After a steamy encounter with Asgard's Dark Prince unlocks her genetics, an unsuspecting scientist discovers not only are Gods real, she is one.
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When Shannon boards her flight to London, she's stunned her seatmate is actor Tod Mogroddine. Their...
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"I'm adopted," I said brokenly, barely able to force the words past the emotion choking my throat.
Loki pulled me onto his lap and into his arms, holding me gently as he kissed my forehead. "Yes, love. They aren't your genetic relatives."
Nausea churned in my belly and the burning heat intensified behind my eyes. Who was I? Did I know anymore?
A sob escaped, even as I tried to bite it back. My family wasn't even my family? Unable to hold them at bay, tears filled my eyes, overflowing down my cheeks to soak my shirt. I burrowed my head into Loki's chest, and his arms tightened around me, his hands stroking my hair and down my spine. The sorrow in my heart was a pulsing, gaping hole. I don't belong anywhere now, not as a scientist... nowhere. My birth family didn't want me. They didn't want me. They threw me away. A tremor of pain shuddered through me. Why?
Was this why my sister acted like she hated me sometimes? Had I just missed all the clues? Where did I come from? Who were my parents? How did I end up here?
"Sweetheart, don't do this to yourself." Loki tipped my chin up with a finger so our eyes met. "Don't think about your birth parents, and why they gave you up. Think about the positive. You need to remember your mom and dad chose you to be part of their family. They wanted you and chose you. There is so much more to the making of a family. It's all the little things, all the shared experiences, care, and love over the years."
Looking up into his brilliant green eyes, that yes, I had desperately missed even when I didn't want to admit it, I nodded. "I know you are right. It hurts though, Loki. God, it hurts. In thirty-five years, they couldn't find a time to tell me?" I swiped my fingers over my eyes to clear my watery vision.
His mouth twisted with a wry half smile. "I know, darling. Mine didn't tell me in the hundreds of years they could have. It was an accident I found out I'd been Frigga's sister's child, not her own."
I reached a hand up to cup his cheek, and he turned to place a gentle kiss on my palm, the contact tingling up my arm. He really did understand. It made the pain ease, calming me. I closed my eyes and relaxed into him, listening to his heartbeat as he slowly rocked the swing back and forth.
My voice was quiet when I finally broke the peaceful silence. "I like your mom. She's pretty great."
Loki smiled, eyes lighting up. "You met my mother? Yeah, she is, isn't she. Just remember that families don't have to mean blood. Some families are just chance genetic relations, other are choices about who we choose to include. Don't underestimate the importance of being chosen to be part of a family. Don't throw that away, or dismiss it. It took me time to deal with the news myself. I didn't react very well when I first found out I was adopted. But to be honest, Frigga is everything I would have ever asked for in a mother."
"Do you think my mom knows who my birth parents are?" I couldn't help but wonder.
"I don't know, but we'll ask her when she wakes from the effects of the mead. You said Aos Sí?"
