Protected by Artemis (Gods and Beasts #3)

Epilogue

Artemis

One year later…

“ F or the last time—leave. Me. Alone.”

“My lady, please,” Hannah pleaded. “The Alpha said you’re not to lift a finger.”

“But this event is for me,” she reasoned.

“Exactly. Now, please, come down from there. We’ll have one of the boys do that instead. I’ll direct them myself.”

Artemis let out an exasperated sigh as she stared down at Hannah from atop the ladder. With a grumble, she let the garland fall to the ground as she accepted the hand the older woman offered.

“Thank you,” Hannah sighed. “Now, I’ll climb up the ladder, and you stay there and tell me what to do.” With a warm smile, glanced down meaningfully at Artemis’s growing bump. “We can’t let anything happen to the heirs, now can we?”

Artemis supposed she was right. After all, she was no longer an invincible immortal. “Fine, but make sure that the garland is straight. I don’t want it crooked.”

“I’m supposed to be throwing this shower for you, and you have nothing to be worried about, my lady. You should go sit down.”

“But—”

“I promise, everything will be perfect.”

She smiled and rubbed her belly. “Now you’re talking my language.”

Everything would be perfect today. It would have to be because when it came to those she loved and cherished most in the world, anything less than perfect was not good enough.

And soon, those she considered part of that circle would increase, not just by one, but two.

She and Cade were having twins.

She teased Cade mercilessly about how he had gone pale and nearly fainted the day the sonogram showed two babies inside her. “The hair at his temples turned white too,” she had said whenever she told the story.

“No, it didn’t,” he had denied each time.

Still, she couldn’t be happier. She had a mate she loved, a pack she cherished, and she would fulfill her dream of becoming a mother.

Only mortal children from your womb.

The Mother had been so wise—all The Fates were—in choosing their words carefully when they told her the prophecy. Indeed, as she had received Cade’s mating bite and given up her immortality, her children would all be shifters and mortals, like their father.

Surprisingly, giving up eternal life wasn’t as hard as trying to gain it. No one had done it before, but it had been as easy as simply declaring that she no longer wished to be a goddess in front of the other members of the council. Of course, she had so much to plan for, including finding a replacement as they already had one missing seat on the council, and Mount Olympus couldn’t afford two. But she was pretty confident Geri would do a great job at being the new goddess of the hunt. She seemed the logical choice after all, and Artemis knew she could breathe some new life into the council.

“What’s this I hear about you climbing up a ladder?”

The familiar baritone of her mate sent a thrill through her, as did the flooding of warmth and love through their bond. After they had exchanged claiming marks by biting each other, the mating bond formed, forever connecting them through their souls. With the bond in place, they could feel each other’s presence and emotions. It was the most amazing thing she’d ever felt in her entire life, as if every doubt she ever had about becoming mortal had been erased the moment she truly felt the intensity of Cade’s love and emotions for her.

Cade’s emotions today, however, were tinged with worry and fear.

“Are you having people spy on me?” she said in a mock hurt voice as she pivoted to turn to him.

“I wouldn’t have to if you just followed the doctor’s orders.” Cade’s stern expression softened as she reached for his hand and placed it on her belly. “Everything good?”

“We’re fine,” she reassured him. “I’m mortal, not an invalid.” How she missed those first few months after their mating before she got pregnant, and they spent hours hunting on their land together. Now, he wouldn’t even let her stand up to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he gathered her close into his arms, her belly cradled between them. “I know, sweetheart. I just want you to be safe.”

“I am. I will be,” she soothed. “And there’s no more threats to us, at least not from Arcane.”

In the year that passed since they exposed Arcane, many things had happened. The CEO and several other executives had been arrested and were awaiting trial for the various crimes they had committed. And with their stock tanking, they had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

“Now come on, the guests will be here soon, and we’re not even done yet!”

Cade followed Artemis around as she supervised the setup for the baby shower, which was being held in the newly-reconstructed barn. She had the volunteers reconfigure the set-up, switching the gifts table with the candy buffet, and then went over the list of songs with the DJ before checking to make sure the frosted cupcakes had been stacked in alternating blue and pink rows. She did, however, steer clear of Chef Hank as he set up the buffet table, because she was not stupid. It really was difficult to find a competent chef to come all the way out to the middle of nowhere.

“Are you all done?” Cade asked.

“Yes—no, wait!” She glanced back at where the pink and blue flower garlands hung from the rafters. To any normal, reasonable person, they seemed fine, but not to her discerning eye. With a wave of her hand, she adjusted them so they hung perfectly even. “There. Now I’m done.”

“I still can’t believe they let you keep your powers,” he muttered.

“Not all of them,” she said, “but enough. Look!’ She pointed toward the door. “They’re here.”

