Chapter 45 WHISKED AWAY
GALLAHAN’S POV
The Ascension Rite had never been great for me. Sure, it was an important milestone for werewolves, but it always, always brought out all the buried, painful memories back to the surface.
And yet, as I watched Calisto enter and walk down the carpet, not an image of the wretched night of my own Ascension Rite surged to the forefront of my mind.
Instead, I was simply filled with pride.
Then my breath hitched in my throat when my eyes found the same little girl from my painting.
But this girl standing among the bunch of five-year-olds had her copper-red hair beautifully braided into a crown, with thin wisps curling at the sides of her charming young face.
And I just knew, deep down in my gut, that yes! She was my little girl, and the parental blood link would prove it to me.
“How beautiful,” I mumbled when her lips stretched into a small, shy smile.
And just like that, the pride swelling in my chest doubled.
Relief also awashed me as I thought of how lucky I was that I didn’t miss this pivotal moment in my children’s lives.
Then, as if I wanted to share this moment with Willa, my eyes unconsciously went to her.
It was apparent how she, too, was overwhelmed with pride and affection for our children. Her beautiful green eyes were shining with tears, and her lips wore a smile that was so similar to our daughter’s.
And, for the second time that night, my breath hitched. But this time, it was because Willa turned her head, making our eyes meet. It was as if she had been unwittingly gravitated to look in my direction.
It was comical as it was adorable when her lips parted slightly and her teary eyes widened a little. It seemed like she didn’t expect me to be looking at her at all.
But how could I not look at her when her very existence was the force that kept my world turning in the last six years?
I was angry at her, true. But I couldn’t deny that I would still let go of that anger in a heartbeat if she would ask me to.
“Yes?” I mouthed at her with a raised brow.
The pink flush that blossomed on her cheek was a sight to behold. I almost let a grin grace my face because of it.
But I tamped it down just in time, not wanting to act like a lovesick lunatic, especially when only a few knew about us.
In due time, I could smile freely at her.
In due time.
For now, I would settle with stealing glances while maintaining a dispassionate facade.
So when she shot me a glare before returning her attention back to the ongoing ceremony, I tore my gaze from her and redirected it back to Calisto and his sister, all the while wearing a passive expression in my face, as if her winter-like coldness didn’t wither my spirit.
The ceremony went on, and I watched with rapt focus as my children filled their little rose-gold goblets with the moon-blessed water in the gigantic golden bowl.
Once every kid had their goblets filled, Wendell Alfiero, who had his palm placed on the round magical artifact that was perched on a small bowl-like stand on the table, began to lead the oath-taking.
The bunch of little runts—bless their tiny pure hearts—listened with full concentration and echoed each and every word of the oath with much diligence and seriousness.
It was ridiculous as it was adorable, making their discordant voices a lot less grating to the ears.
And so, despite my best effort to appear as aloof and as cold as my reputation made me seem, I couldn’t stop the tiny upward tug of my lips as I observe how my children happily joined the cacophonous voices of their peers, eagerly taking their oath to their inner wolf, to our kind, and to our moon goddess.
Gradually, I could feel the prickle of the parental blood link take form, binding me as the guide and protector of my children’s inner wolf that were still premature at this point.
It cocooned me with a certain warmth I haven’t felt before, while the link wove into my muscles, blended into my blood, and seeped into my bones. The magic of my connection as their father was undeniable, and it sent me into an intoxicating and addicting state of joy.
Then, as the oath came near to a close, the little runts lifted their goblets as high as their short arms allowed. I couldn’t help but notice how Calisto was holding his own in a manner that was almost reverent.
The sight of it had me poking my tongue against my inner cheek as an attempt to restrain my smile. I wasn’t sure if I succeeded, though.
Next to me, Wendell, who remained on his feet, asked staidly, “Do you solemnly swear that your heart is devoted to your own kind?”
The united reply came in at once, reverberating loudly within the walls of the Glass Dome. “I do.”
“Do you solemnly swear that your soul accepts your inner wolf and respects it as a part of you?”
“I do,” the children chorused again.
Wendell nodded in approval. “Do you solemnly swear your life to the moon goddess, whose grace, compassion, and power know no bounds?”
“I do.”
At this point, my daughter was already fully grinning, as if lifting up her rose-gold goblet hadn’t tired out her tiny arms yet.
“Now, seal your oath as werewolves with the water purified and blessed by the moon,” Wendell instructed.
The children immediately brought their respective goblets to their lips and drank the holy liquid with gusto.
But Calisto and his sister didn’t do the same.
Highly amused, I watched them turn to each other and clink their goblets together before chugging the water down until its very last drop.
Suddenly, a tingling sensation rippled in the inner side of my wrists. I curiously took a peek at them as furtively as I could, pulling at the sleeves of my ceremonial robes and my white button up.
On my left, curling in neat, red cursive was the name Calisto.
And on my right, appearing in the same way as the other, was the name Gillian.
But before I could even wonder if they were permanent magical marks of the blood link, they began to glimmer until they eventually vanished, seemingly absorbed into my skin.
I watched it all happen in just a couple of heartbeats, my very soul brimming with awe and inexplicable happiness.
Calisto. Gillian.
My beautiful children.
Mine.
A nearly inaudible huff of breath escaped my mouth as I continued to marvel over my bare and blank wrists.
But I was broken out of the enchanting moment when Wendell declared, “May the wolves within you howl loud and proud, and may the moon goddess always look down on you with favor. Vivaz Vulhana!”
Everybody, except for Zuleika and Maliya, rose from their seats and exclaimed, “VIVAZ VULHANA!”
I did the same too, but my voice was barely above a whisper, ringing empty with the obvious lack of enthusiasm.
Because when I scanned the sea of happy little runts at the center of the dome, Calisto and Gillian were no longer there.