Grabbing the phone, I dial Andrei’s number when the door opens. Marge sticks her head inside the office. “We are out of diapers. I don’t suppose someone can run into town to the shop?” she asks, and Mateo hops off the couch. “I will go. Do we need anything else?”
“Some more milk,” Marge tells him, and he nods, following her out and shutting the door behind him.
“Who are you calling?” Ezra asks while climbing off the couch and coming over to me.
“I was going to call Sage to see if she wants to come tomorrow,” Ezra hums in agreement, and I am about to hit the call button when he hangs the phone up.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Call her in a minute. I want to speak to you first,” he says, and I swivel in my seat to face him.
“What’s up?” Ezra leans forward, bracing his arms on the chair and he presses his forehead against mine.
“You haven’t shifted in two days. You need to shift tonight.” He whispers.
“It’s only a Crescent Moon tonight,” I tell him, and he crouches in front of me.
His hands grip my knees as Ezra looks up at me. “Still better than nothing. You promised you would shift every night, and it has been two days,” he points out, squeezing my knees.
I sigh.
“Why do you hate it so much?” Ezra questions, “You always try to avoid shifting.”
“It makes me miss Kora,” I admit. I love shifting, but I also hate it. I miss having her, and no matter how long I have gone without her now, it still feels weird being in that form and not having her voice in my head. It feels lonely.
Ezra exhales and nods. “Will you please shift tonight?” He pleads, and I chew the inside of my lip.
“Only if Maddox and Ares come for a run with me,” I tell him, and his lips tug at the corners.
“I am sure that can be arranged. Mateo will love to be able to go with you for once. I will ask Marge if she minds watching the kids for us,” he says, rising to his feet, leaning down, and brushing his lips against mine.
“Call Sage, tell her we will pick her up at 7 AM,” he says, passing the phone back to me. I watch him walk out and am about to dial Andrei’s number when my skin ripples and goosebumps rise on my arms.
I hang the phone back up.
“About time. Where have you been?” I ask Seline as she appears in the room. She looks tired again as she moves over to the couch and sits down. I lean forward, furrowing my brows. Concern takes over my senses – she looks like she is on the verge of passing out.
“I’m fine.” She waves me off. “How have you been?” She asks, and I get out of my seat to move to her side. Her eyes follow me as I sit next to her.
“You look tired,” I tell her.
“It is difficult for me to portal between realms at the moment,” she tells me, running a hand through her golden locks.
And that’s when I notice them – the blue veins streaking across her arm and hand.
“Seline?” I ask, grabbing her hand and turning it over. It looks like spider webs crossing her skin.
“Katya, I’m fine. Now, tell me what is going on with you. Why do you need to speak to me so urgently?” She asks, but I shake my head.
“No, you are hiding something, and I need to know what is going on,” Seline sighs, and I see her aura falter. It flickers as if an electrical current is going through it.
Her lips part and I know she is going to try to convince me that she is fine again. “Don’t tell me it is nothing, Seline. I am done with the riddles and the lies. Tell me what is going on with you now,” I demand, and she raises an eyebrow at my tone.
She chews her lip nervously, something I’ve never seen her do before. “I did something, something I should have warned you about,” she pauses to suck in a deep breath. “I am dying, Katya,” she tells me, and my heart jolts at those words.
“What, how? I don’t understand. You are a Goddess, how can you die?” I ask.
“I wasn’t always a Goddess, Katya, there are consequences for everything, and I accept mine, it is a price I must pay,” she says, reaching forward and cupping my cheek. Her hands are chilly, and I place my hand over hers, leaning into her touch.
“How? When did you find out?” I am struggling to make sense of what she is saying.
“I knew what I was doing. I knew the price I would pay, but I officially understood it when I could no longer see your future or that of your mates and your children. Slowly, I have been losing some of my gifts. It has started already. And you may have noticed yours becoming stronger, maybe new gifts?” She asks.
I don’t know what to say, but Seline continues and explains after a brief pause. “I need you to know this was my choice, Katya. I knew what I was doing the moment I brought you back. When I brought you back, I gave you a piece of myself, just like Celeste gave to me.” She tells me as she squeezes my fingers.
Shaking my head, I try to make sense of this, but that name does not ring a bell for me. “Wait, who is Celeste?” I ask her.
Seline exhales and nods her head. “Celeste was the first Moon Goddess. She was my creator, the creator of Lycans. She gave her life for me and made me who I am. Celeste is how we all came to be, and she was powerful, a veritable Goddess. A creator of the Lycans and also their destruction.”
“I am not sure what you are telling me, Seline, layman’s terms, please,” I tell her, rubbing a hand down my face. What she is saying sounds insane. Why have we not heard of this Goddess? I really need to get a good night’s sleep. My brain feels like mush.
She inhales before letting out a breath. “Celeste created Lycans. Like you, I was a Queen of Alphas, the last Queen of Alphas, but I was also human, not Lycan. I gave my life for my kingdom, and also, like you, I was blessed with the gift of life. I exchanged my life for my kingdoms, I died for them, and Celeste saw this and was in awe of what I did, so she granted me my life back, giving me a piece of her soul. Just as I did with you.” I tilt my head to the side, taking in what she just told me.