Kas’s POV
Hi. My name is Kas. Well, actually its Iokaste, but please don't call me that.
You’ll have to excuse my language. I try not to swear much, but a lot of really weird shit happened that got me to this point in my life… err… death… no… rebirth? I’m not sure exactly what you would call it, and I don’t really have time to explain right now. I’m kind of in a hurry. Someone could probably write a book about it. I bet people would read it, but no one would believe it’s a true story. It would have to live on the fiction shelf.
Right now, my human spirit is sitting next to my wolf’s spirit, Elexis. I call her Lex. We’re sitting with my mother, the Moon Goddess. She’s the mother of all werewolves, but she’s also my actual mother. Yeah, that makes me a Goddess too.
No one can see us, of course. We’re watching the Blood River pack medical staff take my dead body out of the dungeon on a stretcher. The human shell that contained my spirit looks so small and frail. It’s hard to believe how much it’s been through.
My former mate, Bronx, is on the floor of my cell with our Beta, Milo. They’re both distraught. Milo because of the Luna pack bond breaking. Bronx because blames himself for my death. I guess in the end he was the one who had me locked in the dungeon and ordered our Milo and or Gamma, Reggie, to only feed me trash. I refused it every day, because… gross. I don’t care how desperate I am. I’m not eating trash.
He wouldn’t let any of the pack doctors come treat me and he refused to come see me until a few minutes before my heart stopped. He could have saved me if he hadn’t acted like such an ass, but I forgive him. I know it’s kind of messed up, but I do.
You would think seeing all this would be upsetting, but it isn’t. I feel at peace. Everyone was in a hurry because I was still pregnant when I died. They have to deliver my twin pups. I take one last look at my former mate and give Lex a hug before I let the Moon Goddess kiss my forehead. She’s sending me back to that broken body to continue my spirit’s journey. I have a lot more to do in this lifetime.
As my mother’s lips touch my forehead, a chill washes over me. My fingers and toes turn numb at first. The numbness slogs its way inward until I can’t feel my heart. I’m trying to breathe, but I’m just a spirit. I don’t need to breathe. Now that I think about it, I don’t have a heart either. What a weird feeling. I guess I really just feel nothing. I thought I was going to be in pain. That’s what she told me I would feel. I guess I just have to accept… nothingness. Is that a word? Nothingness. If it isn’t, it should be.
Oh wait, I think I hear voices, so that’s not nothing. Right? There’s also beeping. Can you hear it? There is crying too. It’s not Bronx. Are my babies crying for me? How long is it supposed to take to get back to my body? I should have asked before I agreed to this.
Oh good, I feel tingling in my fingers and toes. The pins and needles kind of like tingles, right? It’s spreading to my arms and up my legs now.
Mmm… maybe not so good… now it feels hot.
Oh, my Goddess! NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD AT ALL!
Suddenly, fire is coursing through my soul. It feels like wolfsbane. I try to scream, but I can’t. I have no voice.
“Doctor! Her heart is beating. Come quick!”
“What? No, that’s impossible. She’s been dead for almost half an hour.”
“Luna, can you hear us?”
Everything crashes into me at once. Sounds, voices, my emotions, other wolves’ emotions, the pack bond mending, scents, the weight of my body, every single nerve ending coming alive, all of it. Like a tidal wave.
It seems like eternity is being smashed into a fraction of a second and I’m finally able to suck in a breath of air. When I open my eyes, the bright lights in the room force me to squint. I try to move my hands, but my body is too weak. The fire inside me is slowing from an inferno to a dull burn.
“Luna, try not to move.” A nurse appears in front of me, blocking the bright lights.
“My pups?” My voice is dry and croaky. “Where are they?”
“They are getting examined right now, Luna. We’re making sure they are looked at thoroughly. Same goes for you.” The nurse looks at me with a panicked expression. “We’re going to get them swaddled and bring them to you, but please, don’t move. I just need you to lie still for now. We’re going to give you some medication to ease the pain, and we’re stitching you up to help Lex heal you.”
