EPILOGUE – BIRTHDAY

~X~

I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.

Well, this is it...no more Red Eyes... *sniff*

If you're as sad about the end of the journey as I am, check out "The Burning of Lucius Demetrius Flavius," which is my Demetri history and his POV of this story.

Thanks for reading. It's been fun. Specific thanks at the end of the chapter.

~X~

You belong to me,

I belong to you,

Fire from my heart,

Burning just for you.

When you're far away,

I'm in love with you,

Feelings are so high,

What can I do?

Hot - Inna

~X~

2057AD

As usual, I raced ahead and allowed him to follow me. I thought I was lost until finally I came across a clearing that jogged my memory. I stopped and phased back into human form, looking over my shoulder and waiting for him to catch up.

He couldn't be far behind because I could smell him.

Something caught my eye, and when I turned back, Demetri was inches in front of me. He smirked before quickly pulling my face towards him and kissing me.

"Shit, Demetri!" I yelled at him once the kiss ended. My heart was pounding with shock. Even after I calmed down, it did not slow. After all, I stood here in the woods, naked, and with my lover within touching distance.

"Too easy," he said with an amused grin. "I hope you don't allow all vampires to sneak up on you like that. It's not safe, you know?"

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You only manage to catch up with me because of your party trick. Without that, you'd eat my dust."

"Eat your what?" His smile screamed sexual innuendo, but then I'd become accustomed to that over the years.

I smiled. "Always about the goddamn sex..." I put my hand on his chest and began walking him backwards.

"You wouldn't want me any other way, la lupa." His back finally connected with a tree, and my hand moved from the centre of his chest to the nape of his neck. I pressed my naked body against him, curling one leg around his own.

I looked him in the eye. "Demetri..."

"Yes, Leah?"

"You wear way too many clothes."

Demetri smiled widely, as if he hadn't known exactly what I had in mind when I'd stopped. "I agree entirely. Would you like to do something about that?"

"What?" I asked, both of my hands moving around to his chest and grabbing a handful of fabric. "Like this?" I tugged hard and was rewarded with the sound of tearing cloth. My eyes did not leave Demetri's, and as I undressed him the quick way, his irises dilated with lust, turning his red eyes jet black.

"Oh, yes, Leah, that is—" He didn't have time to finish as I crushed my mouth against his.

One of his hands found its way down to my ass, while the other icy forearm pressed against my shoulder blades, pulling me impossibly close to his cold, muscular form. I grabbed the trunk of the tree and used my grip to pull myself ever closer into him, feeling his erection pressing into my stomach. My body moulded around his, packing him in one tight Leah-Demetri-tree sandwich.

Eventually, I pushed away from him, wrenching myself free from his grip.

I smiled and lowered myself onto my knees, my eyes glittering with intent. He didn't get this often—only on birthdays. This was one big birthday.

I wrapped my hand around the base of his penis and I slowly pressed my lips to his tip. I smiled, paused before I went any further, and looked up at his face. "Quanto mi ami?"

"Oh, Leah. Ti amo più di quello che posso dire. Tu mi completi."

Satisfied with his answer, I took him inside my mouth. He groaned as I took as much of his cold flesh between my warm lips as I could. A string of Italian curses escaped him as he tangled his fingers in my short, dark hair.

Finally, he pushed me away, and crawled down onto the forest floor with me.

"La lupa, voglio farlo sul il sottobosco."

"Sottobosco?" I questioned the Italian he had used.

Demetri smiled. "Here...on the forest floor." He pinned me to the earth and spread my thighs. I looked up at him, and my gaze lingered over his perfectly preserved body positioned between my legs, his erection inches away from where I wanted it to be.

I didn't give a damn about what was happening in Europe; so far as I was concerned, life was pretty goddamn rosy. I couldn't ever remember being so happy as I was now that I had my son and Demetri with me. Not even having to co-exist with the Cullens and Denalis could put a damper on things.

Instead of burying himself inside me, Demetri leaned over me and kissed me again, his weight pressing my back into the soft earth. His mouth then moved over my jaw, down my neck, and towards my breasts.

"Amo solo te...per sempre," he whispered as his lips hovered over my nipple. I tensed in anticipation and was rewarded when his cold mouth sent pleasant electric shocks throughout my body. I moaned his name.

"Demetri...ho bisogno di te. I want you now."

He looked up at me and smiled, then supported himself on one arm and used the other to guide himself inside me. With the first thrust, I arched myself in ecstasy, and with each consecutive stroke I lifted my hips to meet his, helping him reach deeper inside me.

His arms wound around me as we continued to screw each other senseless on the forest floor. It was true that opposites attracted—our flaws were perfectly compatible. Shape shifter and vampire, volcano and glacier, hot and cold. Between us, we managed to find a balance where there really shouldn't be one, and when we did meet, it was explosive.

The sex would never get boring or mundane, and I could never get enough of him physically.

The pace became more frantic as we writhed and groaned in the wilderness, with nothing but small animals within earshot, which I was grateful for. Demetri's need to make sure the entire coven knew about his sexual prowess really pissed me off.

I came first, crying out a string of appreciative expletives. Demetri wasn't far behind me. Once his moment had passed, his cold body collapsed on me, and we lay still. I enjoyed the familiar sensation of him cooling my feverish, perspiring skin, and for a while we said nothing.

