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***Talon's POV***

"Tal, did you see that email? The one from the elders?" Remi hurries about getting our children ready while I finish making their bottles.

"I didn't. I'm sorry. I will next. Promise." I push a bottle into his hand. I take Hannah and start feeding the impatient infant.

"They are getting so big." I struggle with our larger pup. She's a squirmer.

"They can't stay tiny forever." Mom comes in and whisks my pup straight from my arms.

"I was handling it." I roll my eyes.

"Go handle your email. I got this." Mom waves me off. Dad comes through and snatches Gracie. Their really such blessings.

I take the steps two at a time to get to my laptop. I sit in Remi's chair, at his desk. Opening the email, I start scanning the words.

Warlocks? Witches?

I continue through the three page letter that informs me of a very large issue. The question is, why did I receive the information?

When I finish up the last paragraph, I print it. I will need to do a bit of digging. First, I need to get to Elder Ruth.

I walk through the pack lands to find the ancients small home. I haven't been there before. It hasn't been necessary.

Nestled in the corner of our territory, she lives in a small cottage. Fitting. I know it's hers by the symbols carved into the welcome sign. The lady is certifiably weird.

I knock on her door. She opens mid swing and waves me in.

"Come child. We have tons to discuss." Elder Ruth goes to her kitchen so I silently follow.

Her home is full of strange knick knacks. Dust coats each and every one. I continue my observation as she quietly puts on a kettle.

The books that line her shelves are leather bound with spine creases and weathered edges. No doubt that they are as ancient as her, if not older.

"I suppose you read the email?" Elder Ruth turns to me and pushes a cup of tea into my hands. I nod and take a seat at her dining table. She takes the seat across from me and hums.

"What I'm concerned about is why it was sent to me at all." I start the conversation. She seems at peace just drinking tea. However, I have important shit to take care of. I can't keep her company all day.

"Be patient. Youth. So busy working they barely live." Her words cause my eyes to rotate. Not everyone can be centuries old and enjoy breathing as a past time.

"Stop that. I can feel your attitude." This causes a chuckle to escape. Leave it to the ancients to know what we are thinking.

"I'm just trying to get to the heart of the matter. I would like to know what is going on. I apologize." I really didn't mean to be disrespectful.

"It's fine. Don't stress. I'm not." Well that answers nothing whatsoever.

"We seem to be having a small issue in another realm." Elder Ruth stands and shuffles her feet towards the vintage book shelf.

I watch as she pulls a rather large book down. I stand and help her quickly. The book is much heavier than I expect. I have no idea how she thought she could wrestle it to the table.

"Thank you Talon." She smiles sweetly at me.

I take my seat and focus my attention on whatever she is planning on telling me. I love information.

Ruth points to the page she opens. I scan the pictures and read the small writing that is scrolled beneath it.

"Warlocks." Elder Ruth turns the page and points to the witches that are animated across the parchment. It's not as if I had never heard of them. However, species don't intermingle. So, that is where I am left confused.

"What does this mean?" I ask wearily. Nothing good could come of this.

"The mages have waged war against the Elevens. While both are equal in strength and numbers, only one is capable of physically attacking." Ruth closes the book and pushes it to the side.

She flips through the pages pointing out the Elven creatures. I read the pages pertaining to their strengths. It all revolves around magic. We don't have magic. It's not our gift. We are blessed with brutal strength, a healthy conscience and a keen set of senses.

In a war involving magic my kind could be decimated easily. We don't have any type of resistance for such attacks. We would blindly walk into a gun fight holding a knife. That would be inadvisable in my personal opinion.

If Mages and Elvens seek to combat one another with their gifts, that is between them. We have our fair share of issues with vampires.

It's interesting which species are set to cohabitate peacefully and which are marked enemies. The pairings are generally based on closely related gifts.

Vampires are the same as wolves, essentially. We all have super strength, speed, heightened senses and particular gifts. When a coven chooses to become a distraction, a fair fight ensues. The same with the opposite.

I can't see any benefit in crossing realms just to show my status as a god. That would bring unwanted attention. More problems would surely follow. Yeah, I'm not in on this gig at all.

Sorry. Not sorry. They can fight their own battles.

"That involves me?" I am not ecstatic about the prospect of war. I have a pack. A family. I just want to revel in those details.

"It does not as of yet. However, as you are a god, the time may come that you are needed."

Elder Ruth gives me a look that could only be seen as incredulous.

