27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

The funeral procession began at the lodge. Six Geminis, including Noto, carried my father’s casket from there up to the Temple of Gaia on the Taurus Fae land. Ewan and I walked behind them with Zach and Brooke. Drake, Penn, Essie, a fae Taurus fae elder, and the Capricorn alpha came next, and our mothers and Kiernan behind them. The Gemini pack wolves followed our entourage, some wolfing out. While Ewan hadn’t made attendance mandatory for the Taurus pack, an overwhelming majority filed in behind the Geminis.

There was a lot of pomp and circumstance, and with so many visiting supernatural dignitaries, a lot of unfamiliar rituals. I sort of zoned out a few times, particularly when Essie started speaking in old faerie.

The temple was beautiful, decorated in an explosion of blue and green roses. There were a lot of runes carved into the walls and blazed on the stained-glass windows. Magic leaked from the floorboards, which normally would have bothered me, but I had so much of Essie’s rushing through my veins that I didn’t mind.

My brother and mother spoke at the service, as did a few of my father’s council. Their speeches were nice, especially Mom’s. Then, I stood with my family and received condolences from every single shifter and fae who waited to throw a single everlasting flower petal into Dad’s casket. Ewan never left my side and as promised, I wasn’t very nice to him. I would tell him he was crowding me, so he would step away. Only for me to accuse him of abandoning me minutes later.

Yes, it was childish and petty. But I had lost my father, and I wanted to be childish and petty. Demanding Ewan indulge my whims had seemed like a good idea in theory. Not so much in practice. I just got irritated and stopped talking to him altogether while the receiving line still stretched down through the canyon and into town.

I didn’t know how long I stood there, or how many people I hugged, the number of hands I shook. The number of times someone called me Luna. I gave my blessing to infant cubs and promised to keep people’s sick family members in my thoughts. This sort of thing had never felt natural for me before. Zach was the one with top-notch people skills. I had a more divisive personality. So had Zosia, but she’d been good with social graces and channeling her made it easier to get through the night.

After what felt like an eternity, the last mourner came before me. Then, it was finally time to bury my father. Only my family, Ewan, the Sables, and the pallbearers participated in this segment of the service because it involved a portal. Ewan had offered to bury Dad in the Taurus cemetery beside his own father. Zach felt strongly that Dad belonged in Arcane Falls, so that was what we planned to do.

With the Virgo wolves still loyal to Liam on the prowl, the risk of attack was high. As the cold wind whipped my hair and snow collected on my cloak, I wished they would attack. I wanted a fight. At the council meeting, I had tasted Liam’s blood and my wolf was hungry for more. She wanted him to suffer for his sins against her, against us.

Unfortunately, the coward didn’t come sniffing around.

When Essie had replaced the last clump of frozen dirt over my father’s casket, she looked at Zach and said, “The strong must fall so the might can rise.”

The words were familiar, but I couldn’t figure out from where and didn’t think too hard about it.

When we returned to the Taurus Mountains, Ewan, Zach, and the others officially signed the accords, forming the larger alliance since the fae had ruled the Valley of the Elements. Then, Ewan and I went to the lodge with my family. Since Mom, Zach, and Brooke were all mortal, they were exhausted. I offered to spend the night with Mom so she wouldn’t have to be alone, but she declined. No, the act wasn’t selfless. I was trying to avoid one-on-one time with Ewan.

I had sobered up enough for my anger to return, but not enough to have a discussion about the Luna lie.

Mom’s motherly intuition must have been pinging because when she hugged me goodbye, she whispered in my ear. “Petty squabbles are beneath you, Zara. Act like the daughter I raised you to be.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied dutifully, though I really wanted to tell her that nothing was beneath me at that moment.

Birch didn’t walk back to the house with us, much to my dismay. Ewan let me stew, clearly happy to wait out my silence. My thoughts were still too jumbled in my head to say anything.

The house was dark and quiet. Neither of needed light to see, so we left them off as we undressed. I crawled into bed naked. Not because I was too tired to put on pajamas, but because I knew it would bother Ewan to have me so close and not touch me.

“Do you want to be alone?” he asked, pulling on a pair of plaid pajama bottoms.

“Yes,” I lied.

He grabbed an extra pillow and blankets from the closet and stomped down the stairs to sleep on the couch. That was when I realized that he was mad too. The fucking nerve of him to be upset with me sent my temper soaring and I screamed into a pillow and then tore it to shreds.

Ewan had agreed to indulge my behavior, so it seemed super unfair for him to throw it back in my face. There was enough of Essie’s magic in my boiling blood for me to think telling him how I felt was a good idea.

Following his lead, I stomped down the stairs making as much noise as vampirically possible. He sat on the couch with the pillow in his lap and his eyes glued to his cellphone. My steps faltered, and I almost asked if there had been more vampire attacks but decided not to go down that road.