Eww. Okay. Maybe she didn’t need to tell me that last part. Yeah, I’m a werewolf, but the thought of blood makes me uneasy. Also, Lex isn’t here with me yet, but I decide I should keep that to myself for now. The sound of the babies’ cries interrupts the groggy feeling of the medication. I perk back up and look around.
To my left are two nurses, each with a baby in their arms. The first nurse lifts the bed so I’m sitting up while she stands near my head. She holds the baby close to me.
“Congratulations, Luna. This is your baby girl. She’s a little skinny right now, but we’ll get her fattened up in no time. Have you thought of a name for her?”
She’s absolutely perfect. The nurse is right. She is thin, but her thick dark hair still reminds me of Bronx. Her skin is already an olive tone like his, with a hint of sepia to it. Her dark gray eyes squint at me. They are almost the same color as mine when I was a child.
I know one day, when her wolf wakes up, her eyes will turn a beautiful shade of scarlet, and her black hair will lighten to a wiry chocolate brown. She’ll prefer to live in wolf form, but when she’s in human form, she’ll let it grow long and wear it in dreadlocks. She will let the sun weather her skin until it’s permanently baked like the Earth’s red clay.
How do I know all this about a newborn infant? Because she isn’t just my baby. She’s my sister. I give birth to her every time she gets reincarnated. In turn, she gives birth to me every time I’m reincarnated. The difference is, she lives for hundreds of years each lifetime. From what I’m told, I rarely make it to thirty. Yeah, it’s kind of messed up, but we’re Greek goddesses. We don’t have a choice. Trust me when I tell you, I’ve read way more disturbing things about the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. I’ve even met some of them and I believe every disgusting word.
Someone helps me raise my arm up so I can hold my sweet little girl. I brush my fingers across her forehead and admire her. She looks at me and coos with a little sigh, making my heart leap. She blinks and squints. I feel like I can see straight through those gray eyes into her ancient soul. I can already feel the wild calling for her. It will have to wait. For now, she’s just my daughter. As fast as she’s there, they whisk her away, and another nurse is in front of me.
The second nurse holds the baby and looks at me sympathetically. “Luna, your other baby is a boy. I promise you, he’s healthy based on his initial exam. We checked his vision and he can definitely see. We still have blood work to do when we take him to the nursery. It’s standard protocol, but… well… the Moon Goddess sent us a miracle and sent you back to us… and, um… well… he looks just like you.”
“What?” I don’t know what I look like right now, but it can’t be good. I wasn’t in very good shape when I came back to Blood River. Then, I starved in a dungeon until I died. “What do you mean?”
I try to sit up further to see my son, but she gently pushes me back down and brings the little boy into my arms. The first thing I notice is his wispy white hair. It’s like they have bleached all the color out. I stroke his silky hair with a lump in my throat. Oh, Goddess. What have I done? He opens his eyes when he feels my fingers on his pale skin. My heart drops when he looks at me. His irises are almost pure white.
“It’s going to be alright, Luna.” The nurse reassures me. “We are going to take good care of our future Alpha.”
“Andreas.” The name rolls off my tongue. “His name is Andreas.”
“That’s Alpha Bronx’s middle name, right?” She gives me a sad smile. “He’ll be honored.”
Commotion in the hallway directs everyone’s attention. Some of the nurses’ and doctors’ eyes turn black, showing their wolves coming to the surface. Instinctively, they move around the room to block me from whatever’s happening.
“Let me through! Where are they?” I hear a familiar gruff voice from the hallway.
The nurses and doctors gasp. Half of them back up from their booming Alpha’s voice, but hold their positions to guard me. The nurses holding my babies pull them to their chests and curl their bodies to protect the infants.
