GLORIA'S POV If I thought the world was going to look different waking up as a Luna, I was wrong. Everything is the same, even though I feel like an entirely different person than I was yesterday. I suppose I should be getting used to having my entire identity and sense of self turned upside down and inside out, but it never seems to get any easier. If anything it just becomes more confusing. I still canāt believe that I know who my parents are⦠that my father likely killed Damianās mother⦠that my own mother is out there somewhere. Frankly I canāt even contemplate the Goddessās role in all this, itās difficult enough being a princess without also being some sort of demi god.Above all else, I canāt wait until Damian is home next week. Yes, weāll be preoccupied with the summit, but with everything thatās happening right now I simply donāt feel steady without him. I need my mate, and I know heās just as anxious being away. He would barely release me from our dream date last night,
GLORIA When I wake up the next morning, I feel better rested than I have in weeks. For the first time since I started hypnosis, V hasnāt had to charge in during the middle of the night to wake me from my night terrors. Simply being able to connect with my mate did wonders for my state of mind, and even though our lovemaking was reserved for our dreams, my body is sated and satisfied.Even though I just saw Damian, my heart leaps when my phone rings a moment later, and I pull the device from itās charger. āGood morning my love.ā I greet him, beaming.āGood morning, gorgeous.ā His handsome face fills the screen, still drowsy from sleep. āHow are you feeling?āāA thousand times better.ā I admit, because not only did he save me from my nightmares, but the weight of my lies are finally off my shoulders. I run my hand over my belly, checking in with our pup.Rafe is happy too, heās been missing you as much as I haveāāIām glad youāre both feeling better,ā He rumbles, ā though I have to tel
GLORIA'S POV āWhat do you mean, it was a memory?ā Damian asks carefully. āI thought the priests came to you in the orphanage? I donāt remember anything about humans attacking you in the woods.āI stare at my lap, cradling my belly and trying to figure out how to explain my deceit. I knew this conversation was inevitable -I even prepared for it, but these are not the circ.umstances I expected. I didnāt imagine I would be so emotionally fragile, or that Damian would be wrapped around me purring, fresh off of rescuing me from a traumatic nightmare. I thought I would be able to present my case and apologize, acknowledging my wrong doing with confidence and strength of conviction.Now I fear itās going to tumble out as a mess of excuses and tangled feelings.āGloria?ā Damian presses, his voice taking on a dominant tone.When I finally look up at him, tears pour from my lashes. āIve still been doing the hypnosis.ā I confess, my l!ps quivering with every word. āI went behind your back and c
DAMIAN'S POV When I arrive in the dream forest, Iām alone ā as I have been almost every night since I left.However, rather than calling for my mate as I usually do, by picturing her in my mind and willing her to come to me with the sheer force of my longing and determination, I send my power outward. I unleash the full force of my magic, spreading it as far and wide as I can, searching every inch of this enchanted plane of existence. It rolls off of me like a dense fog, ebbing past the limits of my own consciousness to delve through the mating bond and track Gloria.Dreams are strange this way: both closer to and more distant from reality, so that our souls can join when the Goddessās power is at its peak, even as doors to fantastical and surreal worlds swing wide. I donāt know where my mate is, but as long as she is also in the realm of dreams, I know I can find her.It isnāt easy. It takes what feels like hours to finally sense her presence, to detect her heartbeat across the vast
DAMIAN'S POV We left the elders place and three days later, I had to go and see Grandpa with Brian and Gloria said she's going back to that Magical Castle with Edward.These days, I haven't heard anything about grandpa from Victoria and this got me wondering what she was up to because as long as I know Victoria, she never backs off that easily. Even though, Evelyn left, I could still sense her scent from Brian everytime we meet and these days that he wasn't bugging me, I'm sure he's up to something with her too.But deep down I really wished they get together because they seems to have the perfect vibe for each other. āIām worried about Gloria.ā I confess, pushing away my dinner. I was at his house after the visiting at the hospital. "I don't trust that guy Edward and that witch she's going to see, who knows who the witch is?"As usual, Grandpa is still numb but there's still life in him. I told him about how Gloria found her wolf and how we still haven't find anything about her p
GLORIA'S POV āWhat do you mean sheās not a wolf?ā The elder to whom Sinclair brought me to meet looks vaguely familiar, and Iām sure Iāve met him at some event or another. Still, Iām in such a daze with all this new information, that I can barely keep up. I feel like my brain isnāt working properly anymore. I feel slow and stupid, but Sinclair is beside me every step of the way, being patient and loving, scowling every time I suggest thereās anything wrong with my mind.Now this elder is looking at us with barely contained horror, and I can only burrow deeper into Sinclairās arms. Iām in his lap again, though again isnāt really correct ā since he hasnāt put me down once. Iām technically still on bedrest, but Iām not complaining. I feel safe when Iām in his embrace, and I need that security now more than ever. āShe is, but itās dormant. We only just found out.ā Sinclair sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. He slowly shares our story with the older man, all the way from the beginning