Zelena.
Gunner squeezed my hand and sat back in the chair next to me.
"So, this is quite the revelation" he said looking up at the roof.
"You think? I've just been told that I'm some kind of magical Goddess with superpowers, like I'm not enough of a freak already"
"You're not a freak Zee, you're incredible. I knew you were special, and I could always feel that you were very powerful. I would have never guessed all this though"
"What will this mean? Am I going to be studied or experimented on, or something?"
Gunner sat up and looked at me seriously.
"I would never let that happen to you, nothing has to change if you don't want it too. Our pack will love and respect you and even worship you"
"But Gunner, I don't want to be worshipped, all I wanted was a family" my voice cracked and I could feel the tears starting to well in my eyes. My emotions were being overwhelmed, the picture I had of our future together had now shifted. We were never going to have that simple, happy and boring life together. Especially not if the pack think I'm a Goddess. This will change everything. I have changed everything.
Artemis burst through the door breathing heavily, he searched the room before his eyes fell on me. He stared at me, wide eyed and amazed.
"Triplí Theá" he whispered and rushed to my feet, kneeling down in front of me. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead and his face was flushed. He smelt strange, like anxious, mixed with excited, mixed with terrified. It came off him like a hot sour smell.
"Please, I see?" he gestured to my neck.
I nodded and turned around in my chair lifting my still damp hair. He gasped and leaned closer to me. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck, it gave me goose bumps.
"I touch?" he asked, I nodded again.
He placed the palm of his hand on my neck at first, and then rubbed at the mark with his fingers. After a moment of poking and humming, he moved away. I turned back around, Artemis was kneeling again with his head bowed and his hands held out flat in front of me. I didn't know what he was doing but it made me very uncomfortable. I looked at Gunner and back at Artemis and then Gunner again.
"Artemis, my friend, you don't need to do that" Gunner said softly putting his hand on Artemis's shoulder.
Artemis hissed and lowered his head further, yeah, I definitely don't like this.
"Artemis, please will you stand up" I whispered trying to keep my voice from breaking.
He quickly jumped to his feet but still bowed down with his hands out,
"Yes, my Goddess" he whispered.
"Seriously Artemis, you don't have to do that" I snapped.
He stood up straight but didn't look me in the eye.
"Artemis, do you need to test her?" Lupus asked,
"No test, I see her. She is chosen daughter, I feel her magic" he said not looking up.
Lupus and Roe looked at each other and then back at me, then they both too knelt down, bowing their heads and holding their hands out flat. Why is the Alpha bowing to me, this isn't right. I looked at Gunner confused, and he just stared at them clearly confused himself.
"Dad?" he questioned,
"What are you doing?"
Neither Lupus nor Roe answered him. I stood up and Artemis took a few steps back from me, his retreat and the reaction from Lupus and Roe, brought it all to the surface. I went from being treated like the scum of the earth, to having people I care about bow to me. It's too much. I don't want this. I felt my heart contract and my head spin.
"Stop it" I shouted.
The coffee table in front of my feet began to slowly lift off the ground, and the multiple bookshelves around us started to shake.
"Stand up! Stop doing that, both of you please, get up" I sobbed.
My body felt heavy, like every inch of my small frame was being pulled to the ground. I could feel my chest tightening as a dull ache ran through my arms. I don't understand what is happening. The shelves on the bookshelves snapped in half sending all the books falling to the ground. They all hit the floor with a collective thud, and then began to float around the room. I felt a weightlessness in my head and an electric energy circle around me. Roe and Lupus got up and stood by Artemis. Gunner was now standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders. They all looked around the room at the flying books and then back at me.
"Please, I don't want this, I just wanted a family" I croaked weakly. The tears were falling down my face as Gunner put his arms around me. The books started to fall and rise, over and over.
"We're sorry darling, we are just showing our respect to our Goddess" Roe said quietly.
"I don't want to be your Goddess, not if it means you will start treating me differently"
"This is our way, this is how it is done" Lupus said firmly.
"Well I don't care! If you want me here and you want me to be your Goddess, or whatever, then you can't do that. Lupus you are the Alpha, I don't want you to bow to me, you are all my family now, why can't we just be a family?" I shouted through my sobs. Parts of the table began to crunch and break.
Everything I had hoped for, a family, love and acceptance, having a normal life, I felt it all slipping out of my grasp. I felt helpless and lost, like a darkness was looming overhead. Roe stepped forward, around the coffee table, and carefully took my hands.