“Bronx, no! You can’t go in there.” Reggie’s snarls. He sounds mad. Reggie is never mad. “If you think we’re just going to let you waltz in when she just came back to us, you’re fucking crazy. Haven’t you murdered her enough for one lifetime?”
“Reggie, let me through.” Bronx snarls at our Gamma. Odd. Normally, he would have just bulldozed his way in by now. “This doesn’t concern you. Just move.”
“Bronx! Stop!” Our Beta Milo growls. “We won’t let you hurt her again. She’s still our Luna.”
“Milo, get out of my way.” Bronx barks back. There’s a hard thump on the door and the knob rattles.
“Luna, get down!” The nurses holding my babies brace themselves, covering the pups and leaning close to protect me from danger. The door pushes wide open and Bronx rushes into the room.
“Kas,” he stops short when he sees me. “I-it’s true. You’re alive.”
I thought I had forgiven him. I thought I was at peace with what happened, but seeing my former mate standing in the doorway triggers a fear I forgot existed. He killed me. He intentionally left me in the dungeon to die. My heart hammers in my chest as the fear solidifies and spreads, trying to overtake me. “No. No, please! Bronx, don’t hurt us!” My voice is scratchy and desperate. I try to scramble up to grab my children, but my arms are so heavy. The nurse holding my baby boy uses her other arm to pull me toward her to protect me from our Alpha. The sudden movement makes me dizzy. I shut my eyes and hear a scream. I sit up in bed and look around. Where am I? Wherever this is, it’s nighttime outside and I’m alone. I had a nightmare, but damn, it felt so real. Someone was trying to take my babies away from me. Who has them now? I need to find them. I wonder if Nurse Diane is here? Maybe she has the pups. She’s my friend. I can trust her. After a quick check, to make sure Lex is with
“You think I cheated on Bronx?” My mouth drops open and I pull my hand away from him. “Are you freaking kidding me? Of course Bronx is his father!” “Kas, please don’t be mad. All we know is that you left through that portal and came back four months later, pregnant.” Ashley steps forward to defend Milo. “I mean, we all know Bronx broke the mate bond, so you know, if you found someone else, it’s not like there’s anything wrong with that. We just need to know.” “Ashley, absolutely not. I didn’t cheat on Bronx. He was the one who broke the mate bond, not me. I never broke it from my end.” I can’t believe they would think I would do that unless… Oh my Goddess. My hands move over my mouth. It feels like someone sucked all the air out of the room. My mind goes from a dead stop to a hundred miles an hour in an instant. “D-did Bronx find someone new? Ashley? Is Bronx dating someone else already? Don't lie to me. Are they serious about each other? Will she be the new Luna? Are you telling me
“Kas, the doctors think it’s going to be a while before you’re able to move around without help.” Reggie drums his fingers on his hip and looks up at me. “How long is a while?” I frown at the idea of having to rely on other people to help me do basic things. “I want to take care of the twins myself.” “Uh, let’s not put a date on it. You’re in way worse shape than you were when we first found you at Silver Moon.” Reggie drums his fingers on his hip and looks up at me. “Once you can manage it, we’ll have you go to your office or something while Bronx comes here to see the kids. We’ll make sure a nurse is here when he is. Until then, we can arrange for a couple of guards to be here when he wants to visit. You don’t have to interact with him if you don’t want to.” “Um, okay. Thank you guys so much for not giving up on me.” I look at my friends gratefully. “I know I scared and upset so many people. That wasn’t my intention. I did what I had to do to protect my sisters.” “We’ll have t
Bronx’s POV I let the door of Kas’s suite slam behind me and go back to my office. First she killed my sister, then she somehow cheated death… again… now she’s fucking my Beta? I hear the door open behind me and Milo’s footsteps come running toward me. Saint bristles in my mind. “If you’re not going to listen to him, then get rid of him. I can’t stand to listen to you make a fool out of yourself anymore.” “Bronx, stop!” Milo chases me down. “It’s not what it looks like.” He’s got to be fucking kidding me. I turn around and glare at him, stopping him in his tracks. “Really Milo? Because it looked like you were holding Kas in your lap.” “I… okay… yeah. I was… but not it’s not like that, bro. I was just giving her a hug.” Milo follows me while I keep walking back to my office. “Bronx, she’s been through a lot. She apologized for what happened to Lenora and I was telling her I forgive her. We were just talking.” “Whatever, Milo. She’s not my mate anymore. You can have her.” I flick
