DOMESTIC
1947 Words
*6:00AM. KITCHEN SCENE CONTINUES*
The twins woke up.
Saw us in the kitchen.
Saw the Luna crest on my robe.
Lila pointed. “Mommy, you’re shiny.”
Leo: “Are we safe now?”
Kade crouched down. Eye level.
“Yeah, buddy. We’re safe. Because of your mom.”
Leo ran to me. Hugged my legs.
Lila climbed into Kade’s arms.
Elena watched from the doorway.
Crying again.
“Finally,” she mouthed.
Thomas walked in. Dropped a folder.
“Darius gave up 3 names. We’re picking them up today.”
Kade nodded. “Good.”
Then he looked at me.
“After that. No more war rooms. No more meetings. For one week.”
“Deal.”
“We take that week. We plan that wedding.”
I picked up the spatula.
Burnt another batch of pancakes.
And for the first time,
It felt like home.
*8:00AM. LUNA QUARTERS. HQ*
I woke up to the smell of burnt toast.
And Kade cursing in the kitchen.
“Don’t burn my house down, Alpha.”
“I’m trying to make pancakes,” he called back. “For my Luna.”
I rolled over. The twins were already gone.
Of course.
In the kitchen:
Kade. Sweatpants. No shirt. Apron that said _Kiss the Cook_.
Flour on his face.
Two very proud twins sitting on the counter.
Lila: “Daddy made hearts!”
Leo: “They’re lopsided.”
Kade: “They’re abstract.”
I stole a piece. It was terrible.
“Best pancakes I’ve ever had,” I lied.
He grinned. “Liar.”
For the first time in 14 episodes,
No phones.
No guards in the room.
Just us.
---
*10:00AM. PACK GARDEN*
Sun.
Grass.
No drones.
The twins were chasing butterflies.
Elena was on a blanket with lemonade.
Kade and I were... doing nothing.
“I forgot what this felt like,” I said.
“What?”
“Peace.”
He took my hand. “We get to keep this now.”
“Promise?”
“Promise promise.”
His phone buzzed.
He looked at it.
Turned it off.
“Thomas can handle it.”
---
*12:00PM. CAKE TASTING. HQ BALLROOM*
Wedding planning.
Officially.
Thomas had set up 6 tables.
6 cakes.
6 flavors.
“Alpha, you didn’t have to do all this,” I said.
“I wanted to.” He pulled out a chair for me. “Luna deserves a wedding.”
Cake 1: Chocolate. Too sweet.
Cake 2: Red velvet. Leo ate half.
Cake 3: Lemon. Lila made a face.
Cake 4: Vanilla. Boring.
Cake 5: Strawberry. Kade stole my bite.
Cake 6: Salted caramel.
We both pointed at it.
“Winner,” Kade said.
“Winner,” I agreed.
The baker: “And flowers? Theme?”
Kade looked at me. “What do you want?”
“I want small. I want us. I want the twins as ring bearers.”
“Done.”
Thomas cleared his throat. “Alpha. About the guest list—”
“No Council,” Kade said.
“No press,” I added.
“Just pack. Just family.”
Thomas nodded. “Yes, Luna.”
Luna.
God, that still felt weird.
---
*2:00PM. DRESS SHOPPING*
Elena dragged me to the pack tailor.
Kade and the twins waited outside.
“Something simple,” I said.
Elena: “Something that makes him cry.”
We settled on white.
Flowy.
No train.
Because I’d probably trip.
When I came out, Kade was on the floor playing cars with Leo.
He looked up.
Went completely still.
“Don’t,” I said, panicking. “It’s bad—”
He stood. Walked to me.
Touched the sleeve.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.
“So are you. In that apron.”
He kissed my forehead.
“Can’t wait to marry you.”
---
*4:00PM. BACK AT HQ*
Darius’s file was on Kade’s desk.
3 names.
All in custody now.
“Threat’s over,” Thomas said. “For now.”
Kade nodded. “Good. File it. Don’t tell her.”
“Already didn’t.”
He turned to me. “Come on. One more thing.”
---
*5:30PM. THE DINER*
Same diner.
Same booth.
No guards at the door.
Just us.
And May.
“You’re back,” May said, smiling. “No army this time?”
“No army,” Kade said. “Just burgers.”
“Two. Chocolate shakes,” I added.
We ate.
Like normal people.
Like Episode 11 but without the sniper.
“Do you regret it?” I asked.
“What?”
“All of it. The rejection. The years.”
He thought about it. “I regret hurting you. I don’t regret finding my way back to you.”
I reached across. Took his hand.
“Me neither.”
---
*7:00PM. HQ. ROOFTOP*
Sunset.
City lights.
No threats.
Kade was behind me. Arms around me.
“The wedding’s in 2 weeks,” he said.
“That fast?”
“I don’t want to wait.”
“What about the pack?”
“They’ll live.”
He turned me around.
Pulled something from his pocket.
Not a ring.
A key.
“To the house,” he said. “The one we talked about 5 years ago. By the lake. I bought it back.”
“Kade—”
“It’s ours. When you’re ready.”
I took it.
“I’m ready.”
---
*9:00PM. LUNA QUARTERS*
Bath time.
Story time.
Bed time.
The twins asleep in 10 minutes.
Because they were tired.
Because they felt safe.
Kade and I collapsed on the bed.
No TV.
No phones.
Just talking.
“Favorite memory?” he asked.
