Tora's Sacrifice

15. Laughed Until We Cried

**Tora's Point Of View**

I used to think the biggest shock of my life was when the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my Goddess given life showed up not only Mated the woman who spent her entire life trying to pull one over on me, but also announced they were expecting a child.

Then I thought it was when I ended up going through my Heat and being relieved by my best friend's younger brother-- resulting in one of the greatest joys of my life; a baby.

I was wrong then too, of course, because I was later attacked by my ex-Mate, forcibly marked, and ended up losing what would've been a beautiful little girl I likely would've named after my mother .

And sadly, it didn't even end there; because five years after the that bag of joy, my best friend and Alpha ended up confessing his love to me after telling me he'd met and rejected his own Mate.

Or, when we not only ended up getting together (shocking the whole Pack), but also decided that enough was enough and barely three months later got married both in the way of our kind, but also like the humans did.

But now, staring at the papers in my hands, I knew that this took the cake. This was probably going to continue to be the largest surprise of my entire life.

Slowly, my heart was begging to dance in my chest. Tears were already streaming down my face and  dropping onto the crisp white button up I had put on for the meeting with Nathaniel and Amber Parks, causing the material to become sheer; my lacy black bra was now visible. I scrutinized the papers, wondering if this were some kind of joke at my expense, but I didn't think that anyone could be that cruel.

Taking a slow breath in, I decided that if this were true, I couldn't wait. I needed to know. On wobbly legs I made my way to the only person who could confirm or deny it for me, bracing myself for the ultimate heartbreak.

I knocked loudly on the wooden door, shuffling from foot to foot in my five inch heels nervously. I came face to face with Selene, Slater's Mate and our running pack doctor. While she was human, she had been studying medicine before she had come to live with Slater, and now was the only female doctor. Instead of questioning me, Selene opened the door wider, bowing and mumbling a polite but tired "Luna" as I passed her. No matter how long had passed since mine and Sean's Mating, I still wasn't used to people bowing to me.

As I turned back to Selene, I instantly felt bad for coming in here and disturbing her. Her face was swollen and puffy, her startling green eyes red rimmed and she looked exhausted. I'd heard from Slater that she'd been having trouble sleeping lately, this latest pregnancy causing her a great deal of grief. I couldn't imagine trying to keep up with a clinic, three kids and her position as Beta's Mate.

"I'm sorry for bothering you Selene, but-" I couldn't get out what I needed from her, instead I shoved the paper at her, gnawing on my bottom lip furiously. I didn't have to explain why I was worried, she and Slater knew of the offer the Goddess had made with me now. Sean and I had decided that it was important to share that information with our families. Everyone seemed to take it well enough, well except for Amelia. I figured she would've been grateful that her grandson was healthy and alive, but no.

I was practically in Sean's lap as he explained what happened to our families, his arms wrapped firmly around me as they all stared at him. I had been reluctant to tell everyone what happened all those years ago, but we couldn't hide this from them any longer; it was our duty as Alpha and Luna to produce heirs, but I was unable to, and they deserved to know why.

As he finished explaining everything, the room was silent.

"So, you were visited by your dead mother, who gave you a choice from the Goddess and rather than enact revenge on the man that stole your child from you, you decide to ensure that his child stayed alive?" Amelia's voice was bordering on hysterical, her face scrunching up. While for a good portion of my life, I had always thought she looked a lot like Grace Kelly, at the moment that was the furthest from what she looked like. Her face was twisted with an emotion I couldn't pinpoint. My father looked startled by her tone and her words.