Knox “Under the light, a marking will take place. One the Goddess doesn’t approve of. Only the other half can undo what goes against nature.” Sybil’s message from her vision repeats in my head as I nuzzle into Thea’s hair. Her delicate, light and sweet smell of fresh peaches floods my nostrils. “I love you Thea,” I breathe. Her body stills, her eyes fluttering softly as her plush lips settle into a small smile. I don’t like the thought of marking her without her permission. She asked me to make her mine, but our marking should have been something beautiful. Something we did in our bed after I’d brought her to the precipice of pleasure multiple times. Not lying in the grass after her neck was torn open. Rage rips through me. I let my guard down before all the threats were gone. This is my fucking fault just as much as it is Kenriks. I can’t believe that the unhinged fuck actually tried marking her. I can’t think of a marking that the Goddess would disapprove of more than that. I

Thea “Paula- what a perfect name.” I whisper, passing the little pink bundle back to Whitney. Anders smiles proudly as he tucks Whitney under his arm and presses his lips to her temple. His face is etched with pride as he leans them back in her bed in the maternity wing of Golden Claws hospital. I get it now. Why Anders had to be careful of how he helped me. Even with the personal risks, he still did it and my heart swells in my chest that he survived and gets the chance to be a dad again. That little girl is so lucky to have a father like him. “You and your mate go on ahead kiddo, I’ll be right behind you,” Anders says, his eyes never looking up from Paula’s sleeping face. With a curt nod, Knox and I slip out of their room and head towards the packhouse for the meeting we called. It’s been three days since I woke up, and what a long, three days it's been. I told Knox about my weird encounter with the moon goddess. I guess he’s already met her, so he understood how surreal it f

Thea Three months later “Sophia, can you zip me up?” “Of course!” Sophia says, pushing off the bed in my old room. I bundle the soft waves of my hair and move them to the side as Sophia pulls the back of the black and nude sparkling gown tight. I suck in a deep, deep breath as she starts to move the zipper up. It’s a little tighter than when I picked it out and had it tailored, but it made my ass look great and gave me killer cleavage. You’re welcome, Knox. The zipper stills and I hear a mumbled “shit” and my heart stutters in my chest. No, no, no, please let it fit! “Soph?” “Sorry,” she groans out. “Little guy doesn’t like when I have dairy but still craves ice cream at all hours.” I turn, Sophia is rubbing her adorable little baby bump while she apologizes for the bowl of rocky road she had for lunch. “Can I?” I ask, my hand stretching towards her. A soft smile graces her face, and she pulls my hand to rest on the side of her stomach. “Here. This is where he’s been prot