Chapter 10 (Epilogue)

I sighed content as I laid in bed with Howl, purring even though I was in my human form. My ears twitched and the tip of my tail flicked back and forth happily. Howl turned over in the covers and cracked open one eye, a smile turning up the corners of his lips. He slipped under the covers to kiss my rather large stomach before coming back up to kiss me. Then two yells made my ears twitch.

"I'll get Kole if you get Sara," I compromised as I got out of the comfortable mattress, telling him that our kittens were crying. Yeah, kittens. They were born human, but turned into kittens when they were about one month old, and turned back every few months or so until a year went by. I hardly let Howl get near them when they were first born, hiding in one of the unused rooms as they were birthed. They were born 7 months into the pregnancy, though Howl had explained that their birth were earlier than a normal human's due to my spell when I started to worry. The day they were due, Howl panicked trying to find me, then let Sophie deal with me as soon as he realized I wouldn't let him get any closer.

Now here we were again, with a new baby coming along. Maybe this one would take more after his father and not turn into a cat to scare us to death, as our twins did when they ran off in kitten form. That day, Howl was supposed to have been watching them while I was out shopping with Markl, who was still with us as an apprentice. Ooh, I had gotten so mad at him! Distracted by a spell, indeed! Too bad Howl didn't know I had switched my hidey-hole again, but it's not like I was about to tell him. It's been a year and a half since their birth and two years since Howl and I were married. A week after the war had officially ended, the prince had come to get Sophie, and though I still see her quite often, it was sometimes lonely without my twin.

Thankfully, now at the age of two, the twins had learned how to switch between forms, though Sara liked to stay human while Kole preferred his kitten-state. I cuddled Kole close to my breast, feeding him one of the two bottles that Calcifer heated up for us. He battered at the bottle with his small paws and I chuckled, sitting him back in his crib. He had inherited Howl's black hair, but my blue-green eyes while Sara had the opposite, my brown hair and Howl's blue eyes. Their fur was the color as their hair, and Kole often used his black fur to his advantage when he sneaks out of the castle at night through one of the many doors. He's given us several near-heart attacks. Mischievous brat.

I looked up at Howl after I sat a sleeping Kole down and grinned at the picture he made cuddling a now human Sara, even though her brother was still a kitten. Howl winked at me, rocking Sara to sleep in his arms before he laid her back down, chuckling when she shifted back into cat form and curled close to her brother. She was the sweet little angel to her brother's devil self, and a daddy's girl to boot. She could get her father to cave with just a few sweet words and some tears. Howl's such a pushover. I smiled fondly and kissed their foreheads, pulling the blankets up to their chins before leaving the room with my husband.

"Soon you'll be with your older siblings, little one," I whispered with a hand on my stomach, shrieking soundlessly as Howl picked me up bridal style and took me back to our bedroom. We cuddled close as our children had done and fell asleep with the rest of the house, happy we were together.

A/N: Last chapter! Finally! Sorry everyone! I meant to post this last week, but it didn't happen. Yes, it's short, but it's cute, and it's done. I feel like this ending sounded rushed and I tried to edit it really quick, but I don't know if that made it better or worse... Oh, and actually, the idea for this chapter came from the fanfiction Kitty Love (and all its sequels) by pheonixmaiden13, so anything you recognize comes from her. From. Her. I'm glad so many people liked my story! I was really happy! Sadly, I will quit writing fanfictions for a while to finish the two novels I'm writing (I'm not allowed to read or write fanfiction or any other books until the novels are done unless it's a Friday or Saturday, as my New Year's Resolution states. Let's hope it lasts—for once.) Oh, and happy 2014 everyone!