I turn and walk back to my office without looking back at my Beta and shut the door. The physical separation between me and the rest of the world brings an instant sense of comfort. I take in a deep breath, grateful for the privacy, and look around. Shouldn’t I want to be with my pack? A few months ago, sure, but when I rejected Kas, Saint told me it was the end of our spirits’ journey. What’s the point of trying to put up a good front if it doesn’t fucking matter? Since then, I’ve been more and more content being alone. Maybe the connection between Kas and me was only because of the mate bond. It was supposed to be forever. What if it was never really love? I’ve spent months thinking about it and I’m still not sure. Sometimes I wonder if she meant all the things she told me when we were alone. I thought I meant the promises I made to her. I was a fool.The moment Kas died in my arms in that cell in the dungeon, I thought I felt guilty. I thought it was my fault that she died. I was
“He’s our miracle baby.” Shelly strokes Andy’s white blonde wispy hair to the side after I explain how Kas’s father died. “Dave’s mother told us she had never heard of a werebear being able to have a hybrid baby. We just assumed we were on our own and we were okay with it. Half the time, Dave’s out wandering the woods anyway, but he’s gotten better about staying close to home these days.” “Yeah, things used to be quiet around here. Shelly woke up one morning with crazy morning sickness. I thought something was really wrong with her.” Dave pulls her close and kisses her forehead. She smiles and scrunches her nose while she almost disappears into his arms. “We found a werebear shaman who confirmed she was pregnant. He was able to treat her throughout the pregnancy. Unfortunately, they don’t stay in one place very long. The day Andy was born, he said our cub was healthy, gave him a blessing, and wandered off. Haven’t seen him since. Last I heard, he was in Alberta. We’ve been lucky. And
Saint’s POVEven seeing Endymion in person didn’t convince Bronx that he’s wrong about our mate. Wait until that cute little kid grows up and finds out what Bronx did to his baby girl. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see the demigod grandson of the Titan Perses go one-on-one with the first Alpha. Place your bets now, folks. It’s gonna be a grisly one.I probably won’t get to see it, though. Knowing Bronx, tonight’s my last night of freedom before he blocks me. It’s a shitty way to end my spirit’s journey. Hopefully, the Moon Goddess has answers for me before she lets me rest.The dark sky reminds me of my mate, Elexis. Lex has silky black fur and beautiful violet eyes. We’ve been in love forever. I wish she was here. I guess I’ll never see her again.Whatever her reason for letting Lenora die, it had to be worth risking everything. Hopefully, Milo and Reggie have an answer that will convince Bronx to clear her name. She still won’t be our mate, but at least she’ll be able
Bronx’s POVI push against what feels like black walls made of tar that don’t actually exist. The more I push, the less I feel the outside world. It’s almost like I’m being suffocated from the inside out. He fucking blocked me? Over my dead body. This fuzzy white prick thinks he’s going to block me from having any control and get away with it. As soon as I can feel something, I force my way forward and grab at anything I can. A slight violet aura surrounds my consciousness, giving me more strength to fight against the confinement. At least having some of Kas’s power rubbed off on me has proven useful. When I get a firm grip on him, and yank Saint back so I can shift.“Fuck off, Bronx.” Saint sneers as he lets himself fall back. Between how hard I pulled on him and how little he fought back, I feel myself shift too quickly.I tumble forward from a height onto the floor with a hard thud. When I look up, I’m in my office with Milo and Reggie looking at me suspiciously. It looks like I f