Page 77 of His Impossible Elf Mate
“Oh.” I couldn’t quite believe it was so soon. When Janet had told us her time was coming, I thought she meant months away. It had barely been two weeks since she had given us the news.
We walked the short distance to her cabin. Even the niblings came. Blake and Kade didn’t want to shelter them from what was a natural part of life. Plus they felt she might like to see them again before she passed since she would miss their birthday party.
Aldrin and James were already there, a bag of equipment beside them and somber looks on their faces as they stood by the elder shifter’s bed. Someone had moved it into the living room, the only space big enough for all of us.
Everyone greeted Janet, even the little ones. Felix gave her a kiss on the cheek which she smiled at with a gnarled hand cupped over it. “Oh! This is more than I could have hoped for.”
Dakota and Jasper arrived, packing out the house. Hayden was content to stay on Dakota’s hip while Angelica went to Janet and squeezed her hand. “Do you have to go, Miss Janet?”
“I do, baby, but your papa is going to be the voice for the goddess now. She told me this morning. So be good for him, okay?”
Jasper gasped in shock while Kade openly wept on Janet’s other side. I struggled with my own emotions. These omega responses were frustrating, but I’d never give them up. James’s chin wobbled, eyes filling as Aldrin rubbed his back. None of us were holding up well.
“Yes, Miss Janet. I’ll miss you.”
“Want to know a secret?” Angelica nodded. “I’m not ever going to be far. Like the moon, I’ll be watching over you.”
“Okay.” Angelica stepped away.
“We wondered…” Aldrin began. “If you would like to hear Axel’s baby.”
“I’d love that.” Janet’s voice was weak now. “Come sit beside me, Axel.”
She was so frail and small, there was plenty of space for me to scoot up beside her and lie down. We shared a smile as James readied the machine and poured the cold gel onto me. I winced.
“You’ll never get used to that, I’m afraid. There’s more babies in your future. This one, well, she’s just the start.”
“She?”
The room filled with the flub-flub noises of our baby’s heartbeat. The most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
I still couldn’t believe it. T’s eyes met mine, probably reflecting the same awed expression. We were going to be parents.
My wolf was still doing their celebration hops, now coupled with delighted yips.More babies!they cried.A girl!
“Ah, yes. There she is. She’s going to be feisty but so beautiful. The first of many, for you, and for the elf kind. As soon as she’s born, those floodgates are gonna open.” Janet smiled peacefully.
“Really?” I don’t think Queen Alyalsha meant to ask out loud.
“The princess is just the first. The elves must return to the old ways, when they knew the truth. There is just one goddess.” Janet’s voice had taken on that tone which said The Luna was speaking through her.
“I am both The Luna and the elven goddess. We are one and the same.” This time the voice came from the queen. The air became charged with power. Even the children sat still.
Hold on. What?
Everyone stared at the queen until Janet giggled, the sound ending in a cough. James rushed to give her a drink of water when Jasper spoke in an alien voice.
“Shifters came from the elves. I protected them by making them look human when Abrocaelum was made and those who could not shift refused them entry. Then I altered memories and the archives. Helped hide their past because of the discrimination they faced from their ancestors.
“I stopped my shifters from mixing with other species to protect them. Yet the elves and fae stole them and used them. The alpha males hunted the alpha females until I made the betas. So much to fix, so little power.”
The voice returned to the queen, leaving Jasper sagging against Dakota. “I had to wait until your prayers returned you to your faith and amplified my power. My shifters were ready. The pieces of the puzzle are in place. Now we can start again. First with the princess.”
We all stared at each other for a while, the air returning to normal.
“I won’t… miss… that feeling,” Janet rasped out finally, breaking the silence. “But… I’ll miss being a part of it. I’ll… watch over… you all.”
The room remained quiet for a long time, letting us all grieve in our own ways as Janet took her last breath, the light leaving her eyes, while the smile remained on her weathered face.
