Alpha Markus and Celeste novel Chapter 78

Chapter 78 – Celeste
Celeste P.O.V.
I fell asleep again after having sex, only to be woken up by my growling stomach and a chuckling Markus, “We should shower and
grab breakfast. Today might be a long day,” he said as he helped me up.
We showered and headed down to breakfast. Alpha Diego’s mom grabbed me and led me down to the kitchen the moment she saw
me. Yelling at Markus to go wait in the dining room. ‘Are you OK, Tuli?’ He asked me while I was being dragged away.
‘Yes, she wants to teach me some dishes,’
answered. Mrs Rodriguez taught me to make Chilaquiles, huevos divorciados, huevos
rancheros among other dishes. We worked together for about an hour, enjoying chatting and pumping out the food until she gave me a plate of chilaquiles and told me to go join Markus before he accused her of slave labor as she finished the last of the plates.
I walked in to everyone eating happily. I noticed Gillian was sitting next to the woman that had asked him to dance yesterday. I shot
him a wink as I passed by and I heard him trying to say a word correctly. He blushed and it made me laugh a little, “Ha estado practicando por un mes entero. (He’s been practicing all month)”I told her when she turned around.
“Se ve. Camila, gusto en conocerla Luna Celeste(I can tell, nice to meet you Luna).” she said with a small laugh, “Sera fluente para cuando se regresen. Yo hablo ingles pero prefiero mi lengua. Ademas, es lindo verlo tratar. No muchos lo hacen. (He’ll be fluent by the time he leaves. I know english but prefer my native tongue. Plus it’s adorable to see him try. Not many make the effort)”
I nodded, “Sí, es buen hombre. Tratamelo bien (Yes, he’s a good man. Treat him right.)”I told her asl patted him on the back and
kept going until I reached Markus.
“only understood half of those words. Do / want to know?’ Gillian’s voice reached me.
I wouldn’t be a good Luna if I wasn’t willing to be a wingwoman’
said as I dug into my food.
‘-well Thank you… I think, he answered.
‘Hey, you did all the hard work. I just gave you a nudge
I said.
I don’t know what that means,’ he said. ‘You will.’ I laughed and cut off the mind link.
‘Tuli, ‘Markus asked, is that going to be who I think it’s going to be?’ ‘I hope so. He looks smitten already,’ I said.
‘So his mate will be Mexican?” he asked me. I could feel his curiosity through the bond.
‘Yes. I think so.’
“How was your breakfast? I made it with the help of Mrs. Rodriguez,” I changed the subject.
“It’s delicious. I’ve never had something quite like it,” he said showing me his clean plate.
“Mom’s always been a gifted cook,” Alpha Diego said proudly.
“Yes, I can’t wait to try some of these recipes when we get back home. Hopefully I can learn a few more before I go,” I said
enthusiastically as I took another bite.
We chatted amicably for a little while as I ate. Once I was finished, Alpha Diego gave us the tour of the grounds. It was really amazing how self sufficient they seemed to be. They farmed, processed and canned a lot of their products. There were drying racks filled with peppers we had used this morning. They even had some refrigeration carved into the mountain that used the coolness of the rock with
minimal electricity to store their meat.
Although the Packhouse was built into the side of the mountain, we hadn’t realized that even the parts that didn’t face the outside
were so light without requiring electricity during the day. Alpha Diego pointed to a bunch of thin skylights that seemed to lead to the top
of the mountain. It was always cool despite the summer heat, he assured us as he led us to the back. He opened a door,
“This is what you came here to see. This is our, how do you say, hall of records. This is where the entire history of our family is stored.”
show many generations. There were books on pedestals all around and shelves littered through out the room.
“Our family has been here for many generations. As we’ve discovered information, or have had other siblings of the moon goddess reach out, we’ve attempted to document as much as we could in the hopes that one day, we would have enough to put a stop to Huitzilopochtli before he ends all of our blood lines. Many of the women in our family have kept journals. Some men, too. Your mother’s is here,” he said as he pointed to a set of journals and a binder. “Even after she left with her mate, she sent us her entries via email,” he laughed. “It was the reason my great-uncle bought his first computer and connected us to the outside world with internet. They are all printed, I reached for my mother’s journals. I noticed my hands were shaking as I let my fingers trail down the spine. I felt the all too
familiar pull as I went backwards in time. I saw her, on a small ledge above the Packhouse. She was smiling as she wrote in her journal.
Her tanned skin and wild brown hair blowing in the wind. I was pulled forward and back into the room.
“What just happened?” Alpha Diego asked. I turned and he wasn’t looking at me but at Markus.
“You saw?” I asked him.
He nodded, “She was beautiful,” e said.
I smiled.