The pack turned out in droves, and it wasn’t just because of Chef Hank’s famous barbecued ribs and pulled pork. The impending birth of an Alpha’s child was always an enormous deal and perhaps even more so with two, and so everyone came to pay tribute and give their best wishes.

And, of course, there were the mother-to-be’s guests, who all came down from Mount Olympus.

“Geri!” Artemis greeted as she embraced her sister-in-law—were they double sisters now that she mated with Cade? “Oh, my gods, you must be so happy to be back.”

“I am.” Geri’s face was filled with an ethereal glow that could only come from the flush of immortality. “I’ve seen everyone except—Cade!” She practically jumped into her brother’s arms. “I’ve missed you.”

Artemis felt tears gathering at the back of her throat as she witnessed this long-awaited reunion and felt Cade’s happiness practically vibrating through their bond. While she was still a goddess, she visited Geri as often as she wanted to, so she spent a lot of time with Geri on Mount Olympus. Geri definitely missed Cade as much as he did her, and so Artemis was glad they could once again be together in the same place.

“I’ve missed you too. You look great,” he said once they let go of each other.

“So do you.” She sent a sly look to Artemis. “Mating and fatherhood suit you.”

Geri hadn’t been surprised when Artemis told her of their relationship. “Girl, you guys were, like, eye-fucking the moment you met. I told Apollo that Cade was either going to wring your neck or screw you.” But she declared she was happy with the union and couldn’t have asked for a better-chosen mate for Cade.

“Hey, guys.” Apollo greeted. He shook Cade’s hand and then beamed at Artemis. “I’m so happy for you, sis. I’m glad your dreams have come true.”

As they embraced, more tears gathered in her eyes as she recalled that day in the sunflower field when she told Apollo of The Fates’ prophecy. He let her cry her eyes out and then said, “Fuck The Fates, Artemis. You’re going to be a great mom, and you’ll have all the babies in the world, and you’ll show them.”

“See?” Apollo whispered as he tightened the hug. “I told you so.”

She choked on her tears as she let out a laugh. “Yeah, so you did. Excuse me,” she said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Hormones, you know.”

Cade wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, let’s get some food and greet our guests.”

They mingled amongst the well-wishers, stopping to talk to as many people as they could, even pack members who brought up some concerns. As an Alpha’s mate, Artemis had responsibilities to them, baby shower or not. No, she took her job seriously, solving problems for her packmates and settling small disputes so that Cade could focus on the bigger stuff. It made her feel useful, too, like in the old days.

“Hades, Persephone, how are you?” As she waved to the happy couple by the cupcake table and strode over to them, she saw them speaking to someone she didn’t recognize. Squinting her eyes, she gasped. “Aphrodite?”

The goddess of love chuckled. “Hello, mama-to-be.” She embraced Artemis. “How are you feeling?”

“Y-y-your hair!” Artemis exclaimed.

“You like it?” Aphrodite bounced the dark brown curls around her pretty face, a drastic change from the blonde locks she had worn since the dawn of time. Instead of its usual floor length, the brown waves ended below her shoulders.

“Yeah, but … why?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I just needed a change. But you haven’t answered my question. How are you?”

“Me? I’m great.” The wistful way the goddess of love eyed her belly did not escape her notice. “Would you like to…”

“Oh, yes.” Aphrodite’s hand landed gently on top of her stomach, then sighed. “Babies are so precious and cute. Why, I remember when my son was a baby, he was so chubby and cute. And those wings! So adorable.”

Apollo—who had been sneaking around the cupcake table and about to reach for one—piped in, “I can’t imagine Eros being adorable,” he shuddered. “He’s such a psycho–er…” He coughed when Artemis shot him a warning look. “I mean, he’s got an interesting personality.”

Even Hades and Persephone looked perturbed but didn’t say anything. Aphrodite was devoted to her son, after all, and the fact that he was, indeed, unbalanced, was not her fault. She did her best and sacrificed everything for him, but it was just hard to combat nature with nurture.

“Excuse me, where do I put this?”

“H, you came!” Artemis practically skipped toward him as Hephaestus appeared behind Apollo. “I didn’t think I’d see you.”

“Yeah, well…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I made you something, Artemoula,” he said, nodding at the giant box next to him. “For the twins.”

“Of course. You can put it by the other gifts. Thank you, H.”

“You’re wel—Aphrodite?”

In the thousands of years she’d known Hephaestus, Artemis had never seen her friend look quite so shocked as he did now as he stared, slack-jawed, at his ex-wife.

Now, this was interesting. Artemis couldn’t even remember when the former couple had been in the same room.

“Hello, Hephaestus,” the goddess of love greeted.

“I…didn’t recognize you.” He stared at her blankly.

