by M H Soars
She gives him a droll stare before shaking her head.
“Red had some earlier.” Kenya smirks at me.
Nadine pretends to be gagging before she goes to sit by Leo, Jared, and Armand in the living room.
I look around. “Who has Diana now?”
“Oh, she’s outside with Uncle Zeke,” Billy replies.
“She’s alone with him?” I ask, my voice sounding a little shrilly.
“Why are you freaking out, Red? Zeke is harmless.” Kenya shrugs.
I don’t know why I’m nervous all of a sudden, so instead of answering her, I stride out of the manor. Zeke is standing right in front of the house, but he doesn’t have Diana. She’s in the arms of a familiar tall blond golden knight. Pegasus.
My heart skips a beat before jumping up to my throat.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
He looks at me, his face serene for once. I guess when you’re not worried about psycho deities, it’s easy to feel relaxed. Too bad I don’t share his sentiment.
“Hi, Red. How have you been?” He gives me a small smile
“Fine until you showed up here.” I take Diana from his arms and she immediately begins to cry. Little traitor.
The grin vanishes from his face. “I’m sorry if my presence disturbs you. It wasn’t my intention.”
“You couldn’t guess that after everything I went through, I’d want my distance from your kind?”
“I suppose I should have guessed as much.”
“Come on, Red. Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh with Pegasus? If it weren’t for him, the Furies would have gotten away with their revenge,” Zeke interjects.
I glower at the imp, but I can’t fault his logic. Shit. I am being unfair.
I let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. Did you just come by to pay a social visit?”
Heat rushes to his cheeks. He rubs the back of his neck and says, “No, actually I came here because Zeus sent me.”
My blood runs cold. That’s it. The king of Olympus has sent his champion to take my babies away. I clutch Diana closer to my chest, taking a step back for good measure.
“Why?” I ask.
“I’ve been assigned to be your children’s guardian.”
“What?” I squeak.
“That’s interesting.” Zeke rubs his chin.
“You pledged them in service to Athena. Zeus wants to make sure nothing happens to them.”
“Are they in danger?” Zeke asks.
“Not right now. But that might not last. Athena had many enemies, and baby Diana bears her mark.”
“Come again?” I say.
“When Athena brought your baby back to life, she marked her. Just like you have the mark of Artemis, Diana has the mark of Athena.”
“Does that mean she’ll have special powers?” I glance at my baby’s chubby face, wishing she could live a normal shifter life.
“Possibly. But you don’t see that as a blessing, do you?”
I glare at Pegasus. “No, I don’t. Being a wolf is enough.” A hint of regret flashes in the champion’s eyes, sending alarms through my head. “What is it?”
“You haven’t realized it yet. Diana is not a wolf shifter.”
“What? Nonsense. Of course she is.”
I sense Zeke’s intense stare in my direction. No, not my direction. Diana’s.
“I’ll be damned. I can’t believe I missed that,” he mutters.
“Athena could only resuscitate your baby’s human side. Unfortunately, the wolf died.”
I hug my baby tighter while fighting back the tears. “No.”
“Red?” Dante calls my name.
A second later, all my mates are running to me.
“Red, what’s wrong?” Sam asks me.
“What are you doing here? What did you do to Red?” Tristan gets into Pegasus’s personal space.
“Guys, calm down.” Zeke pulls Tristan back.
The tears are falling freely now. As if knowing how brokenhearted I am, Diana places her chubby hand on my face.
“Mama,” she says for the first time.
“Oh my God. Did she just say ‘mama’?” Sam moves closer.
“Yes.” I laugh. “Yes, she did. Hello, darling. That’s me, your mama.”
Diana giggles in delight, melting my heart.
“Why were you crying, love?” Dante asks.
I shake my head. “It’s not that important. I’ll tell you later.”
Dante frowns slightly, but he doesn’t push it. I’ll tell them once the party is over. I don’t want to sour everyone’s mood now.
“Come on, let’s go back inside. There’s nothing a good slice of cake can’t fix,” I say.
