Page 56

Lilith

I ’ve only been asleep for a little while when I open my eyes, and I am hovering over my body. I look down at myself and my mates sleeping peacefully. I smile and turn around when I hear my mother’s voice.

“Lilith,” she says.

“Mom! You’re here,” I say as I hug her tightly.

“Of course I am here,” she says. “I wanted to give you some time to process things.”

“You mean my mates raping me,” I say flatly. “That was you? Well… your body.”

“That’s not me, honey. The only reason I’m telling you this is because I don’t want you to think that I would ever do anything to you,” she says tearfully. “I don’t want you to think that there’s hope for me only to get hurt.”

“What’s going on, Mom? What do you mean?”

“I’m… not technically dead,” she says cautiously.

“What do you mean… Are you alive? Can you come back?” I ask .

“ Technically, yes. Brion Morwen had a rogue witch separate my soul from my body so the witch could take over. I’ve been just… floating around.”

“Why would he do that?” I ask .

“He wanted a sex zombie, basically. With that collar on, the rogue is useless. She is just a shell. That allowed Morwen to do whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted with my body, including having the rogue witch inside do his bidding. I try not to check in on my body. It just ends up making me angry. When he died, I went to my body and saw that it was locked away. I assume you did that?”

“Leli did,” I say, sniffing back tears. “I… I have to find a way to get her out of your body so you can come back to us.”

“Baby… Although there is a way, I don’t want you to get wrapped up in trying to save me. I accepted my fate a long time ago,” she says, cupping my cheek to wipe my tears.

“I have to try,” I say. “Although… When I do get you back, there might be some drama.”

“Oh?” she asks .

“Uhm… Dad has a new mate,” I say slowly.

“Ah. Brenna,” she smiles . “I was hoping they would find their way to one another.”

“So, that’s not a problem? Dad would have two mates,” I say .

“Sweetie… Before you were born, your father and I had a relationship with Brenna. She wasn’t our mate, but she may as well have been. For your father, he was more physical than emotional, but his mating with her means they have an emotional connection now.”

“So, no girl fights?” I ask .

“No,” she laughs. “But please don’t lose yourself trying to figure this out. It’s okay if you can’t or don’t want to.”

“I’m going to forget that you said that,” I say, giving her a deadpan expression. “I’m going to get Grandma and Leli to help me. I don’t want anyone else to know until I have a solid answer on if I can do this.”

“I love you, Lilith. Please don’t be hard on yourself if it’s not possible,” she says softly.

“I love you too, Mom,” I smile . “I saw you there. Did you see…?”

“Yeah, baby… I saw,” Mom says . “I’m sorry that happened. I don’t even know what to say.”

“They think it’s their fault,” I say. “I try to reassure them, but I don’t think they believe me.”

“They’ll get there, just like you will. You all experienced a lot of trauma.”

“Yeah,” I say . “I hope you get a chance to meet them. They’re wonderful.”

“If your father hasn’t killed them, he must adore them,” she laughs . “I know you’re dying to go wake Leli and your grandmother, so I’ll go. I’ll come see you again soon. It takes a lot of energy to show up, so I’ll have to give it some time.”

“Okay,” I say as I hug her . “I’ll bring you back. I promise.”

My eyes flutter open, and I smile. I slowly slip out of bed and slip on my robe before going to Leli. I lightly knock on the door, and Vash opens it. “Hey,” he says sleepily. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I just need Leli,” I say.

“Uh. Okay. She’s sleeping,” he says as he steps to the side to let me in. I go to her side of the bed and gently shake her.

“Leli,” I say.

“Hmm?” she says as she forces her eyes open. When she sees me, she jumps up. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I’m sorry I woke you, I just need your help.”

“With what? It’s one in the morning,” she asks.

“Remember the woman you took to lock up for me?” I ask, and she nods. “That’s Mom. Well… her body at least.”

“What? Have you lost your marbles? Ashara is dead, baby,” she says softly.

“I put an illusion spell on her because I didn’t want anyone to see until I knew it was going on. Mom came to me again in my sleep like before and explained,” I say.

“Well… Don’t leave me hanging here.”

“She said that Morwen had a rogue witch separate her soul from her body. So, while the rogue witch has been in her body, her soul has just been kind of floating around. The collar she had on basically just turned her into a zombie so that Morwen could do whatever he wanted to her,” I explain.

“Holy fuck,” Leli says as she stands up. “So we could get her back?”

“Yeah. I suspect it’s going to take a lot of magic, so I’m gonna need help. I’m also going to wake up Grandma to see if she will help us.”

