The Twelve Zenati

Authors note: Hello everyone.

It is with some sadness and more than a little relief that I come to the final finishing post for the Twelve Tables. There will be no more. I have new worlds to build after making my way through this for the better part of a decade. I hope that those of you who enjoy this story will come back and revisit it occasionally. Enjoy the finale.

As always, I am grateful to MsSensualiT for her continued help as my second set of eyes as we crawled towards the end. Many thanks to you, my friend.

~ellie.

*****

Epilogue

The music started, and Marcella fidgeted as she stood between Olivia and Vivienne, feeling awkward and on display. She peeked down the aisle to see if her little boys were managing their very important job and smiled as they solemnly balanced cushions on their outstretched hands and took one measured step after another. She hoped the knots Noah tied the rings to those cushions with would be easily undone. Sera walked behind them, tossing petals more at the people in the pews than on the carpet as she shepherded her nephews to the end of the aisle.

Olivia shivered as Armando's smooth voice began to sing, and Gideon strutted into place at the bottom of the aisle, holding a single white rose. The men's suits had been a closely guarded secret between the brothers, and she grinned at the red rose print adorning the beautiful Jacket Gideon wore. It had just enough green highlights through the pattern to match with the dress his wife Vivienne wore as she waited for him at the top of the aisle, fretting about leaving her beautiful baby, Angelina, with a nanny for the hour this service would take to be here for her family.

Olivia grinned widely as the little boys practically ran the final steps and were gathered up to stand with Marcella and Vivienne. Gideon claimed Hadrian as he got to the top of the aisle, kissing Olivia's cheek and handing her his rose. When he stepped back, he revealed Noah making his way down aisle in a similar jacket. Again, he smiled as he kissed Olivia, giving her his rose as he claimed Arturo to stand with him on the other side of the aisle. Finally, Armando lifted his voice as he sang the Forest Blakk song skilfully, and Genesis appeared with his mother to walk him up the aisle. Genesis's jacket was black with embossed roses, but he wore a vest in the same bright material as his brothers' jackets.

His mother, Tatiana, had gone out of her way to make amends with her sons after seeing the curse affect them. She had become a different woman after having to watch her eldest son Gideon get married from a distance, then experiencing her middle child Noah elope which cut her out of the ceremony entirely as well. Nevertheless, she had promised Genesis and Olivia the world to be part of their wedding day, and now as she walked her youngest son up the aisle, she could not have been happier. Her head turned to take in her husband, who sang so sweetly from the ornate pulpit as if giving a sermon.

"Take it; If she gives you her heart; Don't you break it; Let your arms be a place; She feels safe in; She's the best thing that you'll ever have; She'll love you; If you love her like that;" Armando crooned as Olivia giggled and wriggled impatiently from foot to foot.

"Whose idea was it to do all this waiting?" she hissed at Marcella.

"You're welcome," Marcella laughed back as Genesis made it to the top of the aisle, and the final chorus of the song they had chosen as their own for today played out as his mother kissed both his and Olivia's cheek before taking her place in the front pew.

"On days when; It feels like the whole; World might cave in; Stand side by side; And you'll make it; She's the best thing that you'll ever have; She'll love you; If you love her like that;" Armando's voice trailed off, and the congregation sat as the priest began the traditional wedding service Genesis had wanted despite their unconventional entrance into the church.

Marcella watched her boys standing stiffly beside Noah, who had placed a gentle hand on each of their shoulders as they leaned into his legs. Over the last six months, both he and Gideon had settled into parenthood as if born to it. The boys slowly emerged from their shells like butterflies from their cocoons as they settled into life with this dynamic and busy family. Then, lost in her thoughts, she was startled by the applause when Genesis kissed Olivia sometime later.