“Ahem,” Alpha Diego cleared his throat, waiting for an anshwer.
“I have the power of sight,” I said.
“Yes, I know. Your mother wrote it in one of the journals, but I saw his eyes go white,” he said, pointing at Markus.
I nodded. “Markus and I have a deep bond. He is able to share my gift.”
Alpha Diego looked surprised at that. “I’ve never heard of that happening before. He gets his own visions?” he asked. I shook my
head, “He only shares it. I had the vision and he can see it with me.”
“This is new,” he scratched his head. “I wonder if everyone after you will have this ability. It would certainly up the game if someone
has an offensive power.”
“Do we tell him?” I asked Markus.
“Let’s wait a little. Maybe we show him before we leave,
Markus said. I nodded.
“Are we OK to look around Alpha Diego?” I asked.
“It’s just Diego. You are my cousin after all. You can look around all you need. I will bring you some snacks,” he said as he exited.
“Where do you want to start,” Markus asked. I looked at my mother’s journals. As much as I wanted to read them, we needed other
information first.
“Let’s try to find information on Huitzilopochtli,” I said, “He’s the threat Selene warned me about.”
“OK. At least everything seems to have labels. You start on that side and I will start over here,” he said, pointing to a shelf near
him.
We began looking at the books, seeing if any of them would give us any new information on Huitzilopochtli. We sat there for hours.
Gillian joined us at noon, bringing us lunch and grabbing a few books to read, but I sent him off to spend time with Camila after two
hours.
“How did you say the name was spelled? Huz- Huzipotle?” Markus said, giving up and bringing the book over. He’d been struggling to
read anything at all, his Spanish was basic at most, but he was looking for the name in the books.
“Huitzilopochtli,” I said, and took the book from him.
There was a big picture of the warrior from the vision Selene had shown me. “This is him,” I said.
I read underneath. There was not much:
Huitzilopochtli
God of Sun and War
Brother of Moon Goddess Coyolxauhqui
Goes by:
Helios – The Sun God of the Greeks.
Surya – The Hindu Sun God.
Inti – The incan Sun God.
Kinich Ahau – Mayan Sun God.
“Markus,” I gasped.
“What?”
“Helios. In one of the visions I had when I visited Selene. Luna Luisa had mentioned getting a prize from Helios in exchange for mom
and me. They must be the same person. He found us and must have made a deal with Blood Moon to get to us, but they f****d it up.
“So Alpha Geoff was never after your mom for her powers?” He asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure he pushed them to attack my parents,” I said and I could feel tears of rage roll down my face as I held my
stomach protectively.
“We won’t let him get to our pups, Tuli.” he said as he gathered me in his arms. “We know he’s coming. We know what he looks like.
We will be more prepared than your parents. You’re not alone.”
“Everything OK?” Diego came in as I sobbed into Markus’ chest. “Yes, it’s just hard for her. She’s dealt with all of this alone for so long.”
“I understand. Mom wanted me to ask Celeste if she wants to join the preparations for dinner, but I can tell her she can help another
day.” He said, but I looked up.
“No, I want to learn all I can.”
“You know, would you be opposed to digitizing all of this?” Markus asked Diego.
“How?” He asked, “It’s generations of hand-written records. At one point, I tried to have people start typing it, but it was just too
much.”
“Evergreen, the man who reached out to you on our behalf. He is a tech genius. If you’re not opposed, I can have him come out and
take a look. I’m sure he either has or can make some sort of software program to get it all digitized”
“It won’t hurt. I often worry something will happen and all of these records will be lost forever.”
“I will contact him. Maybe he can even join us here,” Markus said, looking excited at the thought.
“So, what is your mom making?” I said.
“Mole. Come, I’ll show you to the kitchen,” Diego said as he led us out.
“Tuli, are you sure you’re up for more cooking?” Markus asked me, worry in his voice. Diego looked confused, “Is she sick?”
“Did Tomas not tell you?” Markus asked, “She’s pregnant.”
“Madre de dios. So this is why your guards seem so on edge when they aren’t actively guarding you? I swear I’ve seen them all pass by
this door every time I’ve come near.”
Markus laughed. “They love their Luna,” he said simply. “I hope you know, I did tell them that we were safe while inside the
Packhouse.”
“It’s their instinct to want to keep protecting their Luna while not in their own land. Rest assured, no offense is taken. Now that I
know she’s expecting a pup, I will make sure to double the guards at the gates,” Diego said.
“Pups,” Markus corrected. “We’re expecting twins.”
“A double blessing. Come cousin,” he said cheerfully to Markus as we arrived at the kitchen. “We will celebrate. Don’t worry about your mate, mom will be doting on her hand and foot. She loves pups.”