“So Dad…”

“Has two mates,” I laugh. “She told me in simple terms that they were all together before I was born. Apparently, they were a little throuple.”

“Oh, that’s cute!” she says. “Let’s go get Grandma. Vash, you wanna come?”

“And break up the lady party? No. I think I’ll sleep,” he says before kissing her. “I love you. Don’t get possessed by a rogue witch. If you do, it’ll be weird when I still want to fuck you.”

“I give you permission to turn me into your zombie sex slave,” she says with a grin.

“Mmm. Deal,” he grins and kisses her again.

“Anyway,” I say. “If the guys wake up, lie.”

“Lie? How?” he asks.

“I don’t know. Say I had a breakdown, so Leli and I went for a walk. I don’t know. We will be at the library. Where did you all put her?”

“City Hall Jail,” she says. “She’s off by herself.”

Vash flops down on the bed as we open the bedroom door only to come face-to-face with Thuly. I gasp and jump back, so he goes up on his hind paws to lick my face. “Ah. Thank you for the kisses. You can’t sneak up like that, buddy. My heart will explode,” I coo at him as I scratch behind his ears.

“Let’s go so Uncle Vash can sleep,” Leli says, joining in on the scratches. He chitters and purrs at us as we step out of the room.

We walk downstairs and go to Grandma’s room only to find her awake. Before we can knock on the door, she opens it. “What happened?” she asks.

“What?” I ask.

“I woke up with a feeling that you needed me. Is everything okay?” she asks.

“Can you come to help us with something? I ask.

“Of course,” she smiles. “Let me get some shoes on.”

Once she has her shoes on, we go outside, and I turn to her. “Mom is alive,” I say bluntly.

“I see,” she says.

“What?” I ask.

“I know Mazvyn said he felt her death, but I never felt like she died. How do you know if she’s alive or not?”

“Because she was the witch that made the guys rape me,” I say, and she raises an eyebrow at me. I explain to her what Mom told me. “I’m hoping that you know a way to get the rogue out so she can return to her body.”

“We need her necklace, but it is possible. It will take all of us,” she says. “Where is The Book of Shadows.”

“In the library,” I say.

“Good. We can do it there,” she says. “I think that everything we need is at the library anyway. We just need her body there. Leli, can you retrieve her while Lilith helps me set up?”

“I can do that,” Leli says.

Grandma and I go to the library while Leli takes the car into town. We work in silence, setting everything up. Grandma only talks when she wants me to grab something for her. Eventually, Leli gets to the library with Mom’s body. I take the illusion spell off of her, making Leli and Grandma gasp.

“Oh, sweet heavens,” Grandma says as she tears up.

“Thank you for helping me. I know it’s late,” I say. “I just… I want to see her as someone other than who hurt me. Even though I know it wasn’t actually her, it still hurts.”

“I know, I’m glad you came to me. I’ll always be here for you, day or night,” Grandma says.

“Okay. This is sweet and everything, but the zombie is staring at me,” Leli says. “Can we rid Ashara of this rogue bitch?”

“Yeah,” Grandma laughs.

Grandma turns to her daughter’s body and snaps her fingers. She falls to the floor. We move her to lie on her back. She makes a circle of salt big enough so that we can sit around her body. Grandma lights draegunblud incense and sage, letting the smoke fill the room. Leli and I light candles and place them at the four cardinal directions of the salt ring. Grandma places a lapis lazuli on Mom’s throat, as it represents spirit and truth. A small apophyllite crystal is placed in the center of her forehead. I have my necklace on, as do Grandma and Mom. Leli has a necklace that has her mother’s family symbol on it. We all hold hands and focus on imagining the negative spirit leaving Mom’s body as Mom’s spirit reenters. Her body begins to glow a soft, hazy blue as we sit in complete silence and picture this transition on repeat. We feel the shift in the room only to look down and see that Mom’s eyes are open. She looks around the room, almost confused.

“Ashara,” Grandma says softly as she removes the items off her throat and head.

“Momma,” she says tearfully as she sits up. She hasn’t seen Leli or me, so we don’t move. I can’t imagine how confused she feels right now.

“Oh, sweetie,” Grandma says as she hugs her. After a second, she sits back and cups her face. “I missed you so much, Ashara.”

“I tried to stop him, Momma. That damn collar blocked my powers before I could,” she explains between sniffles.

“I know, Ashara. You’re a fighter. You never gave up,” Grandma says with tears streaking her cheeks. Mom glances over and sees Leli. It is taking her a second to get a hold of her surroundings.

“Leli?” Mom asks. Leli nods with tears also running down her face. Mom grabs her and hugs her tightly. “God, you’re all grown up now.”

