Blue Moon Goddess

Fatherly Explanations

~Willow's POV~

I was reluctant to be returning to the packhouse where I had been tormented for eighteen years, but I trusted Niklaus. Besides, Eric wasn't there anymore and that had to count for something. That did not mean the wolves that were still left were just going to fall in line with my being Luna though and that was something I would have to deal with. If I let even a single one of them get away with disrespecting me, nothing would ever change. Even though I whole heartedly trusted Niklaus, he could not keep an eye on me all of the time for the rest of my life. It was time that I showed this pack that I was not just some weakling to be thoughtlessly walked all over and between coming into my powers and marking another True Alpha, I was feeling pretty damn invincible. I just had to make a pack that hated me accept me as their Luna, all while trying to blend it with another pack I knew absolutely nothing about. Simple, right?

The packhouse was in utter chaos upon our late return and I was more than thankful when Niklaus had an omega show me back to his room. He had kissed me gently on the forehead, told me he would be up after he got in touch with the Elders and sorted out all of the details for the takeover. I wandered around the massive room, finally stumbling upon the opulent bathroom and could not contain my gasp of sheer delight. There was a walk in shower large enough for five people with sandy tiles and waterfall shower heads at different levels. In the corner there was a jacuzzi bathtub large enough for two people easily and it had a double vanity as well as heated floors.

Eric had not deigned me to be worthy enough for human conveniences so I had been relegated to bathing in the barn which only had cold water. Luckily for me, I had found my safe haven and the waters in my cave came from a natural hot spring. Even in the winter time it was warm enough to comfortably bathe in. I couldn't even begin to remember the last time that I had taken a hot shower. I was sure that I must have had one at some point, but it was when I was an infant or before I had memories of it. As far as I was concerned that meant that it had never happened.

I was barely able to contain my excitement as I debated on whether I wanted a shower or a bath first and finally settled on a bath. I sniffed the bubble bath on the ledge of the large tub, thrilled by it's lotus scent that wasn't too overpowering and dumped a few caps in the steaming water. I waited for the tub to fill to a decent level, shut the water off and stripped out of my clothes, leaving them neatly folded on the double vanity. I took a deep breath as I sank into the bubbles until they covered my breasts and was unable to contain the bliss filled sigh that slipped from my lips. I couldn't even remember the last time that I had been this at peace. I knew that it spoke volumes of my upbringing that a simple bath could bring me so much happiness. I decided not to dwell on it though.

"Willow? Willow, I need to speak with you."

I must have drifted off to sleep at some point during my bath because an unknown voice roused me and it took a moment to remember exactly where I was. I finally forced my heavy lids open, blinking several times to clear my vision, expecting to see Niklaus and recoiled in shock. "Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?"

The man, who looked to be no older than forty at the very latest, smiled soothingly and I didn't get understand the immediate settling of my nerves. I felt drawn to this stranger in an almost spiritual manner, as though he was someone I had known my entire life. However, I knew for a fact that I had never once seen this man who felt how I imagined family felt. It was a feeling I had longed for and dreamt of my whole life but never felt. "Calm down, baby wave. You need not fear me. I'm your father and I've been waiting eighteen long years to finally meet you."

It was the truth. I felt it in my bones and my instincts has never once failed me. I wanted to run into his arms and never let go. I wanted to physically assault him and demand to know why. I wanted to fall to my knees and finally break down after an entire lifetime of bottling everything up, but only one thing escaped. "Why?" I whispered, sounding much too weak and broken for my liking and I could sense that he knew what I was asking.

He winced and the pain contorted his handsome face mirrored my own, showing that maybe, just maybe he had an inkling of the agony that I had been forced to endure. I knew he couldn't even begin to fathom what my life had been like because he had not been utterly ostracized all of these years. Even after Selene had explained why I'd been cast out since my birth, I still needed to know more and I felt this was the man that I felt was meant to give me those answers. Selene had made it sound as though Atlan loved me desperately and had wanted nothing more than to be a father despite the fact their plan had meant he would never truly get the chance. I understood their reasoning for the choices they made based on what they knew, but I wanted to know why. I needed to know why. Why had they let me be tormented for eighteen horrendous years and never sought me out before now? Why had they never so much as visited my dreams to let me know that I wasn't irreparably damaged as this whole pack had always believed? Why hadn't they given me some sort of sign that there were at least two people in the expansive depths of the universe that didn't believe I was a waste of oxygen?

