CATRINA

I thought that this world was a very small place when I met Connor after 7 years but apparently it is not so small. This world is full of so many different species, three of which are sitting in front of me. A vampire, a werewolf and a witch/ werewolf hybrid.

Oh, my God! Am I losing my mind?

"No need to panic, Catrina."

"It is fine, lapochka," my mother soothes me while running her fingers through my hair. I turn to look at her and into her warm brown eyes so much like mine but filled with so many memories.

It amazes me to see that she's still sitting here, strong enough to support me when I bet, my problems aren't even a spoonful in comparison to her life issues.

"You are one of us, sister. So please don't feel overwhelmed," whispers Sierra who's on my other side. I look down in my lap, shaking my head a little.

"No, it's not that I feel overwhelmed. It's just that I never imagined my world would change so much. After rejecting Connor's claim-"

"Wait what?" interrupts Dominic. Fenris then quietly informs him about Conner being my mate and that we had our history and that we met again and that I rejected him.

"Well, that's fucked."

I agree, it is fucked, big time. I sigh in resignation, not knowing what to do with this information.

"You'll love Alcina and Nora. They are like the coolest witches I have ever met," gushes Sierra, thankfully changing the topic of Connor, to which Fenris sceptically replies, "they are the only witches you have met."

A smile lifts my mouth at their banter and I feel myself getting warm because of the love that I feel here. These people love me and they are here for me.

"Oh, god. That's not cool. Cool is me. I am a vampire, kid," says Dominic flicking Sierra in the head but it's not her who flicks his handoff. It's Fenris who growls and flicks Dominic's hand away which makes me chuckle at his possessive attitude.

It's refreshing to watch that not all couples split. There are still people who fall in love and then hold on to that love.

"I think I would like to meet them," I say, wanting to be a part of this easy banter. Dominic looks at me and his face turns crooked in disgust, maybe.

"What? No way. I hate witches. I don't want you to meet them. I'll call my brother and his mate. You can have fun with them," declares Dominic which causes Cayden to shiver.

"No way. Your brother gives off that-I-am-a-royal, you-lowly-scum-look-to-me."

"That's because you flirted with Anya, you idiot," mock growls Dominic, which makes both me and Sierra crack up. Cayden turns red in the face and I can imagine how he felt when Dominic's brother eye-ripped him to pieces.