“You should see Bolt and Volley now,” she laughs through her tears. “They have mates now.”

“So do you,” I say.

“Oh, right. I have a mate,” Leli says. Mom pulls away and turns to me. I realize she knew I was here all along but saved me for last, knowing she’d be overwhelmed with emotion. She presses her palm over her mouth to keep her audible cries in before I pull her into a hug.

“I told you I’d bring you back, Mom,” I say tearfully. “You deserve a happy ending too.”

“Thank you so much, Lilith,” she says, pulling away to look at me. “Gods, you girls are so grown up.”

“You want to go to the house and see everyone?” I ask.

“They’re here?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “The only one who knows what we’ve been up to is Vash, Leli’s mate. My mates know it was your body that came into that room, but with everything going on I think they forgot, or assume I am ignoring it.”

“Your brothers too?” she asks.

“Yep, and their mates. Dad, Aunt Sana, Striker’s daughter Sylvie Brenna, and Freya are here as well,” I tell her, and she smiles. “It’s not even four in the morning, but I’m going to wake them when we get back.”

“They’ll be more than thrilled,” Grandma says as she stands up. Leli and I stand before helping Mom up.

“It’s weird being back in my body,” she says. “At least I’m still hot.” We all burst out laughing at her light humor of the situation.

“Come on,” I say, hugging her. “Let’s go wake everyone.”

When we get back to the house, I put the illusion spell back on Mom so we can get everyone sat down first. Leli goes to get Vash while Grandma gets Dad, Brenna, and Aunt Sana. I go down the hall and start with Striker and Maple. I knock on their door before pushing it open.

“You okay, Sis?” Striker asks as he sits up and rubs his eyes.

“I’m perfect,” I say with a smile. “Get up. I have a surprise for everyone.” I turn on the light, and Maple groans. “Sorry. I promise it’s worth it.”

“It’s so bright,” Maple mumbles with her eyes squeezed shut.

“You have lost your mind, Lilith. It’s the middle of the night,” Striker complains.

“I swear to the gods, it’s worth it,” I say. “I’m going to wake up Volis and Kira.”

“Wacko,” he grumbles under his breath but stands up.

“And put pants on,” I laugh and walk out of the room. I go to Volis’ room next and repeat the process of knocking before pushing the door open.

“You better be dying if you are waking me at four in the morning,” Volis says from the dark. I laugh and flip the light on. “Oh, you little shit. What’s wrong with you?” Volis pulls the blanket over his face, and Kira giggles from under the blanket.

“Morning, sunshine,” I say. “Get up. I have a surprise.”

“It better be good,” Volis says, annoyed.

“Oh, hush. Ya big grump,” Kira says as she sits up. “I like surprises. Am I invited?”

“Always,” I smile. “You’re a part of this family too.”

“You woke everyone?” Volis says as he sits up and throws the covers off of himself.

“My Gods, what is up with you and Striker not wearing clothing? And why is it necessary to do that?” I say as I toss a random pair of pajama bottoms from the floor at him.

“You woke me up in the middle of the night. You get what you get,” Volis says. “Also, you’ve got to let…”

“Don’t finish that,” I laugh. “Hurry up.”

When I leave the room, Kira ditches Volis and walks out with me.

“Is it good?” she asks.

“Very. There will undoubtedly be tears,” I say as Striker and Maple come out of their room. Volis steps out behind us, and they go to the living room while I go upstairs to get my mates.

When I get in the room, I turn the light on and go to the bed. “What in the world are you doing,” Daemon asks as he grabs me and pulls me on top of him.

“I need you guys to get up,” I say with a smile as I sit up, straddling him.

“Oh… I’ll get up,” Kael mumbles, and Callum chuckles.

“Well, that’s fine and all but you’ll need to come downstairs.”

“Come downstairs you say,” Daemon says, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

“You perverts,” I laugh. “My family is downstairs. We woke everyone up.”

“Who is we?” Callum asks. “How long have you been up?”

“Uh... Since a little after one, I think. Leli and Grandma helped wake everyone,” I say. “Get up, and after this, you can come wherever you want.”

“Deal,” Kael says as he gets up without hesitation. I go to move, and Daemon pulls me down to kiss me.

“You are a crazy lady,” he jokes before letting me up.

We all go to the living room, where everyone is waiting. “Who’s the chick?” Volis asks.

“It’s a spell so you can’t see who she is yet,” Leli says.

“We wanted to get you all in one spot first. We will have Sylvie meet her tomorrow,” Grandma says.

