"Do you know who it is?" Akira asked, glancing at her.

Kay smirked; she could sense them."The alpha females. They don't like it when I am upset, and I was pretty messed up when I left the compound. Marcus probably told them I came here to clear my head, and they don't believe you should be alone when things go wrong."

I'd not be happy if I went somewhere to be alone and half the people I know arrived on my doorstep," Akira said, uncomfortable with the idea.

There was a time when she would have been uneasy with the thought as well, and yet, it felt right. The door opened, and they glanced toward the house. Adrian, Claudia, Darcy, and Marcella walked toward them.

"We are very sorry to intrude, Your Highness," Adrian said when they reached the Gazebo.

"Kay's family is my family," Akira said to her surprise, and she wasn't the only one slightly taken aback.

"I hope you don't mind us tagging along either," Clio said with Artemis and Hera in tow.

"How did my sorrow turn into a girl's night out?" Kay drawled, but she was already feeling better with the werewolves shoring her emotional reserve with that sense of love and affection that folded around her like a fuzzy blanket.

"We can cry over spilled milk or have a few drinks, share our sorrows, watch a movie, and heal," Marcella suggested.

"Marcella," Adrian admonished almost coldly. "Are you okay?" she asked, sitting beside Kay and taking her hand.

"I am now, and Marcella isn't wrong."

"About the milk or the alcohol?" Hera asked, taking a seat.

"Both," Kay said as Minerva hovered.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Should I prepare rooms for all of them, Your Highness?" she asked, looking a tad uneasy with so many powerful light fae around, like it was an invasion.

"Take those travel mattresses in the store room to the media room, add a few blankets and pillows, and leave a few bowls of snacks lying around," Akira said, surprising everyone again.

"We should come over more often," Darcy drawled, and Akira chuckled.

"I've never had a sleepover," she admitted, and that caused complete silence.

"In two thousand years?" Marcella asked.

"That is a lie, little sister. Hera, Persephone, Clio, and I often had sleepovers, and we took you with us when you were little."

Akira frowned at them. "I do not remember that. When I got older, you were never around. It was just me, Zeus, Azera, and Father until I turned twelve. Father banished Azera, and shortly after that, Zeus married Astarte and left."

Minerva appeared with some waitstaff in tow, carrying trays filled with a selection of mixed drinks and snacks.

"Will snacks be enough, or will we serve dinner, Your Majesty?"

"Kay?" Akira asked.

"I am in the mood for a nice steak," she said, knowing the snacks won't be enough for the wolves.

"That will be all, Minerva. Thank you," Akira dismissed her.

"Why does she somehow remind me of Azera?" Hera asked with a frown.

"She's from Azera's bloodline," Kay said, and from the way Akira glanced at her, her sister didn't know. "I hope you don't hold it against her. She's terrified of having something of her biological mother in her."

"No. It just didn't occur to me. She's invaluable and runs this place like a well-oiled machine."

"And you trust her?" Hera asked.

"Yes, I do," Akira said, reaching for the drinks.

"A toast to family in all its glory," she said, raising her glass.

***

When twilight arrived, they moved inside to find Minerva had not settled for dumping the mattresses on the floor. She took the time to have crates neatly stacked under them like bases and had sheets tucked around them, the beds were neatly made, and the place looked like a hostel instead of a media room.

"Here's someone else who never had a sleepover," Darcy said, shaking her head.

Three tables stood against the back wall filled with snacks in Tupperware containers to keep them from drying. Drinks crowded two mini bar fridges beside a water cooler and a coffee machine.

"And dinner will be served in thirty minutes. She doesn't like it when people are late," Akira reminded.

"I'm ready for that steak about now," Darcy said.

"You've been eating all afternoon," Hera grouched, and the wolf shrugged.

***

"Feeling better?" Adrian asked, and Kay nodded. She didn't even understand why she was so upset about everything. They hadn't even talked about what had happened, and she was already at peace.

She picked a bed and took the pillow, hugging it as the others settled.

"I don't know why it upset me so much. Perhaps because it was another lie, or if it seemed more personal that Akira and Father could send me to Azera when I wasn't just another seedling turned newborn. When I had been born out of..."

Akira avoided her eyes, guilt on her face.

"Love?" Adrian suggested, and she frowned.

"Yes."

"I am sorry," Akira said.

"And I forgive you; I was just vulnerable," Kay said.

"But I would not forgive me if I were you."

"Then be happy that I am not you."

Their eyes met, and something inside Akira visibly settled as she accepted Kay's forgiveness.

"To tell you the truth, I can't picture him loving someone. Not really," Akira admitted.

"He loved Azera when she first came to us," Artemis said.

"Was she intrinsically evil, or did something happen to her?" Kay asked. Curious despite herself. She couldn't shake the feeling that something of Azera still remained in this place where she had lived for so long, and she kept expecting to see her. Even though no trace of her or her things remained.

"I liked her at first, and she seemed nice," Clio admitted.

"So did I," Hera agreed.

"Then Baccus kidnapped her and held her for ransom for two weeks. When Father paid the ransom, she returned, and she wasn't the same," Artemis said.

"What could Baccus have done to her?" Kay asked, curious because it indirectly involved her. "Was he an evil man?

"No, Baccus was always nice, even though he was Father's rival. Father took something of his, and he wanted it back; otherwise, he would never have taken her. But I guess seeing how Baccus' people lived made her realize she was property; despite being a queen—she wasn't free to live as she wanted or make her own choices. Back then, things were very different.

"Times were hard, and Father could not be seen as weak, so he had to be merciless when needed. Azera defied him a few times, and he dealt with her as he would with any of us. He had her beaten, and when she would not relent, he incarcerated her in her rooms," Artemis explained.

"So all of this is again Thane's fault?" Kay asked.

"Not directly. Azera escaped her room, and a few miles from the house, she got intercepted by slave traders. We thought she was dead, but they sold her to King Aleonides, one of our kind. When we finally heard where she was, she had been in his care for about four years. He was dangerous, merciless, and not the type of man you wanted to cross. It took another year to negotiate her release, costing Father a fortune, but the woman he got back was not the one that went missing. She never spoke about what happened to her, but stories reached us," Hera said.

"Somehow, she blamed Father and us for not finding her faster or even knowing she lived," Clio said but grew quiet when they heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Dinner is served," Minerva said from the hallway and left.

"She once told me that Aleonides said Father knew where she was, but he didn't want her back," Artemis admitted.

"Was it true?" Kay asked.

"No, but it created an insecurity in her that she tried to deny by conquering the world and needing no one," Clio said insightfully.

"Aleonides must have been a bent monster to have warped her like that," Kay said.

"He was a bad man, but I think he opened a door in Azera that she couldn't close. Time and bitterness opened it wider until it consumed her."

Clio motioned toward the door, and they filed into the hallway. 

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