With the Cullens and the Denalis, we were just one more cross-species couple amongst others, yet in our own ways we were still different. I was still the only she-wolf, and Demetri was the only one who had red eyes on a regular basis. Although, admittedly, Demetri was not a good influence on Jasper, and since Demetri's arrival he had slipped more often, too. Their bloody backgrounds had given them something in common, and they had become fast friends.

My volatile emotions were also not a good influence, and his mate, Alice, was still one of the banes of my existence.

I had finally relented and allowed Harry to pursue a relationship with Tanya, and they had tied the knot ten years ago. It had been quite emotional, handing my son over to another woman's care, but it seemed that Tanya had finally found her mate and was entirely devoted to him, although I had yet to warm to her. I doubted that I ever would.

Demetri often reminded me that even the most prolific succubus or incubus could mend their ways once the mating bond took over. We had never gotten married, but we were completely happy to continue living in sin.

Felix and Felicia had stopped by once or twice, but they continued their nomadic life, staying on the American continents. They might not have run across any Amazons during their exploration of South America, but Felicia was tall enough to not look out of place amongst the wolves or her sizeable father.

They were invited to stay, but the Cullens' diet put them off anything more than an extended visit. Still, they were always welcome. There weren't many other vampires or wolves we were familiar with that came to visit these days. Demetri admitted that most of the Cullens' former allies, other than the Denalis, had perished at the Volturi's hands, and that he'd taken a large part in carrying it out.

I found something strangely sexy about Demetri's unapologetic nature when it came to the destruction of vampires. Humans were a different matter. A slip did not mean he was instantly kicked to the kerb, but he still got a verbal dose of Leah Clearwater when he came home with red eyes after leaving with yellow.

After seeing Demetri feed on animals once, and seeing how his reaction differed from the Cullens', I went a little easier on him. He was suffering, and I could see how hard he was trying—it was all for Harry and me. It was hard to fire off with that in mind.

Once, I'd even condoned his carnivorous diet—when my mom had found out she had terminal cancer, and the pain had gotten too much for her. She'd made the suggestion, and I had agreed with tears in my eyes. I'd ventured a trip back to La Push when my mom had wanted me to scatter her ashes on a spot special to her and my dad.

It had been strange to see what was left of my old pack again.

Sam had stopped phasing and passed the mantel onto one of his sons. My former alpha had aged about ten years in appearance, and it seemed strange to see him change. Emily had aged considerably.

I had almost gotten used to almost everyone around me staying forever young. Almost.

My mom's death had been a wakeup call, and I finally made a concerted effort to make peace with Sam and Emily. I couldn't let them pass on without knowing that the past was forgotten, and apologizing with sincerity for the wrongs I'd done.

Demetri had been worried about how the trip would affect me, but when I returned home to Alaska, I felt strangely carefree. I had lost loved ones, but Demetri and Harry would be with me always. There were very few limitations on the number of years we could have on earth together.

Demetri had been right all those years ago. Eternal life never got old, so long as you made the most of your time. I looked up at the vampire in question.

"Which way to Yellowstone? Do you think the cabin with the hot tub is still there?"

He smiled and kissed me. "We could always go for a run and find out for ourselves."

If Alice had managed to pull off a surprise party, as I thought she might, right about now she would be seeing the effects of the decisions Demetri and I were making.

Tonight would be all about celebrating the way my undead lover wanted to, and you didn't need a rocket scientist to figure that out. Lying on the earth underneath him, I had to agree that nothing Alice could come up with would top this.

I ran my fingers up Demetri's naked back and looked him in the eyes. "Happy two thousandth birthday. You don't look a day over twenty-five."

He chuckled. "Well, you're only as old as the woman you feel..."

~X~

TRANSLATIONS

Quanto mi ami? - How much do you love me?

Ti amo più di quello che posso dire. – I love you more than I can say.

Tu mi completi. – You complete me.

Voglio farlo sul il sottobosco. – I want to do it on the forest floor.

Amo solo te...per sempre. – I love only you...forever.

Ho bisogno di te. – I need you.

IL FINITO – THE END

Warning - Oscar acceptance speech type thanks from here on:

Thanks firstly to my fella, Steve, for allowing me to ignore him in favour of my laptop from pretty much April until now. I don't think he's ever had the opportunity to watch so much football uninterrupted.

Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, for leaving so much scope for expansion in the Twilight Saga.

Thanks to Nowforruin and Solareclipses for taking the time to explain my errors to me, so that I could learn from them. This story wouldn't have done nearly so well without them. Project Team Beta is an amazing concept and I will never, ever post anything unbeta'd again.

Thanks also to TheRainGirl for jumping in and helping me so early on, when Red Eyes was still a contest one shot. You can be my twife anytime, so long as you don't mind my tendancy towards bigamy. :)

Thanks to my bestest fanfiction friend in the whole wide world, WolvesCanEatMe. I love you, babe.

Thanks, too, to all the really good friends I've made through this story-I feel really bad not listing you all personally, but the list would be massive because I've started talking to so many NICE people through posting this little fanfic. I appreciate every single one of you, and you know who you are. Thanks for all your reviews, inboxes, emails and tweets. You're all going to heaven...even the naughty ones.

I'm just so happy my random little flight of fancy between two minor characters was so well received. I know Leah and Demetri aren't the most popular characters, and being a Volturi/less popular wolf story, I am thrilled at my read count and the number of reviews it has gotten. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it.

Ta muchly,

Leanne xxx