“Ready?” I ask Mom. She smiles and nods at me, so I turn back to everyone. “So… There is a massive part of last week that I left out.”

“What?” Kael asks.

“ Mom ,” I say to my mates through our mind link.

“Oh shit,” Daemon says happily.

“Yeah,” I laugh when my mates suddenly get excited. “So… I mentioned how a witch did some sort of spell to force the guys to hurt me.”

“Is this the part where we murder them or something?” Volis grumbles.

“Son, give her a second,” Dad laughs.

“So, I was accurate about that. It was a witch, but the soul in the body didn’t match who the body belonged to. Long story short, Grandma, Leli, and I were able to remove the intruder and allow the owner of the body to come back.”

“So now the right soul is in the right body?” Brenna asks.

“Yes,” I confirm. I glance at everyone, and while my mates look positively giddy, everyone else is confused. “I can say with certainty that the right soul is attached to this body now.”

“Well, let’s see who it is then,” Striker says.

I look at Mom, who is already crying, and smile. “Take a deep breath.” She nods and takes a deep breath, so I snap my fingers to let the spell disintegrate.

“I don’t understand,” Volis says.

“Yeah, you do,” I say. “You just don’t want to believe it.”

“Mom?” Striker stays, his voice cracking. He is the first to stand. Mom tries to keep her composure, but when Striker finally accepts what he is seeing and wraps her in a hug, she falls apart. Volis comes up and waits for Mom to turn and hug him next. She reaches up and cups their faces as they cry.

“My baby boys,” she says tearfully as she pulls them both into a hug again.

“I can’t believe it,” Striker says as he pulls back to look at her, then me. He steps to me and pulls me closer to hug me.

“Oh, don’t do that. You’re going to make me cry,” I say tearfully as he squeezes me.

“Thank you,” he whispers to me.

“I did it for her,” I say, “And, Dad.”

“He’s just staring at her,” Volis says as he hugs me next. Mom is hugging Aunt Sana and Brenna, leaving Dad for last. He is stuck in a state of shock.

“He just needs time,” I say. “Worth waking up in the middle of the night for?”

“Yes,” Volis says as he kisses my forehead.

We turn back to Mom, and she goes over to sit on the coffee table in front of Dad. “I felt you die,” he says with a shaky voice.

“I know,” Mom says simply. “That was my soul leaving my body, but my body was still alive.”

“I prayed for this moment every night for twenty-three years, and now that it’s happened, I can’t wrap my head around it,” he admits.

Mom reaches up and wipes away his tears as they fall, and her touch breaks him out of his daze. He grabs her and pulls her into his lap to hold her as close as he can as they both fall into more tears. They’re both reliving the pain of their separation.

“Fuck, I hate crying,” I say as I wipe my face.

“You did well, sweetie,” Daemon says as he hugs me.

“I’m just glad it worked. I was afraid we’d mess something up and never get her back,” I say.

“Ashara,” Dad says. “I need to tell you…”

“I know, Maz. I know you and Brenna are mates also,” she says, cupping his cheek. “I always told you that I wanted you two to be closer, so I guess I got my wish. Now you’re stuck with the both of us.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Dad says before kissing her softly. Mom gets up to go over to Kira, Maple, and Vash while Dad comes over and hugs me.

“I don’t even know what to say,” he says.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up until I knew for sure. Mom came to me in my dreams again and explained everything, so I got Leli and Grandma to help me.”

Dad holds me for a while longer before pulling back and wiping my tears away as Mom comes over. “I wish we had been able to see you grow up,” Dad says.

“But now we have all the time in the world. Brenna can tell you how much of a pain in the ass I was,” I say with a smile.

“I wouldn’t say a pain in the ass,” Brenna says. “More so… spirited.”

“She comes by it naturally,” Dad says, and Mom playfully hits his arm.

“It’s all that demon in her,” she jokes, and Dad laughs and hugs her.

“Well, you all catch up,” I say. “I’m going to bed. We can all talk more after awhile.”

“Yeah, you’ve been up for a while,” Leli says.

“I love you guys,” I say. “Leli. Grandma. Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Grandma says, hugging me. “Go rest.”

Mom takes a moment to hug my mates. “Thank you for taking care of my little girl,” she says. “You three are the best thing I could have ever hoped for her to find in this lifetime.”

“She’s strong, just like her mom,” Daemon says with a smile.

We talk for a bit longer before I go upstairs with my mates. I go to crawl back into bed, but Kael pulls me to lie on top of him. I lay my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. Daemon and Callum rest their hands on my back. The steady rhythm of Kael’s heartbeat lulls me to sleep, surrounded by my mates, my three kings.