I stood opposite him with my hands on my bare hips and feathers from the stupid pillow stuck to my body. “You don’t get to be mad at me.”

“I’m not.”

“Liar.”

Ewan finally looked up from his phone. “Not at you.”

“Then why did you stomp down the stairs?”

“That’s how I walk.”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not.”

“Zara, if you want to talk about why you’re upset, fine. Otherwise, I’m too tired to go back and forth with you over nothing.” He turned his attention back to his phone. “Let me know when you’ve decided.”

I gritted my teeth and swallowed the urge to stomp my foot. “Why did you lie to me?”

His shoulders tensed. “Care to be more specific?”

“How many things have you lied to me about?” I fired back.

Ewan pinched the bridge of his nose and then placed his phone face down. “I’m not answering that.”

I huffed, irritated. “About what it means to be Luna.”

Understanding dawned in his red eyes. “Ah, that. Right. You gonna put some clothes on or what?”

“No. Stop stalling.”

“Yeah. Okay.” He ran a hand through his hands, looking strangely resigned.

I had expected him to put up more of a fight, maybe deny it.

“I didn’t want you reading too much into it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Worried I would realize I’m just as powerful as you?” I demanded.

“No.” Rage burned me through the bond as his control snapped. “I was afraid you would run. Like before. That you would twist our bond into something evil or wrong. And don’t say you haven’t been thinking it. I know you’re conflicted. But look what happened when we stayed apart! Centuries of fucking agony for you, for me, for all supernaturals!”

He stood and hurdled the pillow sideways across the living room, sending his cellphone with it, unbothered when it shattered against the wall.

I stood perfectly still, not sure what to say and afraid of provoking him further. This was what I’d wanted, to incite his temper and force a fight, but I hadn’t expected this response. Ewan wasn’t just mad, he was hurt and scared of losing me. Again.

A part of me felt like I deserved his fury, while another part liked that he was yelling because it made me feel less guilty for rejecting him so long ago. I didn’t defend myself, which only made Ewan madder.

“Say something, Zara!”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, fuck that. You’re going to have to do better than that!” He anger thundered through the entire house.

“What do you want me to say? Yes, it scares me that my happiness could cost others theirs. Doesn’t that scare you? Don’t you think that’s unfair? And aren’t great leaders supposed to be selfless and shit?”

His eyes flashed dangerously. “I am nothing without you. How many fucking times do I need to say it? I am not a ruler without you. I am not the true alpha without you. Not because some fucking seer said so. Because I love you. I don’t need you for me to be whole or to realize my full power. I need you for me to exist at all. What happened in the Valley destroyed me, so I didn’t tell you what it really meant for you to be Luna because I couldn’t handle you rejecting me again.”

“I bonded with you. How else can I prove that won’t happen? You want me to tattoo your name on my ass? Rent a billboard? Make a video declaring it to the entire supernatural world? Maybe send it to some human news outlets for good fucking measure?” I threw my hands in the air. “What, Ewan? Tell me and I will do it!”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, Zara. You should get dressed, though. Winter will be here soon.”

“Wait. What? Why?”

“Because I need to be alone, and you shouldn’t be.”

Like she’d been waiting for him to say her name, a portal appeared to my left and Winter stepped through with Walter in tow. He looked between Ewan and me with mild curiosity.

“I didn’t realize this was that kind of party,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “Why are you here?”

“Why are you naked?”

“It’s my house. Try using a door if you’re offended by nudity.”

Ewan growled. “I’m leaving. Zara, put on a robe at least.” When he looked at Winter, the snarl died from his expression. “If you need me…?”

“I’ll find you,” she promised.

I waited until he slammed the front door behind him before going to fetch clothes. Walter and Winter were in the kitchen when I came back downstairs. He was programming my fancy coffeemaker with way too much caffeine. I groaned.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”

Walter held up his phone. “My people know how to reach me.”

I frowned. “Are you expecting a call?”

“I’m always expecting a call,” Walter said.

“Oh, my, Gaia. Are you trying to annoy me or is there a real reason you’re here?”

“We don’t need to talk about this right now,” Winter said, ensuring that I would want to talk about it.

“Says you. What is it? Did something happen to Webber?”

“No. No. Webber’s good. Right, Walter?” Winter looked at her father.

“Drinking blood like a champ,” Walter said.

“It’s Lena. Walter’s associates have tracked her to a blood bar in Brooklyn.”

“Oh, wow. That was fast,” I said, trying not to match Winter’s enthusiasm. “And what’s going to happen to her once these associates catch her?”

“I’ve got this place. They’ll take her there so we can have a chat. Sort of take things from there if you know what I mean.” Walter shrugged, expression very blasé, but I could smell his fear.

“Can I be part of this chat when it does happen?” I asked.

