Memories of elementary school art class flooded in like a wave crashing against the shore. The room needed a little more TLC, but it was coming along. Onyx set his phone on the teacher’s desk and walked ahead toward a closet between the white board and a metal cabinet while I
spun around to soak in more of the room.
“Is this Neron’s art classroom?” I asked.
“Not yet, but it will be,” Onyx answered, amidst the clatter of supplies. “As you can see, it still needs a little bit more sprucing up. I told him to add a little black on the walls, but he complained that it was “too depressing” for the kids.”
“I think I see where he’s coming from.” I took a seat on a nearby stool. “Is Neron okay with us being in here?”
“Nope. The dumbass is yelling at me. He didn’t want you to see the room yet.”
“Oh, really?” My lips stretched with my laughter. “Tell him he doesn’t need to be so hard on you. I don’t mind looking at the work in progress. It just means it’s coming along nicely. He didn’t need to wait until it was perfect to show me.”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Onyx threw his head back and smiled at me. “He should really learn to take my advice sometimes.”
“Knowing how well you two get along. Neron might have a point not to.”
Onyx rolled and scoffed, continuing his search for the jewelry wires. His cell started buzzing. “Do you think you can check to see who is calling? It could be Mama.”
“Sure.” Hopping off the stool, I took a glance at the phone. *Good grief*. “Um, who the hell did you name ‘Prolapsed Anus”?”
“Fuck.” Onyx stepped away from the closet, grabbed his phone, scowled, and held it to his ear. This is the City Morgue. We house corpses and can make you into one. What the fuck do you want?”
“Onyx!”
“Is that any way to greet your new stepbrother?” I heard over the receiver.
“Oh. “It’s Wystan”.
“You’re not my stepbrother.”
“I am, actually. Your mom and my dad mated last night. That means we’re family.”
“Well, I’m glad Mama’s happy! You sound disappointed.”
“Of course, I am! You think I wanted your mother to become my mother?”
“It sounds like you need to talk this out in therapy. Do you have any other reason why you called other than to bitch at me?”
“Yes. Is Kiya available?”
Onyx hung up.
“Stepbrother, huh?” I smirked, hopping on the desk to sit on it. “Should I congratulate you? You finally have a little brother!”
“You have jokes now, huh?” My wolf boyfriend raised an eyebrow. “The only thing I care about is now that Mama is happy with a man who treats her like a queen. Wystan is a peasant. The only way for me and Neron to *ever* be civil with that rusted keyhole is—”
“Is if he stops showing interest in me?”
Onyx fell silent. I grinned, crossing my legs while meeting his eyes. The alpha’s possessive and jealous nature was glaring back at me through two golden and heated orbs. He stuffed the phone in his pocket, planted his palms on either side of my hips on the desk, and held my gaze from above.
“The man is an annoying bug, but yes, that part is true. I never liked him showing interest in you, especially since he knows it’ll piss me and Neron off.”
“He likes to push your buttons. You shouldn’t let him have that satisfaction.”
“When those buttons are about you, I can’t help but react. It’s an instinct I cannot erase.” He brushed his nose against mine. “I love you, and I don’t want anyone to have the chance to take you from me.”
I cupped Onyx’s cheeks with both my hands, gently pulling his face toward mine. Stretching my neck upward, I gave his lips a sweet kiss before chuckling. “If anyone tries, they won’t get far. I can handle myself, remember?”
“You can, but I still like to protect you. At least give me that, my sweet warrior.” He kissed my nose before pushing himself off the desk. He went back to the closet, pulled out a small box, and handed it to me. “I found the wires you need. Pliers should be inside.”
“Thank you.”
“I know you’re worried about Neron getting hurt from this ritual.” Onyx curled his fingers under my chin to lift my head up again. “But I assure you, my love, Neron will be fine. I’ll be beside him the whole time, and I’ll be next to him when he is free. You just need to worry about cutting the bastard from us for good.”
“Onyx…” I whispered, hugging the box to my chest. There was no telling what could happen from now until the ritual. Hell, we don’t know what might happen “during the ritual. So many worries floated in my head and my heart about the outcome, but I know Onyx was right-I have to worry about what I can do now and worry later about the future.
Sighing through my nose, I kissed Onyx again, but this time, he held me still as his scent dominated my senses. The sun peeked through the windows again, stretching over us. But our only focus was on each other.
It was the calm I needed before the storm.
“It is a though he is spreading a veil of protectiveness over me, and I am greedy for it.” — Kathleen Glasgow*
***Third Person POV – Two Days Later***
Kiya stood in the middle of the grassy plain in front of the Onyx Moon pack house, staring into the bunches of maple trees with a fist to her hip. The cool breeze of the late afternoon picked up and danced with the strands of her coils. She let out a small puff of air, digging her free hand into her pocket to pull out her phone when it buzzed.
**PHOEBE**: *We’re on our way*. *Expect us in the next couple of minutes*.
After collecting the materials needed for the hex-breaking ritual, the time had come to finally free Neron from the dark psychic grips of his father. Kiya spent the past day perfecting the mini talisman for the ritual, now tucked safely in her back jeans pocket. There wasn’t a time she hadn’ t thought about how both her boyfriend and his wolf truly were, as she could only go by what was told to her. Onyx did his absolute best to lift her spirits, even when he informed her of some invasion attempts by Jonathan. She grew angry day by day about the situation, but a few sweet words and caresses from the alpha were enough to tuck her fury back under its trenches.
Inhaling deeply through her nose, Kiya tilted her head toward the sky and watched the blue split and melt into a faint orange. The puffy, opaque clouds barely obscured the setting sun. Artemis arose in her mind, silently extending to her both her comfort and courage for the impending ritual. However, her human could feel her tension permeating her form like freshly misted perfume, even if she didn’t voice it.
“*It’ll be alright, Art*.” Kiya said. The reversal was almost comical-Artemis was always the one to comfort Kiya. Now, it was Kiya performing that same task for her.
***I know it will be, but it doesn’t stop my heart from beating as something could go wrong**,”
Kiya knew that feeling all too well. She brought a hand up over her left breast to palpate over the throbs of her heart. “*It’s normal to feel anxious*. *You tell me that all the time*. *However,
I do know one thing: if Neron and Onyx were strong enough to push back against Jonathan and his nastiness, they’re strong enough to survive the ritual*.”
“**But you’re worried that they’ll get hurt, as I am**.”
“*That’s the caveat of the situation, Art*. *I spent nights hoping that there would be some sort of divine intervention that would remove the pain aspect of it, but there wasn’t any*. *Selene knows we’ll make it through today just fine.”
***She’s about to get the spectacle of a lifetime**.”
Kiya smiled to herself. “*Our goddess gave us her blessing. We both know that*.”
“**She said that last night, so I am aware**.”
While Onyx was asleep in their bed, Kiya snuck out of the bed and prayed beside the window with the talisman resting on the windowsill, asking for her benediction for the hex-breaking ritual. While the primordial goddess could not walk the earth, her avatar knew she’d answered her when the selenite secured by gold wiring emitted an enchanted glow, as if she had replaced the crystal with a piece of the moon. Even in her pocket, Kiya could feel the warmth of Selene’s touch within it.
She took another inhale and let out a sharp exhale. “*I’d like it if you were next to me, Artemis*.”
***I was going to be, either way. Kiki**, **You aren’t getting rid of me that easily**, **I care about Neron as well**.”
Oh, how could I forget”?”
“**And as I love Onyx, I do love Neron as well**. **I want him to be safe as much as you do**. However, I do believe that there will be more challenges in store once the ritual is completed**.”