Page 68 of Protected By Artemis

“Geri!” Artemis greeted as she embraced her sister-in-law—were they double sisters now that she mated with Cade? “Oh, my gods, you must be so happy to be back.”

“I am.” Geri’s face was filled with an ethereal glow that could only come from the flush of immortality. “I’ve seen everyone except—Cade!” She practically jumped into her brother’s arms. “I’ve missed you.”

Artemis felt tears gathering at the back of her throat as she witnessed this long-awaited reunion and felt Cade’s happiness practically vibrating through their bond. While she was still a goddess, she visited Geri as often as she wanted to, so she spent a lot of time with Geri on Mount Olympus. Geri definitely missed Cade as much as he did her, and so Artemis was glad they could once again be together in the same place.

“I’ve missed you too. You look great,” he said once they let go of each other.

“So do you.” She sent a sly look to Artemis. “Mating and fatherhood suit you.”

Geri hadn’t been surprised when Artemis told her of their relationship. “Girl, you guys were, like, eye-fucking the moment you met. I told Apollo that Cade was either going to wring your neck or screw you.” But she declared she was happy with the union and couldn’t have asked for a better-chosen mate for Cade.

“Hey, guys.” Apollo greeted. He shook Cade’s hand and then beamed at Artemis. “I’m so happy for you, sis. I’m glad your dreams have come true.”

As they embraced, more tears gathered in her eyes as she recalled that day in the sunflower field when she told Apollo of The Fates’ prophecy. He let her cry her eyes out and then said, “Fuck The Fates, Artemis. You’re going to be a great mom, and you’ll have all the babies in the world, and you’ll show them.”

“See?” Apollo whispered as he tightened the hug. “I told you so.”

She choked on her tears as she let out a laugh. “Yeah, so you did. Excuse me,” she said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Hormones, you know.”

Cade wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, let’s get some food and greet our guests.”

They mingled amongst the well-wishers, stopping to talk to as many people as they could, even pack members who brought up some concerns. As an Alpha’s mate, Artemis had responsibilities to them, baby shower or not. No, she took her job seriously, solving problems for her packmates and settling small disputes so that Cade could focus on the bigger stuff. It made her feel useful, too, like in the old days.

“Hades, Persephone, how are you?” As she waved to the happy couple by the cupcake table and strode over to them, she saw them speaking to someone she didn’t recognize. Squinting her eyes, she gasped. “Aphrodite?”

The goddess of love chuckled. “Hello, mama-to-be.” She embraced Artemis. “How are you feeling?”

“Y-y-your hair!” Artemis exclaimed.

“You like it?” Aphrodite bounced the dark brown curls around her pretty face, a drastic change from the blonde locks she had worn since the dawn of time. Instead of its usual floor length, the brown waves ended below her shoulders.

“Yeah, but … why?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I just needed a change. But you haven’t answered my question. How are you?”

“Me? I’m great.” The wistful way the goddess of love eyed her belly did not escape her notice. “Would you like to…”

“Oh, yes.” Aphrodite’s hand landed gently on top of her stomach, then sighed. “Babies are so precious and cute. Why, I remember when my son was a baby, he was so chubby and cute. And those wings! So adorable.”

Apollo—who had been sneaking around the cupcake table and about to reach for one—piped in, “I can’t imagine Eros being adorable,” he shuddered. “He’s such a psycho–er…” He coughed when Artemis shot him a warning look. “I mean, he’s got an interesting personality.”

Even Hades and Persephone looked perturbed but didn’t say anything. Aphrodite was devoted to her son, after all, and the fact that he was, indeed, unbalanced, was not her fault. She did her best and sacrificed everything for him, but it was just hard to combat nature with nurture.

“Excuse me, where do I put this?”

“H, you came!” Artemis practically skipped toward him as Hephaestus appeared behind Apollo. “I didn’t think I’d see you.”

“Yeah, well…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I made you something, Artemoula,” he said, nodding at the giant box next to him. “For the twins.”

“Of course. You can put it by the other gifts. Thank you, H.”

“You’re wel—Aphrodite?”

In the thousands of years she’d known Hephaestus, Artemis had never seen her friend look quite so shocked as he did now as he stared, slack-jawed, at his ex-wife.

Now, this was interesting.Artemis couldn’t even remember when the former couple had been in the same room.

“Hello, Hephaestus,” the goddess of love greeted.

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