Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Daughters of the Moon Goddess by Neener Beener Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Katherine’s POV

“Katherine, things are getting worse. How much longer do we need to wait?” My sister Amari whines as she paces behind me. “I’m well aware of the situation, Amari. We have to have patience. We can’t just yank her away from her life and demand that she save us all.” Amari stops pacing and looks into the monitor at the young woman cleaning the counter of a bakery, then sighs, “Why not?” “You know the rules. Just because we are goddesses, doesn’t mean we can do anything we please. She can’t know anything unless the situation is dire.” “I hate the rules, sister. Besides, this is dire. The Dark has already killed one guardian. How many more have to die? All of them? Do you think we’re next? And what about all the sisters in our charge? What if they’re in danger too,” she shakes her head with worry while asking rapidfire questions she knows I don’t have the answers to. Amari doesn’t look away from the screen while she speaks.

I notice her eyes turning glassy with unshed tears. I feel my nerves turning raw at her outburst “She shouldn’t have to go through this every lifetime and we shouldn’t have to bear witness. Never remembering who she is? Having to sit back and watch her suffer alone? It’s cruel and you know i t,” Amari finally sighs, stepping away from the monitor. “First of all, Cordell wasn’t just a guardian, he was my mate. You don’t think this hurts me as much as anyone else?” I snap at her with a growl. I push my chair back roughly, knocking her into the wall behind me. “Kathrine, you know it’s not-,” she tries to interrupt. I raise my hand, stopping her in her tracks. “Amari, unless you know of some other way, one we haven’t found in the last five thousand years, then we have no choice but to stand back and bear witness to her life without interruption. When the time is right, we will know, and we can summon her. Until then, we need to wait.” I throw my arms out to the sides as I walk away backwards from her. “So quit whining about it. We need to give Tessa and Alexandros a chance to stop The Dark. For her protection and ours.” I put my hands on my hips and glare at her. As usual, the talented healer’s emotions are pinned to her sleeve. She lowers her soft blue eyes, letting her long auburn hair fall into her face. I immediately regret the tone of my voice when I see her reaction. “I’m sorry, Amari. My temper got the best of me.” I sigh in defeat and reach for her hand, but she turns away from me instead. “I’m going for a run. Mind link me if you get news of Cora and Dante’s whereabouts or any of the Feral for that matter.” I throw open the door to my office and sulk away. Away from Amari, away from the drama of my family, away from the sadness I feel when I think about everything I shared with Cordell in this house.

The housekeeping omegas bow as I pass them in the hallways of the regal estate. The beautiful home has been in our family for over three centuries, but with the talented housekeeping staff and our abilities, we are able to keep it looking practically brand new. “Have a blessed day, Luna,” the staff all say as I pass by, with their eyes to the ground. I internally groan. I hate the formalities that come with my position and I wish they would treat me like everyone else. Being the oldest of fifty sisters is burdensome. For once, I would like freedom from responsibility A warm breeze and the salty sea air greet me as I step outside. I take a deep, cleansing breath and pull off my dress, placing it in the basket by the door. “Alright, Seraph, let’s blow off some steam,” I say to my wolf. “Katherine, you never have to tell me twice,” she purrs in response. I feel my bones start to crack and elongate. My skin stretches as my body becomes larger and my blonde hair becomes flaxen colored fur. Seraph shakes herself out and bolts for the woods. 2 ma We run deeper and deeper until we come to a small clearing with a stream. I shift back to my human form and I put on a dress from the basket next to the stream. I sit on a rock, dipping my feet into the cool water, and think about my mate. I look in the water at my reflection. My gold colored eyes stare back at me. As hard as I try to hide it, the sadness is still fresh in my features. I close my eyes and try to imagine my mate’s pine and sandalwood scent. The memory is so strong. We had over two hundred years together in this life, but my imagination isn’t the same as the real thing. I know I will see him in our next lifetime, since our human and wolf spirits are eternally connected. But not having him with me for the rest of this life still hurts. I remind myself that it’s just another part of the life of the Menae. Cordell and I lead the group of nine Menae, known as the Maven. Not just in this lifetime, during all of our spirits’ journeys. The eleven of us have a natural talent for various aspects of knowledge, politics, business, and money. It helps us maintain all of our business ventures and helps finance anything our large family may need. Since our memories and experiences follow us from lifetimet o lifetime, our experiences almost exceed our bank accounts. Almost. Cordell was in Milan on business when I felt our mate bond break. Just like it has a dozen times before, it felt like a bottomless pit ripped open in my heart. It pulled me in and didn’t let go until it destroyed me.

I didn’t know what happened to him, just that he was gone and I felt like I might die too. Amari and her mate, Jasen, healed me. Amid the blinding pain and agony, I felt their warmth and love spread through me. Filling the dark, gaping hole inside me a little. While they took the physical pain away, the emotional pain was just as bad. There is nothing a healer can do to take emotional pain away. I barely left my room for a

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month before our sister, Tessa, dragged me out of bed by my hair and made me go back to work. She knew I needed to keep my mind busy to get through the loss of my mate. While she was right about making me get back to work, she didn’t have to pull my hair. At the end of the day, we are sisters, and you learn these sorts of nuances about each other when you know each other for over seven thousand years. Tessa and her mate, Alexandros, lead nine of our sisters we call Frouros. They are our sentinel. Some of the most fearsome warriors that have ever walked the earth, they provide security and protection for all the Menae. When they found out Cordell died, I didn’t even have to ask. They immediately set out to find out what happened. They worked with the local authorities to find Cordell. His body was in an alley. His throat was slit, and he was missing an eye, his liver, and his heart. They checked the surveillance footage from a bank security camera only to find his murderer was a well dressed petite woman.

The investigators promised to keep searching until they found her and brought her to justice, but we already knew it would never happen. When Tessa showed me the video, we both knew right away, the woman in the video was our sister Leticia. 1 Leticia is one of the nine sisters who is part of the group we call Mavri Magea or The Dark. She doesn’t lead the faction, but she has been power hungry for thousands of years and was finally bold enough to set something into motion that could not be reversed by murdering Cordell. I could only hope our mother gives us a sign to summon their leader before too much damage is done. If Leticia is out there hunting down guardians. Then we are in uncharted territory.

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