Chapter 456: Chapter 456

Chapter 456

Lanie

My mother enfolded me in her embrace, and all I could do was cling to her as I shook with sobs. I

breathed in her familiar scent. Her warmth. She rocked me as we hugged, and her hand stroked

down my back, over and over again, exactly the way it used to when I was a little girl who’d woken

up from a nightmare.

“Oh, my Lanie. Let me get a good look at you.” She pushed me away only for a second before

hugging me hard again. “No, not yet, I can’t let you go. Oh, I just can’t let you go.”

I closed my eyes and let my mother hold me. It had been so long since we’d been together. I’d

forced myself to barely think about her, my sister, and my dads, much like I’d stopped myself from

thinking too much about my best friend. It had been easier for my mind to focus on the dangers we

were navigating. But, oh, now that my mother was here and hugging me, every second of the time

we’d spent apart slammed into me like a hammer pounding a nail.

“Mama?”

At the sound of Stella’s hesitant voice, I turned. I had to wipe away the tears blurring my vision, but I

used one hand to do that while I held out the other to gather my daughter close. My mother drew in

a sharp breath.

“Is this…?” she asked, sounding awed.

I knew that there’d been some advance word, rumors, about Stella, but since I hadn’t been

expecting my mom to be here at the mansion, I couldn’t assume anything about what she may or

may not have heard.

“Mama. This is my daughter. Stella. This is your grandma, Julia Stanton,” I said to Stella.

“But she’s…” My mom fanned her face, her eyes wide.

Stella might be adult-sized, and she might be special with all the talents of ever supernatural that

had ever existed, but I could never forget that she was also my child. I pulled her in next to me,

offering my support and warmth. I could feel her muscles trembling the tiniest bit with her

nervousness.

“Beautiful,” my mother finished and opened her arms for a hug. “Stella. Come here and give me a

hug.”

“Hello, I’m here, too,” a voice said in a sour tone.

I’d been so caught up in greeting my mom that I’d almost totally missed my sister. “Selena!”

She hugged me hard, but only briefly before stepping back. She eyed me cautiously. The last time

I’d seen her, she’d been underage, but now she was over eighteen. Shit, I didn’t even know if she

had been mated yet. I didn’t know anything about what had gone on while we were away. Had the

High Council and Elders still been assigning two males to every female wolf in the pack? Or had

that stopped? Were pack members allowed to choose their own mates?

So much to find out…so much to consider about the way things had been and how they were going

to be. Everyone was asking me about making changes. Well, I’d finally started thinking of a few I

was going to tell the Constantine Alphas to make.

There was more to learn about my baby sister, now that she’d come of age. For instance, had the

spell our mother asked a witch to cast to dampen her vampiric powers worked on my sister? It had

failed in me, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t worked for my sister.

Selena’s eyes blazed soft green for a moment. Her wolf was close. I could sense my sister’s

agitation and hated that the first time we saw each other in so long had to be tainted with any bad

feelings. But could I blame her for being wary of me? Mason and I had snuck out of my childhood

home without saying goodbye. I’d left my sister behind to take care of our mother, even though I

knew Orion had been targeting her. She’d told me I had to, but…even so, the look on her face told

me she wasn’t ready to accept me back with open arms.

She looked at Stella with a blank expression, very different from the first time they’d met when Stella

was an infant.

“I’m your aunt Selena,” she said in a stiff voice. “I’m sure you don’t remember me. You probably

never even heard of me.”

“Selena,” our mother said in a shocked tone.

Stella, my dear little star, stepped forward. “Of course I did. Mama told me so many stories about

the two of you when you were both little. I don’t remember you from when I was a baby, but of

course I know who you are.”

Little white lies. As a Celestial, Stella could certainly call on the memories of anything that had

happened when she was a baby. She was being kind and gracious.

Too bad my sister didn’t respond the same way.