Two

AMBER POV

  I never want to see my son cry again. It felt like my heart was splitting with every tear that fell from his crystal blue eyes. But this has to be done. I need advice on what to do next. Selene and Anniki both know more about the fairies than I do. But I hate leaving my realm.

  I made my realm in the Earth's time flow so I would always be there with him. So I would never miss anything, and here I am, leaving for the next four years—one stupid day in Selene's time.

Selene couldn't keep track of the werewolves because her realm is so far away. So when I made mine, I corrected that problem.

I hated that she cursed the werewolves and left them for centuries without even a second thought. And while I do respect her, I swore to do better than her. I will walk amongst my wolves. I will create every one of them with my own hands. I will pair each of them with handpicked mates. I will not choose some mates and leave the others up to fate as Selene did. My wolves are my world.

For Selene, the wolves weren't her children. They were her ex-lover's children. The ex-lover who broke her heart and only changed when she made him a mate. She never loved the Lycans like I love my wolves. These new wolves are like my Tavy, and I will love them like they are my own blood.

  "Selene," I call after gently closing her massive mansion's front door.

  I did not miss this boring palace. I have been gone for four, almost five years, but for her, it's probably close to two days. But still, it was not long enough for me. This place is just too grand for my taste.

Two Goddesses sharing a massive 10,000 square foot home is stupid, in my opinion. They don't need this place. All they do is sit around and gaze. It's like they are living statues.

  "Amber? Why have you returned? Has something happened," Selene asks as she comes out of her main sitting area?

  "Yes. The fairy Queen visited Octavius in his dream. She revealed to him how she is entering the human realm," I answer, and Selene's eyes widen in shock.

  We never thought the Queen would be dumb enough to reveal her trick, but Octavius is young. She probably underestimated him and felt comfortable spelling her secrets.

  "How is she doing it," Selene asks as she approaches me quickly.

Selene's black hair and white dress seem to swirl around her. I force my mind to focus on why I am here and not on her startling appearance. It still gets to me.

  "Octavius said she is splitting her being. Once all of her people know how to do it, she will kill all the humans. When the barrier falls, she is coming for you," I repeat my son's words while watching Selene's reaction closely.

   Selene's black eyes seem to grow even darker as she processes the information.

"We need to speak with Anniki. While we made your wolves immune to magic, we might have missed a major issue," Selene whispers as her mind seems to work overtime. 

My eyebrows crease, and I fold my arms.

  "What did we miss? I need to know everything about these monsters. I am the first line of defense down there," I ask sternly, and Selene closes her eyes.

  She nods and even has the decency to look apologetic due to not telling me everything.

  "Fairies can live for up to two thousand years, Amber. Most werewolves don't even know that. Queen Melanie is only a few hundred years old. Her father is still living. He is retired from ruling but still living. Melanie can spend the next two hundred years teaching the rest of her people her trick and still be young...By which time Octavius will be gone. I made sure to give your son and his wolf extra strength. I wanted your son to be the hero of the world. The rest of the wolves have all been average werewolves unless you changed the formula I gave you. Octavius needs to be alive when she attacks the humans. He is our best bet at killing her. Because while their main strength is their magic, they aren't weak. They can kill a human with one punch just like a werewolf can. And since she is royal, she will be stronger than the rest," Selene explains, and my eyebrows lift.

  "So Anniki has to curse the werewolves again," I ask, and Selene shakes her head.

  "One curse per Goddess is best.  If you add too many, it gets messy. The curses weaken, and we need the curses to be as strong as possible for this battle. The best example of curses weakening is the vampires. Anniki is the only one to curse them, and she has done it several times. But here recently, her sun allergy curse has been weakening...I altered my original curse on the werewolves. I dropped the portion that locked pups in the wolf form, but I kept the mate portion of my curse...So technically, I still have a curse on them. So it can't be me who curses them either. I think Anniki and I are going to have to teach you how to curse," Selene explains, and my stomach twists.

   My mind immediately jumps to Octavius and my duties in my realm.

  "How long should that take? I can't be here for too long. Every day here is four or five years on Earth. I can't be away for that long. I personally make the wolves daily and pick mates," I ask, desperately trying to explain my reason for needing to leave quickly.

  "Daily? Wow. You are a very hands-on Goddess. I am proud of you, Amber," Selene says with shock written on her face.

  I nod and bite the inside of my cheek to keep from popping off about righting her wrongs. Selene doesn't need to be told about how I feel. She knows, and she has apologized for her wrongs. 

  "It will not take any longer as long as you get it right. But I have faith in you. You are a quick study," Selene says with a sad smile, and I know she read my unspoken thoughts.

   I offer her a smile in return.

"Let's go," she whispers before whipping around.

    We both speed walk towards Anniki's door, much like the first time I was here. Selene places her hand on the rectangle piece of starry sky as we arrive, and I follow behind her without being told.

  "Anniki, reveal yourself. It's important," Selene says, and like before, the darkness gathers from all around us.

