Chapter Twenty-Nine

Mrs Crook’s POV

I was there when Sophia came into the world. She was calm and peaceful, a gift from the goddess herself. Genevieve laughed and told me I was overwhelmed with emotion when I told her the princess arrived swaddled in celestial light, but I know what I saw with my own eyes. The Goddess has plans for this little one, that much has been obvious from the very beginning.

I have never been blessed with pups of my own, not for lack of trying. Jon and I prayed, pleaded and bargained with the goddess for many years, but our prayers went unanswered and eventually we accepted that it wasn’t in the goddess’ plan for us.

Learning midwifery and herbal medicine from the small group of women in the town who practised the old ways, I made myself useful as a midwife of sorts. Those women opened my eyes to the gifts of nature all around us and I began to see life in a whole new light.

Delivering pups gave me peace and a reason to wake up every morning. Supporting the mothers through one of