Parker

It has been one day, six hours, ten minutes and eight seconds since Faust cut the tie between Mickey and me. I can still feel a burning feeling. It is like heartburn all over my body. It has been circulating through my body since we left Olympus.

I have not moved from my bed since.

I can hear the wolves outside of my door, discussing me. Mickey seems to be faring better than I am. I find it surprising, given the wolves' stronger connection. I feel pangs shooting through my body every hour. The pain causes me to cry out.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cassandra's voice asks.

I am unaware I am crying until I must sniffle to a stop. I can see her head peeking in. I take a deep breath to stop. Her body slips through the door and slowly approaches. I feel a dangerous feeling going up my spine. It is like someone is setting off explosions. Cassie stops in her tracks.

"What was that?" Cassie asks.

"I don't know." I say quietly.

"Is there anything I can do?" Cassie asks, "I don't know what to do."

"There's nothing you can do, Cassie." I say softly, "Are Mickey and Kohl alright?"

"Worried. I cannot blame them. I'm a little worried myself."

"It hurts, Cassie. It feels like death."

"We should get Dr. Pavius. He may know a way to help you." Cassie says, "Maybe we can—"

I chuckle as I turn on my back. I stare up at the ceiling. I know nothing can help me. Dr. Pavius has already been here and he could not find anything truly physical. He does not have experience with someone having their bond cut.

Not cut, severed.

"I need to rest, Cassie."

"Yeah, of course." Cassie says softly, "If you need me, or us, we're out there."

I listen to her footsteps as she disappears and closes the door softly behind her. I close my eyes, thinking back to Olympus. Faust slaughtered Demi-Gods before cutting my bond with Mickey.

It almost killed me.

The Ashwoods

"See what I mean?" Kohl asks as he paces behind the sofa.

Cassie and Mickey are watching him calmly. The youngest Ashwood is noticeably uncomfortable. Cassie walks over and stops her brother in his tracks. Kohl takes a deep breath as Cassie wraps her arms around him. Cassie breaks their hug and looks over to Mickey.

"How do you feel?" Cassie asks, "It is your connection."

"It hurt a lot at first but now it's like this aching. It's there but it's just like static now." Mickey explains, "It's complicated. Nothing compared to him, apparently."

"I'm not sure how to handle it. Physically, there is nothing we can cure. It's metaphysical." Kohl says angrily, "When I get my hands on that asshole, I'm going to rip him apart piece by piece."

"I'll help." Cassie frowns, "But we have to figure something out for Parker right now."

The howl of a group of wolves calls their attention. The three exchange confused glances before Kohl heads towards the door. The other wolves follow him as he descends the stairs and strides out of the pack house. The three stop in place when they see a woman heading towards them with her hands up in surrender. The Scouts are trailing her carefully.

The woman, as they see her, looks to be in her early forties. The woman has long, flowing black hair that falls at her waist as well as shining skin the color of toffee. She is wearing a jean jacket over a red camisole as well as a pair of jeans over heeled boots.

Kohl straightens to show dominance as he asks, "Who are you?"

The Woman smiles, "I am not here to fight you, wolves. I'm just a witch with the answer to your problem."

"And that is?" Cassie asks.

"The broken Demi-God in your room."

Cassie and Mickey look to Kohl, who seems mystified. The woman puts her hands down and Kohl begins to rack his brain to figure out who she is. She is not native to these lands nor is she any ally they have ever met.

"How can you help?" Kohl asks.

The Woman smiles, "You're running out of time, Kohl."

"How does she know your name?" Cassie whispers to him.

"I don't know." He says unable to take his eyes off her.

"It's okay." Parker says as he appears beside them, "I know her."

"Who is she?" Mickey asks.

"I don't know." Parker says, "I just—know her."

Parker

I left the pack lands, despite the protests of Kohl, with the woman. She seems to know me very well, though I cannot recall who she is or where I know her from. I just feel I can trust her. I remind myself that I felt I could trust Faust as well.

