Misty
“You need to chill,” I hiss, giving Cole a nudge in the hipbone.
He adjusts my duffle bag on his shoulder and shoots daggers down at me before clearing his throat and rapping his knuckles on the front door of my grandparents’ beach house in Maatua.
It’s pouring down rain. Thunder snaps in the distance, sending a boom rattling over the nearby shore just beyond the house. I breathe in the familiar scent of salt and ozone and say a short, sweet prayer that the next three days aren’t a total shitshow.
Normally, I’d waltz right in. I lived here for over a year, for Goddess’ sake. It’s practically mine.
It’s been a little over a week since the war. We spent that week in Serpentia, sharing my old dorm room, while Cole dealt with his forces and the Alphas clambering for a shot at the three open Alpha King positions up for grabs. I could have gone back to Moonrise, or Crescent Falls, I suppose… but there’s no way in hell I’m letting Cole out of my sight ever again.
Now, it’s Solstice Eve, and my family is gathering like we normally would have… in Maatua. At my grandparents’ mansion.
Tears sting my eyes for a second. Just a second. Grandma wouldn’t have wanted anyone to cry for them. Us gathering, celebrating this holiday together like we have for decades… that was her dream and the reason she sacrificed herself. We’re all together again.
The door swings open to reveal my mother wearing an apron, her cheeks dusted with flour and her hair falling out of the claw-clip fixed to the top of her head.
She beams at me, launching into my arms. “I thought you weren’t getting here until tomorrow morning!”
“Kenna brought us here, but she’s making a stop at the castle to see Poppy and the family.” I gasp. She’s squeezing the life out of me. She pulls away, dusting flour from my blue blouse. “Sorry, sweetheart. Oh!” She looks up at Cole and gives him the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. “Wow, you are very tall!”
“Uhm, thank you,” Cole replies, clearing his throat. “I’m Cole–”
“I know.” She breathes then says under her breath–as if to herself, “Poor thing.” She turns, beckoning us into the house. “Come on, then. Get out of the rain. There’s wine in the kitchen Cole, if you’d like a glass. Or… perhaps something stronger?” Her eyes are pleading, like she thinks he’s going to need a stiff drink for whatever tonight has in store for him.
But Cole doesn’t notice the look she’s giving him. He glances around in awe at the pale wood finishes, the white carpets and walls. It’s a very modern home–a sharp contrast to the dormitory we’ve been sleeping in for the past week. Mom apparently packed all of her Solstice decorations and brought them here because the house erupts in color and sparkling lights, and Solstice music drifts toward us from the kitchen, mingling with a few voices from within.
“You two will be staying in Misty’s old room, just down there.” Mom points to the left where a hallway and a row of doors stretches just before the house opens to the kitchen and dining room. “She has the best views of the beach.”
“Cole can sleep in the den,” Ryan says sarcastically as he walks down the stairs holding two bottles of Grandpa’s best whiskey. “Seeing as they’re not married yet.” He winks at me.
I throw him a glare. “I’m already pregnant, you dickhead!”
Cole’s face goes a bright pink, but Ryan rolls his eyes, motioning toward the kitchen with one of the bottles. “Cole? Drink? You look like you could use one.”
Mom heaves a heavy sigh, giving Cole an apologetic smile. “Go ahead. I’ll help Misty unpack.”
I can tell the idea of joining what looks to be Ryatt, Sydney, and Ryan for a drink isn’t appealing to Cole right now. I don’t blame him, honestly. It’s not like we’ve been able to sit down as a family and talk about my mate, our relationship, and everything that happened this fall and early winter.
But to my surprise, Cole hands my duffle bag to Mom and strides past us, falling in step with Ryan.
“He’s very handsome, Misty,” Mom says, smiling wistfully.
“I know.” I smile, unable to help it. The past week has been heaven as much as it’s been stressful and uncertain. With the war behind us, and Richard dead… we have a shot. We have a life to look forward to, and I’m getting to know my mate outside of the circumstances that brought us together, and that’s been… wonderful. Shocking, confusing, and utterly blissful.
I follow Mom to my old room. It smells the same–like salty ocean air and lilacs. It’s a simple room with just a bed, a dresser, and a desk, but I did spend a little over a year here before going to Tarsian for college. Magazines sit on the edge of the dresser. A bulletin board hangs over the desk littered with pictures of old friends and ticket stubs from concerts. It’s clean but otherwise untouched.
My heart begins to quake as memories of living here with my grandparents hurtle to the forefront of my mind.
It still hasn’t hit me that they’re gone. I’m not sure it ever will.
I pull some old clothes from the dresser, shimmying into a pair of cotton shorts and a crewneck sweater with little evergreen trees wrapped in sparkling lights woven on its surface. It’s normally warm in Maatua, but with the breeze coming off the water tonight, and the rain in the forecast… it’s a bit chilly.
“I’ve always loved that sweater.” Mom smiles, tucking her hands in the pocket of her apron.
I roll my lower lip between my teeth. “Does everyone hate Cole?”
