Legend of the Moon Goddess and Her Sons

Long ago when men still believed in magic and honored its Makers, the Goddess of the Moon often visited Earth. Of all Earth's creatures, she loved wolves the best, and to them she gave her blessings and protections.

The Goddess wanted children, so she took her wolf form and mated with an alpha named Tark. He was a fierce warrior, a loyal protector, and a skilled hunter.

These were the qualities she wanted for her sons.

Under the full moon, she gave birth to twins. The firstborn was a wolf of black. And the second, a wolf of gray.

Her older son had the ability to turn from human to wolf. However, her second born could assume his wolf nature only on the night of the full moon.

The Black Wolf became a warrior even greater than his own father. He became a loyal protector of his kind; his battle prowess was legendary.

The Gray Wolf became a hunter so skilled that he could use any manner of weapon and he could track any of Earth's animals. He learned to hide his true nature so that he could live among humans.

The Moon Goddess' sons grew lonely. They wanted wives and families. The Goddess offered her firstborn a beautiful female wolf, which she gave the ability to shift into human.

To her second born, the Goddess gave a beautiful female human. Since her son assumed his wolf form only during the full moon, she gave his mate the same ability.

This is the story told from father to son, mother to daughter, of the lycanthrope heritage. Some are full-bloods, shifting whenever they need, and others, the Roma, shifting only on the full moon.

"The full-bloods are dying out, Patsy," said Eva. "Damian did something no full-blood had done before - he mated with a Roma. Their children were the hope that Black Wolf's line wouldn't die. But after his wife was killed, he discovered that the babies were mutated. He forbade any more unions between full-bloods and the Roma."

It took me a while to assimilate all this information. I still felt like shit and now, I also felt horribly sad. I began to understand why Damian and other lycans loathed Gabriel. He represented their greatest fears. He wasn't lycan or vampire, but both. Eva was right. Gabriel might very well be the answer to their infertility problems.

My world started to spin. Closing my eyes made it worse, so I opened them again and pressed a hand against my roiling stomach.

"Does a wolfie marriage work like a vampire's? " I asked. "You know, is there a time limit? And if one dies, does the other one share the same fate?"

"Most lycans mate for life. If their spouse dies, they will not. Some mate again. Others live out the remainder of their lives alone," she said. "But one thing remains the same - the full-bloods aren't reproducing. Even if a female lycan becomes pregnant, she will be lucky if she has two babies. And of those, she will be lucky if even one lives to its first year. Damian believed that all hope for the werewolves was lost ... which is why he courted a Roma bride."

"The prophecy says something about the dual-natured," I said. "This new ruler is supposed to save the wolfies? Maybe Gabriel is part of the prophecy."

"Except that he's not," interrupted Ruadan. "The oracle remained vague about how she will help the lycans, but it certainly gives our guardians reason to help the prophecy along."

Jessica returned. The others started talking amongst themselves and I zoned out. This was the longest night ever.

"Enough," said Ruadan, ending whatever debate was raging.

"Dad ..." This entreaty came from Patrick. "There are ten Broken Heart Turn-bloods."

"Nine, since the oracle pinpointed a female."

Patrick's gaze flicked to me. "Arin said that Patsy was the foretold ruler."

"What?" Ruadan studied me, frowning. He looked as disbelieving as his son had earlier. Well, wasn't that a pip? Patrick had thrown me to the wolves, so to speak, to wrest his wife out of their teeth. Nice.

"Not that I'm interested in being your leader, but it'd be nice if you wouldn't act that surprised at the possibility."

Patrick looked at Jessica. I'd been told that bound vampires could speak to each other telepathically. Jessica told me once that Patrick and Lorcan could talk to each other that way, too.

"She can do the fire thing," said Jessica.

"And the demon thing," added Patrick. "Andhaka released her just because she demanded it."

Ruadan stared at me, his silver eyes filled with secrets. "Is it true you can wield fire?"

He put his hand on my shoulder and I lifted mine to cover his. The moment my skin touched his, a jolt of electric heat rolled right through me. The power of the surge nearly knocked me out of the chair.

Strangely, Ruadan didn't seem to notice.

The silence was thick. I looked around at them all and saw the shock and concern in each of their faces.

"I just did it one time," I said, feeling defensive.

"Try again," Ruadan said.

"No!" Lorcan and Eva shouted together. They looked sheepish, but Eva gestured at the bookshelves. "It's too flammable in here."

"I'll make sure the fire is extinguished," said a new voice. The man was dressed in Armani. The brown pinstripe enhanced his olive skin and amber eyes. He had the tall, lean build of a runner. He wore his curly brown hair short, which complemented his classic Italian looks. A platinum Rolex gleamed from his left wrist. The gold ring on his right pinky featured a two-carat, square-cut diamond. In one hand he held a large glass.