I didn't ask to be a god. I didn't plan on swooping in like some fucking hero. I'm not willing to sacrifice all that I finally have to keep the peace between two species in a struggle for power.

I groan loudly. She might as well know how much disdain I have for this entire situation. It's not like I will be quiet about it. That's not me. Love it or leave it.

"You are under no expectation to help. I'm merely giving you a choice at this point. Talon please understand. With great power comes great responsibility. As I have said before. However, I also realize that you may not want either. That's okay. You aren't being selfish. You are gifted to do great things. So is an artist but, he may choose not to paint. A woman may choose not to have children. Ability is not the same as responsibility. I am simply informing. It is your right to choose. Either decision is perfectly acceptable." The weight of fear, that had easily wrapped itself around me like an undersized cloak, fades away.

I feel better knowing I get a choice.

"I need to speak to my mate. It concerns him. I will do nothing without his full approval." I stand up and smile gently. It must be a difficult job to deliver news that could disrupt a family.

"Go. Speak with Remington. If the problem persists I will get back with you. For now, just prepare to make a decision. Remember, it's in your hands. You get the choice." Elder Ruth walks me through the house and opens her front door for me.

"Thank you for not forcing this on me. I appreciate the advice and the information. Do call if there is something that is dire. I promise to mull it over. I can't promise I will be a savior." I wave as I take myself towards the pack house.

Entering our residence, I run my hand down my face. I'm not sure I want more responsibility. I have a mate. I have children. I have a pack. I took an oath to protect my pack. I didn't sign up to protect every realm that exists.

"Talon? What's the matter love? You look exhausted." Remington pulls me into his lap as he sits down on the couch.

"Elder Ruth was informing me of another realm who may go to war." I explain the email and the information that I learned today.

"I'm not going to be a valid source of advice. If given the chance to protect someone else or protect you, I will always choose you." Remi pulls my head to his chest. His fingers wiggle their way into my hair.

I may be a god by ancestry, but I feel less than committed to take on this roll in my lifetime. I'm barely twenty. I don't need this. I don't want it.

"Calm down love. I can feel your burdens. It's not yours to bear. You aren't obligated to help." Remi kisses me gently. I nod. It's not mine.

Sometimes we are offered things far beyond imaginable. For some, the gift of being an appointed god may be enticing. For me, I only wanted love. I have found mine. That's enough for me.

One of our children cry. I stand up and follow the staircase to my babies.

I pick up Gracie, rocking her gently from side to side. Is it not enough to be a Luna? Isn't the greatest gift and largest responsibility children? My hands hold half of the most precious gift I could have been given.

Gracie's fingers wrap around my thumb. She brings it to her lips. She sucks against my finger hungrily.

This is my purpose. I am made to love and nurture. It is not in me to go down in a blaze of battle. Glory may wait for some. Not me. I want my imprint on this world to be something that reaches farther and touches deeper.

Running my hand over the soft curls that fill my daughters head, I see what is precious. This child is mine. Mine to love and protect. As long as I give my all to the people I love, I have succeeded. A life well lead is one done with limitations.

It's a fine line between living life freely and intelligently. That's my goal. Find that line and walk just between the boundaries. Call me safe. I don't mind. One thing you can't call me is frivolous.

I sit down in the rocking chair to cuddle my pup. They will be crawling soon. One day they will walk. Eventually they will grow up. I will no longer be the one protecting them. Let me live this life at where I am in this moment.

Satisfied with my choice, I enjoy the time with my offspring. This is the life I choose. If given the choice between being legendary and being loved, I choose love. There is nothing wrong with that.

Some are born to scale mountains and slay giants. Others are meant to protect. A vast majority will only ever live inside a box that society creates for them. With everyone, one thing is concrete. We are all given choices. As long as you can live with your choice, live and let live.

Me? I'm perfectly fine with the choice I have made.

"You good, baby?" Remington brushes the back of his hand over my cheek. He smiles softly at me.

"I'm wonderful. My mind is made up. I choose you. I choose this." I kiss my pup and hand her over to her other daddy.

"I can't say that I am disappointed." Remi places our child in the crib. I wrap my arms around his waist from behind. I breathe a sigh of relief.

If at the end of every day I get to do this the next than that's my end game.

"You are a hero to us." Remi turns in my arms and lifts my chin with two of his fingers.

"That's more than enough for me." I lift on my toes to kiss his sweet lips.

Remi wraps his hands around my cheekbones and dives down. He kisses me gently. The fire inside of him soon consumes me. It licks at my veins and lights my skin in flames.

At the end of it all, I choose him.