I will be your reaper...

Darkness envelops the pack.

Celeste Hawton's POV

I yawned, forcing myself to wake up. My back was throbbing from the week I'd spent sleeping in this desk chair. Jaxon walks in with some coffee and I smile "Thank you, Jax. What time is it?" the man takes a sip of his coffee, staring at the vial on the desk. "6 am. We've still got two hours before breakfast, but Noris wants to see us at 7 am. He's probably going to ask if we've made progress" I nodded, sighing into my coffee mug as I sipped it. "Honestly...Even with Dia's blessing, it's quite a task. I've been going through the story of the siblings again to see if I can find anything but...There's no mention of it." Jax nodded, his index finger and thumb squeezing the bridge of his nose.

It was then that the door swung open and Lorraine burst in, panting. "I-I have an idea, High Priestess!" I stood to attention, ignoring the stiffing and popping of my spine. Jaxon rushed forward, placing his coffee on the table "Finally! What have you discovered? Wait wait wait. Hold that thought, Let's call everyone to Noris' office so we can discuss it together." Lorraine and I nodded and the three of us rushed to the office while Lorraine mindlinked the rest of the family.

Everyone arrived within minutes and we all took our seats bar Lorraine, who was waiting for the shuffle to be over. "It occurred to me this morning as I was watching Lily and Aradia. Who was the mother of the four siblings?" My eyes sparkled and I quickly stood "You don't mean-- THEIA?! But hold on...Because Theia was the biological mother of the siblings. So...Why would this have anything to do with Lily and the poison?" Lorraine nodded "Indeed, Theia is the biological mother. But when I was a child, my mother used to tell me stories that were passed down from women in our family. I forgot all about it. Theia gave birth to Selene, then Apollo and finally, twins Artemis and Hodr. Theia was a very powerful Goddess, one of the most powerful. Each child she birthed played a significant role within each realm and was loved by everyone. Eris, Goddess of Discord, was sick of it. She was jealous and craved all that Theia and her children had. She never wished to be the Goddess of Discord at all. Besides that, Eris had tried to get pregnant for a long time. When she did give birth, she birthed Limos, the Goddess of starvation. Limos was good for causing strife, but Eris no longer wanted to cause strife. Eris wanted what Theia had. As such, she asked Limos to help her come up with a way of killing Theia." I nodded, never having heard this story before.

Lily frowned "Did they? Kill Theia, I mean? Because if that's the case, this could connect to the birth mother of the twins. She may be dead." I shook my head "Theia was widely worshipped and exceptionally powerful. I don't believe they would be able to kill her". Lorraine nodded "That's right. Theia was much too powerful. All they could do was lock her in a tower in the underworld forever. Eris planned to swoop in and be the mother the siblings needed, but when she returned from the underworld, Theia's friend Leto had already comforted the children and she moved in with them to care for them. Outraged, Eris yet again asks her daughter to help her make a plan to get rid of Leto. Limos agreed and told her of a worm that could only be detected by those on the same power level as Eris or Theia. They act as a poisonous parasite that prevents conception and if already pregnant, deceives the mother into thinking they have a healthy baby until they deliver a stillborn. Besides this, they very slowly make the host go crazy until they eventually lose all sanity and begin to abuse their abilities, causing chaos everywhere. The worms give the hosts nightmares and they're never the same again. The only way to get rid of the worms is to kill them with primordial darkness. Which the two were sure was long gone."

Quinn sighed "So let me get this straight. When you say primordial darkness do you mean...Erebus?" Lorraine nodded. "It's only my assumption but...I think Artemis blessed Lily with protection and fertility while Hodr blessed her with primordial darkness, thus ridding her of the worms." I nodded, deep in thought. It made sense. Supposedly, Erebus told Lily that their biological mother was going through her own trial. If that's right, it lines up with Theia's story. Although we already know Theia never reincarnated so someone is pulling the strings...That means Leto represents Lily.

I groaned placing my head on the table "We don't have primordial darkness! Erebus is asleep, and Goddess only knows if he can even use his abilities. It seems like Aradia is using hers on instinct and what she's seen in her dreams. Which reminds me - Do you think she's getting her memories back?" Lily shrugged "It's a possibility but either way, I doubt it. She would be aware of the adoption if she knew." I nodded in agreement. With Dia's personality, she's the type to confront us. I lifted my head, and just as I was about to speak, I saw the darkest abyss I've ever seen creep over the pack. My jaw hinged and I stood to my feet "What the hell is that?!"

Suddenly, Dia was banging on the door. "Mummy, Daddy! Erebus is awake! Come quickly!" We all rushed to the room Dia and Erebus shared, throwing ourselves in and seeing darkness creep all over the place. Lily ran forward and cradled the confused Erebus, Quinn right by her side "Shhh, it's okay, Erebus. Mummy and Daddy are here. Tell us why you're so upset, we won't be mad" the boy sobbed, the darkness quickly receding and I heaved a sigh in relief. "Mummy, there's a really bad lady in the pack that keeps putting something sour in your drinks and meals" I rushed forward, practically tripping over my own feet "Erebus, how did you know that?!"

The boy opened his eyes and turned to look at me. Much different from Dia's, Erebus' eyes seemed as if the Gods had melted down only the purest of gold and infused it with divinity to make his eyes. He sniffled "Auntie Cece, you're the one that will tell everyone that I have Theia's eyes of prophesy". I knew it. There's no mistaking those golden eyes. It was written in Lore that Theia had eyes made of gold and gems that were coveted by everyone. Not just due to their beauty, but because Theia could see the future and give prophesies. Noris shook his head "Surely not. Besides, you didn't even tell us that, Celeste." I grinned at him with mischief "That's because Erebus beat me to it. Another thing, he's never known my name and yet calls me Auntie Cece."

I watched Noris think about it, asking Erebus why he called me Auntie Cece. "Because I saw Dia and I call you that at the full moon festival" I grinned even wider, turning to Noris as his face scrunched "But the festival isn't until next mont-" I watched the realisation set in. I still see doubt in a few eyes and sigh, asking Erebus to tell us some other things that he saw. "Hmmm...Next week, Nicholas will get lost on a trip to the neighbouring pack when he chases some kids. Then we have...Uhh, I don't think I should say it out loud. It's supposed to be Grandpa Conrad's surprise..." I watched as Conrad ushered his wife out of the room quickly and then came back to see if his guess was right "Grandpa Conrad is going to take Grandma Louise on a cruise to the Caribbean for their anniversary and Auntie Talia is pregnant."

We all snapped our necks to a confused Talia. Quinn requested for the doctor to be called and within ten minutes, the doctor came to request a urine sample from the Luna. Talia quickly did the sample and the doctor dipped it, confirming that Talia was pregnant. Noris was over the moon and everyone congratulated the two. It was then that they realised Erebus was telling the truth. Conrad knew from the moment Erebus mentioned the cruise because he only booked it yesterday. Lily was shocked at just how extraordinary her children were.

"Auntie Cece, you must eliminate those ugly creatures in your lab. Here, I'll borrow you Phoebe!" Erebus grabbed my hand and a small kitten made from darkness formed in the palm of my hand. I smiled, stroking the kitten and nodded to Erebus. "Uncle Jaxon and I will go and destroy them now. Make sure you let Uncle Noris know who the bad lady is, okay?" Erebus nodded and I quickly left the room with Jaxon, heading to the lab with the kitten in hand to destroy the worms.