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ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ɪ Qᴜᴇꜱᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡʜʏ ɪ ᴅᴇᴀʟ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ

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ꜱᴏʀʀʏ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ. ɪ ꜱᴀɪᴅ ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɴɢ ɪᴛ ʙʏ ᴀ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ 2 ᴏʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ɢɪꜰᴛꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴇᴀʀ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍʏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴛᴀᴋᴇɴ ᴀ ꜱᴍᴀʟʟ ʜɪᴀᴛᴜꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴍᴇᴀɴꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇꜱ. ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴠᴇʀʏ ꜱᴛʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴍ ʜᴏᴘɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ. ꜰᴏʀ ɴᴏᴡ, ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴏɴ!

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Tilting my head up, I felt a flash of pure power course through my veins. Unlike anything else I had seen before, my life flashed before my eyes. All my best memories glowed with happiness. The sad ones didn't seem as bad as they were when it happened, either. Everything was peaceful, and I could be at peace.

All of that happiness shifted once Daddy held my hand in the air and cheered, "A new goddess is among us! To Callidora!"

"To Callidora!" Many of the gods and goddesses in the background cheered for me. I giggled before making my way over to Marcus, who planted a quick kiss on my head.

"You did wonderfully, my dear," he said, wrapping his arms around me. "My beautiful divine goddess mate. I wonder what this new step will entail. Perhaps a new job from up above or some new powers for you to exploit in the castle."

"I will not exploit anything, Marcus," I denied, crossing my arms. "So mean, Marcus. Always so mean to your beautiful divine goddess mate. Can you pass me some ambrosia? The cake?"

Marcus chuckled and handed me a plate. A few of my siblings laughed at our dynamic before grabbing some ambrosia for themselves. "Whatever will you do once those babies come out and you have no excuse as to why you cannot get your own ambrosia?"

"I'll make a new excuse," I snarked.

"Truly one of us," Artemis said, wrapping one of her arms around me before looking at Marcus. "You're dealing with a lifetime of service, Mr. Volturi, because she's high maintenance. I mean, have you seen how long it takes her to style her hair in the morning? We had to wait for hours while she-"

"That's enough Arty." My whines made her laugh, taking a drink of her wine. "Our dear sister has enough on her plate now that she's a fully fledged goddess. I don't think we've ever seen someone complete their studies so quickly, but she's always been an odd one. Breaking rules and yet our father still hasn't punished her for any of it. I have not yet figured out how she manages to keep him wrapped around her finger the way she does. The only ones who can do that- Well, the only person who has him this devoted is Hera. Perhaps Athena if you take a good look at the way he favors her as a daughter. How she managed that remains a mystery to all of Olympus."

To be honest, I hadn't seen much of my older half-sister Athena. She's been said to be a quiet person who keeps to her favorite places, but she must be around here somewhere. There's no way that someone would miss their younger sister's big day. Is this my big day? Isn't the 'big day' supposed to be a wedding? Whatever. I'll have two big days. Three for the birth of my twins. Shit, I still need to name Marcus and I's babies. He said I could pick a first name for one and a middle name for the other. But I don't know the gender... Oh well, I'll pick four names just in case. No, six. They may not have the right look for my first four names.

Truly given a new lease on immortality. What could I possibly do with my new gifts? Would I figure them out on my own? The questions swirled around in my mind as more people congregated around me.

"Congratulations on your titles, Lady Callidora." I shifted my gaze to a man with long, nearly dreaded hair. He held a command that I felt inclined to bow down to. His large stature towered over almost everyone in the room. With eyes green like the sea and a dagger at his side, I realized who he was. "I'm sorry I haven't been to see you already, my dear niece. I'm afraid it's been a bit busy down in the deep blue sea."

"No need to apologize, you're here now," I said politely, knowing he had seniority. "I'm honored to be in your presence, uncle Poseidon."

He smiled, a little taken aback at my politeness. While I could be stubborn, ridiculous, and playful, I know my place when it comes to my elder relatives. It's best to not mess with those who have more power than you, especially in Olympus.

"I see Hebe and Artemis raised you right." My two sisters blushed gold at the compliment. "I also hear that you had an encounter with your cousin in Italy. Triton is supposed to stay off the shores as long as humans are near. For some reason no matter how many times I tell him to stop he won't. As his father, I apologize for his behavior."

"The vampires make sure that no exposure happens. He's fine. I bet Aro would get Demetri to track him down and harass him if someone were to be exposed to Olympians." My jaw almost dropped at the nonchalant tone Artemis used with our uncle. If this were me, I would expect disciplinary action.

"Mhm, just making my rounds. Politeness is something you could learn about, Artemis," Poseidon scolded before looking back at me. "Again, good job and I hope we have good relations in the future. You sound like a good kid."