The two of us take one of the cars and head into town. We settle at the local dive bar. We receive more than a few curious stares. The townies regard anyone from the pack with caution. They have theories and speculation but nothing concrete. They seem nice enough, though they are not too friendly.

The bar itself is smoky and the music alternates between genres, now firmly on a rock song from the early eighties. The bar takes up most of the room. It has been defaced with decals and stickers in addition to names carved into it. There appears to be scratches along the surface that look to be a mixture of glass scars and knife scratching.

The wall at the far side is filled with booths. Tables are sprinkled throughout the bar, ending just shy of a pool table area, which is separated by what appears to be stained-glass partitions. The sign indicates that the bathrooms are just to the right of that area.

We forego the bar and head to a booth in the corner. I stare at her. She is beautiful. She does not seem concerned with anything other than me. I feel like she is appraising me. I need answers, though she does not owe me anything.

"You don't remember me, do you?" She asks.

"Am I supposed to?"

"It would have saved you time and energy if you had." The Woman frowns, "Call me Chantel."

"Who are you, really?" I ask.

"A witch that's on your side."

"How can you help with this?" I ask, "It feels like something is ripping at my insides."

"It's healing." Chantel says off-handedly, "It wouldn't feel so horrible had you not let the Sorcerer have your powers."

"I had to. He'd have—"

"You could have taken him, but you want to show him how futile he is. Your hubris, even for half a mortal, is admirable." Chantel frowns, "Now that he has the power to kill Gods, things have changed. It is regrettable but I'd have died to see the looks on their faces."

I squirm slightly remembering how incredibly disturbing it was to see him murdering Gods. He killed them indiscriminately. It was as if their being did not mean anything. I never regretted a decision more than seeing that. I gave him the power to do that. I did this.

"I'll deal with him. I made the monster; I will slay it. That's not why we're here." I say with a frown, "I'm apparently healing. Is it supposed to hurt?"

"It wouldn't if you still had your powers. But I digress."

"I feel like you have the answers to a lot of things. You are a witch, right?" I ask.

The woman smirks. I am trying my hardest to recall at least a name. Gods, even Demi-Gods, can sense other Gods. I sense a God sitting opposite me. I have felt her since the moment she stepped foot on the pack lands.

"The first moment you met me, you were adamant that I was a Goddess and you were right. Don't insult your own intelligence." Chantel frowns, "Let us cut the bullshit, kid. You are still a God. No one can take that away from you. You cannot give that away. The notion is ridiculous."

"I get it. I'm a moron."

"No, you're just ignorant to your capabilities." She takes a deep breath, "When you remember me, you'll understand. You asked me a question about mates when you came to me. You were bloody and wet. I healed you."

"The night Mickey attacked? It explains why I wasn't hurt when I came out of the water."

"Back to the question. You asked about mates. Having two mates."

"I knew?!" I ask.

"In order to have two mates, fate has to be exactly right. It is a sort of perversion to it. The Fates must manually create an additional thread and rarely does it end well. There have only been a few with this distinct situation."

"Is there a way to reattach them?" I ask.

"No. Once the thread is cut, it is cut." Chantel explains, "But Fate makes a way. There is someone for everyone."

I wish that comforted me but I have gotten used to having Mickey be my mate. I love Mickey. The thought that he would be with anyone else is heartbreaking. I feel incredibly sad. The only consolation is that there is still someone for him.

"Your thread will heal to your mate, stronger than ever, just as your powers will return." Chantel says leaning back against the booth, "It's time."

"Time for what?" I ask.

"To remember. I need you to remember something specific." She says examining me, "Remember."

A wave of energy assaults my mind. I am hit so hard by the invisible force that my body is thrown back against the booth. I see a stream of images that move too fast for me to see clearly. It feels like fast forwarding a movie. I fell into the world and the world spit me back out. I can hear voices, one very clearly.

Chantel's.

"I bestow upon you a gift only Hera could create. It will be my gift for your trials. At your most human, you will be blessed with something to fight for. To die for. Something stronger than a mate. I bestow upon you—"

I open my eyes to see that Chantel is gone. I know her name now. I remember. My hand instinctively falls to my stomach as I look around the bar. She has left me with a revelation and another journey.

