Selene

I wake to distant voices, first sounding like murmurs then growing clearer as the fog lifts from my brain. Cracking my eyes open, I rub the side of my head, the pounding pain hurting worse than before. I find myself on my living room couch, squinting at the bright sunlight filtering through the lace curtains billowing in the open window. I quickly recognize mother and Ria arguing in hushed tones.

“She has to know everything. It’s for her own safety!” Ria hisses from somewhere behind me.

“I am afraid she will react negatively and won’t understand my reasoning,” my mother says lowly.

“She almost died because of how grossly unaware she is! None of this would be a concern if she was just fully awakened,” Ria’s voice cracks as her footsteps clomp loudly on the porch, the door banging open with a thwack.

“Asteria, this is not your fault,” my mother’s voice is calm and quiet, sounding closer.

Rubbing my face, I sit up slowly and stare confusingly at my chest. I’m wearing my necklace over my favorite blue hoodie and black leggings, definitely not what I arrived here in. Glancing at the kitchen, Ria turns to me quickly and meets my gaze with tears in her eyes. “Selene, are you alright? How do you feel?” she breathes in a rush, coming to sit beside me.

I put my hand up and take a deep breath. Catching my mother’s gaze, I watch as she warily takes a seat in the armchair next to the couch and gives me a tight smile.

“Honestly? I feel like shit, ” I say dryly, falling back into the cushions.

“Do you need anything? What can I get you?” Ria’s voice is pitched higher than normal with a wild look in her eyes.

“What I need is for someone to tell me exactly what the fuck is going on!” I snap, breathing heavily.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I take a few breaths and turn to Asteria. “Last night, I felt almost high, in the club. As if everything was heightened, euphoric. Kyran had said I looked flushed and left to get me some water, but I went searching for the bathroom, feeling ill. I ran into a woman whose eyes were like yours and as she grabbed me I became violently sick and dizzy. It was the same feeling of being extremely intoxicated and the world is spinning around you,” I add with a scrunch of my nose and Ria nods her head, chewing on her lip as she listens.

“Before I could register what the hell was happening to me, she was gone as if I imagined the whole thing. When you and the girls came out of the club, everything is a bit fuzzy from here for me to remember,” I sigh, narrowing my gaze as I try to focus. “I recall sitting at a table, drowning myself in cold water, and becoming sluggish and heavy. I don’t know what I did or said as I went to the bar, I just know that’s when I passed out.

“This is where I cannot separate drugged haze from reality and I am beginning to believe none of it was my imagination. I have flashes of a beautiful, fair, red haired woman with glowing hands hovering over me, blood floating in the air, immeasurable pain through every fiber of my being, and my own skin ablaze with light. A splitting migraine has stayed with me since and the only time it abated was in Kyran’s arms,” my voice grows quiet with the memory and I take a few breaths before I continue my explanation.

“I don’t recall what happened afterward, only to wake in a room that was not mine, wearing someone else’s clothes with barely any recollection of what the fuck I went through until I grasped this,” I yank at the necklace around my throat, shaking it at my mother. “Somehow, I saw and felt everything that had happened to me like there were movie frames flashing through my mind. How is that possible? I was so beyond terrified that when I saw Kyran again, I thought he had done something awful to me. I know now that is not the case, I just know in my soul he wouldn’t do that. He said I need to speak with you,” I glance from my mother to Asteria, “the both of you. Here I am, I don’t want to eat, or bathe, or sleep. I want the truth. Now. So speak,” I demand as I breathe harshly through my teeth, clenching my jaw tightly.

Silence. Nobody moves or speaks for a few moments as my eyes bounce back and forth between them. Ria lets out a long breath, raising her eyebrows at our mother who rubs her hand over her mouth before dropping it into her lap.

“Alright,” she sighs, straightening her skirts before holding my gaze firmly. “The words I speak are nothing but the truth, Selene. Believe me when I say you will want to reject everything you are about to hear. I need you to truly listen, trust in me and your sister as well, understand? Our days of secrecy are behind us,” her voice is clipped and I can feel the seriousness in them.

Pulling my legs underneath me, I look into her eyes and nod my head once.

“Asteria and I are goddesses. To be more precise, my real name is Hekate and I am the goddess of witchcraft and magic, among other things that aren’t important at this moment,” she waves her hand flippantly. “Anyway, what you experienced last night was healing magic from the elven goddess Eir, although I believe she is keeping her identity undisclosed at the moment, for whatever reason. She saved your life by cleansing your blood of the vampire venom coursing through your veins. The source of which we are still trying to understand and we do not know exactly how it happened to you, unfortunately. The why, however, I do know. Had you been human, the venom would have killed you quickly, drastically thinning your blood and eventually stopping your heart. It’s truly because of Kyran that you’re alive, he could smell the venom in you. This is due to his nature of being a werewolf, as are you,” her voice trails off as she looks at me warily.

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I just stare flatly at her for a moment then burst out laughing. I turn to Ria, expecting her to be laughing along with me but she isn’t. She is serious, looking extremely concerned. My laughter falters along with my smile as I look between Ria and our mother. “You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re kidding,” I say highly, my voice pulling tight.

“No, Selene, I most certainly am not.” Her response is intense as her mouth pulls into a tight line.

