Page 69 of Protected By Artemis

“I…didn’t recognize you.” He stared at her blankly.

“Yeah, I changed my hair,” she said. “Do you like it?”

“It’s…nice.” He picked up the box and held it like a shield in front of him. “If you’ll excuse me, I should go.”

A small twinge of sadness plucked at Artemis’s heart as she saw the lines deepen on Aphrodite’s face as her gaze tracked after Hephaestus.

“Aphrodite,” Persephone said, slipping her hand through the other goddess’s arm. “I need to consult you about something. Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” she said with a tight smile, then allowed the queen of the Underworld to drag her away.

Apollo let out a soft whistle. “Well, that was awkward.”

“Why?” Cade asked.

Artemis clucked her tongue. “Don’t you remember what I told you, she’s his ex-wife.”

“Oh, I thought you said she was blonde?”

“Men,” Artemis said with a roll of her eyes. “C’mon, let’s get ready for the gender reveal.”

“Wait, you’re having a gender reveal too?” Apollo said as he reached for a blue cupcake.

She slapped his hand away. “Those are for later,” she warned. “And yeah, of course, we need to do a gender reveal. We have the babies’ big brother to make the announcement.”

“Big brother?” Apollo asked, his face confused.

She and Cade exchanged amused glances. “You’ll see,” she said.

“Xavier!” Artemis called to the shifter, who was waiting by the door. “It’s time!”

Xavier gave her a little salute and headed outside while she and Cade walked to the small, raised dais in the middle of the barn.

Artemis cleared her throat. “Attention, everyone!” A hush fell over the crowd. “As you know, Cade and I are having twins.” A few cheers and whistles rang out. “But what you don’t know is that we have already received the results of the sonogram, and we know whether we’re having girls or boys.”

“Or both!” Apollo called out.

She smirked at her brother. “Anyway…Xavier, if you please!”

The tall shifter strode into the barn, a long rope in his hand. A few seconds later, a furry creature tied to the other end of the rope entered the barn.

“Is that a goat?” Hades asked.

It wasn’t just any goat, though. “Hey, Goatzilla,” Artemis cooed. She gave Xavier a nod of thanks as she bent down to scratch the goat’s chin, making it “mahhhh” happily.

“How did I let you talk me into keeping him as a pet,” Cade muttered.

“Well, we weren’t going to sacrifice him. What were we supposed to do?” Artemis asked as Goatzilla let out a protesting bleat. “And you’re not a pet, are you? You’re gonna be the best big brother in the world! It says there on your blanket.”

Goatzilla had a blanket draped over his body that said “I’m gonna be a big brother to…” And the gender of the babies were written underneath.

“Are you all ready?” Artemis asked, and the crowd let out a resounding yes. “Okay, here we go.” She grabbed the blanket, ready to rip it off, when a loud crash from the outside made her freeze. “What the?—”

Artemis found herself tackled backward by her mate as he shielded her with his body. “Xavier!” he called out.

“What’s going on?” she cried as she attempted to pry herself from Cade’s arms. “Cade!”

“No.” His voice was deadly serious. “You’re not going anywhere.”

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