   "What is it this time, sister," Anniki asks in a mildly concerned voice, and I grin at the change in her attitude.

  It seems like the sisters have patched things up.

  "The fairies have revealed their hand. We need to plan," Selene explains, and Anniki's white eyes become more intrigued rather than concerned.

  "How do they plan to remove the barrier," Anniki asks, jumping right to the root of it.

  "By killing the humans, of course. But they have to complete a crucial step before they can do that. The crucial step is learning how to split their souls from their physical being. Something the Queen has mastered in order to steal slaves. She plans to teach the rest of the fairies. Then it will be all-out war on the humans. Once the last human is dead, my barrier will fall. We will then be vulnerable to attack. Something I feel their creator planned. We were the lowest Goddesses before Amber created her realm below us. We would have been the fairy's first target all along after they conquered Earth," Selene says, and my eyebrows lift.

  "I thought I told you I need to know everything," I whisper, and Selene waves her hand, completely dismissing my statement.

  "I told you that, but you never listen to me, Selene," Anniki says before she folds her arms much like I did earlier.

  "What are you two talking about," I demand, and Selene sighs.

  "Let us worry about the other immortals. You worry about Earth and its problems. You are too young for this fight Amber. Even Anniki and I are too young when compared to the Gods who created the Fairies and the dragons," Selene snaps, and my eyebrows lift in surprise.

  "Selene is right, Amber. Your fight will be on Earth. Our fight will be against the envious old cunts who like to think they are better than us," Anniki says, and my curiosity only grows.

   "So...if the werewolves are able to eliminate the fairies, we will stop some old Gods' plan to kill the two of you," I ask despite Selene's rudeness, and Anniki grins.

  "Precisely. Our mistakes will become our saviors," Anniki says, and Selene snorts.

  "Our," Selene asks, and Anniki rolls her eyes.

  "The dragons will fight with the fairies, sister. Which means the werewolves will need an ally as well. My vampires will have to partake in this war whether they like it or not. Humans are their food source. If humans die, they starve," Anniki replies, and my eyebrows feel as if they have hit my hairline.

  "Vampires," I whisper, and Anniki eyes me.

  "Don't hate them. Some aren't as bad as my ex-lover. Some only drink donated blood. They walk amongst the humans at night without harming a single one. Don't judge them before knowing them, young Goddess," Anniki says, and I feel a wave of her power hit me.

  I bow my head to her in return, and she withdraws her power.

  "I will give them a chance. If you remember, werewolves weren't exactly sweet to me when I met them. Maybe we should approach the sirens as well," I whisper, and Anniki nods while pondering my suggestion.

  "Well, who knows what either of them may do. We have to focus on the guaranteed bet...I told Amber she would have to curse the werewolves with long life. It's the only way to ensure Octavius goes against the Queen. He is the strongest of the new age wolves and will be the only one capable of killing Melanie," Selene says, and Anniki refocuses on her sister's anxious face.

  "I agree. We will place the majority of our faith in the wolves. If the vampires...or sirens join the fight, so be it. We know the werewolves are on our side... I will let you explain the process, sister. You know I am not one for teaching," Anniki says, and Selene turns towards me.

  I give Selene a deep scowl, and she sighs.

  "I'm sorry. When I feel flustered, I get snappy. It's something Anniki has always hated. I would have explained after we got everything sorted, I promise," Selene says apologetically, and I roll my eyes.

  "I don't care, Selene. This involves my son. My son, Selene! What if the wolves defeat the other gods' plan in killing the two of you, and those gods end up seeking revenge on my boy? My child will not survive that," I growl, and Selene steps back from me.

   I stare daggers into Selene's startled face, but Anniki interrupts my glare with a laugh.

  "No concerns there, Amber. The other gods are even more forgetful than we are. I would bet my favorite star that they abandoned the plan when Selene put up the barrier. When something doesn't work, they move on. Our lives are endless, Amber. Gods have millions of ideas and plans that don't pan out. We view life differently than mortals. You haven't been a Goddess long enough to behave as we do but just wait. You will relax after a few eons," Anniki says, and a little bit of worry lifts from my shoulders.

   "Fine. Teach me," I whisper before giving Selene a side-eye look.

    She swallows and hesitantly reaches for my hands.

  "I won't bite," I say sarcastically before moving my hands to hers.

   She nods before swallowing again.

  "I know. I just...I am weaker now that their prayers go to you. You don't even realize what you are capable of yet, but when you growled at me, I felt your power. I felt your protectiveness. You are becoming a powerful Goddess, Amber. More powerful than I ever was. I think it's because you are a better Goddess than I was. They respect you and love you because of your involvement with them. I am sorry I didn't consider your fears. You deserve to be acknowledged when we are talking. You are stronger than I gave you credit for. You are our equal," Selene says softly, and surprise fills me.

  "Thank you," I whisper back, and she smiles before nodding.

  "Now teach me how to curse," I say to lighten the mood.