He grinned and handed me a bloody cappuccino. “I was hoping you’d be interested.”

That call didn’t come, but quite a few others did, and the news was mostly grim. The vampire attacks were getting worse, and more and more shifters were transforming in front of humans. A professor at a university in Norway climbed on his desk mid-lecture and shifted into a bear, prompting several students in the class to do the same. It wasn’t known whether the stunt was planned or impromptu. Admittedly, I did find the shocked looks on the humans’ faces a little funny. That was mean, probably, but, like, how did they sit next to a wolf every single day and not know it?

Apparently Walter either didn’t trust Archer or Winter or both to report accurately on Mat’s whereabouts and had a team of PIs in Traitor’s Hell reporting on the eternal king’s every move. He hadn’t come close to the prison, which I found both strange and alarming. Shouldn’t he have been casing the joint or whatever?

He hadn’t made any more trips to Madam Malia, yet he had continued his boozing. None of it made any sense. His vampires were running amok. He should have been toasting his accomplishments not drowning his sorrows.

Despite way too much caffeine, Winter eventually fell asleep on the couch, leaving me alone with her father to wait for Ewan’s return.

“Where’s Colleen tonight?” I asked as I sipped my third bloody cappuccino.

“With Rosalind. She didn’t want her to be alone.”

I frowned. “I offered to stay with my mother.”

“Colleen is better company,” Walter said with a shrug.

That was probably true, but I was still stuck our parents’ theoretical conspiracy. “How do you meet her, Winter’s mom?”

A wistful smile crossed Walter’s lips. “At a bar. She was the prettiest girl in the room. Still is.”

Yeah, Colleen was gorgeous and somewhat rebellious, so the appeal of her I understood. But Walter had probably been with a lot of women over the years, and he only had one kid.

“Was Winter an accident?” The question sounded harsh, and I supposed it was a little out of line. “I mean, presumably you’re a cautious guy. You don’t have any other offspring running around. Did you want Colleen to get pregnant?”

With any of the other parents, I would have used more tact and a less accusatory tone. Walter was different, though. He was also the only one likely to tell me the truth.

“Careful opening the milk unless you’re prepared to spill it.”

“Don’t try to confuse me.”

He laughed. “I’m not. All I’m saying is don’t ask questions if you don’t want answers.”

“I do. I really fucking do, Walter.”

“It was a ritual. That’s how Colleen got pregnant with Nicasia. We knew it had worked when Winter wasn’t a twin. All her ancestors are twins. A single birth in a year of four blood moons is said to call her forth in this cycle. When we knew it had worked, we told Essie, and she reached out to Rosalind and Angela as well as others she believed descended from the original thirteen wolves.”

I frowned. “Angela? You mean, Mrs. Wynn?”

He nodded. “The signs suggested two pairs of soulmates would rise. Essie believed that could only happen if one pair were born wolves. When she tracked Ewan’s bloodline, we knew he was Stavros. But you weren’t Iliana. It made things confusing for a while. Essie thought she’d misread things. We spelled all three of you so that Mat couldn’t track you. So that he wouldn’t recognize you even if you walked up to him. It worked for a very long time. Then, he showed up in my daughter’s living room. The enchantments keeping you all safe broke. We still don’t know why or how.”

It was a lot to take in, though not as shocking as I might have thought. There was still one thing I didn’t understand. “Why? Why did you want to bring forth Nicasia?”

He laughed humorlessly. “For the same reason the fae made her eternal, because we could.”

He didn’t ask me not to tell Winter or keep the conversation between us, probably because he knew there wouldn’t have been a point. I didn’t ask any more questions about my mother’s involvement or press Walter harder on his reasons, which would have also been pointless most likely. I needed time to think first, and we had more immediate issues.

Birch and Penn showed up at my door before Ewan returned, not long before sunrise.

“A representative from the Zodiac Council and the Director for Paranormal Affairs are here,” Penn said before I had even opened my mouth. “Drake and Ewan are with them. He sent me to get you and Winter. They want to meet with eternals and protectors.”

“Why?” I asked uneasily. “What do they want?”

“To stop the attacks,” Birch said.

“But we aren’t the ones responsible,” I reminded him.

“I know. So do they. That’s why they want to talk,” Birch said.

“Where?” I demanded, ready to march out of the house in my pajamas.

“There’s a diner in the nearest human town. Ewan didn’t want them setting foot on pack land. He said something about Winter opening a portal.” Penn glanced over my shoulder. “Is she sleeping?”

“No. I’m awake.” Winter yawned loudly. “I’m awake, and I’m definitely going.”

“So am I,” Walter interjected. “And save your breath arguing. All of you. I’m going or she’s not.”

I had no opinion one way or the other and the left the choice entirely up to Winter, who shrugged. “Whatever. As long as I can brush my teeth first.”