Asher

"I love you, Eve" I said after we marked each other.

We finally marked each other. After weeks of sitting by her while she was in her coma, then a week of us fighting, a few days of us being together, a couple of days of her being kidnapped, a few more days of her without emotions, a whole night filled with her sobs, now we marked each other. After almost two months filled with ups and downs, we drove past a bumpy road. We started the mating process. I'm hers and she's mine.

Eve gently pressed her lips to mine. It was such a small kiss, but more amazing than any kiss I shared with another girl. Her soft lips heated mine as the familiar fiery feeling erupted in my stomach. A feeling that I only felt with my mate.

"I love you, too," Eve whispered as our foreheads rested on each other.

"Huh?" I asked, acting like I didn't hear her.

"I love you," she whispered again.

"Babe, I have no idea what your saying," I said feigning confusion.

She shifted her body so her mouth was right next to my ear. Her breath blew against my earlobe as she whispered. "I. Love. You."

I leaned back so we were face-to-face. I ran my hands up and down her sides while staring into her gorgeous blue-grey eyes. My gaze flickered down to her lips, and I saw her eyes do the same. I quickly pulled her into a kiss and our lips moved in sync.

"I love you," I mumbled against her lips. She smiled into the kiss before pulling away. I kept my hands on her waist and held her against me, enjoying the feeling of her heat close to my body.

"Asher," Eve said softly. "I really have to talk to Matthew."

I frowned. "Can we do that tomorrow?" I asked. "Let me hold you, just for today," I said before lightly kissing her mark.

Eve shivered and turned her head to quickly peck my lips. "Just for today, but tomorrow I'm talking to Matthew." I nodded and rested my head in her neck while inhaling her vanilla scent. "I'm hungry," Eve stated while her stomach growled.

I chuckled and she lightly hit my chest. "Let's go eat," I said while pulling us off the bed.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we walked to the kitchen. Jordyn was at the dining table pouring Matthew a bowl of cereal as Elise was loudly crying in her high chair. Jordyn groaned and ran a hand through her tangled hair.

"Jordyn," Eve said as she walked towards the Luna. "Get some rest."

"I can't. Elise and Matthew need to eat, then take baths, then I have to finish planning the coronation ceremony. Ryan wants to have a romantic dinner today, so I have to find a sitter. And I'm completely exhausted!" Jordyn shouted frustrated, then started bawling.

Was this normal? She was just shouting, now she's crying. I hope not all women are like this, that would just be too much. What if Eve's like that? I would literally go crazy. "I can hear your thoughts Asher," Eve snapped though the mind-link. Needless to say, I quickly blocked my thoughts from her.

"Just rest until dinner. I'll take care of Elise and Matthew. The coronation can wait a few days. Just go home," Eve said softly.

"But you can't do it alone. These kids are a handful," Jordyn said while motioning towards the crying baby and Matthew, who just spilled his whole bowl of cereal.

"I'll help," I said while picking Elise up from her high chair. She started moving around until she stuck her thumb in her mouth and her crying stopped.

"See, Jordyn. We'll be fine. Go home," Eve said.

Jordyn reluctantly nodded. "Call me if anything- and I mean anything- goes wrong," she said before leaving the castle.

Eve picked up the empty bowl and put it in the sink before cleaning up the cereal. Matthew watched her with a frown on his face. I put Elise back in her high chair so I could get Matthew more cereal.

Before I made it a foot away from her, Elise started wailing and screaming. I quickly picked her up and started bouncing. Her cries slowly died down, and were non-existent when Eve finished cleaning the spilled food.

"You're pretty good with her," Eve said while leaning against the counter. I shrugged and smiled when I saw that Elise was staring at me with her big light-brown eyes. I made my way to the fridge and took out the milk. I held Elise with one hand while I started pouring the milk into her sippy-cup.

I heard sobbing, but it wasn't coming from Elise. Me and Eve's heads both snapped toward Matthew who was rubbing his eyes as more tears streamed down his face.

"Hey, squirt," Eve said softly. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm s-sorr-y," Matthew stuttered. Eve wrapped her arms around his small body and gently ran her hand on his back to calm him down.

"Why are you sorry?" Eve asked after Matthew stopped crying.

"I didn't help when the big guys took you," Matthew said quietly before dropping to the floor and wrapping his arms around Eve's legs. "I'm sorry. I tried to help. Please stop being mad," Matthew begged.

Eve frowned and picked up her little brother. "I'm not mad. I had a bad day yesterday. I shouldn't have yelled."

I felt her guilt and sadness wash over me. I decided to distract myself by making food. I handed Elise her cup and started pulling out the ingredients for pancakes. Eve was whispering, so I wouldn't be able to hear her. I wasn't trying to listen.

I put Elise down on the counter and she watched as I started making the mix. I was almost down sifting all the dry ingredients when Eve wrapped her arms around my waist. "Watcha making?" she chirped.

"Food."

"What kind of food?"

"The edible kind."

"What kind of edible food?"

"The kind that I'm making."

"You're a jerk," Eve huffed before stomping away.

I chuckled at her childishness. "You're not getting any pancakes then!" I shouted. I heard her footsteps stop before they increased in sound when she walked towards me.

"That's blackmail," Eve muttered while standing in front of Elise. I rolled my eyes as Eve started making weird faces in attempt to make Elise laugh. Eve completely failed at trying to make Elise laugh. The baby started frowning, then wailed.

Eve's eyes went wide before she backed away from the child. "I didn't do it," she said.

I dropped the strainer in the sink and picked up Elise. After rocking her around for a while, she stuck her thumb in her mouth and stopped crying. Eve started cracking eggs into the bowl for the pancake mix. My mind drifted off to when we would have kids.

