Bonus Chapter 1
Giselda
When I opened my eyes, I stood in front of the Goddess, who was smiling warmly at me. She spread her arms open.
“Welcome home, daughters,” She said, her voice as soft as a warm summer breeze.
“Daughters?” I asked, confused.
“Mommy, when can I meet Daddy?” A curious voice asked as my hand was tugged on.
I clenched my eyes closed tightly as longing filled me. This was a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. The tugging got harder.
“Mommy? What about Daddy?” The little girl asked again.
“Patience, my child,” The Goddess said. “Giselda, when you died, you were pregnant. Both you and your daughter came home together. Here, she will never be taken from you. This is your eternity. This is everything you could ever want or need.”
“Who’s her father?” I whispered.
“Does it matter?” She retorted.
“No, I’ll love her the same either way,” I answered.
“Then open your eyes and see,” She suggested.
I swallowed hard before slowly opening my eyes to look down at the stunning girl at me. A soft sob escaped from me as I knelt in front of her, cupping her face while she watched me with eyes that I knew very well.
“Milton,” I whispered.
The Goddess touched my shoulder. “Yes, he is her father. Come along, I only have a few moments to take you to your new home before I welcome another one of my children home.”
I stood back up, taking my daughter’s hand again before smiling at the Goddess. “And then I can go find Milton?”
“Yes.”
She turned around gracefully before walking off, following a path that led to where hundreds of cottages were in the distance. As we made our way down the path, She explained everything about where we were. The humans called it Heaven, but for shifters, it was home. It was more than just Heaven. It was where we were created, so it only made sense that it was where we came back to when we passed. Halfway to the cottages, a familiar laugh drew my attention, making my head whip. A few hundred feet away, Milton sat chatting with someone. I let my daughter’s hand go as I raced away from her.
“MILTON!” I cried excitedly.
His head snapped up, jumping up instantly when he saw me. He raced away from the table instantly, meeting me halfway. I threw myself into his arms, giggling happily when he caught me before spinning me around. We wrapped our arms around each other, hugging like nothing else mattered at that moment, and to me, almost nothing did. When he lowered me back to the ground, he tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Are you really here?” He whispered in awe.
“I am! I’ve missed you!” I gushed.
“I’ve missed you too, Zelda.”
“Zelda? As in Giselda?” The woman he was sitting with asked as she stopped beside us.
“Yes,” he told her as he turned us toward her. “Giselda, I would like to introduce you to Jovi, my fated mate.”
My heart shattered in my chest as I looked at the stunning woman standing in front of me with her hand out, smiling. I tried to pull away from Milton, but his arm tightened around my waist, holding me in place.
“Jovi, this is Giselda, my wife, my chosen mate, and my everything,” he told her, making my head tilt back so I could look into his eyes.
‘W-what?” I stammered.
He smiled down at me softly. “Which part confused you, sweetheart? I didn’t stop loving you because I died. All it did was make my feelings stronger.”
“How can you say that when your fated mate is standing right here?” I asked dejectedly.
He chuckled as he cupped my face with his thumb moving over my lips. “One of the first things we did when we met each other was reject each other, Zelda. Neither of us felt the bond like we should have.” He kissed me softly. “Because we both have chosen mates that we love with everything in us. We are friends, nothing more. We have gotten to know each other while we waited for our chosen mates. She is a wonderful woman, but she’s not the woman for me. You are. You are the one I want. You are the one that was created for me. And I would never betray you. Not even in death.”
I leaned against him, closing my eyes again. “Milton,” I whispered, praying that he would understand what I couldn’t verbalize from that single word.
He started to rub my back. “I know, Zelda. I feel the same way.”
“Mommy, is this Daddy?” My daughter said from behind me.
I jumped before cursing silently. I pulled away from Milton to turn around to scoop our daughter up.
“Ummm, so surprise?” I told him weakly as I turned to face him again.
He chuckled as he smiled brightly at the little girl in my arms. “Hello, Clarissa. I’ve been waiting for you as well.”
“Clarissa?” I repeated.
“Yes, Giselda. That’s what we would have named her on earth so she will be Clarissa here too,” he told me as he held his arms out to her. Clarissa immediately leaned toward him and he set her on his hip. “I know the Goddess usually guides newcomers around, but I can show and tell you everything you need to know.”
“I’d like that,” I said breathlessly.
He took my hand, kissing the back of it before leading me toward the cottages. A soft chuckle behind us had me pulling away from him to rush back up to Jovi, where I hugged her.
“Would you like to come over for dinner?” I asked, unsure if we even needed to eat here, but it was my go to thing to get to know someone, and I didn’t want to alienate her.
She beamed at me. “I’d love to.”
“Thank you for keeping him sane while he was waiting for me,” I told her, returning her smile.
“Thank you for showing him what love was. It was all I ever hoped for him.”
I nodded, unable to speak around the lump in my throat before hurrying back to where Milton and Clarissa were waiting for me. Milton instantly took my hand again.
“Let’s go home, Zelda.”
I smiled widely at him. “I’m already there, Milton.” I stood on my tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips before taking Clarissa’s small hand in our joined ones. “You two are my home. And now, I have you guys for eternity.”
“And we have you.”
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