“Oh, especially if they’re one of mine.” Zeke winks at me.
We all walk toward the door, but Pegasus doesn’t follow. I look over my shoulder. “You’re not coming?”
“Wait, are you inviting him?” Tristan asks.
“Sure, why not?”
Pegasus twists his face into an expression I can only guess is discomfort. If he’s feeling awkward now, wait until Kenya sets her eyes on him.
Dante
The party is over, the babies are sleeping, and we’re back in our room. I know the news Red needs to tell us. It’s hard keeping a straight face when she reveals Diana isn’t a wolf shifter. I suspected as much as soon as we returned home from Mount Olympus. But it was only when Mom examined her that my suspicions were confirmed. I couldn’t tell Red or my brothers. They would be devastated, especially Red. So I waited for the best opportunity to tell them, but Pegasus beat me to it.
“Are you sure that winged horse was telling the truth?” Sam asks.
“Why would he lie?” Red retorts.
“He’s not lying,” I say. “Mom and I have known about Diana since she came home.”
“What? You knew all this time and didn’t tell us?” Tristan raises his voice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have the heart to tell you then. And the longer I waited, the harder it became to come clean.” I turn to Red. “Please forgive me, my love. I was only trying to protect you.”
She closes her eyes for a moment before looking at me again. “As much as I hate that you kept such a huge secret from us, I can’t stay mad at you.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this secret weighed on me.”
Tristan rubs his face and looks away. “Life is going to be so hard for our little girl.”
“Only if we let it be,” Red says. “We’re much more involved with the rest of the community now. She won’t grow up among wolves only. She’ll be okay.”
“How about this deal of her having the mark of Athena. That doesn’t worry you?” Sam asks.
Red raises her chin, her face a mask of determination. “At first, yes, but not anymore. I think Athena knew exactly what she was doing. Diana was born to be a warrior, and the goddess gave her the tools. Our baby girl will be fine.”
“And until she learns how to use those tools, we’ll be there to protect her,” Tristan adds.
“I feel sorry for whoever tries to harm any of our kids.” Sam cracks his knuckles.
Red glows for a moment, but since neither Sam nor Tristan comment on it, I think I’m the only one who sees it.
The guardians are still with her.
I open my mouth to reply, but one of the babies starts to cry, and a second later, all three are bawling.
“Our grown-up time is up.” Red heads for the door.
“I hope not for the rest of the evening. I could use some more grown-up time.” Sam hugs Red from behind and kisses her shoulder.
“Can’t you get your mind out of the gutter for one second?” Tristan grumbles.
I take a step forward to follow them when, from the corner of my eye, I catch a shimmering apparition in the corner of the room. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I turn.
“Athena? What are you doing here?” I ask the ghost
of the goddess.
“Oh, Dante. I never left and you know it.”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
“You should have told them the whole truth,” she continues.
“What whole truth?” I curl my hands into fists.
“That Diana is me.”
***THE END***
Also by Michelle Hercules
Wicked Gods (Gifted Academy #1)
Ruthless Idols (Gifted Academy #2)
Hateful Heroes (Gifted Academy #3)
Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4)
Lost Horizon (Oz in Space #1)
Magic Void (Oz in Space #2)
Crossing Time
Savage Dawn
Red’s Alphas (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #1)
Wolf’s Calling (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #2)
Pack’s Queen (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #3)
Mother of Wolves (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #4)
Also by M. H. Soars
Wonderwall
Sugar, We’re Going Down
Wreck of the Day
Devils Don’t Fly
Catch You
Love Me Like You Do
All The Right Moves
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Michelle Hercules (also writing as M. H. Soars) always knew creative arts were her calling but not in a million years did she think she would become an author. With a background in fashion design she thought she would follow that path. But one day, out of the blue, she had an idea for a book. One page turned into ten pages, ten pages turned into a hundred, and before she knew, her first novel, The Prophecy of Arcadia, was born.
Michelle Hercules resides in The Netherlands with her husband and daughter. She is currently working on the Crimson Hollow series and the Oz in Space series.
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