“No, sweetheart, of course not.”
“Are you completelysure?”
She lays her hands on my shoulders, leaning in to say, “Don’t forget that all of us found our mates in… strange ways. I mean, Ryatt and Ella…” She blows out her breath. “I’ve told you about what happened here, in Maatua, right?”
I nod, thinking of the story of Ryatt meeting the family and being there for the birth of my brothers. He and my dad had almost dueled over Aunt Ella, but a week in paradise seems to change everyone’s perspective on things.
Funny how that works.
“And,” she says, reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ears, “Your dad thought my name was Jenny for nearly a month when I first came to live at the castle. I didn’t know how to tell him otherwise, so I rolled with it. It could be worse, you know.”
I smirk, tilting my head toward the door. “I should make sure they’re not killing him right now.”
“I should check on the cake,” she says, wincing.
“Where’s Dad?”
“He’s upstairs in Grandpa’s office. He’s got quite a bit to sort through. Your grandfather was a bit of a hoarder in his old age–mostly books, paperwork.” She sighs as we walk slowly down the hallway, side by side. “We’ve decided to hold off on a memorial for a few weeks, seeing as the royal army from Crescent Falls is still returning from Eastonia and… we have a large family and an even larger group of friends who will want to be there, but I’ve spoken with the High Priestess, and the memorial will be held at the royal temple. She’s putting it together for us.”
“It… it doesn’t feel like they’re gone.”
“I know,” she whispers, smoothing her hand over my hair. “One day, it will, and it will be hard but… they’ll always be with us. Especially here, when we gather as a family in this house they built for us, for this reason.”
“Reason being… burning cakes in the oven?” I giggle as the smoke alarm blares.
Mom curses under her breath and hurries around the corner, her shriek of alarm followed by Ryan’s boisterous laugh and Ryatt saying he’ll see if the bakery in town is still open.
I settle next to Cole at the kitchen table. Sarah and Kenna, who’d taken the kids to visit Poppy for the day, return, and the quiet evening turns to madness with five children under the age of five darting around, trashing the living room and the den within minutes of pulling out their toys–our old toys, actually.
I spent every Solstice here as a child. Brie plays with a doll I named… Steve, even though it’s a girl. I watch her bounce around with the tattered thing in her arms, her eyes full of sparkling lights and the magic of the darkest night of the year.
Cole wraps his arm around my shoulders, chatting amiably with Ryatt, who tells us stories about Jaxon. Eventually, Ella joins us, dusty from working all day in her father’s study, and chimes in with her own tales of Alpha King Jaxon. Cole warms to them, his eyes changing from cautiously polite to… grateful. They know a totally different side of his father than he did, and they paint that picture for him, filling in the gaps of his memory.
Aviva joins us an hour later, just as dinner’s served up buffet style, all of us clambering for the best seats at the long dining room table. She’s going through it during this pregnancy, that’s for damn sure. She rubs her eyes and fixes a small plate of food before plopping down beside her mate with a long, exhausted sigh.
So far, I have no symptoms, but I know that’ll change any day now.
“So,” Sydney says between bites of prime rib, mashed potatoes with thick gravy, and an array of sides and garnishes, “When are you moving back to Crescent Falls?”
Cole answers before I can, which is great, because I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen next. I’m just along for the ride, and for the first time in my life, I’m okay with that.
“I’ve been in contact with the hospital I used to work at. They have room for me to come back and finish my remaining years in residency, so once everything in Tarsian is patched up, I’ll be free to return. But that’s only if Misty wants to finish her degree at Wellington or one of the city colleges in Crescent Falls. Celestoria has a… fantastic history program, so that’s also an option for us.”
Suddenly, all eyes are on me, which I don’t necessarily appreciate. “Uh, yeah. I should probablydecide what I’m doing next,” I grumble around the bite of food I just forked into my mouth. Honestly, I haven’t given much thought to what's supposed to happen with my degree. TU is in shambles. The idea of it opening for students within the next few years–let alone months–is far-fetched, to say the least.
I’ve just been… reeling. Taking it day by day.
“I’ll probably end up at Wellington,” I decide, nodding to myself as my words bounce down the table. “It’s a good school.”
Dad replies, “Misty, it’s likely you’d have enough credits to graduate now at Wellington, based on your course load the last two years. It wouldn’t be Protohistory, but it would be history, nonetheless. Your great-uncle Ben was recently offered a tenure at Wellington. We’d be losing our royal historian if he takes the job… maybe that would be something you’re interested in?”
“Being the record keeper for the kingdom?” Something bright echoes through my chest that I haven’t felt in what feels like an eternity. Excitement. “Would you really… give me the job?”
Dad smiles at me with so much love in his eyes that it almost breaks my heart. “Of course.”
I glance at Cole. He smiles down at me lovingly, resting his hand on my thigh.
“Fine, if I have to,” I say, but I fail at lacing sarcasm through the words. Happiness and relief shine bright through the syllables instead.