United. (Book 5 of the Lupus Antiqua Series)

She shut the front door to her house gently behind her and made her way into the middle of the meadow leading to the forest line. She stopped as soon as she felt the moon's pull the strongest and turned her head up to gaze at her loveliness.

It wasn't often that she exerted her power. As a True Witch, she had a great deal more than most. Being a True Witch wasn't just about specialized abilities such as being an Imperium or an Anguis or even a War Witch.

We had a great deal of general power too. Actually, most True Witches never specialized, like Amara. There were a great many kind of witches all over the world, separated into different categories.

There were the Wiccans. She'd heard some refer to them as baby witches or onceborns. They had no actual power other than that inherent with a soul; no different from any mundane person on the planet. They practiced some of the same spiritual practices that empowered witches did, even did spells but never had any result beyond the focus it gave their minds.

There were Witches, who though they lacked any magic, could accomplish a modicum of power and effective spell work through intense study and ritual. These were the most common, as many Wiccans moved into this category at some point.

Then you had the psychics. They had no magic except for one thing. The ability to communicate in some form with spirits and thus divine secrets or the future.

Then there were True Witches. Force given form. We were born in bodies that were as human as the next mundane person, but with the ability to change the very cosmos if so moved. We were imbued with the force of creation itself. How it manifested in each of us was specific to the True Witch.

What that meant was, that if one of us decided to get annoyed with a deity and get uppity and demand an explanation, our demands were almost always answered.

And Abby wanted an explanation.

She allowed her power to build and then funneled it into her voice. When she yelled at the sky, the sound echoed like the crack of the thunder. The council had dubbed this, 'The Voice'.

"Get down here and explain yourself Wolf Goddess!" She demanded, leaving no room for doubt or silence. In the wake of the sound of her Voice, the world around her seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, she was surrounded in silver.

Beams from the moon descended upon her until the night was nearly as bright as day, and then a woman stood before her. She couldn't begin to describe what she looked like. It was like that with most deities, or they took whatever form you would fear least. Or most. Depended on the deity.

"You called?" The Goddess sounded both amused and annoyed at the same time. "It has been long since I was summoned thus."

"You gave Endymion and I a mating bond. Why?" She saw no point in beating around the bush. "I'm no wolf. I have no wolf blood in me." She continued.

"Because, my dear. Endymion has repented. Even before coming to you he was trying to change. He was holding himself accountable for his wrongs. Melody will never have him back, and that is her decision.

But he was highest in my favor once." The Goddess mused fondly. "He will never hold that position again, but he was always meant to bridge the gap between beings and unite with a force powerful enough to protect my children. That was partly why he was King.

I could have paired him with any True Witch. But you, Imperium. You are powerful beyond what even you know. You will strengthen the line of my children. And you happen to be a better match for him than Melody was." She blinked at the silvery Goddess.

"If I'm a better match, why match him to Melody to begin with?" She wondered.

"His bond to Melody was put in place centuries before she was even born, Imperium. She was meant to match what he once was, not what he turned into." She sighed.

"And God intervened as well. He has his plans and he doesn't always share them with the rest of us." She sounded mildly put out by this. "But then I discovered you. You are just what he needs. And I could see that you need him too. He will awaken you."

"What do you mean by awaken..." She was cut off when the woman vanished, and she was taken aback by the sudden darkness of night, nearly blinding with the absence of the silvery light. She shook her head and blinked furiously, trying to get her eyes to work.

As her vision slowly started returning to normal she felt emotions hit her. Shock, most prevalent among them. Endymion.

"How much of that did you hear?" She asked, not bothering to turn around. She wasn't sure she'd be able to make him out right now anyway.

"Most of it. I came looking for you when I heard you use The Voice." She smiled a little. She often forgot that he knew more about True Witches than most did. His knowledge never failed to take her aback a bit.

Her vision finally normal, she turned to find him much closer than expected.

"I'm not expecting anything, Endymion. I just wanted some answers." She bit her lip and dropped his gaze.

"Yet you want to pursue something?" He questioned, catching her eyes again. He seemed surprised. "You desire me." He murmured, nostrils flaring. She realized with embarrassment that he could smell her desire for him in her pheromones.

"Yes." She admitted with a whisper.

"You have seen what I have done, Abby. You have seen the way I acted. How could you possibly wish to do anything with me?" He asked with genuine incredulity. He wasn't self pitying or putting himself down so she'd lift him up. He really didn't understand.

She framed his face in her hands, much like she did when delving into his mind, only she kept her power to herself this time.

"What I see is a man who made a whole bunch of mistakes and has paid for them. I see a man who is trying his level best to be accountable for his past not only to others, but to himself, which is harder.

I see a man, who could very easily blame everyone around him, the Moon Goddess and anything else for his circumstances and play the victim. You have more than enough charisma to pull it off. But you aren't doing that. You're making yourself better. And you know what, Endymion? That's a rare thing. And it's sexy as hell." She flushed at that last bit, not used to talking to anyone like that.

An amused smile played about his lips.

"Sexy as hell, huh?" He murmured.

"Yes." She blushed again. He rested his forehead against hers and took a deep breath. She could feel how tense he was. When he met her gaze again, she lost her breath at the desire she saw there. It surprised her. So far he'd been a complete gentleman, even a little aloof.

Now she understood he'd been suppressing this.

"I promise you nothing, Abby. But I can't resist kissing you, at least this once." His voice was ragged before he caught her lips with his own.

It was desperate, demanding, begging all in one, and it swept her away like a rowboat in a hurricane. She stood no chance against the onslaught to her senses and she kissed him back with abandon.

Something in her clicked into place, like a puzzle piece she'd never realized had been out of place finally sliding into the spot it was meant for.

Something inside her; something ancient as the stars stretched out in relief and said, finally.