Seventeen

Moon

“ G rams!” I scream, as I rush back to her side and fall to my knees beside her. The pink-haired version of me stands perfectly still as my mates finish off the last of the goblins around us. It’s a fucking bloodbath.

I don’t have time to deal with her or the fact that whatever Lust did to me snapped our bond into place.

“Please, wake up, Grams,” I beg, tears falling down my cheeks as I check her pulse and find nothing.

“I can save her,” pink-haired me says, and I glare over at her. “She’s not dead, but she will be. I can save her. I’m a Succubus.”

“Do it,” I say, but she doesn’t move. “Do it!” I scream.

“Do as she says,” Tristan tells her.

“Why do you have my face?” I ask, as she drops to her knees beside me.

“I was created with your DNA. To control the Fae King,” she says, glancing at me for a second, then focusing back on Grams.

“How are you a succubus if you were made with my DNA?” I ask.

“The woman who birthed me was a Succubus. I don’t really get how it worked, okay? The Fae Queen doesn’t exactly tell me all her secrets,” she sasses, and I nod. Fair enough.

“So you’re like my clone?” I ask, and she shrugs as her hands turn pink over Gram’s body. “What’s your name?”

“The Fae Queen just calls me Girl. I was never given a name.” She clears her throat, eyes still focused on Grams. “You can call me Love.” Her voice cracks, but she shakes it off.

I can’t focus on Grams, or I’ll start to freak out. She has to live. She fucking has to.

“Moon,” Grams says softly, and I snap my attention to her.

“Grams!” I sob, practically shoving the pink-haired me aside, so I can hug Grams.

“Moon, they took Shine. They have your mother…” she whispers, and my blood runs cold in my veins. I pull away from the hug and look up to see the pink-haired girl cringe.

“They have my…best friend,” she whispers.

“Then we both have something to lose. Work with me. With us.” I look around at my mates as Grams sits up. “Wow, she looks good as new,” I say, as I wrap my arm around her back, just in case.

“I’m a lot more powerful than the Queen anticipated. Unfortunately, she is stronger. For now,” Love says, as she rises to her feet and wipes the dirt off her knees. “I’ll fight with you. But if you betray me…”

I hold my hand up. “I won’t betray you. You’ve got my face, so it would be weird. Like betraying myself.” I shrug. “I’m a Chaos Goddess. Of course, I have a clone.” I shake my head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I need to call upon my coven. We’ll need them to save your mother,” Grams says, as she gets up and stretches her limbs. “Dang, girly, you fixed me up good,” Grams chuckles, looking at Love. She pats my clone's back. “That won’t be easy to get used to.” As she turns to head for the house, she pauses when she sees Lust standing there. “You gonna go all dark side again?” Grams asks him, and Lust shakes his head.

“I am in control once more,” Lust says, tipping his head down. “I am deeply sorry for harming you.”

“Come on, let's get inside. I think we should all talk,” I say, following after Grams.

We need to rescue my mom, but we can’t just blast through the front door. We need a plan, a strategy.

I need to talk to my men, to Grams. There’s a lot I need to do. Lust grabs my wrist, pulling me back as the others all make their way inside.

“If you harm her, I’ll skin you alive,” Silas says casually as he walks past us. I snort a small laugh because I absolutely believe him.

I wait until everyone is inside and then look up at Lust. Fuck, he’s handsome. Blue eyes, blond hair. I’ve missed him. Fuck, I’ve missed him.

“You going to choke me out again?” I ask, and his eyes go wide. “You don’t remember what you did?”

“No… I don’t remember much from the last few days. Just little bits and pieces here and there.” Lust shakes his head, looking away. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I never wanted to…”

“I know, Lust, I know. I’m sorry I was so angry with you before. I’ve loved you as long as I can remember, and when I thought it was all a lie, it broke my heart. Why didn’t we know we were Heart Bonded before?” I ask, as I step into him.

“Phoenixes mate differently. We give our heart feather to the one we choose, but because all your Heart Bonds were mating you by just meeting you, I thought that was how we would mate…if it was meant to be.” Lust cups my face in his hands, looking into my eyes. “In all the years, I’d never known… I’d hoped, but I’d never…”

“I know, me too. I guess throwing myself at you like a shameless floozy makes more sense now, though,” I tease. As he leans in slowly, smiling at me, I hold his gaze, and when we kiss, something inside me snaps into place. I gasp, my heart races, and I lean back.

“Oh, hells bells,” I groan as my body glows a brilliant purple. “What the fuck?” I ask, but just as I think my body might float away, I’m plummeting face-first toward the porch. My head knocks against the wood, and the world goes dark.