“You’re serious,” I whisper as my heartbeat begins to race.

Abruptly getting to my feet, I take a few quick steps away, shaking my head. “No, no. That’s impossible. How could I not know that? No. A werewolf? Me? Ha! I think I’d know if I was a fucking shape shifting creature of mythology!” I shriek, turning on them. “What is this, a candid camera prank or something? I can’t believe this!”

“Selene, please, I am not lying to you or pranking you, nothing like that. I am telling you the truth,” my mother pleads as she rises to her feet, clutching her hands.

“Right, because you're a goddess and Dracula tried to kill me last night. Oh, I almost forgot, I want to date Wolverine and my sister is a witch,” I sneer angrily, throwing my arms up.

“I’m technically a goddess,” Asteria says quietly with a tight smile, walking over toward me slowly.

“Yeah? Then prove it, if it’s really true,” I snap, crossing my arms.

Glaring at me, her eyes flood black and as the irises flash white, she snaps her hands out, fire blazing to life in her palms. A blast of wind whips her hair around as it billows through the house, all of the candles alighting at once. The floor beneath my feet tremors, shaking the leaves of the plants hanging around me. Water droplets materialize, suspending in midair like diamonds. I stumble to my ass, shuffling back until I am pressed up against the wall with my eyes going wide. Asteria immediately returns to normal, the house quieting and going still as if nothing happened.

“Holy shit,” I gasp with short, fast breaths puffing out of my gaping mouth.

Glancing over at my mother, I find her sitting in the chair and rubbing her forehead, watching me. I raise my eyebrow silently at her. Rolling her eyes, she disappears, vanishing into thin air. I blink, completely stunned and feel a tap on my shoulder. Whipping my head around, I find myself nose to nose with her and clap my hands over my mouth as I shriek. She and Ria laugh loudly as I sit there gawking at the both of them.

I burst to my feet, outraged. “What the fuck! This isn’t funny! How could I not know, all this time? Everything I believed to be fantasy is real? I—I can’t do this,” I cross the room hastily and wrench the front door open.

Going as fast as my shaky legs will carry me, I stumble off the porch and around the house blindly, not really seeing where I’m going. I push through some bushes and stalk away from the house, away from the madness that threatens to consume me. This can’t be real. I must be dreaming. Last night, all of it. I need to wake up, I pinch my arm hard, wincing.

“Selene! Wait!” Ria calls out, running behind me.

I stop beneath my favorite willow, just outside my bedroom and look up to my balcony, half expecting to see myself sleepwalking. Ria catches up to me with my mother close behind her.

“Sel, I’ll answer any question you ask me,” she pleads, reaching her hand out to me.

“This isn’t real. This can’t be real,” I say harshly, shaking my head.

Hearing rustling near the edge of the woods, I expect Phylax or Machitís to appear but they never show. Turning back to Ria, I am startled to see the dogs sitting on either side of my mother, watching me intently. “What—how,” I stammer, unable to finish my question.

More rustling grows louder and I feel compelled to step toward the forest, as if being pulled by a line in my center. Placing my feet one in front of the other, I slowly step out across the soft grass as my heart beats frantically. A branch snaps, sending my gaze flying upward and I watch as a black shadow creeps out from the tree line. I freeze in place, my breath catching in my throat. An enormous wolf—easily twice the size of my dogs put together—emerges cautiously with its head low and ears pulled flat. It takes a few slow steps toward me then halts, looking up at me with bright amber eyes.

Amber? I wonder as my brow pinches and I shoot a glance over my shoulder. Ria gives me a small smile, and my mother just slightly nods her head. Turning my attention back to the wolf, I narrow my eyes, observing the thick, shiny midnight-black fur coat and see a tiny spot of white on its chest. When our eyes meet again, the wolf crouches low and lays its head on its massive paws, waiting.

I step forward once tentatively, then twice, coming to a stop an arms length away from the wolf. Its tail twitches side to side, swishing the grass. Crouching down, I peer at the wolf as it raises its head and we’re eye level with one another. “You’re so beautiful,” I murmur, brazenly stretching my hand out to hover just above its muzzle.

The wolf tips its head, gently pressing its nose into my palm. Upon contact, a warm thrum radiates up my arm and throughout my body, washing away the headache and all the trepidation coiled inside me. I gasp a shuddering breath, my eyes flying wide. “Kyran,” I breathe in disbelief, staring into his warm gaze.

Ria appears beside me, silently holding out a pair of pants. The gray sweatpants I was in earlier, I realize. Confused, I look up at her but she just nods her head at the wolf, guiding my attention back to him. When I meet his eyes once more, his face blurs and shifts seamlessly into the one I recognize, his entire body following suit. His entire naked body, I gawk, belatedly understanding the pants. I can’t help but watch as he pulls them on, unable to tear my eyes off of him.

Kyran holds out a hand for me and I shakily grab it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I feel disconnected, as if I am watching this happen to myself rather than experiencing it directly. Swallowing hard, I blink a few times, trying to process everything that has happened since opening my eyes. Peeling my gaze away, I silently look over to my mother and sister then back at Kyran, grimacing as darkness clouds my vision and pulls me into unconsciousness.