We are getting sooooo much closer to the final confrontations and the end of this journey, even if it is hard to see it yet. More tomorrow, probably with James & Lily.
(Lily POV) James and I were standing next to each other in this foreign-to-us hall, feeling confused, when we heard a female voice behind us. “It took you long enough. Come, we do not have much time.” We turned around and saw a beautiful woman —no, Goddess— standing before us. She was wearing a
(Lily POV) "Let me explain more," the Moon Goddess said. Before she could, I interrupted with my own question. I could not help it. The Moon Goddess’ words were re-opening old wounds and making me remember all my old insecurities about living under Stephanie’s shadow. “Are you… are you saying that I was your second choice? And that Stephanie was your first?” Feeling my distress, James quickly pulled me off of my chair. He then adjusted our positions so that I was sitting in his lap while he held onto me protectively. The Moon Goddess smiled at his gesture before she leaned forward, grabbed both of my hands, and looked at me with almost-scary seriousness. “I was worried that you might think of it that way, Lily. But, no, I am not saying that you were my second choice. I am saying that you were not who I originally expected to put into this position. That even I sometimes make mistakes.” “That sounds like the same thing.” “It is not. I love all of my children, and you ha
(Lily POV) “Now, if you are ready, let us talk about that destiny of yours. Your earned destiny.” I hesitated. I desperately wanted to know what all the secrets were about, but I still had so many questions about everything that the Moon Goddess just told me. There were pieces that still did not seem to fit. At least I knew that James was always supposed to be mine. Somehow, I found that incredibly comforting. “May I ask you a few more questions first?” I asked. The Moon Goddess shook her head. “I am really sorry, my love. I had hoped that we would have longer to talk, but the longer this conversation goes on, the bigger of a wrinkle it creates. And thanks to the two of you and your little lovefest this week, I have already had to intervene and wrinkle things a bit too much already….” The Moon Goddess paused and gave us both a mischievous smile. When I realized what the Moon Goddess was referring to, I began blushing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that James
“Thankfully, we do not need to worry about that,” the Moon Goddess answered with a smile. “Although I can say you may have had the same destiny, but perhaps it would have been framed a little bit differently.” The Moon Goddess stood. We did as well. “You need to go home now and take care of your pack and the council. Once those are taken care of, you will need to begin to work on the other packs in the United States and throughout the world. Your wolves will be able to guide you. I will see you again in the future. In the meantime, know that I am only a prayer away.” The Moon Goddess gave each of us another hug, and then paused. “Lily, could you do me another favor please. When you see Evelyn, I would like you to give her a message for me.” After giving me the message, the Moon Goddess waved her hand in the air. A puff of silver smoke exploded, and then suddenly James and I were back in bed in my apartment. But for the golden piece of paper in my hand, I could have easil
(Lily POV) “Rise and shine, beautiful,” James said as he came into the bedroom and opened the blinds, flooding the room with sunshine. I groaned and put my pillow over my face. “Ten more minutes.” James gently pulled the pillow away from me, earning him a low growl. Now, let us back up for a second. Normally I am a morning person. I do not even bother to set an alarm clock half the time, because I do not need one. However, yesterday was not exactly a normal day. I quit my job at the girls’ home, fought with Brady, fully marked and mated with James, and met the Moon Goddess. Then, once we “got back,” James and I spent half the night talking through everything that we had learned and everything that we wanted to do. Meaning, I had barely slept and I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I could not understand why James did not feel the same way. Instead, he responded to my growl by laughing at me. “Come on, sweetheart. Our flight leaves in three and a half hours, and
“You stayed over at Derek’s?” I asked, feeling surprised. “No… um… we rejected each other yesterday.” “What? Oh… Are you ok? Where are you?!?!” “I… I sort of… met someone else.” Oh, Goddess. “Charlotte, please tell me that you did not have another one-night stand.” She did not say anything. Although I had never had a one-night stand, I was not offended by the idea of them. It just made my heart hurt for Charlotte, because one-night stands had been the entirety of her sexual experience. “Char…” “What?” “Did you have another one-night stand?” “You told me not to tell you.” I rolled my eyes. “Goddess, Charlotte. Well, why are you calling me and not getting out of there?” “My one-night stand was with a wolf. A really hot wolf. It was my first time with a werewolf, Lily, and it was amazing. Or at least what I remember was amazing. We were both super drunk and broken hearted and it escalated.” “Fast forward to the part where you are still there and are having to call m
(Brady POV) To my surprise, after I asked Charlotte to go back to my pack with me, she did not say anything. Instead, she wrapped herself in a sheet, grabbed her phone, and raced to the bathroom. At first, I was fairly certain that she was calling someone to have me committed. Which, to be honest, may have been a very reasonable reaction. However, instead of calling someone to have me committed, she called a friend for advice. And that gave Kalen and I both some hope. Now, I admit that I should probably feel guilty for listening to her conversation. Or rather, for listening to Charlotte’s end of the conversation. But outside of leaving the hotel room —which I was not willing to do— there really was not a good way for me to avoid hearing it. Whispers and running water might be enough to shield a phone conversation from most wolves, but I am both a special wolf and an alpha. Although I could not hear what Charlotte’s friend was saying, I could definitely hear most of what Ch
“Wait… Brady, is… is Lily the she-wolf that you fell for? The one who you came to Ravenswood to save from her mate?” James let out a low growl, but I put my hand on his arm to calm him down. Brady’s face fell. “Yes.” “So I just had a one-night stand with a wolf who is in love with my friend?!?!? And who came here to break up my friend and her mate?!?!?” “Yes.” Brady looked ashamed, and I could tell that Charlotte was starting to get hysterical. I quickly grabbed her and pulled her to the side, leaving Brady and James to hopefully not kill each other. “Charlotte, take a deep breath,” I urged her. “Did you… did you… did you and Brady ever…” “No, I never slept with Brady. I kissed him, but that is it. And he did not love me, Charlotte. He thought he did, but he didn’t.” “You and James are perfect together. Why would he want to break the two of you up? And why would he fly all the way here to do it?” I took a deep breath. “It is complicated, Charlotte. I have not told y