Ella The morning of the moon ceremony finds me, unsurprisingly, in the kitchen. Eating. Rafe is with me this time, giggling happily as I dance happily around the room with him, singing about how delicious carrots are as I pour some baby carrots out from their bag onto a plate and begin to munch on
“No,” Henry says quickly, looking up at me. “I mean – if it’s all the same to you, I’ll hold him a little longer.” I nod eagerly, touched deeply to see the bond forming between them already. “He looks like you,” Henry says, smiling at my mate. “You, too, were a little bowling ball when you were bo
“Well,” Henry answers, hesitating. “Cora and Roger will see the prophecy.” My face falls a little when I realize the implications of this. “Really? Unfair,” I declare, pouting. Henry laughs a little along with me. “It will bring them closer to him, give them a bond.” “Well,” I sigh, “I want them
Ella As a group, we head together into the darkness of the forest. “Did we have to go somewhere so creepy for this?” I ask Sinclair, looking warily around the woods. Usually my wolf thrills to be under the canopy of the trees, but today, I can feel her wary inside me. “It’s a sacred space,” Sinc
“Who presents this child for dedication?” she calls out, her voice steady and resonant. “We do,” Sinclair responds, his voice resonant and strong. “His mother and I.” The priestess nods deeply to us, part of the ritual, recognizing our intent. Then, she continues. “And who will carry this boy to m
Cora I’m a little out of breath when I finally catch up with Roger and Rafe, having had to work hard to keep up with his long wolf stride. “Rude,” I say when I finally come to a stop next to them. “You couldn’t have waited for me?” “I’m being rude?” Roger says, raising his eyebrows at me in disb
I gasp, suddenly afraid, but Roger brings a quick hand to my waist, steadying me. “Don’t pull the baby back,” he says, peering into the white light of the moon, likewise trying to make it out. “If you do, we won’t be able to see…” So I keep holding the baby out, my arms trembling a little, and wat
Ella It feels like my sister has been gone with my baby for…hours. But in reality I know that it has been, at best, maybe half an hour. Still, while the rest of us mill around the dark forest, drinking champagne and waiting, I can’t keep myself from continuing to glance anxiously into the darkness
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an