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“You can’t have her. I won’t let you,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Sweetheart, do you think you’ll be alive to stop me? As soon as your water breaks, it’s over. I’ll have won.”
As if she’d made it happen, a gush of fluid trailed down my legs, covering the floor. “No,” I moaned.
Not like this. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Her laughter followed me.
“I really don’t know where you think you’re going. You might as well lay down and accept your fate. This will all be over soon.”
I wanted to fight, but the pressure in my hips radiated down my thighs. It hurt so much. I hadn’t prepared to feel like I was being split in two.
I fell to my knees, catching myself on my hands before my entire body hit the ground. “Please, please, please... it hurts.” I wasn’t talking to her but chanting to my mates, wishing they were here.
Flames burst to life on every candle in the church, casting the sanctuary in a warm glow. “Let there be light,” my mother said. She was clearly enjoying herself. Why wouldn’t she be, I guess? She was minutes away from everything she’d wanted coming to pass.
“Come on, let’s get you comfortable. The show’s about to begin.”
I tried to push her off me, but I was too crippled by pain to be very effective. She wrapped an arm around me and led me back to the altar.
“No,” I protested weakly.
“I know, I know. You don’t want the altar. Fine. Be boring. But there’s more space over there.”
As we walked, she talked as though we were a couple of dear friends gossiping. “You know, I always wanted a daughter. Aside from the whole pregnancy thing. Ugh, that was an inconvenience. Your father really put a damper on my plans, though, abandoning you the way he did. He wasn’t supposed to take you back to your grandfather.”
“He’s not the only one who abandoned me.”
She shoved the altar to the side with one hand and then helped me down until I was lying on my back. She did all of this without missing a beat.
“Oh, that? Sunday, please. You know I couldn’t stick around. I’m War, for crying out loud. What was I supposed to do with a baby? I had so many plans. You have to give me credit, though. You were my greatest. Nearly twenty-five years I waited for all the pieces to get into place. That’s a long time, and I am notoriously impatient. Now stop interrupting your mother. I’m baring my soul to you. Consider it a deathbed confession, though you’ll be the one dying.”
I gritted my teeth, unable to stop her as a new contraction held me in its clutches.
“There was a time I worried I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on you again, but once I found that dreadful headmistress of yours, everything changed. No one even realized I’d taken her body. It gave me the access I needed to you, and as an unexpected bonus, I was in on every single detail of that idiotic Society’s plans for you. They were so cute. Trying so hard to stop us.”
I was going to be sick, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of my labor or her fucking monologue.
“Your grandfather jumped at the chance to get rid of you when I suggested Ravenscroft as your new home. I took on your care, and all the rest lined up. It’s rather poetic, don’t you think? Me choosing Gabriel’s puppet and the sons of the most powerful members of the Society as yourmates. I hand-selected them for you, daughter. Hit them each with a love spell they never saw coming. So don’t say I never gave you any presents, because I know how much you enjoyed them. You’re welcome, by the way.”
She laughed darkly, her wicked gaze on mine as I tensed through another contraction.
“And oh, how trusting you were. It was so easy. Almost too easy, if I’m being honest. You are incredibly suggestible, you know. You must get that from your father. ‘Drink zee potion, Miss Fallon. It will keep you from getting with child. It will stop your heat.’ Ugh. That insufferable French accent almost gave me away.”
“Th-the suppressants?”
“Oh, they weren’t suppressing anything. That potion sent you into an uncontrollable heat cycle, only able to be satisfied once all four of them made their... contributions. That was the one sticking point, sadly. You needed them all for the magic to take hold and our little, what is it you’ve named her? Eden?” She waved a hand as if it didn’t matter. “Regardless, she wouldn’t have come to be without all of them. Four horsewomen, four mates. That’s the deal. It was a requirement of the game. One to represent each of us. Because even if I were towin,we all want to be a part of the end of the world. Between you and me, they really struggle with FOMO.”
I cried out as the twisting and tightening began to burn. God, I was really starting to hate the sound of her fucking voice.
Despite that, I had to know about something.
“Game?”
“Oh, yes, we’ve nicknamed it the mate games. Clever, right? One by one, we get our shot at kicking off the Apocalypse. We each came up with a strategy, selected our game pieces, and set up the board. But as the oldest, I got to go first. It’s truly a pity you’ll never get to see theirs come to fruition because clearly I’m going to win. But I don’t mind saying that they did come up with some fantastic alternatives which really showcase their unique skill sets.”
“Wh–why?”
