Ivy.
Stepping out of the shower, I pondered over everything I had done. Yeah, I lost myself a little bit in the commotion of things, and I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. But the woman was a threat to my family. She was a threat to my children. She was a threat to my mates and a threat to me.
I had given her chance after chance and do not regret my actions when I killed her. Little did the others know she was meeting with two other people who were interested in completely eradicating me and my mates in order to take over territory.
I had overheard their conversations before I burst through the door and slaughtered them. It was only fragmented, but it was the only information I needed to dismantle their circle.
I would do it again.
Without hesitation, I would slaughter anybody who posed a threat to my reign, my children, and my mates. Even if that meant I had to slaughter every wolf not part of our pack to ensure we would be protected, I would do it.
Because of my actions, I was well aware of the consequences that were to come.
Was I terrified? Yes, because I didn’t want there to be a war brewing on the horizon with the possibility of taking everything from me. But then again, had I not done anything, we would have been at risk.
With a heavy sigh, I took the towel to my hair and gently dried every last bit of it. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, my celestial eyes were almost able to see into my own soul as it glimpsed the darkness that was within. I kept thinking about the dream I had before.
I needed to speak to the goddesses and with the men currently out of the house, I had the perfect opportunity to get the answers I needed.
I couldn’t even face my own mother, or Kate until I did. My mind wouldn’t allow me solace, and I prepared to face Frigga with my mind made up.
Placing down the towel, I moved towards my bed, laying upon the soft blankets. It had been a few days since I had used my room properly because of construction, but with them almost done, only small pieces of things stood out of place.
That I was grateful for. The only place I felt comfortable enough to do this was in the seclusion of my own space. Closing my eyes, I let myself fall into a state of REM and, eventually, I was transported once again to the clouds of white that opened up, letting me step forth onto a patch of green where white columns and a podium sat off in the distance.
Frigga stood there, waiting for me alone. Her long hair and white gown blowing gently behind her as she smiled upon seeing me.
“I was wondering when it would be that she would finally show face here,” she said with a content grin on her face and her hands clasped in front of her body.
“So are you going to tell me you were expecting me, as Priscilla always is expecting me?”
I said with a sly grin, causing her to chuckle to herself.
“What is it that I can do for you, Ivy? You seem to have a lot of questions, and considering your latest actions, it makes me wonder what you’ve really got on your mind.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t hide the exhaustion I felt throughout my entire body. I was a mess, and one that needed to be quickly fixed before I did something else that would be frowned upon. Not that I thought what I did was wrong.
“Where would you like me to start? Should I start with the dreams that I’ve been having? Or that I just slaughtered three people in a cabin, one of which was a creature I had never encountered before. Even though I am new to this lifestyle, I would have at least thought that the inner me may have recognized it, but not even the inner me knew what the hell it was. Do you have any clue as to what that creature was?”
Staring at me, she took a moment before slowly nodding her head and gesturing for me to follow her over towards a beautiful grassy area that had pillows and blankets thrown upon it.
“The creature that you ingested is considered a Nephilim.”
Was she being serious? There was no way.
“I’m sorry… a what? Do you mean like the half-human thing?” I asked with complete confusion and utter shock she would even mention that word. I didn’t even know those freaking things existed. I thought they were just fairy tales.
“Ivy, you were literally a celestial being, and werewolves exist as well as vampires, and you’re telling me you have a hard time believing that Nephilims exist?”
She did have a point.
With everything else in the world I kept finding, it shouldn’t be hard to believe there is a large index of creatures that probably inhabited the earth I had no clue about.
“OK, so why was an elder wolf, the son of an alpha and a Nephilim in a cabin 20 miles north of where I lived, and why did the Nephilim taste so good?”
“I’m not sure why the creatures were meeting, however they did have dark auras around them. Again, you know we cannot get involved. So we only merely watched, but I knew right away you found the elder to be threatening from the moment she stepped foot inside your home, did you not?” she asked, causing me to think back to the moment the elder stepped inside the home.
I had found her threatening. I had found something about her completely off. It was quite different from the conversation I had originally had on the phone with her. So something about it just didn’t add up and when she acted, the way she did out in front of the pack house was when I lost it. She wasn’t the person she was supposed to be.