Once I responded with a curt nod, he turned tail and left the area, meeting up with other relatives. Left with Hebe and Artemis giggling like mad, I groaned. "Can't you two be normal for one second? That was our uncle, the king of the sea. Are we all so comfortable with each other? I most certainly am not." Marcus placed a hand over my shoulder to comfort me, but I frowned. "You could have made me look bad, you know."

"It was not our intention, sister," Hebe apologized. I nodded, knowing that she wouldn't do anything to damage my reputation. My reputation was hers since she had done so much of the training and lecturing. If there were holes in my manner, it could be blamed on her. Nature knows how much blaming Olympians do on a daily basis. One wrong move and you'll find yourself being blamed for something everyone knows your brother or sister did. Or worse, you'll be harassed into leaving your homeland. That would be awful. Let's keep my reputation high. "Although you should note that not all will be kind and courteous as you are. Take some of your brothers as an example for the hostility that stains our kind."

"My ears are burning," I heard my brother say. "Better not be talking crap about me, miss baby face."

"Just a warning to our baby sister," Artemis quipped. "Besides, you couldn't take anyone down in the middle of her special day. You'd be outcast for the next three millennia if you pulled a stunt like that. Best to sit back, relax, and enjoy the throes of life. I mean, when was the last time you were invited to a party, let alone an important one like this?"

Ares grumbled at Artemis' attitude, his eyes flaring red. Of course, the two had a decent friendship (if you could even call it that. They mostly just tolerate each other's existence and prefer to not get into scuffles, lest they anger Daddy) that consisted of taunts and weird nicknames that made no sense to most of Olympus. As half-siblings, we shared enough blood to understand each other and our powers. The same went for Ares and Artemis, although I always thought that Ares was jealous that Artemis got to spend more time with me. Ares had shown interest in me during the first few days only to be shut down by Mommy and Daddy, who seem to barely be on speaking terms with the god of war.

Sometimes I wonder just how I was able to be born into such an odd family. I guess it was up to nature to decide where my little self went and they thought 'hey, let's make this girl a god and place her into the hands of the greeks, who are known for doing weird things to their family and holding the oddest grudges.' To be honest I would ask the fates if they were anywhere to be seen, which they aren't. Shouldn't they be at an event like this? I mean I just got my godlyhood gifted to me by my father. Well, I had it before, but now I'm a full goddess! Not just in name, but in practice!

"Little Callidora will not have her special day ruined as long as you don't harass me," Ares grumbled, patting my head. Marcus glared daggers into my older brother, obviously annoyed that he dared put his hands on his mate. "Don't give me that look, corrected vampire, she's my sister."

"We're Gods," Hebe started, taking a sip of her wine, "which means that we fuck our brothers and sisters, marry them. I think Marcus has every right to be protective over his sweet little mate during a family gathering. Who knows which relative will take a pounce at her." He growls under his breath before pulling me into his chest. "New mates, by nature. I'm just glad nobody's caused a scene yet. I would think that Poseidon and Athena would have tried to brawl already. If I didn't know better I would make a bet on when it could happen. Let's see, it could be right now or in two hours when Callidora should be getting back to Volterra. We know just how annoying uncle can be with her."

Nature above, the stories that get told about Poseidon and Athena. Why they hated each other, we may never know. If I had to guess I would say that my uncle doubted sister Athena. She hates that. A goddess of war, she knows exactly how to play things to victory. One would think she's cousin Nike if they didn't know better. Then again, cousin Nike only comes over to play with Ares and Athena when one of them needs a challenge. She's ridiculously good at card games.

"It doesn't matter if or when they fight." Everyone raises an eyebrow at me. "I should hope they don't fight. If not for keeping themselves in line than for the guests I've brought to Olympus. They should think about behaving for the vampires here."

"Corrected vampires," Ares corrected. "Real vampires have red eyes and sparkle in the sun. The ones deemed worthy to be lifted of the curse have their normal coloring and... no need for human blood. Odd sort of curse that way."

"I wouldn't have gotten out of my deal with the Devil if it weren't for Callidora."

Ares smirks. "Wouldn't want uncle Hades hearing you call him the Devil, he may just take away his grace."

"Grace is my domain now," I reminded him, rolling my eyes as I layed back into Marcus. "Callidora, Goddess of Grace, has deemed Marcus Volturi, King of the Volturi and Saint of Volterra, worthy of my domain."

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It only took fifteen minutes for an argument to break out in the common room of the castle. It was not between Poseidon and Athena, but between Hades and my father. Whatever they were arguing about, it didn't concern me. I watched as many minor gods and goddesses either watched what was going down or left, unable to handle their senseless bickering. I was one of the people to leave, taking Marcus with me. I didn't need to hear or see my family arguing.

