Christmas Moon by Ines Johnson

Author:Ines Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Those Johnson Girls

CHAPTER TEN

Viviane took a deep breath as she reached for the door that led into her home. It was shut tight. When she was a cub, the big white door had always been open, and she’d simply pass through the screen door to get inside. But there were no more cubs on the land.

Until now.

Viviane slid a hand over her belly. She had to go in there and make peace with her mother. If not for herself then for her unborn baby. She pushed open the large, wooden, white door and then pushed open the thin, metal screen door.

Her feet paused at the raised threshold. It was all as she remembered it. The muted, yellow walls with fingerprint stains starting at the ankle and rising all the way to her hips. Those stubborn smudges still ignored the insistent press of a wet cloth. The plush, red sofa set was the same, but the blankets covering its spills were different since her last visit.

It smelled different too. Her home always smelled of fresh cut grass, newly lain hay, and damp wood chips; like her mother. But Viviane noted a scented candle burning over the mantle. She wrinkled her nose at the sweet, vanilla scent burning off the wick.

The pictures on the mantle were the same. That shocked her. After their last argument, she’d half expected her mother to remove all traces of her from the frames. But that would’ve been a difficult chore with Viviane’s face appearing twice in each photo. The first iteration of her smiled brightly through thick, wavy curls. The second iteration of her frowned through a set of springy curls that clung around her head like a halo.

“Vivi?”

Viviane turned into the arms of her sister. “Rhetta”

She buried her face in Rhetta’s springy curls, inhaling deeply. Rhetta smelled of musty hay, with a hint of manure, and a strong whiff of wet dog. Viviane took another deep breath of it, at last feeling like she was home.

Rhetta pulled her away and looked at her collarbone. “So, it’s true. You’re mated.”

Viviane could only tug her lip into her mouth. She could never lie to her sister. Strong footsteps sounded behind her. She was already coming to recognize Pierce’s gait.

“By the Goddess, you’re a twin.”

Rhetta peered over Viviane’s shoulder and narrowed her already squinting eyes at Pierce who came up beside Viviane.

“I mean,” he cleared his throat, “by the Goddess, it’s your twin.” Pierce aimed that winning smile at Rhetta.

It didn’t move Rhetta. Nothing moved Rhetta.

They were twins, which of course was a frequent enough occurrence with wolf shifters. And like with all shifter twins, Viviane and Rhetta looked alike but not identical. Viviane’s hair fell down her shoulders in curly waves. But Rhetta’s hair curled tight to her head. Viviane’s eyes were bright, clear blue like her mother’s. Rhetta’s eyes were dark blue, near black, except for a few bright spots around her irises. It wasn’t hard to coax a smile or a laugh from Viviane if the mood was right.

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