Page 270 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Who are you?” Chris asked, pulling me protectively closer to him.

“Selene? What are you doing here?” Uncle Helios moved around us and hugged the woman, as everyone tried to look around us.

“Selene as in...” I trailed off, my heart rate spiking.

“The Moon Goddess,” Cory confirmed.

“About fucking time,” Kara growled, having pushed forward, her hands on her hips, but then she squealed and ran over to hug her sister.

“I pulled a favor and got some cover, so I could come down and visit. I thought they earned me getting into a little trouble,” the Moon Goddess answered her brother.

Everyone shuffled in, and Chris and I tried to blend in with them, but the Goddess’ eyes instantly found us. Chris’ hand around my waist tightened, and I could hear his heart beating out of his chest.

We were chosen mates. We just got married and were planning on marking each other tonight, despite not being fated mates. Was she here to stop it? Thankfully, I breathed a sigh of relief, and Chris relaxed a little, when she turned her gaze away from us.

“Bells, Cade. Among other things, I came here to apologize.”

Mom and Dad pushed the couple a few steps forward. Bells and Cade were rooted to their spot, a mixture of awe and fear on their faces.

“I—Apologize for what? You didn’t do anything,” Bells answered.

“No, but it took me a long time to figure out something was wrong. It took me a long time to notice you were only showing up on my platforms when you left your pack, Bells. I thoughtit was a sign things were going well. Since, for the most part, my platforms only show me when my children are in trouble or they’re in the middle of their happiest of moments.” The Moon Goddess frowned, and it was like the sunshine was taken from the room. “I didn’t realize there was a spell over the entire pack, preventing me from seeing anything within its depths. It was only the day you found out you were pregnant that I realized something had gone horribly wrong. I heard your thought, little one, and I’m so very sorry for it.”

Bells couldn’t speak, but tears left her eyes when she finally whispered, “I felt so alone.”

“And, I knew I’d failed you. I’ve tried to correct it since then, but my hands are tied when it comes to my family, and the little hints I dropped to them weren’t working.” Her eyes went to Cade. “I had to take more extreme measures.”

“What do you mean?” Mom asked.

“Telling Cory to bring Bells home when he almost died the day he was kidnapped, didn’t work. Dreams, unfortunately, fade. I tried to get inside the spell. I kept sending some of my nicer rogues through dreams there, but they kept turning back, unsure of why they felt the need to be there. It was fine while they were working on instinct, but were unwilling to push when they finally got inside and encountered the pack. So, I had to take a more sneaky approach.”

“What was that?” Cade asked, finally finding his voice.

A smile twitched on Selene’s face as her eyes moved over the crowd until they landed on my brother.

“Want to tell them, or shall I?” she asked.

“You didn’t tell me that was going to be the result.” Lucien squirmed behind Mom.

“Would you have done it if I had?”

“No!” he said right away, then looked over at Bells and his eyes softened. “I don’t know. It brought her home.”

“What did you do?” Dad asked.

“I sent him on a task to California, to use his wind ability to shift the trajectory of the wildfires.”

“You’re the reason my pack burnt down?” Cade asked Lucien, his question explaining what he had done.

“I didn’t know!” Lucien squeaked defensively.

Cade walked toward Lucien and hugged him. “Thank you. It’s the best thing that could have happened to me.”

People chuckled at how uncomfortable Lucien looked, torn between feeling guilt and happiness.

“I also tried to contact Violet while there, but I couldn’t penetrate the spell to meet her in her dreams,” she said and I realized why I kept having those dreams of being alone in a serene location and having nothing happen. “Now, that the spell has lifted, your widows will begin finding second-chance mates, Bells. I’ve also spent the last two months pairing a lot of wolf spirits with the little ones born inside the pack in the last decade, and finding them mates. Something that usually happens at birth. Some of them are going to have a bit of a wait before they find them.”

“Wait, does that mean Adam won’t have a wolf spirit where he was taken?”

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