Filed to story: Mated to the Alpha and His Beta Novel Free >>???
The future might be obscured to me. I couldn’t look ahead the way my daughter could and see every branching path. I couldn’t predict how my choices would influence what lay ahead.
But I could still make them.
I might never be able to do everything, but that would never again stop me from doing what I could.
“I think I understand, Moon Goddess. I have to trust in you. In Stella. But most of all, in myself.”
The laughter of a Goddess is a blessing all its own. Hers rained over me, sparkling silver droplets I could feel as well as hear. I lifted my face to the sky again and danced in the light and laughter of theGoddess I’d been born to serve. I accepted her blessings…and also those of her sister, the Sun, who could have chosen at any moment in my life to end it, but who had allowed me to reach this place.
“Thank you, thank you!” I cried out into the skies. “I’m ready!”
With a rumble of thunder, storm clouds rolled across the sky. They covered up the stars first,dimming their light and then blinking them to darkness. Next, the Sun itself faded from blazing orange to soft, pale yellow. Then to white, and it, too, was gone. The Moon remained, but the clouds quickly covered up its silver sheen.
I was in darkness.
I couldn’t see the path in front of me, but worse than that, I couldn’t even feel it. I tapped a toe and felt something solid underneath it. I took a step, and suddenly, there was nothing to stand on. I teetered on the edge of the world.
With a scream, I pulled myself back from the edge. I couldn’t tell if I had my eyes open or closed.
Everything was darkness, either way.
If this was a test, I wasn’t sure I was going to pass it Time passed like the beat of a heart or the tick of a clock, but I couldn’t tell if it was hours or minutes or years or eternities. I fought to stop myself from running, plunging over the abyss. I’d trusted the Goddess this far, and I’d accepted her will. I had to remain patient for whatever message she sent me next.Slowly, I became aware of a dim glow. It looked really far away, like the light at the end of a tunnel. I blinked, realizing my eyes must have been open. They’d been open the entire time, waiting for something to see.
The glow brightened. I could see the edge just beyond the tips of my bare toes. It looked like I stood on a cliff, but I had no idea how high it was, or what lay below it. I put my foot out,feeling nothing below it but air. An icy wind lifted my hair. If I lost my balance, I’d fall and plunge into that darkness.
I wasn’t going to lose anything.
“Mother?” Stella’s voice came to me from that light.
I took the first step. My heart seized as my body tensed, waiting to hurtle over the cliff edge. I still couldn’t feel anything under the foot extended forward. The one behind me was still solid.
“Mother, follow my voice! You have to come back to us now!”
It took everything I had, every bit of willpower,to lift the foot remaining on the ground. I stepped forward again. Now there was nothing beneath me. I wasn’t floating, but I wasn’t falling, either.
“I’m coming, Stella!”
I took another step. Another. I walked on nothing but trust and hope. The power of my belief buoyed me up. The love I felt emanating from my daughter kept me moving.
The light grew brighter, and now it looked like a doorway. Stella stood just inside it. Behind her, over her shoulder, I could see our living room. My three mates.
My own body, sprawled on the ground like I was dead.“Come back to us, Mother!”
Step after step, I followed her voice and the light.
Gabriela–
I hadn’t had this much spring in my step since long before Orion and I had been mated and had Xander.
It was like I was looking at the world through brand-new eyes. Colors were brighter. Crisper, bolder, fresher.
I stopped short with a small cry of surprise as the realization hit me.
That’s just what I needed. A fresh start. My own life.
The chance to pursue new friendships…or more, if the chance came up. Of course I loved my family, but Stella was now an adult. The twins were going to full-time school. My grandchildren didn’t need me, and my grownup children might simply have to adjust to living on their own, too.
Wasn’t it time I lived my own life? Yes, there were still trials and tribulations ahead of us, but I could still be there for my family without living in the same space.
It was long past time for my son and his three mates to have their own as well. Our living quarters were luxurious and four times the size of the cabin we’d all managed to survive, but that didn’t mean we had to keep living this way forever.
I stopped by the Housing and Responsibilities office to check for possible openings. Malachi had simply provided us with our original quarters, so I’d never been here before. The elderly witch at the desk waved a small wand over a parchment to reveal words that looked like they’d been typed with an old-
fashioned typewriter. Such a strange combination of magic and technology…only in Brightsky, I thought with a laugh.
“Something small. A studio would be fine,” I told her.
