Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

69. A New God is Born

That night was a very memorable night for Selene.

She had been awkward at first about sleeping in the same bed with Cal, Shayley, and Ophelia. It felt like she was their daughter not hers and that she was intruding. Shayley had made a few things abundantly clear. One, that she hated... despised the idea of sharing her family with another. Two, that she hated the idea of not being able to protect them physically and emotionally. Three she would do anything to protect and keep them. Absolutely anything. And four, Selene was now her friend and a member of her family which meant all of her protective instincts now included Selene.

In order to do what was necessary for her family, Shayley made the sacrifice and swallowed her pride. In order to protect her family, she had no choice but to make it larger. But she would sooner lance out weakness then allow it to fester in her family. Although she was reluctant over the idea of sharing, she could welcome a powerful warrior with a strong heart into her inner circle, her family. But it would be on her terms.

Since Selene was family now, Shayley was determined to treat her that way. They had had a long heart-to-heart about sharing their lives with each other and with Cal. Shayley vowed that Selene would never feel unwelcome or unwanted so long as Selene remembered it was Shayley who swallowed her pride to give her a place next to the man they loved.

Tonight, that place was in their bed. But it wasn't for night service. She learned that Cal's care for his daughter ran deep, to Shayley's chagrined libido. He was devoted and when she learned only the littlest bit of the girl's history she had cried and couldn't blame Cal for being so obsessively protective.

It was Shayley who insisted that they spend their first night with Ophelia between Cal and Selene while Shayley cuddled his back. When Shayley started talking about Cal strong back and perfect abs and then got a nose bleed, Selene stopped feeling bad about it.

To be in Cal's embrace she thought it would scare her, but the feeling of cradling a small life between them she felt nothing but gentle protectiveness. It was as if he were the center of calming protective magic. She had never felt this way with her late husband. He was cold intellectual and the times they showed any kind of affection for one another were so limited she felt as if it would only take five minutes to count all the moments.

*

Being with her beloved was the most blissful she had been for a long time.

At least until she woke up in the middle of the night to Ophelia convulsing with bright glowing eyes.

"Squirt, hey Squirt, listen to me, it's going to be okay!" Cal said sitting up and cradling his daughter.

Selene also saw that Shayley's huntress marks were glowing and she sat horrified and powerless.

"What is happening?" Selene asked. She was used to Achilles having nightmares and comforting her but this... this was something new and out of her depth.

Cal only kept cradling Ophelia as she cried and screamed in agony.

"It's a prophecy this has only happened once before." Shayley reached for her hand to comfort the newcomer. "It was when we learned of the darkness coming from the south."

"What do we do?" Selene asked frightened.

Shayley met her with painful eyes. "There is nothing we can do."