"I'm sorry my darling, nothing has to change, not between us. You are right, we are family. Right Lupus?" she said reaching for her husband's hand.
He stepped forward and put his hand on ours, a wave of calm brushed the darkness away. I instantly felt better, the heaviness let go and my chest relaxed. All the books hit the floor with a loud thump, everything had stopped flying.
"Thank you" I whispered taking a deep breath.
Lupus and Gunner both wrapped their arms around us and squeezed. My body felt weak and tired. I couldn't place my emotions or pinpoint how I was feeling. After a minute they let me go. Artemis was still standing with his back against the wall, staring at me with this amazed and terrified look on his face. I looked around the room, there were books all over the floor. I did all this?
"Oh Roe, your library, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean too" I said as I surveyed the mess I had made.
"I know darling, it's okay. It was quite the sight to see" she cooed with a smile.
"I can't wait to see what you can do when you learn to control it" Lupus huffed with an odd hint of pride in his voice.
"I can control when this happens?"
"Yes, you need training. Right away" Artemis spoke from across the room.
"Okay, but for now can we keep my new abilities on the down low? I don't want to scare anyone else"
"You don't want the pack to know?" Gunner asked,
"Not right away, just let me get a handle on it first"
"I think that's reasonable" Lupus said, picking up some books.
"I can clean this up, why don't you two go and relax for a bit. Maybe talk some things out?" Roe said suggestively to Gunner and me.
"No, I made this mess, I'll clean it up"
"Oh nonsense, it was just an accident. Go on now".
Gunner took my hand and led me toward the door.
"Tomorrow, my Goddess" Artemis called. I turned to look at him.
"Tomorrow, you come. We train."
"Okay, sure" I answered slowly.
He nodded his head and Gunner and I went upstairs. I sat down on the bed and Gunner stood in front of me.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine"
"That uh, that was different"
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to, I just got so upset"
"I know, I could feel it too". He sat down next to me on the bed and took my hand.
"I don't know what happened, your parents were being weird and I just kind of burst" I said quickly,
"It's okay, it was actually pretty cool" he chuckled.
We sat quietly on the edge of the bed. I need to tell Gunner that I have to see Hank, but I know he won't make it easy. I don't know for sure if Hank has any answers, but I have to find out, and I can't just let it go. Did my mum know about this, did Hank know about this? There are too many unanswered questions, so many unknowns. It will end up driving me crazy if I just try to forget about it.
"Gunner, please don't get mad" I said softly,
"Why would I get mad?"
"I need to talk with my dad"
"Zelena, NO!" he snapped.
"I have too, if I'm going to get answers about my mum, and about this Triple Goddess thing, then I have to start with him" I pleaded.
"I'm not just going to hand you back over to him". I could feel his skin starting to burn under my hands, he was ready to rage out.
"I don't want you to just hand me over. I need you to come with me. Please, I can't do it alone". I tried to stroke his arm, as I spoke, to calm him.
"I will kill him, Zee" he growled lowly,
"No, you won't, for me, because I need this".
I sat staring at him while he thought about it, I couldn't read his face and his emotions were changing too fast for me to get a smell of them. I was going to do it with or without him, that decision was already made.
"Okay" he eventually whispered,
"But not alone, Cole and Dad will come as well"
"That's fine" I agreed,
"And maybe Smith"
"Sure" I smiled to myself, okay we're making progress.
"We'll bring him to you though, I'm not taking you back to that house" he growled,
"You want to bring him here?" I said slowly.
He isn't going to show Hank where we live, is he? No, of course not. He wouldn't do that, not if he planned on letting him go again afterwards.
"No, not to the village. We have another place"
"Ah, okay" I mumbled. I have no idea where he is talking about.
"Tomorrow at sundown, when you've finished with Artemis" Gunner said with finality.
"Oh, so soon?" I said softly, as my heart rate increased,
"You don't have too" he said looking down at me, like he was expecting me to back out now.
"No, no, tomorrow is good. Let's do it".
Gunner frowned and stood up off the bed,
"I'll go sort it out with Dad" he said as he turned for the door.
I jumped up and ran to him, launching myself onto his back. I held onto him like a little koala and kissed his cheek.
"It'll be okay, you'll see" I whispered and kissed him again.
He turned his head and gave me a weak smile and a peck on the lips. Then he took my hand from around his neck and lifted me back down and onto my feet. He walked out the bedroom door, closing it behind him. He was so cold and distant, not the warm and loving Gunner I've grown used too. I sat back on the bed and breathed out heavily, am I really ready to face my father again?