The day was so different from her own wedding day, and she couldn't be happier about that. Just standing up here on display as a bridesmaid was freaking her out as she felt so exposed. True to his word Noah agreed to everything she asked for and had rushed her to the celebrant as soon as she said yes and before she could change her mind. Then after a quick civil ceremony attended by only their siblings, they had stayed in the giant treehouse for a week with the three boys, and the nanny Marcella had not been silly enough to refuse. The first two nights; however, Armando and Tatiana stayed in the homestead on the property and kept the boys with them for fun nights of games and family bonding with their adopted grandchildren.

The ring on her finger glistened as she looked at it, and she looked up at Noah, who was watching her with a soft smile. Their marriage wasn't exactly plain sailing. How could it be when they had such strong personalities? But one thing Marcella never doubted was that even when they argued, the man she argued with loved her and would eventually compromise with her if not give in to her demands.

Leaving the church, she and Noah held the hand of one boy each, proud of their family, such as it was. She had given in to his requests to let a proper obstetrician examine her to see if she genuinely was infertile or if anything could be done to reverse the damage her uncle had inflicted on her reproductive system. It wasn't to be, and she thought she might die from the look of disappointment that Noah wasn't quick enough to hide from her completely. They'd worked through it, though, their shared experiences since meeting, getting them past any and all hurdles Marcella threw in their path. They had the boys to think about now, and she couldn't run away even a little bit no matter how much she wanted to.

Picking Hadrian up, Noah moved to take Marcella's free hand. He'd been watching her sink further into her own mind during the ceremony, and while he was well acquainted with her alternate personalities, it was the whole Marcella he loved and that he strove to keep with him every day as they raised the three boys they had claimed as their own.

As they exited the church into the sun, Marcella hurried over to where the nanny stood with baby Titus who was becoming more of a toddler now. She grinned and cooed over her niece Angelina as she picked the little boy up and hugged him, laughing as his pudgy hand immediately reached into her hair. She doubted Olivia would notice anything was amiss. Her sister was deliriously happy, and Marcella doubted she would notice if a cyclone descended on them.

They went through the whole afternoon of photos and then the reception where she found herself sought out by the women she had met when she had gone to Perth to bury her mother and pick up her boys. After that, she seemed always to be talking to one of them either through the chat app they all used or via email, especially since Peri seemed determined to publish the first of Olivia's books this year.

Marcella had thrown herself into copyright and publishing law, making sure that the intellectual property of her sister was protected. However, she knew she couldn't have recreated the original story as clearly and concisely as Olivia had. So, she happily signed away her rights to all of the stories giving her sister complete creative freedom.

After that, she came up with her own passion project and floated the rough idea to her new friends. Once again. Marcella found herself swept up by these women's enthusiasm for a scrap of an idea and offering her help on so many levels.

Her husband, who now wrapped an arm around her waist as the boys stayed close to them for the family photos, had been nothing but supportive. He backed her and was her rational sounding board for anything she wanted to take on or refuse. She was beyond happy, so much so that she barely put up a fight when Noah suggested they get a bigger house and a housekeeper to help out as well as the nanny. However, she was having her cake and eating it too as he proved that in no way, shape or form did he expect her to stay at home and look after his house and his children and have no goals of her own. In fact, the more she got to know the other ladies of the tables, the more she realised just how wrong she was about that as the new generation of tabled men did not adhere to the misogynistic traditions of their fathers quite so strictly.

*****

"Noah?" Marcella whispered into the darkness, wondering if she had kept him awake with her restlessness.

"Mmhmm?" he responded sleepily and pulled her tight against his body, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"You know that the mothers have been reaching out to the families on the edges of their extended families since what happened to my family became public knowledge?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," he answered though his voice was less sleepy now.

"Well, that family on the border of the Donati and Sergi territories that Konrad messed with... it wasn't much better than mine, and they had a little girl that could use a little bit of help," she said tentatively, still working through what she wanted to do in her own mind since reading the email from Peri. The poor girl didn't speak and hid from everyone, refusing to eat or bathe unless forced, and she knew the horrors that involved.

"We'll pick her up tomorrow when we go for the book launch. I'll call Dante in the morning," Noah said without any preamble. He'd known this was coming, but he had to let her work through it on her own. He was glad she hadn't taken long to make the decision. The sooner they got the little girl into a stable, loving home with some overprotective big brothers, the better as far as he was concerned.