"Your bad, brother," I say while laughing hard. Cayden just shrugs and then leans back in his seat, whispering about beautiful vampires and their old mates while pushing my worries in the back of my mind.

~~~~~~

I watch myself in the mirror, looking at a very different self. A few days ago, if anyone had told me that I would be rejecting Connor and then actively agreeing to name my goddaughter as a part of a tradition, I would have laughed my ass off.

"You look beautiful, sestra," says Cayden as he stands beside me.

"Thank you," I whisper. Since the last week, Cayden and I have bonded over everything and nothing. I can really understand the bond of twins now. I can't think of any other person whom I would call mine except for Cayden. I can't claim Connor as mine, soon he'll have another mate.

Cayden has been a rock to me, always there for me, to listen to me, to chastise me when I feel pity for myself. He's just there. Like yesterday, when I screamed in a nightmare, Cayden quietly slipped into my room and held me while I cried again for Connor. I remember, my brother whispering that it'll be alright and that's how I fell asleep again.

"Come on, mom and Dominic are waiting for us," he whispers and I let him pull me out of my room.

I sigh, preparing myself so that I don't break down tonight. It's a full moon tonight and it's my goddaughter's naming ceremony.

I still remember how Sierra had called me yesterday, flustered about their baby's name.

I knock on the door of Fenris's house. A few hours ago, Sierra called me to ask for a favour, telling me that I was the best person to help her out in that matter. When I asked her what it is, she told me to come over and then she would tell me.

Honestly, I am still quite scared of that baby. The last time I held her, I broke down unleashing my deep emotions. It's good to cry but it's quite depressing to remember those memories and be stuck in them. I have accepted my fate, that I won't be able to conceive and that Connor might not be the partner that I had wanted him to be. I want to move ahead, to have a real chance to be with my family and live with them.

I got this chance and I don't want to lose it because of my losses.

Sighing, I lift my hand again to knock when the door opens and a very flustered looking Sierra stands to welcome me into their home. "Hey, how can I help you?" I ask, smiling softly at her. She stops, takes a deep breath and then looks relieved, probably because I didn't ask her questions about what she was doing before opening the door. It's quiet in here, meaning the baby is sleeping which explains Sierra's appearance.

"I am sorry. I called you for a favour," she says motioning me towards the sofa. She sits across from me while I settle in the armchair. I nod at her to continue when Fenris walks into the living room. Even he appears a bit flustered and now I feel as if I really disturbed them.

"I can come later if you'll want," I say but Sierra shakes her head while Fenris moves in beside her to sit on the sofa.

"No, Catrina. That's fine. We want a favour from you," he says, reassuring me.

"We want you to name our pup," adds Sierra making me gasp in surprise.

"No, she's your daughter. You should name her," I shake my head, ready to say more when Fenris says that it's somewhat a tradition in the family.

"Yes, as I said, I was named by my Godmother, that's Nora. She named me since my parents were confused with two different names. Since I and Sierra are also confused, we want her Godmother to name her," Fenris explains, his voice thick with emotions.

I nod in understanding but still don't feel comfortable.

"We just met like 2 weeks ago, I don't feel that I am the right person..."

"You are, trust me, sister. You are." Sierra nods supporting Fenris's words and I find myself being excited, privileged as well as overwhelmed. I let the excitement and privilege take over.

"Okay, I'll do it but first I want to be able to hold her without the onslaught of my emotions. I want to move on but it's not possible if my memories get thrown over me every time, I hold my goddaughter," I say and watch Fenris nod along with Sierra who beams at me, quite happy that I agreed.

"Let's go then, you can hold her. Then you can name her. Out of tradition, we name our children only in front of close family, which is you, Cayden and Christine. My parents are stuck in their Beta work, so it'll be us. Nora and Fenris's other cousins will join us too. We will later announce our daughter's name to the pack, together," she whispers appearing excited for the naming ceremony.

"Okay... But I have to think a bit."

"Oh, yes. I have three names I like so please choose one of them or you can tell me any name which springs to your mind," says Sierra to which I happily agree.

"The naming ceremony is tomorrow, so you can stay here till she wakes up. Hold her, play with her. Get used to her, you will be on babysitting duties probably tomorrow night since I am going to shift into my wolf after almost a year," whispers Sierra in my ears.

"Hey!" I startle out of my thoughts of yesterday when Dominic snaps his fingers in front of me.

"Nothing, just lost in thoughts," I whisper which he misinterprets and pulls me out of my home and then we walk towards Fenris's house.

"You are depressed?" he asks and I shake my head.

"No, I am not depressed. It's just that I can't forget him," I say, which is partially true.

Dominic nods his head and whispers, "I understand. You can't forget your mate."

The soft confession makes my steps falter.

"Have you met your mate, Dominic?" I ask and this time his steps falter. He looks at me, his red eyes boring into me as if trying to scare me off? I hold steady, look into his eyes and feel that he's hiding something.

"You've met her, haven't you?" I ask, to which he nods. His nod is so subtle that I would've missed it had I blinked.

