“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 I need to leave? I… um, I could go to Kardiá tou Menae and live with my sisters for a little while. Or, uh, I could move to the apartment in Paris. I-I’m still able to go there, right? Just, um, g-give me a few days to coordinate it? I need to figure out how to transport the twins and find, um, find new doctors for them.”
Maya and Andreas begin to fuss when they sense that I’m upset. I lean down and kiss them with a trembling lip. After a few reassuring words, they both settle down. What am I going to do? I know we aren’t mates anymore, but he moved on so fast? I can’t even imagine being with someone else. Maybe he never really loved me at all. Maybe it was always just the mate bond. My chest aches thinking about all the promises we made to each other when there was no one else to hear us. Everything we have been through was all for nothing.
“Little Sister, relax. No one is saying you cheated on Bronx. Quit worrying about him. Regardless of what’s going on between you two… or not… your place is here as our Luna. You don’t need to go anywhere." Milo gives me his best fake angry look until he’s sure I will not talk back. "Don’t make me fight your scrawny ass to keep you here, either. I know you’ve beaten me in a scrimmage before, but I don’t think you’re as strong as you were then. Just sayin’.”
I open my mouth to say something, but he puts his finger on my chin and closes it for me.
“Please hear me out, okay? The DNA shows Maya is… well… a Goddess. We only have your DNA to compare to, though. She’s definitely related to you, but not enough for you to be her mother. Which, I guess, makes her your sister… like she’s supposed to be? She has nothing that matches Bronx’s DNA at all, but I guess she’s not supposed to? I don’t know. We’re not sure how that is supposed to work exactly, but Bronx says he feels pulled to her like he is her father. So that’s weird in its own right.”
“Okay? Bronx told me that Cora said he is always a good father before she died.” I shake my head, confused. “Technically, Endymion is her father. I don’t know how it’s supposed to work, either. The last time I gave birth to her, genetic testing wasn’t a thing. From what I remember, Bronx died a month before she was born in that lifetime. French Wars of Religion… it was… messy…” I think back to what I can remember from that lifetime and scrunch my nose. “Was James able to find anything on Cora’s Menae blade server?”
“Cora… er… Maya’s records are the least detailed out of the fifty of you. Even more so than the rest of the Wild. She and Dante really make it a point to stay out of sight if they can help it.” He clears his throat and adjusts his position.
“Okay, but that is Maya. I feel like you’re trying to distract me. What does this have to do with Andreas?” I try to keep my voice level, but it breaks with the question. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Kas, based on the DNA, Andreas is Bronx’s son. Like ninety-nine point six percent.” Milo bobs his head with each word.
“Okay then, why the heck would you ask me if I cheated on Bronx?” I drop my shoulders, feeling frustrated.
“No one asked if you cheated on Bronx, Kas. Please don’t twist words. No one is against you here. We’re just trying to figure out what’s going on because this is the part where we get into the point four percent. Again, NOT accusing you of anything.” Milo stops and stares at me.
“Okay. Not accusing me of anything. Fine. Just tell me what’s going on with my son!”
“The results show he doesn’t have any Alpha markers.” He presses his lips together to gauge my reaction. “That’s where we’re trying to figure shit out.”
I look down at Andreas and his fragile features. This is my fault. I went to Mount Olympus and forced Zeus’s hand in front of the rest of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. I embarrassed him and stole his energy in front of his court. I could have killed him, but I didn’t. Yeah, it was a power move on my part, but I really needed the energy to create Kardiá tou Menae. Regardless, I forced him to keep his word and give me a baby. This is his payback. I don’t care what Andreas is. I’ll love him no matter what. Others in our community won’t be so understanding if they find out that he isn’t an Alpha wolf.
I close my eyes and curse under my breath. To Hell with Zeus.
“Does Bronx know?” I look at my friends from the side of my eye.
“Yeah.” Reggie puts his hands on his hips and cocks his knee out. “He doesn’t care, Kas. He wants to see his pups. We’ve been keeping him out of here, but at some point, we have to trust him with his own children.”
“O-okay. Yeah, we shouldn’t keep them from him.” I nod, feeling the fear building in my chest again. I look at Andreas and Maya. “I, uh, I need to see him too? I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“He’s promised us he won’t hurt any of you, and I believe him. Bronx is a lot of things, but he’s not a liar.” Ashley sighs and steps to the bedside. She brushes what’s left of my thin hair back with her fingers and takes my chin in her hand. Her face is full of care and concern. Tears well up in her eyes before she begins again. “I’ve missed you so much, girlie. I was so scared we would never see you again. I wanted so badly to come see you in the dungeon, sneak some food to you, but we were all ordered not to even say your name. When you… died… the order broke and then you came back to us.”
I take her hand and hold it against my cheek. She is warm and her energy is full of love. I have missed this firecracker of a woman.
I shake my head and finally feel tears well up in my eyes. The only time I let myself cry in the past five months was the day I came back from the magical apartment used as the headquarters for the Mavri Magea after I completed Kardiá tou Menae and escorted all my sisters there. Until then, I pushed all emotions down to focus. It was the only way I could build a home for my sisters using magic I had collected over centuries. That and the energy I had siphoned from unsuspecting victims. Oh, and I had to work with dark creatures and cast some really nasty curses to make it happen. I’m not innocent.
In the end, all the dark and evil things I did in the shadows allowed me to create a place where the Menae could live in peace. Without the interference of the outside world and their five leaders, myself included. A place of love and hope and rehabilitation for any of the Menae who needs or wants it. I literally went to the underworld and back, working with some of the darkest, dangerous beings to create a place of light and safety. As the God Hades once said to me, “The darker the dark, the lighter the light.”
“Don’t cry, Kas.” Reggie stands behind Ashley. “We’re going to get this all figured out. We won’t let you down. Not again.”
“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
All I want to do is close my eyes when Milo and Reggie get me back to my bed, but they have other plans. They spread out dozens of photos and stacks of papers, only giving me enough room to sit at the edge. Reggie explains what they are before I can protest. “So she made a Goddess rehab facility… using magic?” I look at the photographs of the beautiful mansion in awe and confusion. It doesn’t make sense. How could she pull this off? “Kas knows how to build cakes, not houses.” “It wasn’t just magic. She literally used her own essence, and the energy siphoned off of other creatures and beings to make it. Bronx, Kas has been planning this for centuries. She knew the Leaders needed to be stopped. Cora was kind of… collateral damage… but she loves Kas so much and believed in the cause enough that she sacrificed herself.” “Kas ordered Cora to be murdered too?” My mind immediately goes to my baby in the suite next door. Is she safe in the suite with Kas there? I feel myself getting angry,
Milo and Reggie leave the papers and photos for me to look through more carefully when I feel better. I pick up a picture of the front of a binder. There is a sticker on the front in Kas’s neat, loopy handwriting that says ‘Menae Notes’. The next few photos show snapshots of the contents. Cut outs from home decorating magazines, information about new appliances, upholstery samples, and furniture. The more photos I look at, the older the contents of the binder look. Old scraps of paper that show names and abilities associated with each. Diagrams on how to connect spells. Notes about elements that don’t exist on the periodic table. The last couple show pieces of scrolls written in ancient languages with unusual symbols and charts. This must be the binder I threw in the fireplace before they could scan everything in. I fall back on the bed and cover my face with my hands. Milo was right. If Kas would have told me she wanted to go on a suicide mission, I would have stopped her or made h