“Something was wrong with her. She wasn’t the person she was supposed to be.”
“Very good,” Frigga replied as she picked up her goblet and sipped from it. “She wasn’t the person she was supposed to be because she was corrupted before you received her.”
“What do you mean, she was corrupted?”
“Remember when Priscilla and the Valkyrie came to you at the Council members chamber and told you there was one that was divine, that was looking to change the path for those on Earth?” Thinking back to the conversation, I tried to remember exactly what had happened that day was utter chaos, so my mind was a bit fogged over.
“I think so. I don’t remember who she said it was, though.”
Nodding her head, she placed her cup down and stared at me. “Loki has escaped the Eternal realm, causing mass chaos upon Earth. You are not like the others. As I’ve told you before, you have a greater purpose. Your purpose, I cannot tell you just yet. But I will tell you it involves your children, and it is very important you protect them at all costs.”
“My children. What do you mean it involves my children? Why would anybody be after my children?” I replied with anger in my tone as I narrowed my brows at her.
How could she tell me somebody was after my children and not tell me the reason why?
Or who would want to be?
“You need to calm yourself, Ivy. Getting angry here will do nothing for you,” she replied, causing me to take a deep breath in and out to calm my currently racing heart.
“My apologies. But I’m sure you’re aware as a mother yourself, learning your children are in trouble is a very painful thing to go through. So, could you please leave me some context as to what you’re referring to?”
“Of course. I can give you what I can within the realm of my ability. The rest, you and your mates, will have to figure out for yourself.”
Of course, that is her fucking response.
Nodding my head, I sighed. “OK, I will take what I can get.”
“Your children are special. They are the children of one ancient and one partially divine. The children you are bearing have, once upon a time, lived in this world a long, long time ago and every few hundred years those children are needed once again to take their place on Earth to fix what man and creature cannot.”
So like their fathers, who were once reincarnated to live upon the land again, they were doomed to do so as well. That’s just fucking fantastic.
“I take it there is no way to change that?” I asked hopefully, but knowing the answer already.
“No, Ivy. It doesn’t work like that.”
“Of course not,” I frowned, pinching the bridge of my nose.
I knew I should have been acting chaotic and losing my mind, but doing so wouldn’t change anything, so why take that course of action? Taking a moment, I thought back to one thing that had been bothering me.
“The dream that I had once before about me standing within the darkness, only to come into the light and see a girl with red hair and sharp teeth. She said she was me, but she called me mother. Was that the future?” I asked hesitantly as I stared at the ground, not wanting to admit there was a part of me that knew eventually one of my twins would die.
“You saw a girl with long red hair and sharp teeth and she had celestial eyes?” With concern in her glance, she leaned forward and lifted my eyes to hers. “Ivy?”
“Yes. Initially, she said that she was me, but then she called me mother. I didn’t understand it, but then a baby cried and I turned into the darkness and left, anyway. That was when I came upon a blue and pink blanket on a grassy plain. My feet froze to the floor, and through the shadows, approached a beast. A wolf-like creature dripping with hunger, who then launched itself at my children as I screamed and jolted from my sleep. I did not see how the dream ended.”
Quickly standing at her feet, she gestured for me to follow her. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but she took me back how we came with haste.
“Listen to me carefully, Ivy. The woman was not who you think she was. The dark wolf-like creature is a foreshadow of the future, but because you woke up, the scream of your pain saved your children and whatever disaster was about to come your way. There’s still so much unknown about your future and that of your children. The universe decides what it wants. When the time is appropriate.”
“Frigga, you have to tell me why you are concerned? Why are you acting like something terrible is about to happen?” I asked her as she pushed me towards the gate through which I came.
“I need to figure out a few things. Until I can explain who this person is, I can’t. I have to be certain, but for now, I need you to stay where you have been. Speak with your mates about the stories they were once told by their mother. It will give you clarity, but until then, you must be strong. Listen to your instincts. The celestial inside you will guide you.”
Pushed through the gate, my eyes fluttered open, and I stared at the ceiling above me. Whoever the woman was in my dream, she was bad enough to rattle Frigga, and that was concerning.
I had gained some clarity, but once again, was left with so many questions.
If my children were in danger… I would find a way to protect them.
No matter the cost.