Suddenly Fated (Wolves of Riverton #1)

25. Esyn

The Spring Equinox arrived, and with it, another celebration. It wasn’t as fancy as the Gala where I met Ari, since it took place outside on the manor lawn on a beautiful, sunny day, but it couldn’t be more perfect. Birds chirped and flowers bloomed, or at least the ones that survived. Gardeners harvested the rest mercilessly. Roses, lilies, tulips, daffodils, picked at their most spectacular just this morning, were arranged onto a fragrant, meticulously beautiful archway. The scent lingered on the gentle, cool breeze.

The pack gathered on smooth wooden benches decorated with more flowers and ribbons. I stood to one side, looking like a big pink balloon in a billowing dress. Ari stood on the other side looking sexy as hell in his tuxedo. I struggled to keep my eyes off of him, but I managed to reign myself in and focus. Between us stood Avelin and Jamie, promising to love one another forever.

Avelin looked more magnificent than even the angel I’d first compared her to. Her long satin gown shimmered and her hair shone golden in the sunlight. Jamie looked at her with adoration and love as he lifted the delicate veil from her face and kissed her, bending her backwards in his enthusiasm. Cheers sounded from everywhere as Elder Sheehan announced, “I am honored to present to you now, Beta James and Avelin McConnell, now and forever mated, husband and wife!”

Shifters lined up to shower them with pink rose petals as they walked back down the white silk that lined the aisle, holding hands. Av’s smile could probably be seen from space.

We all danced on the lawn as a band played. I noticed my parents and gave them a wave. Shifters laughed and children chased one another in and out of the crowd, getting their wedding finery dirty. Older couples sat under large white tents and watched the events of the day with smiles on their faces. The table full of society bitches sneered and gossiped, then smiled at everyone with saccharine smiles.

Ari and I swayed together with me semi-sideways, allowing my belly to take up the rest of the space between us. “I can’t wait until we can dance normally again,” I said as I rested my head on his chest. He smiled and patted me gently on the stomach. “They’re so happy,” he told me, and I followed his gaze to where they moved to the music, wrapped up in one another. “Finally.” His eyes grew suspiciously damp looking. I smiled and put my hands on either side of his face.

“They really are. We’re all so happy.” I told him. “Finally.”

Avelin and Jamie were cutting their wedding cake when it happened. I stood at the front of the crowd, my camera raised to take their photo, when the first pain hit. It was so all encompassing and so sudden that my knees almost buckled.

No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening! Not now! The baby wasn’t due for another week. Why now, during Av and Jamie’s day? “You’re in a hurry, just like your father,” I muttered to myself, rubbing circles over my stomach.

Ari reached my side just as the second pain hit. “I felt it,” he told me. “I was way over there and I felt you in pain.” He looked panicked. I huffed and puffed.

“If you really felt what I’m feeling right now, you wouldn’t be standing there upright.”

Avelin glanced up from where she and Jamie stood eating their cake, and I could tell the moment when she realized what was happening. She smacked Jamie in the arm, nodded my way and whispered something. They both dropped their plates on the table like they were on fire and ran to us.

“Oh my goddess! It’s time, isn’t it?” She squealed.

“Av! I think it is. Oh, I’m so sorry to ruin your special day.”

“Ruin it? This is fucking fantastic!” We all stared at her, mouths agape.

“What?” she asked innocently, her eyes moving back and forth between the three of us.

Ari punched Jamie hard on the arm. He cried out and rubbed the spot. “Hey! What the hell was that for?”

“She’s obviously been around you too long. This is your influence.” They all laughed, but another pain cut my laughter short. I cried out and nearly fell over, but Ari caught me just in time.

“Is it supposed to happen this fast?” I panted, trying to catch my breath. “I thought labor started out slowly. This is ridiculous.”

“Ok, that’s it, the wedding is done,” Avelin announced. “Ari, Jamie, tell everyone to go. Grab Esyn’s Mom and Dad. Let’s get this show on the road!”