"Just like that? No discussion?" she asked as if stunned by his easy acquiescence.

"Mmhmm. I wish someone had done it for you and Olivia when you needed it, and we have the time and space and love to share. Why wouldn't I want this for our family?" he asked, rolling to his back and taking her with him, he kissed her deeply. Then he allowed her to roll and move him so that he loomed above her. It was their way of defining boundaries each time they came together, letting the other know how they were feeling. The bottom was where she preferred to be more and more often, and he was pretty happy about that. He smiled down at her, a wicked glint in his eye.

Noah pulled back and gazed down at his wife, stunned and in awe of the vision, she presented to him. It never ceased to amaze him that they had made it to this safe space secure in their love for each other. He loved every single thing about her. Marcella stretched her arms above her head, and with her hair returned to its natural colour and spread over her pillow. She was so beautiful it took his breath away time and time again. Her face had an angelic glow as she looked at him with the love she showed almost effortlessly now as she stretched sensuously below him, letting her muscles define every part of her sinfully delicious body.

With her arms above her head, her chest was pulled back, serving up and presenting her perfect breasts with their taut pink nipples to him. In this position, her belly left a valley between her hips, leading to the offering of her mouth-watering pussy between her muscular legs, which only seemed to draw attention to the pink lips of her delicious core.

"My Kitten, so incredibly, beautifully, tempting," Noah whispered. "I could spend the rest of my life devouring this incredible body and never be satisfied." Marcella shivered as Noah lightly trailed his hand up her belly and across her breasts, finally cupping her face, and then he leaned down to kiss her, nibbling gently on Marcella's bottom lip, and said, "You are mine, and you will always be mine. Thank God."

As Noah started to pull back from her lips, Marcella lunged her head forward and captured his lips, deepening the kiss once again. Noah slid his hand down her body, sliding his thick finger through her swollen pussy lips and into her slick pussy. Marcella's whole body quivered with her back arching off the bed as she broke the kiss and threw her head back onto the pillow, taking a deep gasping breath.

Noah moved down to her nipple and sucked it into his mouth. Then, as his finger began to slide in and out of her, he began to suck and nibble on her nipple. Marcella's whole body was trembling with the dual assault, and she was gasping for breath as she felt her own need matching his. He was hers, not the other way around, but she was done correcting him in the middle of sex. She had learned that lesson the hard way.

Then suddenly, he was gone. Marcella swivelled her lust clouded eyes towards Noah to see what happened and saw him stripping off his boxers which had tangled around his legs as he had tried to remove them without the use of his arms. Although she rarely voiced it the way he did, Marcella loved to look at the body of the man she loved. His broad chest and narrow hips gave him that Adonis belt that pointed to the hard, straight cock that brought her so much pleasure.

Noah's lips moved back to her neck, and ears beginning to kiss, lick, nip, and suck on her, leaving little teeth grazes and suckling bruises over her neck. Then those voracious lips moved to her breasts where his hunger for his wife increased, becoming more aggressive. Marcella began to tremble and shake as she felt his need for her escalate, driving her desire higher, leaving little nip and suck marks all over her breasts. Her nipples were swollen and distended, begging for more, and her back was arched, pleading for more of that aggressive attention.

Marcella felt him hungrily ravage her taut body that was arching into him for more. As Noah bit down on her nipple, Marcella cried out his name and started trembling. She felt the beginnings of her orgasm pushing her toward the edge of the abyss. Her cries only fuelled his hunger for her as he growled and aggressively moved to her other breast and started driving her harder biting into her nipple as he gripped her hips in a bruising crush of his fingers.

"Noah!" she cried out as her body bowed under his painful grip on her. Then, with her senses on overload, she cried out his name again before whimpering as the rush dissipated as quickly as it had come.