“I don’t even need a stove. I’m looking forward to having all my meals cooked by someone else. But…
ahem…I’d like a queen-sized bed.” The witch sl anted me a knowing gaze. She chuckled, “I think we have something coming open at the end of the week. It’s on a high level, though. Above ground.
Those are usually our less desirable units. Would that be all right?”
“If that’s what’s available, that will be fine. Are you able to look up the list of open responsibilities for me, too? I’d like to start giving back to the community.” I took a deep breath, thinking about how I’d tell the rest of the family of my plans to move out and take work in Brightsky.
“I can help you with that.” Again, she waved her wand, this time to reveal a different list. “We’ve got many open positions, depending on your qualifications.”
She waved the wand again, this time turning the words to face me so I’d be able to read them without twisting my head. For a moment, a flash obscured the words. My head ached. I took a step back from the desk, blinking. The words had gone blurry.
I blinked again to clear my vision while the old witch looked on curiously. I could read the list, but the letters looked kind of scrambled. I could read some of the words easily-daycare, kitchens, retail. Other words in the list weren’t so easy to read.
“You don’t have to decide right now, dearie. The list changes often, as people décide to switch things up.
Like you,” she said with a kind chuckle. “How about I put your name down for the new living quarters, and you can get yourself settled in there before you go taking up a new job, eh?”
“That sounds perfect. Thank you.”
“My pleasure, dearie. That’s how we work here at Brightsky. Together.” I thanked her again and set off once more for the apartment that would only be home for another week or so. I was a little disappointed about my weird vision thing, but at the same time, maybe it would be a good reason for me to call Dr. Alonius. I even thumbed his number into my phone before bursting into self-conscious giggles and putting my phone away. It was too soon.
I pushed open the door to the Constantine quarters and pulled up short at the sound of voices coming from Alaina and Isaac’s room. Something told me to hold back and listen before joining them.
“…but you’ll be good for Grammy, won’t you? We won’t be gone for long. We’ll be back before you know it.”
Lanie’s voice sounded soothing. I heard the twins murmuring in reply.
Gone?
“Hello?” I called out and went to their door.
All of them turned to stare at me…everyone except Stella. She wasn’t there. A coldness washed over me “Grammy!” Alaina cried and ran to take my hands.
“Mama and the fathers are going on a trip, but we get to stay home with you!”
I met my son’s gaze. “Is that so?”
“Mom, why don’t we go into the other room,” Xander said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “We have some important things to tell you.”
Gabriela–
I warmed my hands around a mug of hot tea, but I didn’t want to take even a single sip. Xander had explained to me, quickly, that he and his mates would be leaving with Stella, but the twins and I would stay behind.
“You might have asked me first,” I said in a low voice. “Rather than simply springing this on me. No warning.”
“We have to move on this now, Mom. Sorry, but you’re our only option. We have to get Stella out of here for her protection. She’s far more powerful than the twins and far more at risk from the High Council.”
At those words, a pain sliced into my heart. “The High Council. When will they ever stop causing us so much trouble? Is it so much to ask that they simply leave us alone? Never mind.” I waved a hand for silence, my voice rasping. “I know the answer to that. Probably more than any of you.”
I didn’t want to feel such disappointment that my plans were being struck to the ground before I even had the chance to put them into action. I didn’t want this selfishness. With a heavy sigh, I put my face in my hands.
“Where is Stella?”
Mason stepped up to answer that question. “Right now, she’s in the temple of the Moon Goddess, preparing herself.”
“A Celestial needs to make offerings to a Goddess?” asked.
Lanie had been talking to the twins, but now she appeared with a bag slung over her arm. “Even a Celestial can use as much protection as she can get. Gabriela, I know this is hard. We wouldn’t ask you to do this if we had any other choice.”
“Where are you going?” I studied the mug. The steam wafted up, bathing my face. My vision blurred again.
This time from tears.
Xander cleared his throat and took the seat next to mine. He pushed the mug out of the way to press both of my hands between his. He waited until I looked into his eyes, but although his mouth opened, he still didn’t speak.
“You have your father’s eyes. Did I ever tell you that?
Not the color, or even the shape. It’s the look in them Xander. Orion looked at me that way every time he asked me to do something he knew I wouldn’t want to do I shook my head and pulled my hands from my son’s grip. “I never thought to see my own son looking at me the same way.”
“We’re taking her to Fallen Crest,” he said.
I couldn’t hold back my gasp of shock. “That’s…”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?