It is about to get very problematic.

Parker

I am cleaning up the mess Mickey and Kohl left from last night. To their credit, they were trying to help me, and I did not put their minds at ease by leaving with Hecate. Yes, I remember exactly who she is. I remember meeting her in her dimension. She created a dimension away from Olympus and the Pantheon.

I do not know a lot about Hecate, only what she told me. I do know that she gave me the power to fight and I gave it away. She knew I would and she had faith in me, despite her admonishment from last night. She referred to a "God-Killer" and now I know who she was referring to. I know I need to stop him. I cannot rely on him to come to his senses.

There is only one thing I am not sure about. Hecate alluded to 'bestowing' a 'gift' unto me. The mention of Hera is a hint that I cannot ignore. It is a conversation I am not sure I am ready to have with anyone, including myself.

The door to our bedroom opens and I turn to see Kohl exit fully dressed for the day. He smiles at me as he heads over and kisses my forehead. He shaved his mustache and I cannot help but feel relieved. It is comforting to see the Kohl I met again. I think so many things have changed, we need to be us again.

"You look great. I'm glad to see you're okay, cub." Kohl smiles.

"Yeah, just a little tired and my head is spinning. I am not throwing up anymore. So, that's good." I take a deep breath, "How are you?"

"Better now." He looks down at the floor, "I'm lucky. It could have been me instead of Mickey."

I wriggle in his grasp and smile politely.

"It's okay. I get it." I say with a nod, "We're good. So, I have a question. About us."

"Us? Questions? Goddess." Kohl says with an exasperated tone.

"Babies. Cubs." I blurt. Kohl raises an eyebrow at me and I clear my throat, "There are wolves in same sex relationships, right?"

"It's not exclusive to humans, so yes." He laughs, "What's this about?"

"Do they ever have cubs?"

"Yes. Werewolf physiology is different. The Moon Goddess created it so." Kohl says, "It's complicated."

"I'm not a wolf."

"Yeah, I realize that." Kohl sighs, "Look, I love you. Maybe we cannot have kids. Maybe we can. We do not know what being a God means for you. If we never have cubs, fine. It doesn't matter."

"But you'd be happy, if we could, right?"

"Have cubs with you? My soulmate? Nah, that would suck." Kohl laughs as he grabs my waist, "Are you saying you're ready to have cubs?"

The two of us break apart when I feel Mickey faintly. He is downstairs. He is standing downstairs in the foyer. He is waiting on me. I look back to Kohl and tell him to hold his thought before heading downstairs. I am not surprised that the pack house is empty. It is either too late or too early, depending on which type of wolf is around. Mickey is standing by the door with a duffle bag.

"Again?"

"Are you going to bust my balls?" Mickey smiles.

"Do you want me to?" I ask.

"I used to." Mickey says with a frown, "Listen, I—"

"I get it."

Mickey shakes his head, "You don't. I love you."

"And I love you, too."

"But are we still in love? Or did that end with the thread? I don't know anymore." Mickey says, "We both know very well that this life ain't for me. Being here was good when I was with you but even then, it never felt right. It feels unnatural for me to be here."

"The one thing I've always loved and respected about you is how free you are. If you are not free, you are not happy and maybe it is time for you to be happy. Without me."

"You made me happier than anything I've experienced since my mother was alive." Mickey says, "You saved me. You saw the best in me."

"I still do. You're dick but you're a good person." I grin, "It's going to be a little less exciting without you."

"With you here? I doubt it." Mickey says as he walks over to me, "Keep yourself safe. I trust Kohl to keep you safe, but I also trust you to get yourself in some sort of trouble."

"Thanks." I say hugging him, "Ditto. Be safe."

Mickey kisses the top of my head and pulls away. He turns from me and walks over to his duffle bag before turning to me. I walk over and grab the keys to the Jeep, tossing them to him.

"I know wolves run. Nothing says they cannot drive. I'd give anything to see a wolf riding a horse, but this is the closest thing." I laugh.

"Humans." He scoffs as he turns and leaves the pack house.