everyone in the pack because werewolves supposedly had the ability to shift anytime between ages five and eighteen depending on how strong their wolf was and how much control they had. But during the full moon on Snow’s first birthday, my son had shifted into the white puppy I’d seen in my dream with Jude’s amber eyes.
That day had been absolutely hilarious in the most chaotic way possible because after tucking Snow into his cot for the night, I’d gone downstairs to get some water, and by the time I’d gotten back to his room just a few minutes later, Snow was missing from his cot. I panicked immediately, thinking that he’d somehow climbed out and hurt himself. Then Jude sniffed him out and saw our baby outside in the backyard.
Snow had been yipping happily in his little white puppy form with his tail wagging, and Jude had immediately shifted into his wolf form and started playing with our son while I’d stood there watching them wrestle and chase each other around under the moonlight.
It was a beautiful moment.
As for Jude, he’d continued playing his hockey at the local level because he didn’t want to leave his pack duties behind to pursue a professional career that would take him away from home for months at a time. He’d said he was thinking about focusing more on being a coach instead of a player so he could pass on his love for the sport to the next generation while still being present for the pack and for our family.
But the truth was that Jude really loved being on the ice and everything that came with it, loved the freedom, the adrenaline rush, and the control. He’d joked one day that maybe he would teach Snow how to skate and play hockey when he got older if Snow showed any interest in the sport.
We’d moved back to our cottage a few months after Snow’s birth, which had meant leaving the Winter mansion with Elena crying as she begged us not to go, saying she’d enjoyed having us stay there so much and that the house would feel empty without us and our baby.
But Jude and I had both needed the privacy for our new little family, and the cottage had always felt more like home to us anyway; it was the place where our relationship had truly begun.
Now here I was on my wedding day after Maya, Kira, and Elena had finally finished working their magic on my face and hair. I was dressed in a long white dress that flowed around my body and made me feel like something out of a fairy tale, with flowers clutched in my slightly trembling hands. I was getting married.
Marcus walked me down the aisle, and when I looked up, I saw Jude standing tall and handsome at the end of the aisle with River by his side as his best man.
Kira and Maya stood on the other side as my bridesmaids, and Kira’s baby bump was protruding slightly under her dress, which made me smile.
We’d decided to have the wedding on a small private island away from all the pack duties and responsibilities, with only our closest family members present and an elder there to witness our union and make it official in both human and werewolf traditions.
The moment I started walking down the aisle, Jude’s eyes locked onto mine, and I felt like all the air was being stolen from my lungs from the sheer intensity of his gaze, from the way he was looking at me like I was the only person in the entire world. My legs weakened immediately, and if Marcus hadn’t been holding me steady and supporting my weight, I was absolutely sure I would have tripped over my own dress and face-planted right there in front of everyone.
Snow was our ring bearer, and he took his job very seriously, walking carefully down the aisle ahead of us with the rings tied to a small pillow he carried in his hand, and everyone watching made soft cooing sounds at how adorable he looked in his tiny suit with his silver hair combed neatly.
When I finally reached the end of the aisle, Marcus placed my hand in Jude’s. I felt uncontrollable sparks erupt in my body; his hand was big and warm.
We said our wedding vows, and we exchanged rings while the elder spoke the traditional words about bonds, commitment, and family. Jude smiled at me with his eyes twinkling in that way that made my heart skip beats, and I found myself murmuring against his lips even before the elder had finished speaking because I couldn’t hold the words in anymore.
A tear rolled down my face because I was so grateful for having this man in my life, for him loving me so fiercely and completely, and for him protecting me and choosing me and making me feel wanted, needed, and cherished. "Thank you for coming into my life," I whispered with my voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for everything." Thank you for—"
Jude smiled and gently flicked my nose, which made me stop mid-sentence. "What did I say about thank-yous between us?" he asked softly.
I smiled through my tears because I remembered, remembered all the times he’d told me I never needed to thank him for loving me or taking care of me or being there for me. "We don’t need that between us," I repeated his words back to him.
"I love you," Jude said, his voice soft.
"I love you too, sweetheart," I responded, using his usual endearment for me, which made him laugh softly.
And then he was kissing me, and everyone around us was cheering and clapping, and I could hear Snow giggling somewhere nearby. Everything felt absolutely perfect in a way I’d never imagined my life could be.
If someone had told me a year and a half ago that my life would turn out like this, that I’d end up happily married to the love of my life with a beautiful baby and a new family that accepted me, I would have called it a complete lie. Because back then I’d truly believed that no one was ever going to want me or choose me, that I was just the fat ugly whale that everyone made fun of and nobody could ever love.
But the fat part was true; yes, I might be fat because the food I ate showed on my body, and I’d accepted that about myself finally. And I definitely wasn’t ugly because I was beautiful, and I wasn’t a whale but a human being who had chosen herself and learned to love herself and who was desired, needed, and wanted by the most handsome, caring man in the whole world.
Who would have believed that was possible?
Jude lifted me up effortlessly, and I raised my bouquet high in the air before throwing it backward toward where I knew Kira and Maya were standing, and I heard squealing and laughing as someone caught it.
This was me, Rosie Martinez—no, wait, I mean Rosie Elsa Winters now, standing tall, happy, accomplished, and strong, because a stupid bet and a viral video that had once destroyed me hadn’t actually broken me at all but had instead made me grow stronger.
This was my happy ending, my new beginning, my everything.
The end.
***
Thank you for reading Rosie and Jude’s story. I’m so emotional right now; I can’t believe I finished this book.When I started writing this story, I didn’t like it or have any pull to it—I was just writing it. Then when I reached Chapter 20, I had to go back and rewrite some scenes, and that’s when I started genuinely liking Rosie and Jude.I’ve one long ass of author note (the author note here has limited space) please do check discord or my Facebook or Instagram @authorroyhanh
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