Page 87 of Luna Rising

“With Rosalind. She didn’t want her to be alone.”

I frowned. “I offered to stay with my mother.”

“Colleen is better company,” Walter said with a shrug.

That was probably true, but I was still stuck our parents’ theoretical conspiracy. “How do you meet her, Winter’s mom?”

A wistful smile crossed Walter’s lips. “At a bar. She was the prettiest girl in the room. Still is.”

Yeah, Colleen was gorgeous and somewhat rebellious, so the appeal of her I understood. But Walter had probably been with a lot of women over the years, and he only had one kid.

“Was Winter an accident?” The question sounded harsh, and I supposed it was a little out of line. “I mean, presumably you’re a cautious guy. You don’t have any other offspring running around. Did you want Colleen to get pregnant?”

With any of the other parents, I would have used more tact and a less accusatory tone. Walter was different, though. He was also the only one likely to tell me the truth.

“Careful opening the milk unless you’re prepared to spill it.”

“Don’t try to confuse me.”

He laughed. “I’m not. All I’m saying is don’t ask questions if you don’t want answers.”

“I do. I really fucking do, Walter.”

“It was a ritual. That’s how Colleen got pregnant with Nicasia. We knew it had worked when Winter wasn’t a twin. All her ancestors are twins. A single birth in a year of four blood moons is said to call her forth in this cycle. When we knew it had worked, we told Essie, and she reached out to Rosalind and Angela as well as others she believed descended from the original thirteen wolves.”

I frowned. “Angela? You mean, Mrs. Wynn?”

He nodded. “The signs suggested two pairs of soulmates would rise. Essie believed that could only happen if one pair were born wolves. When she tracked Ewan’s bloodline, we knew he was Stavros. But you weren’t Iliana. It made things confusing for a while. Essie thought she’d misread things. We spelled all three of you so that Mat couldn’t track you. So that he wouldn’t recognize you even if you walked up to him. It worked for a very long time. Then, he showed up in my daughter’s living room. The enchantments keeping you all safe broke. We still don’t know why or how.”

It was a lot to take in, though not as shocking as I might have thought. There was still one thing I didn’t understand. “Why? Why did you want to bring forth Nicasia?”

He laughed humorlessly. “For the same reason the fae made her eternal, because we could.”

He didn’t ask me not to tell Winter or keep the conversation between us, probably because he knew there wouldn’t have been a point. I didn’t ask any more questions about my mother’s involvement or press Walter harder on his reasons, which would have also been pointless most likely. I needed time to think first, and we had more immediate issues.

Birch and Penn showed up at my door before Ewan returned, not long before sunrise.

“A representative from the Zodiac Council and the Director for Paranormal Affairs are here,” Penn said before I had even opened my mouth. “Drake and Ewan are with them. He sent me to get you and Winter. They want to meet with eternals and protectors.”

“Why?” I asked uneasily. “What do they want?”

“To stop the attacks,” Birch said.

“But we aren’t the ones responsible,” I reminded him.

“I know. So do they. That’s why they want to talk,” Birch said.

“Where?” I demanded, ready to march out of the house in my pajamas.

“There’s a diner in the nearest human town. Ewan didn’t want them setting foot on pack land. He said something about Winter opening a portal.” Penn glanced over my shoulder. “Is she sleeping?”

“No. I’m awake.” Winter yawned loudly. “I’m awake, and I’m definitely going.”

“So am I,” Walter interjected. “And save your breath arguing. All of you. I’m going or she’s not.”

I had no opinion one way or the other and the left the choice entirely up to Winter, who shrugged. “Whatever. As long as I can brush my teeth first.”

Diner at the Edge of the World

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