A Lion Sleeps

Epilogue: Summer's Completion

'A lion sleeps in the heart of every brave man.' – Turkish Proverb

Everybody was treading a little carefully around my mate for a while after the fight; they now knew with upmost certainty that she could tear them to shreds if she felt so inclined. They grew used to her, though, as I knew she would.

I missed her greatly when she had to return home to her parents, but it was a little easier after she had introduced me to them. They seemed to like me, their thoughts happy that their daughter would finally begin acting like a 'normal teenager'. What? It's not like we could tell them that I was her imprint and we were destined for each other, and would remain together for all eternity. There's just some things parents don't need to know about their children.

The Volturi was no longer a threat, or so it seemed. Alice was now keeping a good watch on them and it appeared as if they had all but forgotten us. Jane had healed after a long wait, and from what the visions could tell us Alec was sticking to her side like glue. It was kind of sweet, though I will admit that those two creep me out.

Bella was much the same as Alec, though; she barely left me alone for five minutes, let alone the hours that her parents expected her to spend at home with them. Her eyes were always watching me, and she twitched whenever I moved. At first I found it endearing, but then I decided to actually sit down with her and have a talk about it. I told her that she didn't need to worry, that Alice would see anything we would need to worry about, and she calmed down. Well, it appeared as if she calmed down. Her instincts still told her to protect her mate, and there was never a time when I felt I was in danger.

Just being with Bella made me feel safe, no matter what she was doing.

Today was the day I chose for our first date; we'd only known each other for around two weeks now, but we were madly in love. Such things as 'getting to know each other' don't exactly exist in our world as they do in the human world. There's really no need for it, though once you have mated you want to know everything about your significant other. It was no exception for Bella and I; once the trouble was gone, it felt like we were on a game show, needing to answer each other's questions as fast as we could.

Our first date, though, was going to take place in the meadow where I had first laid eyes on Bella, and where – most importantly – she had first laid eyes on me. The place where I had found my happiness.

Bella seemed excited about it, barely making it outside before there a beautiful lion in front of me, beckoning me to her. I was confused for a moment, but I laughed as I realized what she wanted. I climbed onto her strong back, feeling her muscles beneath, and though it might seem odd, it made the instinct to mate with her so much stronger. I could feel the veins pulsing with her life, her tendons tightening and loosening as she moved her legs at a pace I only wish I could run at. I grasped the short fur around her neck loosely, wanting to feel more of her but passing it off as needing to hold on. She saw through me though, as a rumbling, laugh-like growl reverberated through her upper body. I smiled, though I was a little embarrassed to. I felt like a high school boy who couldn't keep it in his pants.

As we arrived, I jumped off, expecting her to phase back, but she didn't. She made her way to the spot I had first spotted, and flopped down gracefully. She looked at me, before her thoughts met my mind.

Come lay with me, her voice spoke softly, her tail moving up and down as she cleared a spot between her heavy front paws for me. I smiled at her, though I knew it was another one of those things that Emmett would laugh at me for. Everyone in the family was quite sure of who wore the pants in this relationship, and it certainly wasn't me. That was the force of an imprint, though; it overpowered even a vampire's mating instincts, which is saying something.

I sat down between her paws, feeling them as they tightened around my sides as if to keep me sitting up. This put her head slightly to the side of me, and I turned myself so that my legs were folded over her left one and her head was directly in front of me. She laughed again, laying her head in my lap and purring as I began to rub her ears.

"You know, when I was human I can remember asking my parents if we could get a cat," I began, smiling widely as she laughed deeply, her thoughts ringing with the musical sound. "I'll admit that you're a bit bigger than what I imagined, but I think you're perfect."

Her laughter turned into a humming sound, which was actually a low growl in the open air. You are perfect, as well; though I can honestly say I never asked my parents for a pet vampire.

We laughed together then, calming down fairly quickly as I continued to rub her head. We had started out rather late, wanting to see the sunset, and I turned to see the lovely pinks and oranges lighting up the sky. It was actually a clear day, for once, and so the entire family had spent time at the house instead of doing other things, such as working and shopping.

Bella followed my gaze, humming once again in contentment as she caught sight of the beautiful sky. I turned back towards her, looking at her eyes as she watched the sky. She seemed mesmerized by it, and we sat there for the hour it took the sun to set, her watching the sun and I watching her. It was what Alice would call a 'tender moment'.

As the last slivers of light left the sky, though, Bella turned back to me, licking my hair once before settling back down. I chuckled, running my hand through my hair after her tongue and moving my other hand down to the crease between her head and her shoulders. I rubbed gently there, just enjoying the time with her.

Yes, we were definitely a strange coupling, but that didn't mean I loved her any less. She was my sun, my moon, my world. I would say she was also my air, but since I don't need it, I'll compare her to blood. She is my blood, the thing that keeps me strong and whatever the vampire equivalent of healthy is. She is, quite simply, everything to me. And I wouldn't change a thing.

Bella was my lion, and I loved her that way.

What is this? The epilogue? Why, yes; it is the epilogue, thanks for noticing. A Lion Sleeps is done, though I'll have you know that I am currently working on an outtake for it. I don't know how many outtakes I'll have, but I just felt I didn't explain something enough and so I'm writing an outtake about it.

I don't know when it'll be up, so you'll have to wait.

The next story in the Strange Imprints series is going to be called Strange Imprints: Earn Your Stripes. Subscribe to me if you want to begin reading it as soon as it's put up!

Review, and remember me!