“Yeah, I changed my hair,” she said. “Do you like it?”

“It’s…nice.” He picked up the box and held it like a shield in front of him. “If you’ll excuse me, I should go.”

A small twinge of sadness plucked at Artemis’s heart as she saw the lines deepen on Aphrodite’s face as her gaze tracked after Hephaestus.

“Aphrodite,” Persephone said, slipping her hand through the other goddess’s arm. “I need to consult you about something. Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” she said with a tight smile, then allowed the queen of the Underworld to drag her away.

Apollo let out a soft whistle. “Well, that was awkward.”

“Why?” Cade asked.

Artemis clucked her tongue. “Don’t you remember what I told you, she’s his ex-wife.”

“Oh, I thought you said she was blonde?”

“Men,” Artemis said with a roll of her eyes. “C’mon, let’s get ready for the gender reveal.”

“Wait, you’re having a gender reveal too?” Apollo said as he reached for a blue cupcake.

She slapped his hand away. “Those are for later,” she warned. “And yeah, of course, we need to do a gender reveal. We have the babies’ big brother to make the announcement.”

“Big brother?” Apollo asked, his face confused.

She and Cade exchanged amused glances. “You’ll see,” she said.

“Xavier!” Artemis called to the shifter, who was waiting by the door. “It’s time!”

Xavier gave her a little salute and headed outside while she and Cade walked to the small, raised dais in the middle of the barn.

Artemis cleared her throat. “Attention, everyone!” A hush fell over the crowd. “As you know, Cade and I are having twins.” A few cheers and whistles rang out. “But what you don’t know is that we have already received the results of the sonogram, and we know whether we’re having girls or boys.”

“Or both!” Apollo called out.

She smirked at her brother. “Anyway…Xavier, if you please!”

The tall shifter strode into the barn, a long rope in his hand. A few seconds later, a furry creature tied to the other end of the rope entered the barn.

“Is that a goat?” Hades asked.

It wasn’t just any goat, though. “Hey, Goatzilla,” Artemis cooed. She gave Xavier a nod of thanks as she bent down to scratch the goat’s chin, making it “mahhhh” happily.

“How did I let you talk me into keeping him as a pet,” Cade muttered.

“Well, we weren’t going to sacrifice him. What were we supposed to do?” Artemis asked as Goatzilla let out a protesting bleat. “And you’re not a pet, are you? You’re gonna be the best big brother in the world! It says there on your blanket.”

Goatzilla had a blanket draped over his body that said “I’m gonna be a big brother to…” And the gender of the babies were written underneath.

“Are you all ready?” Artemis asked, and the crowd let out a resounding yes. “Okay, here we go.” She grabbed the blanket, ready to rip it off, when a loud crash from the outside made her freeze. “What the?—”

Artemis found herself tackled backward by her mate as he shielded her with his body. “Xavier!” he called out.

“What’s going on?” she cried as she attempted to pry herself from Cade’s arms. “Cade!”

“No.” His voice was deadly serious. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, but she felt reassured as she could feel his strength and love through their bond. It was there, strong and steady, like the beating of his heart.

But then, she felt another emotion—confusion.

“Who the fuck is that ? And why is Hephaestus with him?”

As his grip slackened, Artemis managed to slip out of his arms. “What do you mean—” She gasped as she looked around his massive frame. “Why the hell is he here?”

Two figures limped toward them, one of them Hephaestus, the whirl of his cybernetic leg resonating over the hushed silence of the guests as they parted to make way. He had his arm slung under an equally large man who looked half dead, his face bloody and bruised, in his hand a broken bow. The ends of the large white wings attached to his back dragged on the dirt as they continued to hobble forward.

“Do you know this guy?”

“It’s Eros.” God of Love and Desire.

“Let me through!” Aphrodite cried as she pushed her way through the crowd. “Oh, my gods…” She sobbed as she embraced him.

“That’s her son? They look the same age,” Cade said.

“Immortals, remember?” Artemis’s heart ached for her friend as she watched Aphrodite tearfully heal her son. Hephaestus, on the other hand, had a murderous look on his face.

Cade scrubbed a hand down his face. “I guess this is my life now.”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “Are you regretting mating with me?”

“Maybe.”

But she knew from their bond that was not at all the case. “Liar.”

He kissed her on the mouth and placed his hand over her belly, then grabbed Goatzilla’s rope. “C’mon, let’s see if they need any help and if we can salvage what’s left of the party. I’m sorry it had to end like this.”

Artemis looked around her, seeing all the people she loved in one place, celebrating her, Cade, and their new family. And, barring the gatecrasher, today wasn’t all that bad.

“What are you talking about? This is all perfect.”

The End.

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We hope you enjoyed Protected by Artemis.