Our pups would be strong and gorgeous. They would protect each other. I'll watch the kids while Eve would cook. We would all go to the park. Elise and Matthew would spoil the kids with clothes and food and money. Shawn will claim that he's the 'best uncle in the whole wide world.'

"You sound like a girl," Eve said, interrupting my thoughts.

I groaned. "Stay out of my mind."

Eve giggled and poured some batter onto the pan. I continued to play with Elise while Eve cooked. When all the pancakes were cooked, we ate a late breakfast with Elise and Matthew.

*****

Genevieve

Its been a week since me and Asher started the mating process. I still haven't talked to Matthew. I procrastinate a lot. When he was crying in the kitchen, I assured him that I wasn't mad at him, nor were our parents. I still haven't told him that they're gone. I'm not sure how to tell him. I have to tell him soon, cause their funeral is in five days. There's no right way to tell him. Any way that I say it will hurt him.

I had a pep talk with myself and decided that I needed to stop procrastinating. I'm telling him today, before my meeting with the Council. And I'm not backing out.

This past week was filled with me and Asher hanging out while we babysat. Jordyn was planning the coronation which is tomorrow, so she left Elise with us. For some reason, that little girl does not like me. She only likes Ash, she can't say his full name, so she just calls him 'Ash.' I think she just got in the habit because that's what Matthew calls him.

"Babe," Asher said softly. "You need to eat."

For the past few days, after my little pep talk, I haven't been eating much. Hope said that its because of stress. Which is weird because most people eat when they're stressed out, but food makes me feel sick.

Speaking of Hope. Her and Britney have been inseparable for the past week. Except when Shawn demands personal time with his mate. We still haven't figured out that message though. Hope talked to the Moon Goddess, who said 'its not time yet.' So we stopped trying to find out who 'he' is and how he 'imbalances life.' Its like one big riddle that only the Moon Goddess knows!

I shook my head. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up," I groaned.

"You had like two bites! Elise ate more than you!" Asher exclaimed.

"But my tummy hurts," I whined.

"You have to eat. This is like crazy unhealthy, and you're scaring me. Just eat please," Asher begged.

I sighed and stuffed another french fry in my mouth. Asher gave me a look, so I stuffed two more fries in my mouth. He pointed at the hot dog. I looked at him and pouted. Asher shook his head. "Eat."

I sniffled and took a bite of the hot dog. "You're a mean mate," I grumbled after I swallowed the food.

Asher sighed. "I'm not mean. I'm just worried about you," he said while pushing my hair out of my face.

"I'm just stressed out," I said while pushing back tears that wanted to fall out. I took a deep breath and continued to talk. "I have to tell my six year old brother that he's never seeing our parents ever again. I'm officially becoming Queen of all werewolves. My parents' funeral is in five days. And don't even get me started about the Council."

"Its all gonna work out fine," Asher assured me. "You don't have to worry about all that."

I shook my head and wiped away the traitorous tears that rolled down my cheeks. "I'm 18, Asher. I'm not supposed to be in charge of a six year old kid. My life wasn't supposed to turn out like this. I'm not ready to be going to my parents' funeral. I'm not ready for to be Queen. I'm not ready to take care of Matthew alone. I'm not ready to face the Council. I'm- I just... I can't do this," I buried my face in my hands as I started sobbing.

"Eve, look at me," Asher demanded. I slowly moved my hands away from my face and just looked down. Asher sighed and lifted up my chin so I was staring into his eyes.

"You are Genevieve Marie Burke. You survived the pain I put you through, a coma, a psycho kidnapper, your wolf almost dying twice, and an idiotic mate. You came back from turning off your emotions. The past two months, you been through more than anyone I know; and you're still here. You are so strong. You can do anything," Asher stated.

I took deep breaths and wiped the rest of my tears. "You're gonna be there right?" I asked. Asher quickly nodded his head. "Thank you," I whispered.

Asher smiled and kissed my forehead. "You ready to talk to Matthew?"

I reluctantly nodded my head and we stood up. We walked into Matthew's room and saw him on his bed stacking Lego blocks. "Hey, squirt," I said while approaching his bed.

"Hey Eve. Hi Ash," Matthew greeted us.

I sucked in a large breath and sat on his bed. "I wanted to talk to you about something," I said softly. Matthew nodded and pushed his Legos to the edge of his bed.

"Remember how Aunt Jordyn said that Mommy and Daddy went on vacation?" I asked.

"Yeah. Are they coming back now?" Matthew chirped. Asher grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. I shook my head to answer Matthew's question. His smiled quickly turned into a frown.

"Mommy and Daddy told you about the Moon Goddess right?" I questioned.

Matthew nodded. "She picks our mates and watches over the werewolves," he said.

"Yeah, she does. Mommy and Daddy got hurt, so they are going to stay with the Moon Goddess now," I said softly.

"When are they coming home?" Matthew asked quietly.

"They're gonna live with the Moon Goddess. They can't come home anymore," I said while barely being able to hold back my tears.

Matthew had tears trailing down his cheeks. "Will they visit?"

I bit my lip while shaking my head. "We can't see them anymore. But they're watching us," I said while pointing at the ceiling. "They will watch over us just like the Moon Goddess. And they'll always be with us. Here, and here," I said while pointing at his head, then his heart.

"B-But I want to s-see them. I m-miss them," Matthew hiccupped.

"I know. I miss them too. But they're happy. They're with the Moon Goddess," I said while tears started rolling down my face.

"M-mommy and Daddy are happy?" he asked. I nodded. Matthew sniffled and wiped his face. He took deep breaths before hugging my waist. "If Mommy and Daddy are happy, we should be happy too," he whispered

A few more tears slipped out of my eyes before I gently kissed Matthew's head.