Honestly it was annoying. Couldn't we have one day here in Olympus where nobody argued? No, no we couldn't. Just because we're gods and goddesses doesn't mean we always have to find something to yell about! Great, now I feel like yelling about yelling. Does being immortal somehow make you temperamental and irritable? Perhaps because I want to rip my uncle and my father's throat out. It wouldn't kill them, just hurt really bad. Damn deserve it after pulling this shit.

I couldn't do that. Not with them being two of the most powerful beings in the universe. I'm not stupid. Temperamental not stupid. Would a stupid person be able to be mated to one of the smartest vampires of all time (if not the smartest vampire of all time?) No, no they couldn't. They would be mated to someone like Edward Cullen, who thinks that his girlfriend is as good as a mate. Stupid. That's idiocy at its finest.

Marcus wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me off to the side. I could no longer hear the broken Greek and... whatever other language they were speaking in. I couldn't recognize it.

"Are you okay, my dear?" He asks, nuzzling his head against my own. "Yelling usually upsets you."

"I can't start yelling at them anyways. There's no point." My mate sighs. I turned my head up to see Marcus frowning at me. "It's true, Marcus. Fighting with my godly family over fighting doesn't make me look good. Plus, it would be considered talking back, which looks really bad. If my uncle and Daddy decide that they want to stop fighting each other, they will. For now I can take you to see the pretty Wisteria tree I've come to love."

Little words were spoken between Marcus and I as we wandered the grounds of the castle. Thankfully no shouts could be heard from outside the palace. I wouldn't want to subject my poor mate to what could be a normal day in Olympus. This was his first time in my homeland and I needed for him to have a decent time here or else people will think badly of us. Well, maybe not Aro, he definitely will worship us no matter what happens. But still, I don't want our reputation tainted. Aphrodite better be doing her magic with Alec because he also needs to send good words back to the Volturi. I wonder who he's meeting. Aphrodite likes to show her prizes off to the other gods and goddesses. Not that Alec is a prize. He's a sweetheart that will love his mate until the day he dies, which is hopefully never.

Kicking my feet as we walk, I focus in on just how beautiful Marcus is. His brown curls draped so perfectly and so calmly seemed almost godlike in and of itself. The way he carried himself was like that of a king, which makes sense since he is a king. All of his clothes were neatly ironed and in place, almost as if he had just been styled by Adonis.

I couldn't imagine myself having this man for the rest of time, but that's exactly what I would have. Him. Marcus. Not just a king and a beauty, but Marcus. The man who likes to read and who has an obsession with the color purple. The man who keeps all of his promises and makes sure that I know that he loves me. He's complete perfection and I still can't wrap my head around his presence. It couldn't just be the way he is or even the way he makes me feel. Bah! It must be the mating bond and hormones that makes me so flustered around him. The pregnancy doesn't help with the hormone part.

"You're so beautiful," Marcus whispers into my ear as we make our way into the view of the Wisteria tree I had raved so much about back in Italy. "Immortally perfect."

"Look at yourself," I said cheekily, skipping over to the Wisteria so I could avoid his love filled gaze. I didn't want him to see my blushed face. By nature I must be bright white and yellow by now. "Honestly Marcus, you're the most handsome man I've ever seen, and I used to live in a palace full of immortal gods."

Turning back, I noticed the small smile that curled his lips upward. So perfect. "Simply trying to fulfill your needs, my dear, as is my job as your mate," he tried to brush all of my compliments off. How could someone like him not see just how damn beautiful he is? Many women before me must have commented on his handsome features. Tartarus, he had a wife before me. "I hope I do my job well."

"Marcus." My voice was a mix between a whine and a groan. "I am not just a job for you to fulfill. We're mates, not business associates. Yes, I know what those are. We complete each other, not work for each other and try to make each other happy like that. I want to keep you happy as well. Not everything has to be about me. By nature, don't you see how damn crazy I am for you? No, don't answer that with something about it being your job. That's weird. It's really damn weird."

He chuckled before making his way over to me. My mate placed a single hand on my cheek before pulling my body into his chest. "I really don't deserve you, my dear Callidora."

"Don't give me that deserve you bullshit." I felt his eyes pinned on me as my eyes winced in annoyance. "The fates paired us together for a reason. Clearly we're compatible or else I wouldn't have accepted the mating bond between us. I love and care about you. Whether or not you deserve me isn't up to either of us because we have no say in it. All you can do is love me forever and help me pop out these children you've implanted into my womb."

"Ah, yes, I did implant children into your womb." I felt him tense as I stood in his arms. "Out of every way you could have worded that did you have to use the word implant? You make it sound like I've diseased you with something horrible."

