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“I think I could leave now, and she wouldn’t care,” I say, glancing back in the direction of the coven.
“But you couldn’t leave your children, could you?” Pearl asks, and I shake my head.
"No, I don't think I could." I think about what she’s said for a moment and then nod my head "No. Iknowthat I wouldn't be able to leave them behind with that monster.”
"If you would, then you're not the man I hoped you were." My eyes widen at her admission. I had expected her to reject me because of my past. I had no hope that she would care enough about me and my children to accept me.
"You still want to be my mate?"
She once again places her free hand on the side of my face, looking deep into my eyes.
“Did you think that I wouldn't want you because of everything that's happened in your life? Because of what that monster has done to you?"
I look into her eyes, see the honesty there, and realize that I'm expecting her to react as Antonia would. I'm expecting her to throw a fit that there was another woman ever in my life. I am expecting her to be the monster that I've lived with for over a decade.
Like Pearl said, maybe I should trust in the goddess that she didn't pair me with someone who isn't my perfect match. I nod my head, a little ashamed and my answer.
"I haven't had the greatest experience with women."
She lets out a little chuckle "I can see that, but I promise you that I am nothing likeher.”
I study her face. Like Antonia, she's beautiful. Unlike Antonia, her eyes shine with kindness. It is a look that Antonia could never perfect even in the beginning. Even when she pretended to be something or someone different, she never had that shine, that glow.
"Why don't I tell you about my life?"
I nod my head eagerly, wanting nothing more than to hear every single detail about this amazing woman.
She smiles as she tells me about her family and her pod, especially about her younger sister. Then her eyes darken, and she looks away.
"One day, while we were exploring on land—further inland than we usually travel—a hunter came upon us.” My brows furrow in confusion.
“A hunter? Like a human hunting for deer?”
She looks up at me, her mouth dropped open in shock. “A Supernatural Hunter. You’ve never encountered one?”
I shake my head.
“Lucky,” she says with a sigh. “Supernatural Hunters are a special kind of human. Or I guess they’re more supernatural than human.”
“But they hunt supernaturals?” I ask in confusion.
She nods. “They do. There are five bloodlines of hunters all tracing back to the Norse gods. The way Artie explained it, they were supposed to be the protectors of the supernatural world. They were gifted qualities to make the task possible, and it was the women who were specifically tasked with this. As time went on, the men took over and twisted their purpose. Instead of protecting, they began eradicating and capturing supernaturals.”
“Wait. You said the way ‘Artie explained it.’ Is this the same Artie you mentioned earlier? Like, as in Artemis?” That shouldn’t be what I focus on, but it sticks out of her statement like a sore thumb.
She smiles. “I’ll get to that part, but to be able to finish this story: yes. Artie is Artemis, as in the Moon Goddess. Yes, I have met her in the flesh.”
“Met her in the flesh?”
“Yes, but that’s another story entirely. So anyway, we encountered a hunter. Apparently, they had taken an interest in my sister Aqua and wanted her for their experiments, I couldn’t let that happen,” she says, her face filling with determination. I don’t need her to finish to know what happened next.
“Luckily, the hunter was a vampire.”
“Wait a second. A vampire chose to be a hunter and kill her own kind?” I ask in disbelief.
“If you let me finish you would know,” she says, though it's with a soft smile telling me she’s not really angry.
I nod for her to continue. “As I was saying. Luckily, the hunter was a vampire. And since you asked, no she did not choose to be a hunter, she was forced. She was taken captive asa child and tortured for years before being forced to capture her own kind. Her name is Bree, you’ll meet her someday and maybe she’ll tell you her story.” I open my mouth to interrupt with another round of questions, but she raises a brow at me, and I snap it shut. “So, when Bree came for my sister, her heart wasn’t in it. She gave us the opening to get Aqua out of there with my father and cousins but not without a sacrifice.”