I gasp in surprise, turning in front of him, effectively stopping him from walking away which I am sure was in his mind.

"Tell me," I insist and watch as his face loses his composure and the façade of carefree attitude slips.

"I have met her," he confirms and I hug him hard, happy for he shared the news with me.

"Wow, when am I meeting her?" I go to ask him more but he shakes his head, and then puts his hand over my head, bobbing my head in a circle.

"You turn the tables so well, Luna," he whispers and this time, I am shocked at the way he addressed me. I go to protest that I am not a Luna since I rejected Connor but he interrupts me.

"Let it go, it has been a long time since that happened," he whispers and then turns me by the hold he has on my head so we start walking again.

"I am sorry," I whisper, not wanting to overstep. He's my godfather and way older than my mother even.

"Don't apologise. At this moment, you should focus on your own healing so that you can be the Luna, Connor needs you to be," he whispers and then walks away from me, into Fenris's house leaving me alone on the porch of the house.

I take in his words as I walk into the house which is decorated with balloons and whatnot. It looks straight out of a typical high-class family's baby naming ceremony. Pushing out all thoughts of Connor and our history, I stand there appreciating the view of the living room from the entrance of the house when a presence makes itself known beside me.

I turn to look at a woman, no it's a girl, probably younger. She's like a teenager; slim, taller, covered in a cloak with black hair flowing around her and her eyes are a shade of light amber when she looks at me, assessing me?

"Hey," I whisper, not knowing why she's staring at me like that. But as soon as I greet her, her face transforms, her lips widening in a huge smile, showing the perfect set of teeth.

"Hey, girl. I am Alcina, Fenris's witch cousin," she greets and doesn't wait to hug me. I hug her in return, feeling that this one's a bubbly person. Opposite from Fenris.

"I am Catrina. Cayden's twin sister," I introduce myself and watch her nod her head.

"I know, I know. You look exactly like your mom. Tough lady!" she exclaims which makes me wonder about how much she knows about my family.

"Who have we got here, Alcina?" whispers someone else, interrupting my next question. I turn to look at a guy. This one looking like Alcina but his eyes are darker in shade.

"She's Cayden sister," replies Alcina and then gestures at the guy with her chin. "He's my elder brother Calum."

"Oh, so you are the baby's Godfather. Nice to meet you," I say and put forward my hand for a shake but he just looks at it. The brother-sister duo watches my hand and I take it back, feeling quite awkward now.

Maybe, they don't do the handshake thing, I think to myself and smile at them. This is embarrassing.

Suddenly, Calum chuckles and then pulls me in for a hug. I stand there shocked and not quite able to hug him back because my hands are trapped beside me.

"We don't do the handshake, Catrina. We hug our loved ones," he says and Alcina chuckles as if it is some inside joke. I just smile, not able to form a reply. This is awkward.

"There you are, Catrina. Don't be alone with these witches," says Cayden, as he extracts me out of Calum's arms which I hadn't realised, were still around me.

I lean into Cayden a little, feeling a bit relieved. For a minute, I felt like the siblings were going to pull a prank on me.

"Oh, scared for your twin?" says Alcina, playfully which makes Cayden growl. I immediately place a hand on my brother's chest when he takes a threatening step towards the witch girl.

"Woah there, brother. She's a girl," I whisper, not understanding if he really would have hurt her.

Calum laughs at that and shakes his head. "Alcina and Cayden have a way of fighting the sexual tension they share," whispers Calum while watching me with a glint in his eyes.

"Oh, don't even think about it," growls my brother all of a sudden and I startle out of a haze.

"Don't play your mind games here, wizard boy," whispers Dominic all of a sudden standing behind me. Calum visibly shudders and then gives me a smirk like a smile pulling a playful Alcina with him as he walks off.

"What was that?" I ask, not able to understand what just happened.

Dominic shakes his head whereas Cayden, shrugs and then looks at me as if nothing just happened. As if he didn't literally pounce on a girl right in front of me and her brother.

"She's a witch, who can wield her sexual power quite effectively. She likes to make men fall for her charms," replies Dominic, drily looking at Cayden who looks like he's swallowed something bitter.

"What?"

"They are witches. That Calum can read minds and Alcina is the next in line for the position of Queen of the Witches," explains Cayden, looking a little better now.

"Wow," I exclaim in wonder. So many changes and I am still standing taking in everything, I think the time is close when I'll just feel run over by a freight train and still say that I am fine.

~~~~~~

So, Nora and her kids are back. How was it? Let me know your views about this chapter.

Thank you for reading! 

This chapter has a hint about the third book. Did you find it? Do comment near the possible hint and I'll let you know if it's the right guess or not in the next update. ;)

What do you think about the third book? Should there be a third book? Will you read it? I have the characters as well as the plot ready but will post the glimpse of the characters only after HIS ESTRANGED MATE is complete. 

Till then, keep reading this book and I hope you complete reading it. I am enjoying writing this book especially because I can see at least 2-3 readers who vote and a minimum of 6-7 silent readers. When you vote, I get more motivated to update the next chapter. 

So, keep voting and commenting. 

Take Care and stay healthy. 

Yours, 

Desari Skies.