Page 51

“Yes, but you and Della both wanted the bond now, and she was determined to change fate again. So when you were killed, you didn’t actually die—well, I guess you did…

kind of. Your physical body died, but your soul never did.

She took your soul and immediately gave it to the next family expecting a boy, so you wouldn’t die.

One, because your siblings were never going to get a chance to break the curse.

And two, she knew that if you were created under normal circumstances, the two of you would be destined to be together.

“And she was right. She didn’t know if it would work or what you’d look like, but you came back to her exactly the same, except this time, as her mate—the way it was always supposed to be. And it gave her the chance to remove the bond and have you choose her."

I stood up and walked around the tiny cabin, thinking of everything she had ever done for us.

"That was the real reason behind her forcing my rejection so I could choose her. I changed fate too,” I whispered as I looked up at Abe.

“Sara was supposed to be my mate. There was a bond between us, and I cut it out of me.”

“What?” He looked at me.

“When Holden met Sara, he brought her to the house, and there was a bond between the two of us. I was not interested in the slightest, though, and she didn’t seem to feel anything either.

So, I fucking cut that shit out of my chest. The next day, I saw Della for the first time and noticed she was following Holden, looking very confused.

“Now I’m assuming it's because she thought it was me and was disappointed that we had a bond, but she didn’t feel anything in it. But when I saw her and talked to her for the first time, it was clear that we both still felt what we did before, even if both of us were pretending not to remember.”

“You aren’t supposed to be able to cut out mate bonds or break them.” Abe frowned. “Both of you did that, and I’m not sure how. Maybe the heavens helped. Della is a favorite of theirs."

Abram began pacing around the room, and we could tell that he was thinking hard. He paced for a long moment before he finally stopped and looked at us.

“Your parents have been collecting gods and goddesses in the stars because they originally promised those gods one of their children as a mate when they took over Elloryon. Della learned of it when she died and went to the stars. They promised her a mate, and she went along with it so they would share their plans with her. They still do not know who Della really is. I’m not sure what they have planned now that Della sealed your siblings’ souls in Hell for good, but her supposed mate is no longer here, so I don’t know what they plan. ”

“Her supposed mate?” I asked. “My parents know she is mated to me.”

Abe frowned at me.

“They wanted Della to be mated to Mateo. Well, your mother did.”

“Yes, she told me,” I said, disgusted.My eyes flashed red in my rage. There was no fucking way I would have ever agreed to that.

“There is another thing, though. Your parents rejected their mate bond when they became stars, so I think they were also looking for new mates.” Abe rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Your mother might have wanted Della for Mateo, but your father wants Della as his mate."

I did not move. I did not breathe. I stared at Abe with a look of complete disgust.

“Whoa, the plot thickens.” Ezra sighed. “Fuck, man, that is some sort of betrayal, and after everything he has already done. It’s sick.” He shook his head.

I turned to him with my red eyes pulsing. “Your commentary is not helping me calm down.”

“Sorry.” He threw his hands in the air.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my wrath, but I was truly about to fucking lose my mind. How fucking dare he think Della would ever go for him? Unless he was going to kill me so he could have her.

“I’m going to kill him,” I growled.

“Actually, you aren’t,” Abe sighed.

“Della will kill all of them. It is part of her fate. She was always destined to seal the souls of your siblings in Hell and be the reason the stars fell from the sky. And once she does, there will no longer be stars. If that happens, then when a god dies, they will immediately be reborn.

“Besides, the stars’ manipulation with the fate of Elloryon is starting to have negative impacts on everything.

It is why gods' and goddesses' mating bonds always seem to come with complicated circumstances. Thea and Cassius, Mikel and Remiah, Ezra and Farris, you and Della—all of you have been through a ridiculous amount of shit. It isn’t supposed to be that way.”

“So, this entire time Della has been planning this?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Why did she make you an old man?” Ezra asked.

Abe began laughing.

“I was hiding from the stars. They had trapped me with red lily powder, and Della freed me. She used magic to help me, but she also needed to make sure that no one could use me. I have the power to see everyone’s fates.

I can change them at my will; however, it has consequences when I do.

My power allows me to know the outcome of nearly every being. I am dangerous.”

“Nearly everyone?” Thea asked.

“I cannot see mine or my mate's fate” He frowned. “And sometimes the other old gods’ fates are muddled as well.”

Ezra stared at him for a long moment. “So, you know who I end up with, how many children, and everything?”

“Yes.” Abe’s lips twitched as he stared at Ezra.

“Tell me.”

“No.” He narrowed his eyes. “Telling someone too much of their fate is dangerous. Look at Della; she hunted down her mates, who were not alive yet and did not let them be born; she died; she went to Hell; she has altered everything in her life because she had one vision after meeting Haden. No, not meeting him— seeing him.”

Abe looked at me and smiled. “Would you like to know what she saw?”

“You’ll tell him but not me? That isn’t fair!” Ezra groaned.

“It was her vision. It wasn’t mine, but she was correct in what she saw.” He looked at me and waited for me to say yes or no.

“Tell me.”

“You and her, married, with four children, happy and very much in love. It was enough for her to put herself in harm's way to save you. She saw a sliver of her happiness with you and decided it was worth everything. No price would be too much.”

“This is horse shit. I want to know something.” Ezra frowned. “I’m always left out.” Ezra was pouting like a child as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“You have seven children.” Abe smiled as Ezra’s face paled. “Happy?”

Ezra nodded. "With who?"

Abe's eyes narrowed at Ezra. "You know who."

"Is it in this life or another?" Ezra muttered softly.

"That is not something I will tell you, Ezra. It will need to play out on its own."

Ezra nodded, but I could see that knowing it was with Farris made him happy. He didn't care if he had to wait a lifetime for her. To him, it was worth it.

“Would you two like to know how many children—since I have told these two something about their futures?” Abe looked at Thea and Cassius.

They looked at each other and smiled before nodding.

“You have six children. Three sets of twins, congratulations.” He smiled at them. “And may the heavens help you because they are handfuls.” He laughed loudly.

Thea’s face paled, and Cassius grinned.

“I'll have to add more rooms to the house,” Cassius chuckled when Thea looked at him. There was excitement and pure terror in her eyes as Cassius whispered something to her. Then they filled with tears before Cassius pulled her forward and kissed her.

“Can we know anything else?" Thea asked eagerly.

Abe stared at her and smiled softly. He looked around and sighed like he wanted to share what he knew.

“Two of your children will be fated mates with each other,” he said, making all of us stop smiling and look at him.

“Whose?” Cassius asked.

"One of Thea and Cassius’... and one of yours,” he said, looking at me.

My chest squeezed tightly when Cassius smiled brightly at me. Thea was silently crying as she smiled at me too. Della would be very happy to hear about that.

Abram suddenly stilled, and his eyes glowed white. We all watched silently as he seemed to be having a vision. After a minute, he blinked, and his eyes were back to their normal color.

“I have seen it. I must signal Della that we are ready.” Without hesitating, he raised his arms, and a beam of light left him, shooting up to the heavens, so brightly that I closed my eyes. Abe’s star mist wrapped around us, and we were whisked away.