Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future
Chapter 79

Lenora's POV

My precious baby, Codi, is almost a month old and Milo and I are so in love with her. I can't even remember what life was like before. I have never been a picture-taking person, but I'm pretty sure my phone storage is almost full of her and her with Milo. He has been snapping pics of his own too.

"MILO! I have my boob out. Could you please not take a picture right now?" I laugh.

"Sorry, Sugar. That one is just for me though, it's beautiful." He leans down and kisses my forehead.

There's a knock on the door, I put a cloth over my shoulder to cover myself up while he answers it.'

Bronx and Kas walk in holding hands with big smiles.

"Hi Lenora! Where is Codi?" Kas asks, with an excited smile.

"Under the blanket, she's almost done eating. We'll let Uncle Bronx burp her when she's done."

Bronx freezes and his eye goes wide.

Kas and I laugh at his reaction as I feel Codi unlatch. I pull her out from under the cloth and adjust my shirt.

"Don't worry Bronx, Milo will show you how to do it," I chuckle, "Besides, you need practice for one day when it's your turn."

He and Kas exchange a look I can't read. For a split second I think maybe they came to tell us Kas is pregnant, but her scent has not changed. So it can't be that.

"Alright, Leni, what do I do?" he asks, holding out his arms to hold his niece.

"Oh, did you give Uncle Bronx the messy job?" Milo says as he comes into the room and sits next to me.

"Only if she spits up," I give Bronx an evil grin. Oh, big brother, she's definitely going to spit up, I think to myself.

"Oh she's gonna spit up," Milo warns with a laugh.

Bronx clears his throat, "Uh, okay well before we let my niece destroy my favorite shirt. Lenora, I need to talk business with you. I know you're on maternity leave, but I need your buy-in now."

"Okay, what's that urgent?" I ask, leaning back on the sofa. Bronx has been through a lot in the past few months but he is finally getting the help he needs. He even agreed to be on medication to keep Saint under control. Last week I asked him what it felt like being on all those medications. The only description he could give was 'too happy'.

"Like SpongeBob happy?" I asked.

"More like, the Joker, happy," he replied with a frown.

I feel so bad that he has to go to such lengths, but Saint has proven to be dangerous. So it's his only option. He assures me the doctors want to try to reduce the dosages of the medicine when they feel like it is safer. I pray to the Goddess that is sooner than later but I must admit, he has been more himself than I have seen in a long time.

"Lenora, I know you are on maternity leave, but we want to get this in motion so we don't miss out on the opportunity and be ready when you come back," he says, holding Codi against his shoulder. She looks like a tiny little bean leaning against him. Milo didn't have to show him anything. He instinctively starts patting her on the back and rocking slightly side to side. He is going to bea great dad and he doesn't even know it. Bronx tells me about Kas's idea about searching for other Menae and believes Marco's mate would be a perfect fit for the position. She needs to be under my direction since it would be considered international affairs but he wants to be able to hire her and get her onboarded to MasonCo before she replaces a different job. He insists he is going to apply fora grant from the WHPS so her salary wouldn't even count against my payroll.

"So you want her to be a covert ops... researcher. In what world do you think WHPS is going to go along with that?" I scoff at the idea.

"Well, we can post it as a position to research historical information, we can leave out the part about people who may or may not be alive and well today but yeah, something like that. Her main priority is becoming an expert on the Menae. When she replaces them, you and I review and decide together whether it's safe to reach out to them."

"Lenora, I had kind of a vision, well, it was more a feeling than a vision. It wasn't scary. It was a good feeling I got when I was meditating. It felt like a family member giving me a hug," I have sisters out there. If there is any chance I could be reunited with them, even just some of them, I would really like to take that chance," Kas looks at me with giant violet puppy dog eyes.

Why does she have to be so damn adorable. I knew it from the first night I met her that she was special. Not just because of the silver hair and violet eyes. There was just something about her that made me want to be closer to her. I think everyone feels it to some extent. Everyone loves her so much and deservedly so. She is the kindest werewolf I have ever met.

"What do you say, Leni? By the time you get back from maternity leave, Musu will know everything she needs to know about MasonCo and the assets at her disposal to do her job," Bronx reassures me.

"Alright, I can get behind that if we think it will help Kas," I concede. I'm still a little skeptical about hiring someone to search for goddesses but if it's important to Kas, I have to at least try. Right?" °

"I think it will help Kas, yes, and maybe other wolves that aren't sure who they are," he says, "the flipside is, we could encounter people who are dangerous. We just don't know yet."

At that moment, Codi lets out a little burp and white goop lands on my brother's shoulder.

Milo starts laughing like a maniac, "Thar' she blows!"

Bronx looked a bit mortified, "Umm, if I say this is gross, is that insulting the baby?"

"No, I say it all the time," I laugh at him while Milo helps clean up the mess. "Okay! My turn!" Kas says holding out her arms, her fingers waggling.

Bronx gently hands Codi over to Kas and stands to go wash up in the bathroom.

"Hi Codi!" I hear Kas coo at the baby and let Codi wrap her tiny fingers around Kas's finger. I look closer to see a slight purple aura engulfing them. It should be disturbing, but lam glad they havea connection like that. Codi coos back at Kas.

Kas swiftly scoops her up and starts walking around the room telling her a story about the Moon Goddess and her siblings Helios and Eos. She is very animated and uses different voices for the different Gods. I see Bronx come out of the bathroom, wiping his shoulder with a towel. He stops when he sees his mate holding Codi. A small smile forms on his face, but it doesn't reach his eye. There is a touch of sadness there.

I open a mind link, "What's wrong, brother?"

"Poker face secret, Leni," he responds. He hasn't asked me to keep a poker face secret in years. Basically, it's a shock that you can't let anyone know about. You have to fix your face before your face has a chance to react to the news. "About Kas?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, poker face secret."

"Lady Camille had done research and she doesn't think Kas will be able to have pups."

"Bronx, I-" I feel my eyes widen.

"Poker face, Leni," he interrupts, then breaks the mind link.

I look over at him and then to Kas, who is engrossed in her storytelling. I push the emotion down. Poker face.