And Then There Were Four (Lilith Carrie)

Ivy.

Fifteen years...

Fifteen years since the war, and every day, I tried to atone for the shit I had done prior. I could play innocent and act like I hadn't done anything to cause it all, but I'd be fucking lying. Not only to those around me but also to myself.

The day Kara told me my children were to be sent to the land of the gods when they turned eighteen, I made a silent pact to prevent it. They were my children, and I was determined to make sure their lives were their own. Even if I wanted to strangle them on more than one occasion for their defiance, among other things. "Damn it, Pollux! Where are you?"

Storming through the house, I looked for the eldest of my six children and found, while gifted and the future of our pack, he never seemed to be where he was supposed to be.

"James, have you seen Pollux?" My words seemed to fall on deaf ears as James continued grading the papers before him. After all the hell we had gone through, he decided ten years ago to get into teaching, and he hadn't looked back. Which honestly was shocking, considering he taught ninth-grade biology.

"James..." I repeated with a groan of frustration. "James!"

"Huh?" His eyes gazed up to meet mine with a clueless look. He had aged so much since I had first met him. Gray hairs now streaked his head, and with it wrinkles crested the corners of his eyes. "Sorry, sweetie. The end of the grading period is next week, and I have to get these done."

I know," I replied as I rolled my eyes and walked towards him. No matter how much he had changed physically, he was still the sweet man I once knew. He always thought of others before himself and took pride in his work. "I just haven't seen Pollux since he came home from school, and he promised to take Dillon

furrowed his brows. "Babe, that started twenty minutes ago. Why didn't you tell me

offered. He was excited to take him this week. You

all the changes we had undergone,

refused to

ove

to spend more time with the business aspects of our world. As for Talon, his obsession with security grew increasingly urgent with every child

managing

pack

Dillion's twelve now. He isn't going to be young

Pet

I never thought he would leave the borders." Thinking about the memory of

sixteen, they thought they could do whatever they wanted, and out of the two... Pollux wasn't the worst. No, he may have had his moments, but Cassie