He twitched his fingers over it and two strands of water emerged. He created a square, a circle, and a triangle. Then the water splashed back into its cup.

"So your Family power is making water dance?" I asked.

"His name is Velthur," said Ruadan. "He's one of the seven Ancients."

Velthur grinned. "I can do a lot more, Patsy. If it's liquid, then I can control it."

"So, show us your skills," said Jessica.

I really didn't want to try starting a fire or calling a demon. I wished I could do the flash-outta -here thing or even fly. I closed my eyes, trying to gain some perspective. Yeah, wouldn't it be great if I could just float away?

"Um ... Patsy?"

Jessica's voice sounded farther away. I opened my eyes and found myself looking down at my friends. I was floating and I was close to the ceiling. "Hey! How do I get down?"

"You think about it," called up Ruadan.

I was too panicked to think about anything but falling. So, that's what I did. I screamed and flailed my arms. Luckily for me, Ruadan was faster, and he managed to grab hold of me before I splattered all over the library floor.

I returned to my chair and held on to the armrests. Maybe flying wasn't such a great Family power.

"How did you do that?" asked Ruadan.

"You must've transferred your power when you touched me or I touched you."

"You touched Lia and Durga, too?"

I nodded. "I felt this ... electrical surge."

"She has four Family powers," said Velthur. He walked to me, leaned down, and gripped my shoulder. Zip-zap. Heat raced through me and once again, I felt as if I'd been electrified.

Velthur stepped back and held out the cup of water. "Go on," he said.

"Go on and what?"

"Make the water dance."

If thought was the key to controlling the powers of the Ancients, then I should be able to think about the water taking shape, and it would. I looked at the cup and imagined the water inside rising up and forming a heart.

The liquid wiggled up like a clear snake, then swooped into the heart. It shimmered there, until I released it. The water splashed back into the cup.

"Holy shit," said Jessica. She looked as shocked as I felt. "Patsy's the freaking queen."

"Whoopee," I said.

"Atta girl." Ruadan patted me on the shoulder.

"We should get to the shelter," said Lorcan. "It'll be dawn soon."

"If you don't mind, I'll stay here a few minutes, " I said. I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around the truth. I was the new ruler. And if I was the queen of the Vedere prophecy, then the outlaw was surely Gabriel.

"That's either faith or bullshit," I muttered.

"The compound is shielded by Wiccan spells," said Patrick, "but we don't know how long they'll last against an extended attack. There are only three entrances into the shelter."

I switched my attention to Patrick. Yeah. Why give an enemy too many opportunities to breach security?

"Across the courtyard are the Consortium's headquarters. Get to the basement. Go to the far back wall. You'll see what to do next."

"Okay dokay."

Everyone told me good-bye, and I was glad to be alone. I really did want some time to think and figure out what to do next. With my home and business gone, it was probably time to admit I needed to move into the compound. As much as I hated what it represented, it would be the safest place for my son.

Wait a minute. What was I thinking? The leaders of the vampires and lycans weren't gonna just let me waltz in and take over. Maybe Broken Heart wasn't any safer for me and Wil than it was for Gabriel. Jeez! Wasn't there an instruction manual or something?

"Patricia."

Shocked, I looked up into the gold gaze of Gabriel. It was as if by thinking about him, I had conjured him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you." He walked to me and knelt by my chair, his hands resting on my thighs. "The compound is not without its weaknesses. " His fingers stroked my jeans. "Are you all right?"

"Dandy." The urge to control myself didn't last long. I rose from my chair, shoving him over. He fell on his ass, staring up at me. Then he jumped to his feet.

His gold eyes flashed with anger and he growled. I went lust-hot at that low rumble. Oo-wee! I wanted to jump his bones. Just rip off his clothes and lick him. He saw that need in me, too.

"I'm just me, Patsy the hair dresser." I wanted to believe it, I really did.

I stalked toward Gabriel with every intention of walloping him. Why had he followed me here? I was furious with him. With myself. Mostly, I was pissed off because I wanted to be wanted for me. Just for me. Not for what I could do or what I represented. Admitting that to myself was hard. Sometimes, the truth hurt. A lot.

I got close enough to poke him in the chest. Gabriel leaned forward and I swore he was sniffing me. "You are glorious when you're mad," he whispered. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me snug against him. "I want you," he said in a low voice. "I can't stop thinking about you. You're in my head, in my heart."

His words weren't slick or charming. They were raw, real. If I'd had a working heart, it would've been trying to hammer out of my chest.

"Gabriel ..."

He kissed me. More like his lips conquered mine. I wrested my hands out of his grip and wrapped my arms around his neck. His tongue thrust inside my mouth, and electric lust zapped me.

God, the man made me hot.

He pulled away, his gaze dark with desire. "Admit that you're mine."