As Noah's lips sucked at the soft flesh at the bottom of her breasts, bruising the delicate white skin before moving down to her taut belly, one of his hands stayed behind to keep wreaking havoc on her breasts while his other hand slid two fingers deep inside her and began to reignite her pussy. His love for this incredible woman drove him to show her the depth of his desperation to enjoy her body and the pleasure she felt. He felt like he had to prove his deep love and commitment to this spectacular woman every day, so he never took her for granted and showed her all the love and passion he held for her every time they came together now.

Her whole body was bowed when his mouth moved lower. Noah claimed her clit. Marcella's body tried to jump to the stars bypassing the usual build-up when every muscle in her body clenched in readiness. As Noah continued his assault on her clit and pussy, he felt all of her tensed muscles begin to quiver and tighten even more. Her climax when it hit buoyed her up on a sea of bliss.

Despite her cries, he continued to push her body which was racked with tremors and spasms. Finally, Marcella's hoarse cries of his name broke through his unrelenting focus, and he looked up at his beautiful wife, coming back to his senses. She looked exhausted, and all her muscles were spastic with the intensity of her multi-climax while her skin was glistened with perspiration, making her appear like the shining angel she was to him.

Noah looked into those bright green eyes that told him she needed this as much as he did. With their eyes still locked, Noah slid between her legs and started slowly rocking his cock into her in small increasing increments. She was incredibly tight after her climax, and he heard her whimper as he stretched her wider around his cock until he was fully seated within her. Noah slowly began driving deeper into her petite body. The deeper he went, the more she wanted. At the same time, his body crushed her clit between them. She quivered on the verge of an orgasm that threatened ecstasy that would send her into the stratosphere.

When he sped up and slammed into her, Marcella's body pulled up off the bed, and she succumbed to the mind-numbing orgasm. Noah flicked her clit as her body spasmed, then he leaned down, kissing her neck. He felt her pulse drumming against his lips as he continued to pump in and out of her throbbing pussy.

Marcella mewled loudly as her quivering body lifted off the bed, reaching for more of him. Noah looked into those glazed eyes, begging him to take her higher and felt that connection between them as strong as ever. He kept pounding into her trembling body while she wrapped herself around him, pulling him deeper.

Noah felt his orgasm close to the surface and arched his back, burying his cock as deeply as he could. He groaned loudly as he started pumping ropes of cum into her. Noah looked down, and Marcella's eyes had that glazed faraway look that came with overstimulation. As Noah began to pull out of her, Keeping her shaking and spasming form into his arms. He held her tightly and gently kissed her face as she lay limp as a rag doll in his arms, still shaking from what Noah had done to her. This tiny, beautiful woman had given him everything and made his entire life complete.

As he kissed her, Noah felt her arms wrap around his neck, and she pulled him into a deeper kiss. Noah pulled the duvet over them and pulled Marcella's back tight against his chest, and they spooned together. However, with Noah's large size and Marcella's diminutive body, it was more accurate to say Noah cocooned Marcella into his body. As he felt her snuggle into his embrace, Noah felt contented and at peace.

*****

Marcella travelled with Olivia to Brisbane to meet with Peri Donati before the press releases went out the following week. She hadn't planned to go at all when Olivia asked her, preferring to distance herself from the stories of their childhood that helped her sisters through some of the roughest of times. Nevertheless, she liked that Olivia had a passion for the stories and helping children from traumatic backgrounds like themselves. But then she had gotten the call from Peri.

The real reason Marcella had given in and accompanied Olivia to this meeting after her initial refusal was so she and Noah could meet and possibly take home the small girl staying with the Donati family. She had been traumatised by her early life, causing her to be fearful and excessively quiet to the point of mutism. Or selective mutism, as Peri had described it to her during their video chat.

"Marcella, just remember you gave me full creative control of these stories," Olivia warned nervously, making Marcella narrow her eyes on her sister.

"What does that mean exactly? What don't I know?" Marcella asked.

"You know everything you wanted to know, which was nothing, so it's too late now to complain about it with the release so close," Olivia said. "Just remember you didn't even want to come to this meeting and this book is exactly the way I envisioned it."