Their forced luna

Amanda

I waited until Zale left me before I let my tensed muscles find any relaxation. This was horrible. It had to be the worst possible thing that could happen.

I paused, frowning at my thoughts. But, was this the plan? The Goddess was the one that gave us our mates. She knew who I would be destined to be with...

No! I couldn't let my thoughts slide like this. I was loyal to the Goddess. She'd saved me from a horrible situation. Without her... my fate would have been worse than death. A never-ending cycle of agony.

The door cracked open and I glanced up. But instead of Zale, it was Javier and that other woman.

"Hello?" she greeted me, almost hiding behind my mate.

I didn't like how close she stood to him. "Hi, Clara," I greeted. It came out rougher than I expected.

She didn't bat an eye from it. "Mom," she greeted. "Looks like your Alpha has to do some training, does that mean it's just us?"

"And me," Javier interrupted. I'm not leaving anyone alone with Amanda."

Clara wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm not going to hurt her, she's my mom." He snorted in response, clearly not won over.

I patted the corner of the bed. I needed to put these uneasy feelings aside. It wasn't her fault the life I'd lived. "Sit. I want to know more about you."

She didn't need any more urging than that. Clara scrambled onto the bed, perched on the corner. Javier grumbled in the background, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's my spot, extra," he pointed out.

Clara ignored him. "How did you get away?" she asked me bluntly. "It made him so mad, he went on a killing spree. I lost a sister, maybe even a brother, I don't remember."

How many kids did I have? It was hard enough to wrap my mind around the fact I had even one. "He's still a monster," I whispered.

Her happy mood faded away and she nodded. "He's a beast. He did things to us."

Being crushed would have been easier than hearing that. A good mother would have got more information, but this was my first day. I couldn't bring myself to ask anything. I didn't want to hear details. It was enough to know what I had gone through. "You're safe here."

Clara shook her head. "There's nowhere that's safe. He'll break through and kill all of us."

"Stop that," Javier interrupted. "No one is breaking through anything." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his body. "Extra, you're going to learn that Amanda belongs to this pack. It doesn't matter how you try to scare her, got it?"

"I wasn't-"

"No, end of discussion. This woman is mine." To stop her from talking again, he crushed his lips against mine in a heated kiss. His passion and lust swirled through me. If Clara hadn't been there, Javier would have probably been hunting me down again. "Besides," he continued as if he hadn't just made my toes curl. "I promised her that I would kill every person that ever hurt her. Careful, if you get on that list you won't be immune."

Clara glared at him. "Mom, why is one of your mates such a jerk? Bo is way better."

"Hey!" Javier growled at her.

Clara rolled her eyes at him. Funny, she might look like an adult but she wasn't acting like one right now.

"I've got a question."

Clara stopped terrorizing my mate and gave me her full attention. "What is it?"

"Are the others like you? My kids?" The words sounded strange even to my own ears. Would they be the ones to fulfill the Goddess's deal? But she'd been far too clear.

"No," she replied, her limbs relaxing at her sides. "Most of us girls are. But the boys after they were turned to adults were pushed straight into warrior roles, and the benefits those provided." She shuddered. "Brothers or not, they all deserve death." Her eyes had turned cold and cruel, they made me shiver.

"Javier?" I questioned him. He was busy studying his nail beds.

"Yes?" his attention to me was absolute.

"Can I have a moment alone with her? I just want to ask her some personal questions." I wasn't afraid of her, and she could possibly be my ticket to escaping my current situation, as grim as it might be.

"No way. I don't trust her, and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I've got Ares, remember?" If she flips out or goes crazy he'll be there to protect me."

"Ares?" Clara frowned. I would explain things to her later. For now, I needed Javier to submit.

"I'll wait out in the hallway. I'm not going any farther than that," he answered with a glare at me. "But when you're done with your talk, Bo has to babysit the extra. I deserve time with you too."

I almost laughed at him. How was I going to keep up with these three? I had been with them such a short time and had already been taken to my very limits. I was never going to hydrate enough to survive these three.

Javier left and I waited until I heard the slam of the door before I turned to Clara. "I need your help."

"What with? I don't have mates, and I nearly died. I'm not going to be much help, mom."

"I just need you to cause a big enough distraction for me to run away."

Her jaw sagged. "What? Why would you want to do that?" she hissed the words.

"I have to. I've made a promise with the Goddess, but staying here will put it in danger." I shook my head. That wasn't the entire truth, but the forbidden to speak of it stretched to Clara as well. "It's for the best. If I don't, I could doom everyone here. Please, Clara. Help me save my mates from the Goddesses' wrath."