"Our babies are nowhere near horrible. They'll be perfect little demi-gods that look so beautiful in their divine forms that they'll burn your eyes." I laughed at the thought of Marcus having to look away as the children lost control of their divine forms. That would be a funny sight. "What do you think they'll look like? Sound like? Do we even have names yet?"

"I thought you were deciding on some names for the babies. I would contribute some ideas, but at the end of the day you are the one carrying the children and will be the one out of the two of us that has to go through the most pain during birth. The worst I'll have to endure is screaming." I sighed at his reminder of my fate. Actions have consequences and nature seems to hate the female sex. At least according to Mommy the mind will delete my memories of pain. Just an in-the-moment thing for me! "Honestly most of the names I used to think of for children were divine names or people from Greek myths. Then again, I am greek so that makes sense."

"Two Greeks trying to name a child. We could get creative, you know." He nodded. I pursed my lips, stepping out of his hold. Marcus groaned, wanting me back in his arms. I shook my head at his clingy behavior. "For a female name I've always wondered about how the name Areyna sounds."

"Ar...?"

"Ah-reen-yah. It's a nice girl's name, don't you think?"

"Quite. What if we don't have one of them as girls? We have no way to know since human machines don't work on you."

"I'm pretty sure one of them is a girl. We have a lot of one boy and one girl twins in my family tree. It would be more surprising for them to be the same gender."

"That's true." Marcus picked me up, making me whine out. He's always doing that. I'm not some small thing to be tossed around! Then again, I did fly him once. He hates that. Oh, boo hoo, he can get over that. When did that happen? I don't remember. "What would you think of the name Anicetus? I've always thought it was an interesting one. They could go by Ani if they wanted."

"Isn't Ani a girl's name?"

"Not always. Ani was the nickname of Anakin Skywalker."

"Who?"

"Forget it." Marcus brushed it off, placing me down on one of the Wisteria's roots. I sighed in comfort as he rewrapped his arms around me, allowing me to be embraced into his comfort. It wasn't always that I got such a nice place to sit, but I appreciated them when I did. Marcus is one of the best places for me to sit. Whether he's on his throne or on this stump, he's a cushion. "We can figure out some more names later, right now we should be having fun."

"That could be taken two ways, Marcus." I could have sworn I saw a trace of blush on his cheeks when I made that remark. I giggled, knowing just how flustered he got. Sex isn't something we talk about often unless we're joking about my pregnancy and how we got here. Yes, he makes some sly remarks, but that's when it's him talking. I think he still sees me as an innocent newborn goddess. Well, you're not innocent when you've been living in the same building as Aphrodite for as long as I have. The innocence leaves once she starts talking about her times on Earth, which means almost immediately.

"Sometimes I forget that Aphrodite has corrupted you," Marcus says quietly, ruffling my long white hair.

"I thought vampires have a perfect memory."

He chuckled, running a hand down my exposed arm. "That seems to be a rumor started by Aro. His memory is perfect, so he assumes it is the same for all vampirekind. Everything is... near perfect. It would take a lot for us to hone all of our abilities, which Aro takes pride in doing. Brother takes pride in everything about being a vampire, which includes his ridiculously fast mind. I would say my vampire mind remembers, but I chose to put that aside and hope for your innocence to come back to me so I can ravish you once more."

Shifting my position, I roll myself completely on top of Marcus. "You can ravish me whenever you please, but I am afraid our bond can only be completed once and my virginity taken once. At least you were the one to take my virginity. Many would be honored to take that away from a goddess."

"Ah, but I remember you telling me that you were waiting to find your mate before giving away such a precious thing to you." I blushed, knowing he'd caught me. Marcus tuts, running his fingers through my soft hair. "Or has my memory failed me."

"It hasn't... but you know what I mean. Be grateful for my plans to remain celibate until meeting you." He let out another chuckle, kissing the top of my head affectionately. "Gratefulness and all that jazz."

"While you were not my first, you were my second and my best. I remained away from all after my former wife died. That is, of course, until I met you and you brightened up my world." I blushed bright white. Nature does he know how to get a goddess going. It's always the ones who compliment. That's what Affie says. "You are the best I could ever have. Everything about making love to you is beyond perfect. The noises you make."

My silly mate then started to pepper kisses to my face, which made me giggle uncontrollably. His lips against my skin forced me into divine form, as I was unable to control myself anymore. "Ahhh noooo. You fiend! I'm supposed to look human, not like a big ball of energy and magic!"

"Shush. You're my ball of energy and magic," Marcus snarked against my ear, nipping it with his teeth. I gasped, rolling around in his lap until he groaned. "Callidora why must you roll? On my lap no less."

"Sorry," I apologized, knowing that it would make him... act up. It was common knowledge that rolling around on your male mate may result in unwanted feelings. Or at least it was for me when Aphrodite explained that side of mates and the male body.

Whatever, I'll always be a rolly goddess of grace.

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