"Wait, are you finally going to talk about the trial?" Felicity asked, astonished as she walked into the room without the sky nymph.

  Selene rolled her eyes. "Oh joy. You have returned."

  Felicity gave Selene an 'Are you kidding me right now' look before walking over to the kitchenette. "Don't worry. I am not staying just grabbing something to drink for the cranky nymph."

  I wanted to get up, but Fe waved me down. She is a big girl who could handle herself without my help. Still, why does Selene dislike humans so much? She made my family human a few thousand years ago. Did she dislike them back then? Too many questions remained unanswered for the moment. Right now, I need to focus on surviving this trial that Selene has for me.

  "Has anyone ever told you that you monologue way too much?" Selene spoke curtly.

  Felicity and I turned our heads to look at this crazy woman. "Me monologue? As if."

  "It's like pulling teeth to find out things about Kori. It took half a bottle of Tequila to find out she liked her ex-boyfriend." Felicity shook her head at that memory. "She shares next to nothing about how she truly feels."

  Selene smiled at Felicity's words. I guess Selene is having some sort of epiphany. "Are you sure, little human? She is hard to read?"

  "We are sure." Fe and I said at the same time.

  Selene seemed giddy for a moment before squealing, "So you do have a gift! I haven't seen such an ability since Elena!"

  "Okay. You lost me." I said, slipping back into my seat.

  "You have telepathy!" Selene grinned. "Isn't it wonderful?"

  "Telepathy… as in mind reading?" Felicity interjected.

  "Sort of. Instead of just reading minds, you can connect and communicate with them." Selene’s sour attitude seemed to fade as she spoke. "See, all your ancestors had these special abilities because they bore my mark from birth. My magic exists in you, making you telepathic although I think Elena called it mindlinking. There's a better explanation in the book that I created when I made all the werewolves human."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  She wrote a book... I don’t imagine this woman ever sitting down to write anything, and she took the time to write a book about my ancestors… yep. It's hard to believe.

  "I take insult to that child," Selene snapped at me.

  "What?" I asked innocently.

  Selene glared at me. "I can hear your thoughts, child."

  Shit. How was I supposed to know?

  "I just told you that you have telepathy! Think child." Selene scolded me.

  Felicity laughed at our exchange and continued getting Kalia something to drink.

  So, only you can hear me, Selene?

  "Nope. I heard that too." Fe responded, nonchalantly.

  “You’re telling me that none of my thoughts will be private anymore,” I huffed. My fingers rubbed over my temples as I tried to process what Selene was telling me.

  “Not exactly. You can control when people hear your thoughts with some practice,” Selene answered.

  "So, to summarize, I am a descendant of a magic moon lady and cursed dog people, with a magic birthmark that makes me scream all my thoughts to other people. Is that right?" My hands waved about as I talked, punctuating my sarcastic words.

  Selene’s eyes narrowed looking down at me. "Do you have a problem with that?"

  "Yes. Yes, I do have a problem with that!" I yelled at her. "In addition to being a walking freak of nature, I have to complete a magical trial to become a freaking dog or I will die."

  Selene huffed at my words. “Ungrateful little…”

  “Wow, you still struggle with your words, Kori,” Felicity interrupted, hoping to break the tension. “Either way, you can’t undo what’s happening-”

  “Why?” I fired back. “Why can’t we undo it all? Can’t you just take back this birthmark, Selene? That should make the Fates change their minds.”

  Selene gasped at my words. She didn’t seem pleased with my idea in the slightest. How is she not hearing my thoughts right now? Did I accidentally-

  “No, you haven’t figured out how to control it, child. Getting rid of my magic mark won’t change anything. It’s your DNA that connects you to me and my daughter. It’s your blood that created this mess, and now, only your blood can fix it.” Selene retorted.

  “But!”

  “No, Korinne. You are part goddess in your own right. Hence, the telepathy that you now have. The power as my granddaughter, Elena. Accept your path in life before you kill us both.” Selene argued. “I will tell you about the trial in the morning. I must see to my celestial duties. Kalia will help you get settled.”

  “Wait-”

  Selene vanished before our eyes like a moonbeam disappearing into the darkness. She said there was no way to avoid this trial or remove her mark. I am a walking freak of nature who descends from an irrelevant goddess of the moon. Greek mythology has been nothing but fairy tales to me until today. Hell, I am a walking, talking, piece of Greek mythology, meaning I am proof the myths were true. All of this scares me to no end. My life is destined to become a modern Greek tragedy.

  “Would you quit your damn whining, little wolf? It’s very annoying.” Kalia said as she hobbled into the room. “Honestly, you are off to a better start than most of those ancient heroes anyway. You have a friend to join you on your quest. Most of the other guys were alone in their journey. Now, move it or lose because I will force your ass into one of these rooms to rest if I need to. All I want right now is sleep.”

  Great. Moon Grandma is mad at me. Nymphie is annoyed by me. Felicity looks exhausted. I guess I have to stay here tonight. Yet, I wish I were anywhere but here.