United. (Book 5 of the Lupus Antiqua Series)

Endymion was standing outside, staring up at the moon. Outlined in her silvery light as he was, he looked otherworldly; like some refined yet savage demi-god roaming the wild and she just happened to catch sight of him from her window.

It had been a week since their run in with the Anguis Natalie and there had been no sign of any doom descending. It was enough to make Abby breathe a sigh of relief.

Endymion was tireless in his quest to deal with his crap, she'd give him that. It was admirable. She'd lived his memories alongside him as she helped him face himself.

He'd done some crappy things, it was true. She could see how others might miss it, but she was in his head, latched onto his emotions. She knew that he regretted the things he'd done and said.

She could feel his longing for his mate, but it was a sad sort of faded thing. He wasn't pining for her. Rather, he knew he'd had something precious and fumbled it to another.

She'd heard that wolves were obsessively into their fated mates, but that didn't seem the case here. That was a fact that Abby, much to her chagrin, was happy about.

See, the longer she spent with Endymion, the more aware she became that there was an issue. She was interested in him as more than just someone she was helping.

He was handsome, cultured, unfailingly polite to her with moments that showed his less civilized nature. It was a compelling mix, and she wasn't immune, no matter how hard she tried to be.

It was why she was having trouble pulling her gaze away from him now. She wondered what kissing him would be like. What would it be, she pondered, to feel his warm, muscled flesh beneath her fingers; to feel his weight on her as they...she shook her head. This wasn't appropriate.

She turned away, meaning to put the dry dishes away but found her gaze drawn inexorably back to him. He was looking at her now and she blinked in surprise. A gentle smile warmed his handsome features and she found an answering one rising on her own.

He came back inside and greeting her with a nod.

"Were you talking to her?" Abby asked, gesturing to the moon.

"I can feel her presence, but I do not hear her anymore. Not as I used to." He seemed ambivalent about it, which surprised her a bit.

"You seem to be okay with that?" She questioned.

"More and more I realize that her favor was a privilege that I no longer deserve. She'd withdrawn her voice from me because I abused its power. It is no more or less than is deserved. She is a fair Goddess." He murmured.

"One of few." Abby chuckled, putting the bowls away.

"Are many of the Gods you True Witches work with unfair?" He questioned, voice curious.

"Unfair? I'm not sure that's an accurate classification. They have very different concerns from us and they operate under different rules. I'm sure that to them, they mostly operate fairly. It only seems unfair to us, because we tend to impose our own moral compass or lack thereof onto them." She said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, they are varied from one another just as much as we are. And as people who are petitioning them, we tend to have certain expectations of them.

Someone calling upon Loki for instance may expect him to be capricious all the time. Not so. There's almost always a reason why a trickster God would turn your request back on you, and it's almost always your own fault.

Or Aphrodite, for instance, not as vain as we might expect her to be. But often we go to these deities putting our own expectations onto them and in so doing we mishandle our interactions with them.

One of the first things a True Witch learns is to be respectful, but neutral when dealing with any being whether deity or spirit. But to call them mostly unfair would be a disservice. Many of them are self interested or specialized. I wouldn't petition Kali Ma for aid in child bearing for instance. That's just asking for disaster." She shivered at the thought and Endymion chuckled.

She thrilled at the sound.

"Do any of you approach the Moon Goddess?" He wondered.

"Not your Moon Goddess, no, unless the True Witch in question has wolf blood. Your Moon Goddess is concerned only with her children and no one else.

I suppose I could approach her if I needed help with you and she might answer. Or, as in the case of Amara, were I the True Witch for a pack." He nodded and studied her in that impenetrable way of his.

"You remind me of her." He said gently.

"The Moon Goddess?" She wondered.

"Yes." He confirmed, eyes intense. She felt herself blush and she bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Endymion, that may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." She moved forward and hugged him firmly. He seemed shocked for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, burying his head in her neck as he did so.

Oh, but he felt wonderful this close up. He smelled nice too, like the soap in her bathroom and wind and rain. She felt it again then, that odd rope of energy that seemed to connect them. As they pulled away from each other gently she saw the knowledge of it in his eyes.

"You feel that too?" She asked, nearly whispering.

"Yes. But I will not pursue it." He sounded like he was trying to sound firm, but not quite managing it.

"What is it?" She wondered. "I've been trying to figure it out since you arrived." He swallowed and moved a tendril of her auburn hair back behind her ear.

"It is a mating bond." His voice was nearly as quiet as her own now. She was at a loss for what to say for a long moment.

"How is that possible?" She asked. "I thought that was only possible if you have wolf blood?"

"You must have wolf blood in you somewhere." He shrugged as if it didn't matter. "I don't know why the Goddess chose to bless me with another mate after what happened with Melody. But I will not push it."

She bit her lip as something in her cried out against his words.

"Why not?" She asked. He looked away from her for a long moment and she was sorely tempted to probe his emotions for answers. She resisted though.

"I'm not worthy of you." He nearly growled it out, before heading back to the room he was sleeping in, and gently closing the door.

She stared after him for a long time after he'd vanished behind the door; completely at a loss.