“Kas?” A high pitched, excited voice wakes me up. “Open your eyes! I need to talk to you!” My eyes flutter open to my sister Leticia being inches from my face. “WHAT THE?!! Leticia! You scared me!” “Holy moly, Kas, you look like shit.” She sits me up and touches her fingertips on my face. “I didn’t think you could look worse than you did when you brought us here.” “Ugh. Thanks Leticia. I love you too. The last month has been a little rough, but the twins are born safe and sound. Maya and Andreas.” I sit up on my elbows and look around. I’m in a guest suite in Kardiá tou Menae. The light airy room feels full of positive energy. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing I’m not in danger for once. “You summoned me? Am I an astral projection?” “Yeah, but I’m not allowed to use dark magic anymore. Since you’re here, that means it was GOOD magic. Right?” She speaks slowly and nods, waiting for praise. “No need for me to go to the Waiting Room.” “Yes, Leticia. If you called me here for a go
My jaw drops in awe at the request. They either haven’t through this through or they are messing with me. I look around at the women, seeing if I can tell if this is some sort of prank. “I- Are… are you sure? You all voted? You want me to be your Luna?” Leticia wraps her arms around me from behind and gives me a strangling hug. Ayrelles looks concerned, but I hold my hand up to let her know it’s fine. “Kas, you’re the best choice for it. You’re already basically the best Luna we’ve ever had, and it’s not even your official title.” “Yeah, Kas. You created this beautiful place for us. We all agree. We can’t think of anything more kind and selfless than using practically every drop of your essence to make sure you family has been taken care of. They are the most important qualities for a Luna. It’s been millennia since we’ve had that. Katherine only wanted control. She didn’t give a shit if we were doing well.” Sunny, one of the Maven, approaches me and regards me with bright, golden e
“Iokaste, wake up, dear girl.” An unfamiliar voice beacons me. The woman’s tone sounds rich, like warm honey on a freshly baked roll, with doves gently cooing in the background. The scent of roses and juicy pomegranate overtakes my senses, making me open my eyes to see where I could be. When I sit up, my hands sink into a deep, plush velvet chaise lounge. It is the lightest shade of blush pink I have ever seen. Instead of brass upholstery tacks around the edges, the sofa appears to be held together with large pearls. There are white satin pillows stacked behind me. The chair I’m sitting on is in the middle of the room that doesn’t seem to have walls, but if it did, they would be adorned in a creamy brocade wallpaper. Besides the chaise, there are two oversized armchairs made of an ivory color velvet. The more I look at them, the more I realize they aren’t just oversized. They are huge. You would have to be at least seven feet tall to sit comfortably. I swing my feet off the side of
Aphrodite stands up with a satisfied look and snaps her fingers. When I blink, there is a rush of warm air that smells a little like roses. We transport to a room filled with deep red and green velvet furniture accented with exotic animal furs and a giant fireplace. It isn’t like the light, airy room we were just in. This room reminds me of a play Bronx took me to see called Moulin Rouge. The Goddess is now wearing a burgundy colored robe with feather trim. She stands next to the wall beside the fireplace and waves her hand, making a mirror the size of a barn door appear. I watch the reflection of the mirror morph and swirl as if it isn’t satisfied with just showing the contents of the room it’s in. “Come here, Iokaste.” She pouts her lip, unfurls her fingers, and holds her hand out to me. “Gaze in the mirror if you’d like to see another future for yourself.” “I’m not able to walk, your Highness.” I lower my head and look at my toothpick thin legs. “My human spirit was imprisoned f
Wait, I must have heard her wrong. I turn my head back to the mirror. Milo? The mirror shows Milo in the weight room with other warriors and pack guards working out. His eyes are intense with concentration as he bench presses almost five hundred pounds. He is dripping in sweat with no shirt on. His shorts are low on his hips, with his tattooed torso on full display. When he finishes his set, he sits up and grins at someone with that goofy lopsided smile he gets when he jokes around. His gray eyes sparkle as he says something, but there’s no sound to the image. The scene fades to him on the front lawn, tossing Codi in the air and catching her while she squeals and giggles. Every time he catches her, he gives her a kiss on the nose, then tosses her up again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy. I look at my feet for a moment. Of all the werewolves, this is the one she thinks I would be a match with? It’s just Milo. Okay Kas, think. Eros? If memory serves me correctly, he is m
The door bursts open and Arnie rushes in into the room with his gun drawn. His eyes are black with his wolf on the surface. “Luna? What happened?” His body tension lessens when he sees’s Milo holding me by the arm. The nurses scurry in behind him and run over to look me over, taking off sensors taped to my chest so she can put a stethoscope to my heart. “Luna, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?” The other nurse shines a light into my eyes and feels my forehead. “Luna, do you know where you are, ma’am?” “I… I…” I’m not sure what happened. Milo was in my bed and I want to know why. I gently push their hands away. “I feel fine. I know where I am. Milo, please explain yourself.” “Kas, you were having a nightmare, and your heart was going crazy. They were worried you were going to have a heart attack or something. The nurse said you said my name in your sleep. So the doctor called me. He didn’t want to take you down to the hospital wing and separate you from the twins.” Milo l
When the nurses come back, I help them bathe the twins and feed them. I ask every question I can think of about how to take care of them as they get older, but I don’t want to seem too eager either. “Luna, you must feel better.” The nurse smiles while she shows me the best technique to burp Andreas. “Yeah, a little. It must have been the banana I ate yesterday.” I smile gratefully. “I just want to make sure I’m prepared for when I’m able to do more of this myself. I didn’t really have any resources to learn about all this before they were born.” “Well, we will always be available if you need us.” The nurse sets Andreas in his bassinet first, then Maya. The other nurse hands me a small cup full of pills and puts checkmarks in the folder on the nightstand. “Try to get some sleep, Luna. The kitchen will bring hot cereal up for you in the morning. Mrs. Miller is going to bring it herself.” “Oh, that would be awesome.” I nod happily. “Thank you again for your help. Have a good night.”
“Luna, Musu is here to see you.” Tyree peeks into the suite. I look at the clock and realized I lost track of time reading books with Greek mythology stories to the twins. “Oh, please, send her in!” I put a bookmark in the story about one of the Fates, Clotho, helping Hermes create the alphabet and smooth out the bedsheets so there is room for her to sit and meet the twins. “Bonjour, Luna!” Tyree holds the door for Musu while she pushes a double stroller into the room. Oh… I’m going to need one of those. I have to remember to add it to my growing wishlist. “I know you asked for me to visit, but I thought maybe I could bring a plus two.” “You brought the babies!” I squeal with my hands over my mouth. I haven’t even seen them yet, but their combined scent of blackberry and sage compliments each other perfectly. Musu gives me a beautiful, genuine smile, and pulls her pups out one at a time, setting them on the bed, so I can get a good look at them. Unlike my babies, who are small and