To be Claimed by Her

Bonus Chapter 3

Wedding Bells: Eveleen's POV

Erica & Ben's Wedding

Part 1: Girl's Night

We had been back at the mansion in Charleston for a month now so I could help Erica with wedding preparations. "Evie, are you here?" Jess called from the doorway.

"Yeah, in the office," I hollered back.

"Hey sis," she said and gave me a hug. "It's so quiet. Where is everyone?"

I chuckled, "The men took the kids to the North Shore for a fun day. Mama needed a break."

Raising six kids who were all close in age had been a challenge for all of us. Then add in their respective magical traits, and there were days I considered investing stock in a winery. Lochlyn had all three of our powers and recently decided that at the grand old age of seven teleporting herself to Build A Bear was a magical necessity. It had gotten so bad that the staff had us on speed dial.

The triplets were a force to be reckoned with and individually they were a challenge in their own ways. Devin was a mini version of Kota, and while his wolf wasn't fully developed, he liked to try and keep up with the pack especially since Nate and Luke had undergone their shifts. Kara was a spitfire with her father's temper and magic skills to boot. We had almost eliminated all glass items from our homes since she started shattering things when she got upset. Nate, Gabe, and Loki had all been working with her on self-control. Liam was a little ninja and had mastered shapeshifting before he was out of diapers. Of course, when he decided to scare Papa Gabriel by turning into a spider, Luke had to have a talk with him about off-limit creatures. I swear Gabriel had nightmares for weeks.

Shiye and Moria had developed their talents the quickest next to Liam. It had only taken two weeks for them to learn to control their merform shifting. Just like their fathers, they had a love for all things aquatic. I can't count the number of times I've started to take a bath only to find a baby squid, manta, or some other sea creature in my tub. They'd just celebrated their fifth birthday last week, and Grandpa Triton spoiled them rotten.

Actually, all the patrons spoil the kids. Just as all my men claim the kids as theirs, all the Gods and Goddesses refer to themselves as their grandparents. It makes for some really interesting birthday parties and holidays. It was also going to be interesting to see how they handled this wedding. Even Nyx planned to attend in support of North.

"So how's your mom holding up," I asked Jess.

"One minute she's excited, then the next she's freaking out," Jess said, rolling her eyes. "You know mama, she's been on her own so long that she second guesses every move."

"Perhaps we need a ladies' night to ease her nerves?" I suggested with a wink.

"Ohh, that sounds perfect! Besides, I'm old enough to drink now, so I can actually enjoy myself," she giggled.

"Okay, here's the plan. The guys get childcare duty, we get to go out and help your mom relax," I said. "Now, the question is, where do we take her?"

"Someplace with live music would be good."

"Let me call Sean's mom, maybe she can give us some ideas," I said.

*****

At the suggestion of Kay, Sean's mom, we had taken Erica to a jazz bar in downtown Charleston. Cailleach, Selene, Brigid, and Nyx had even joined us in human form.

"So you're the Goddess that claimed my boy?" Kay asked, leaning into Brigid. "How's he doing with all that? He won't really tell me much, he thinks I'll freak out," she laughed. "Boy forgets I was raised in a very traditional Japanese household. Our culture acknowledges the supernatural as an everyday event."