“You are a little girl…my little girl.” I reached for her, but she backed away and laughed. Her white eyes sparkled under the moonlight.
But it was my mother’s hesitant voice that snapped us back to the conversation. “What’s the Pandia?” My mother turned to my pup and crouched down.
“A chosen daughter of a goddess, but Amy wasn’t just chosen by one, were you?” Carly smiled. “Your bloodline will be strong, and it needs to be.” Carly stepped closer. “But remember, with power, comes enemies. Watch over your flock, Pandia. Someone is hunting us. Someone who doesn’t want a king or a queen. They want chaos and death, and they are coming.” Carly’s eyes shifted back to her soft brown ones, and she dropped to her knees. She landed face first in the dirt before anyone else could catch her.
My mother rushed to her side and picked her up from the ground, turning to Alannah. “I’m just going to put her in the house, then I will be right back.” She shifted to look at me. I recognized the look. It was a warning. We would be speaking about all of this later, when we weren’t in the middle of a funeral.
Alannah gave a sad smile. “I’m okay. Go. She is always so tired after her visions, and she has had a handful today.” Alannah rubbed her belly and grunted. Everyone froze.
“Are you okay?” Rowan paled a little.
Alannah waved him off. “False contractions.” She turned back to me. “Can I have a minute alone with my mate before you…” She nodded towards the pile of dirt.
I walked over and kissed her cheek. “Of course.” I turned and took Rowan’s hand as I walked away. We walked back towards the cabin with my mother, and I heard her sit down.
“Hi baby.”
I leaned against the side of the cabin, and Rowan settled next to me. “That was…” His voice was soft, and hesitant.
“A lot.” I finished. He laughed.
“It’s gone.” He looked back at the grave.
“What’s gone?” I turned to look at him.
He waved his hand at me. “Your mark. You are back to normal.” He smiled. “Which is great because I missed your normal eyes.” He leaned over and kissed me. “You are so beautiful.”
I snorted. “I’m covered in dirt, blood, and I don’t want to think about what else.”
He cupped my cheek and stared down into my eyes. “That changes nothing. You are still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” He kissed me again as the door slammed open.
“Get a room, you two.” Rick limped out, a bruise healing on his face.
“You look rough.” I grabbed for him as he stumbled over the hose.
“Yeah…I’m still weak from Vince. So healing is taking a little longer.” He winced as he licked the corner of his mouth. “Can’t worry about it too much.” He settled next to us as he nodded over to Alannah. “Ternen?”
I sighed. “She is saying goodbye.”
He blew out a breath. “He did what I couldn’t do.” I almost missed his whispered words.
“What?”
He looked at me, and I saw devastation there, but also pride. “He protected his family. He didn’t wait for you to save them; he did it himself.” He looked away.
“Hey. Different scenarios.” I grabbed his arm. “You couldn’t fight against magic, Rick. You don’t have magic.”
He turned back with a nod. But I saw anger there. “But I’m meant to protect my mate. My pup. But-”
“But you were taken advantage of by your Alpha.” Rowan finished. “You can’t fight something you know nothing of…” He wiped his face. “Believe me. I knew about magic, and I was still at the mercy of people that had it.”
Rick stared at Rowan for a second, and I saw a flash of relief. “Really?”
Rowan nodded. “I almost lost my mate because of it. It’s not your fault, and there is no shame in that you needed Amy to help you.” Rowan looked down at me. “I did too.”
Rick nodded once, and the back door opened. Everyone filed out, one by one. Alannah turned at the commotion, and she bit her lip as she stood. She raised a hand, and we all started back over.
I reached her first. “You okay?”
