ARTEMISIA
“Hey,” Fynn says quietly as he steps next to my bed.
“Hey,” I answer in a whisper, closing my book.
He puts his hands in his pockets, smiling. “You look incredibly beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I say while blushing, and lean my head against the headboard of my bed.
He grins as he sits on the bed, leaning in to caress Emma’s head. “I always knew that she was special, but I didn’t know to what extent. Did you feel something special that could lead to finding out what she did?”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head. “I just know that I can finally breathe without feeling pain, and Cassy gets to rest.”
He sighs, squeezing my leg as he sits back up. “I’m glad.”
“Is everything alright?” I ask, tilting my head at him.
He nods, flashing me a saddened smile and I can see from a mile away that he is lying. “Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I think I’ll let you rest.”
“Okay,” I say lowly, closing my eyes as he kisses my lips.
As he stands up, I contemplate saying something but I guess my heart would not be ready for this conversation. And I don’t want to stress out the pups again.
I don’t think that fire would be easy to tame, even for Emma.
“I’ll leave you to read in peace,” he says as he stands up. “And please keep humming. It’s awesomely relaxing.”
I laugh, reciprocating his kiss as he leans in again. “You know that I love you more than anything, right, princess?”
“Sure,” I say, the lump in my throat nearly making my voice fail me. “I love you too.”
He grins broader before he pushes himself off the headboard he is leaning on. “I know…”
Taking a deep breath, I inhale his scent, trying to force my heart to free itself from the uncomfortable knot it twisted itself into.
But there is no avail.
Gulping painfully, I caress Emma’s back as I try to concentrate back on my book, picking up the tune that I was humming.
***
While time seems to go by fast, the marking ceremony seems just to inch closer painfully slowly.
Strange things that happen randomly on the pack’s territory keep me on edge, and while Cayden keeps trying to calm me down, I really can’t.
The dead animals found drained of their blood at our borders and Edward telling us more and more names of the Omegas involved just seem like messengers of a bigger misfortune that has yet to happen.
Sadly, the more names he called out, the less truthful he seemed. More and more of the she-wolves he named were proved to be innocent and couldn’t be involved.
And Rachel’s name had yet to be named.
Pushing out a deep breath while closing my eyes, I scan my surroundings.
I feel incredibly stupid by the warriors standing around me for my safety as I just wanted to take a little morning walk.
My mother is bickering with Rachel about who knows what and I go through all the people I could talk about my bad presentiment.
As I’m lost in thought, I realize that I can’t really trust anyone.
Swallowing a sob, I think of my mother, Ramona and Mirella who could be associated with my family.
Fynn and Cayden who seem too cozy with having Rachel around, and Logan who tried to poison me with Lisa.
Then there is Matthew… and Alberta, who don’t give me any reason to mistrust them.
And Hendrick…
Turning around, I look directly into Hendrick’s eyes, making my heart flip.
… who is reading my thoughts.
He just shrugs, as if wanting to say, who can ever know? And I laugh dryly.
Just as I’m about to think of more, I turn towards the mansion, seeing a dark figure with fair hair stepping out into the backyard.
Corvina lifts her hand, shielding her eyes from the sun as she scans the landscape.
‘Like a gift from the Goddess,’ Cassy observes in my mind, making me agree with her with a big smile.
Waving widely, I attract her attention to me. “Corvina!”
Everyone turns around, having been surprised by my loud shouting.
Corvina flashes me a huge smile and starts walking towards me, reaching me with big strides. “Luna Artemisia!”
“Please call me Missy,” I breathe out as I run to meet her halfway happily. “What are you doing here?”
“Cayden called me. He said there were strange things happening around the pack so he chose to invite me a few days earlier as planned. Also, he told me that you could use someone by your side as there were a few attempts on your life.”
I laugh as she doesn’t even lower her voice, looking like business as usual.
Looping my arm into hers, we walk back into the house, followed by my entourage. “I’m glad you are here. You will help me calm down as well. And I still have to tell you about a little miracle that happened.”
“Oh, is that so?” she says intrigued just as we descend the stairs to get to the kitchen.
I fill her in while making us tea and she listens carefully while we are observed by Hendrick.
I still can’t shake the feeling that Fynn wanted to talk about something important, but I kept that to myself, as I was hoping he would share it with me soon enough.
“I will pull up some protective spells, hoping the creature that keeps leaving the drained carcasses around didn’t get into the territory already.”
Taking a deep breath, I smile. “Ah, how refreshing. A bit of genuine fear.”
“Don’t worry,” Hendrick chuckles as he remains leaning against the wall with his arm crossed. “We are prepared for everything now.”
Corvina nods, taking a sip as she turns back to me. “I will also do a spell on you and the little girl you told me about. Maybe it would be a good idea if she and her father were to move in with you guys. We can never be careful enough.”
“Good point,” Hendrick agrees. “I will talk about it to Cayden and hopefully we can complete this step today.”
I smile happily, and Corvina squeezes my hand. “I see that you are feeling a lot better since I last saw you.”
“Yeah,” I say truthfully. “I feel protected and my pups are growing fast and apparently very healthy, so… I will just be happier when we get to the marking ceremony and the coronation.”
Wrapping her fingers around her cup, she purses her lips. “That will be a great moment for all of us. You will practically be untouchable as soon as you are marked by all of your mates. You all will get incredibly strong. And I can’t wait to witness that.”