Interstellar
5

Morning came dreary as ever, the sun hidden behind drizzling clouds. Nova awoke to an empty bed. She got up and yawned, stretching her arms high above her head. Standing before the vanity, Nova pushed her hair back to see the damage done the night before. A large bruise had formed where Leon had bit her neck, the marks from his teeth now dark with dried blood. She brushed the bruise with her fingertips, wincing at the tender flesh where his canines sank in. She missed the numbness from the night before. After letting her hair fall back onto her shoulders, Nova checked the dresser, briefly forgetting that this room had been her second escape from Leon. She glanced into the hall to see her original suite, the door wide open. She was quick to run into the room, thankful not to feel eyes on her unclothed body. She shut the door quietly, waiting for the comforting click of the latch before moving farther into the room. She had been so ready to leave, so sure of everything, before Leon came to her suite. She still felt the need to leave, but knew it could not be done silently. The Leon she had begun to know was so different from the Leon she met in the middle of the night.

As Nova dressed, there was a knock on her door. It was soft enough that, had she been sleeping, it would not have roused her. Stella’s voice followed gently, “Nova? If you’re up, will you join me for breakfast?” Nova opened the door slowly and nodded before following the older woman to the kitchen table. It had been set for two.

Stella took her seat and watched expectantly for Nova to sit across from her, waiting until the younger woman had settled into the wooden chair before speaking. “First, I want to apologize if you felt pressured. We are carnal creatures and often forget others are not the same way. Not that it excuses our behavior.”

Our behavior. Nova paused and chose to bet that Leon had not spoken to Stella about what had transpired in her suite the night before. She chose to believe that Stella would not approach his actions so casually or publicly, where any of her family could hear. She considered her response, “No, I wanted it, too. But I feel like I’ve betrayed your kindness. I did not anticipate he would react so… obsessively.” Nova struggled to say the words. They seemed overconfident and disrespectful, but nonetheless true. She busied herself sipping a steaming mug of tea to avoid saying more.

Stella sighed, “Honestly, neither did I. He falls in love as quickly as the seasons change, but you! You are something else entirely. When leon and I first met 20-some years ago, that is how he reacted to me.” Stella chuckled, her tone tinged with sadness, and picked at her bowl of granola. “I miss being able to stir him up in such a way.”

Nova’s heart sank and she reached out to rest her hand on Stella’s, hoping her face would not give away just how possessively her mate had acted just a few hours earlier. “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be, dear. We still love each other deeply, and we have a small army of children to show for it. Leon has never been satisfied with a single partner, and honestly, neither have I. But it was instantaneous when you arrived. As soon as he laid eyes on you he began acting like a maniac.” Stella laced her fingers through Nova’s, “But after last night, I understand why. You are magical, ethereal,” Stella squeezed Nova’s hand a little tighter, “Before you joined us last night, I had told him he would need to let you go when you chose to leave. I think he was hoping you would choose to stay with us longer… I’m not ready to let you go, either.”

Nova withdrew from Stella and dropped her head into her hands, her index fingers pressed against her temples. I was wrong, she knows. She knows that he came down, and what he did. She has to. “I am so conflicted, Stella. I can’t stop telling myself that everything has been a mistake, but then I remember how good I felt and wonder why I am so selfish that I’m willing to come between Alphas and their pack. I wish I had your family. I wish I had cubs of my own, and a mate who would love me tirelessly for the rest of my life, and a beautiful home in the woods where we could stay forever. But I don’t have that, and I won’t have that here.”

“I’m offering to share my family. All of it. I want you to stay, and you already know how Leon feels. He hasn’t marked a woman since he left this on me.” Stella brushed back her dark blonde waves, showing off a faint and long-healed scar that matched the tender wound on Nova’s neck. “He already loves aggressively, passionately, and without hesitation. At least spend a couple more days with us to let us show you how much we want you here.”

Nova met Stella’s eyes again and her resolve crumbled. She wondered if Stella had been claimed willingly, and if the woman knew just how far the depths of her mate’s “passion” ran. Nova’s only defense against the memories threatening to surface was that, unlike Stella, she had not been claimed. Marked, yes, but without bond. Stella gazed at her expectantly, waiting for an answer, but her eyes held no demands for compliance. Nova steeled herself and sighed, “Okay.”

Halfway through their meal, the conversation had turned blessedly light and full of laughter. Stella’s kids started making their way out of their rooms. Nova was reeling to try and remember everyone’s name, the feat providing to be a much need distraction from the memories threatening to pull her back into darkness. Stella offered assistance where it was obviously needed, and Nova practiced each name under her breath. Titan and Orion were the oldest that still lived at home. She hadn’t spoken to either one but had exchanged passing glances while they trained with their father. Both came into the kitchen carrying one of the toddlers, dropping them off near their mom before heading out the door. She couldn’t tell little Aries and Archer apart yet. She was more familiar with Salem and Laken, who would be beginning their training with Leon in a year or two. He’d promised to take them on a hunt this morning and they were quick to run after their older brothers despite Stella’s request that they come fill their bellies. Finally, the triplets toddled out, wiping sleep from their eyes while their tummies grumbled. Sierra looked just like her father, the only girl in the family with his straight black hair and vibrant green eyes. Lucine and Astra could have been Stella’s tiny twins.

Stella settled her pups at the larger dining room table and passed out plates of eggs and elk sausage with small cups of water. She sat between the toddlers and helped them get as much food into their mouths as possible, both boys dead set on just smearing it around their faces. The triplets bickered over who had more food and whose cup was bigger despite the identical portions. Nova chuckled from her spot at the smaller table and watched Stella flawlessly manage the five youngsters around her. When she thought of her future, this is what she wanted.