Just before the moon rose fully in the sky, I lay in our bed, sweaty and exhausted, holding our baby daughter. She was perfect, a tiny replica of Ari but with a thatch of silky fine red hair on top of her head. I watched her as she suckled, her eyes closed, making the tiniest little noises. Love for her filled me up, overflowing and terrifying. I’d do anything to protect her. Ari reached out and took her tiny hand, and she wrapped her fingers around one of his. A tear fell from his eye. He kissed the top of my head, and then the top of hers.

“A boy, huh?” He winked at me.

“Shut up,” I giggled. “What do I know, I guess?”

He rubbed his hands together. “So what are we going to name the newest heiress to the Belisarius empire?” We studied her face together for a long while.

Later, I slept while Ari and our friends cooed over the baby in Av’s room. When I opened my eyes and saw the cloudless, blue summer sky, it didn’t startle me this time. I stood and didn’t see her, so I walked through the field of flowers toward the sound of the waterfall. I found the Goddess sitting on a fallen log next to the water, watching the rainbow formed by the mist of the falls. She turned her head as I approached and smiled, patting the empty space next to her. I sat and we both turned our attention to the beautiful water.

“A daughter,” she said simply.

“Yes. Kiera Avelin Belisarius. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“Of course. I knew her long before you did.”

“Thank you for her. I don’t know how to thank you enough.” She nodded her acknowledgement. She said nothing else for a few long moments and I couldn’t keep silent. “So, um. Is there a reason that I’m here?” I asked. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you again. Oh, and I’d hoped to get an opportunity to tell you that I’m also so incredibly grateful for the help that you gave Ari and I in the forest that day.”

“My dear Esyn, that was not me.”

“It wasn’t? If not you, then who?”

“You, child.” My face must have registered my complete shock, because she laughed, and Ari was right, it did sound like bells ringing. “I can see that this was not the answer you were expecting.”

“I don’t know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that! How? Why?” I questioned.

“I do believe that the first time we met, I told you that I gave you a gift. You have always had it, but no reason to access it. When your mate and your child were threatened, you used it easily, instinctively. That is the way these things usually work.”

“So I can make weird celestial light and earthquakes with my mind when my loved ones are threatened?” She finally looked my way, her eyes glowing, filled with silver stars. Your eyes are glowing silver, Ari’s voice tickled the back of my memory. I opened my mouth to ask her, but she began to speak again.

“It is not with your mind, exactly. More your essence, your soul. It comes from deep within yourself. You can harness and use it at will if you choose. I do not hand these gifts out to every wolf, you realize. Most would misuse them to gain power and wealth. You will not.”

“So is that why I’m here? To learn about this, um, super power?”

“It is not.” She stood then, holding her hands out for mine. I took them, wary, but felt nothing but the pleasant, warm energy flowing into me.

“With the birth of this child from two who are fated, you have ushered in a new era, Esyn. I needed events to play out the way that they have. You will begin to notice changes right away. However, this does not mean that the danger for you and yours has passed forever. Please remain vigilant. Finally, remember this warning. Someday the moon will rise red in the night sky. A choice will affect the fate of wolves everywhere. It will be up to you and your family to decide.”

I didn’t even have time to ask the hundred questions that immediately followed her words before the electricity shot through my body from her hands, and I lay in my darkened bedroom again.

“Dammit all to hell! Why can’t she just say a thing outright? Argh!”

Ari walked in with Kiera at that moment. “Are you alright? Who are you yelling at?”

“I’m ok.”

He placed the baby gently into my arms. “Someone is hungry, I think.” Kiera scrunched her face and fussed, her tiny fists shaking. She looked like a grumpy old man. I placed her to my breast and she immediately calmed, her expression smoothing out. We smiled down at her as if she were the first baby ever born.

“Esyn?”

“Hmmm?”

“The shouting?”

“Oh! The Goddess again.” His eyebrows lifted. “Yet another riddle. And oh boy, do I have something to tell you, and it’s going to knock your socks off. And maybe your shirt and pants too.”

“I think maybe we should wait a bit for that sort of thing, don’t you?”

“Smartass.”

“I think I’m allowed to kiss you though, right?”

“If you don’t, I’ll be very upset.”

He pressed his lips to mine and I felt the love that he had for us both, myself and our little cub. Neither of us noticed when she opened her eyes to gaze at us, that they glowed a bright, shining silver.