“Prom. Onion rings.”
“Worst memory?”
“The day I left.”
“Best memory?”
“This. Right now.”
He pulled me close.
“Friday,” he whispered.
“Still on,” I whispered back.
“Every Friday. For the rest of our lives.”
“Deal.”
---
*11:00PM. QUIET*
No sirens.
No buzzing phones.
No footsteps in the hall.
Just breathing.
His.
Mine.
The twins down the hall.
For the first time in 14 episodes,
We weren’t waiting for the next attack.
We were just... living.
Kade kissed my temple.
“I love you, Ava Mooncrest.”
“I love you too, Alpha.”
He smiled in the dark.
“Sounds good. Luna.”
---
*8:30AM. KITCHEN CONTINUES*
Kade was still fighting the pancake batter.
It was losing.
Lila: “Daddy, you put too much flour.”
Leo: “And not enough love.”
Kade: “I put ALL the love in there.”
He flipped one. It landed on the floor.
We all stared at it.
Then he scooped me up and sat me on the counter.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
“You’re staring.”
“You’re making pancakes in an apron. I’m allowed to stare.”
He kissed my nose. Flour everywhere.
“I like this,” he said. “Mornings. No alarms. No threats.”
“Me too.”
The toast popped. Black.
Kade sighed. “Thomas is never letting me live this down.”
“Good. He needs to see you domestic.”
We ended up ordering delivery.
But we ate it on the floor.
Like a picnic.
With the twins making a fort out of couch cushions.
---
*10:30AM. GARDEN. EXTRA TIME*
Elena left to “run errands.”
Translation: give us space.
Kade laid on the blanket. I laid on his chest.
The twins made daisy chains.
“Remember when we used to do this?” I asked.
“At 17? Yeah. Behind the packhouse.”
“You promised me the world.”
“And I’m gonna give it to you.”
He played with my hair.
“No more hiding. No more running. No more Council telling us who we can be.”
“What if they try again?”
“Then we fight. Together.”
Lila ran up. “Mommy, look!”
A crooked daisy crown.
I put it on.
Kade immediately took a photo.
“My wallpaper now,” he said.
---
*1:00PM. CAKE TASTING. BEHIND THE SCENES*
After the baker left, it was just us and 5 half-eaten cakes.
Kade was on his third slice of salted caramel.
“Are you stress eating?” I asked.
“I’m wedding eating.”
“That’s not a thing.”
“It is now.”
Leo had frosting on his face.
Lila was doing a taste test with Elena.
“Cake 3 is too sour,” Lila declared. “Like Grandma.”
Elena choked on her water.
Kade pulled me into the pantry.
“What are we doing?” I whispered.
“Kissing my fiancée.”
“We’re not—”
“We are.”
He kissed me. Tasted like caramel.
When we came out, Thomas was standing there.
With a clipboard.
And zero expression.
“Wedding venue confirmed,” Thomas said. “The lake house.”
Kade didn’t let go of my hand. “Good.”
“And the guest list is 40 people.”
“Good.”
“And Alpha, there’s flour on your face.”
Kade grinned. “I know.”
---
*3:00PM. TAILOR SHOP. EXTRA MOMENTS*
While Elena fussed over veils, I got a text.
*Unknown: Saw the photos. You look happy. -M*
Marcus.
From holding.
I showed Kade.
His jaw ticked.
“Block him,” he said.
“I did. 5 years ago.”
“Block him again.”
Then he softened. “You okay?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t get to ruin this.”
Kade paid the tailor.
“Rush order,” he said. “2 weeks.”
“Sir, that’s—”
“Double pay.”
Outside, he carried both twins AND the dress bag.
“Alpha strong,” Leo said.
“Damn right,” Kade said.
---
*6:00PM. DINER. AFTER DESSERT*
May brought us milkshakes.
On the house.
“Welcome back, Luna.”
We stayed for an hour.
Talked about nothing.
About the twins’ first words.
About Kade’s terrible cooking.
About the house by the lake.
“Paint it blue,” I said.
“The kitchen?”
“No. The front door. Like we said we would.”
“Blue door it is.”
On the way out, Kade left a 100% tip.
May cried.
---
Kade didn’t let go of my hand. “Good.”
“And the guest list is 40 people.”
“Good.”
“And Alpha, there’s flour on your face.”
Kade grinned. “I know.”
---
*3:00PM. TAILOR SHOP. EXTRA MOMENTS*
While Elena fussed over veils, I got a text.
*Unknown: Saw the photos. You look happy. -M*
Marcus.
From holding.
I showed Kade.
His jaw ticked.
“Block him,” he said.
“I did. 5 years ago.”
“Block him again.”
Then he softened. “You okay?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t get to ruin this.”
Kade paid the tailor.
“Rush order,” he said. “2 weeks.”
“Sir, that’s—”
“Double pay.”
Outside, he carried both twins AND the dress bag.
“Alpha strong,” Leo said.
“Damn right,” Kade said.
---
*6:00PM. DINER. AFTER DESSERT*
May brought us milkshakes.
On the house.
“Welcome back, Luna.”
We stayed for an hour.
Talked about nothing.
About the twins’ first words.
About Kade’s terrible cooking.
About the house by the lake.
“Paint it blue,” I said.
“The kitchen?”
“No. The front door. Like we said we would.”
“Blue door it is.”
On the way out, Kade left a 100% tip.
May cried.
- Writer