I could see he was searching for the right words to convey the depths of his emotions and I took the time to memorize every single detail of his face. He was tall, probably a solid foot and a half taller than myself with healthy sun bronzed skin and his eyes were the mirror opposite of my own silver eye. It was his eyes that drew me in, the color of amber when the sun reflected through it and silver streaks through them made them seem as though the stars were looking through the Heavens at a desert. He look how I would imagine the god of the sea with broad shoulder, tapered waist and heavily muscled legs; the body of a born swimmer. His hair was a deep chocolate streaked through with a caramel the same shade as my own hair. I could see enough of myself in him that I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was exactly who he said he was. I had seen images of Selene depicted in our history books and, to be honest, I couldn't see any familial connection, but the same could not be said of Atlan.

There was no denying the relation between both of us and, even before my mind had acknowledged the connection, my soul had recognized him. From the very instant he had smiled at me, I had trusted him and I had instinctually known he was my father. That was exactly why I needed these answers from him. "My beautiful little girl, I've longed for you since the day that you were conceived. You are my one and only child despite the fact that I am thousands of years old because I could never bear the idea of watching them grow old and die. Then Selene had a vision of the coming war between the different supernaturals and went to Zeus with her plan to save all of our people and this realm. He agreed to her plan but he had one stipulation.

"I am one of the old gods, bound to neither Olympus or Zeus and he has always despised the fact that there existed those outside of his control. In order for us to save this realm, I would be bound to Olympus until the day that you turned eighteen and I could only leave long enough to secure someone to rule Atlantis in my stead. I vehemently refused this and informed him that I would never allow my own flesh and blood to be taken from me, but Zeus is a cruel bastard. He posed the command under the guise that if you were meant to be a saviour, you must be tested and prove yourself to be true of heart. He said that if I was there I would never allow any harm to befall you and that people must face adversity to become heroes. The other gods of Olympus agreed with his theory and so I was forced to either accept his terms or you would have never been born."

I was quiet as I took the time to absorb everything he had said, felt the candor in his words for myself and suddenly a rage unlike any that I had every felt swept through my being. "I was enslaved, beaten and raped so that he could ensure himself that I turned out to be a decent human being? I'm going to figure out how to save all of our people and then I'm going to find a way to make Zeus pay!"

I could see my own rage reflected in his own eyes as they darkened into a swirling storm and thunder crashed furiously outside as a robe manifested in his hands. "Oh, you are entirely right; Zeus will most assuredly pay. He did not think about the fact that when you anger an old god, you incur the wrath of all of the old gods. The Olympians hold no such love for one another and that will prove to be his ultimate undoing. I will burn his beloved throne room down all around him."

I took the robe, he averted his eyes as I slipped it on and then I stood to face him a moment before hurling myself into his strong arms. This was all that I had ever dreamed of for as long as I could remember, since the moment of my birth, to be wanted, to have a family and to finally have a place where I too belonged. Atlan had given me all of the things that I had spent my life wishing unsuccessfully for, a father that truly loved me and wanted only my happiness. "Do you mean it? You really want to be in my life?" I whispered, face buried deep in his chest, afraid I would open my eyes and all of this would be nothing more than a dream. I inhaled his scent deeply, storing his salt water and sky scent to memory and prayed it would all last. I do not think I could handle it if this all turned out to be a figment of my imagination.

The instant the words left my lips, I felt his massive arms wrap around me in return, his large hands tenderly stroking my wavy locks and my heart soared when he spoke. "Dear girl, I have wanted absolutely nothing more than to be your father since the moment that Selene spoke of giving birth to you. I have loved you for years prior to your conception and I will love you until I cease to exist. The very moment that I felt my confinement to Olympus lift, I came straight here to find you. To tell you how much I love you, how much I missed you and that I have waited eighteen long years to be at your side."

I had just opened my mouth to respond when the door to the bedroom slammed open with a resounding bang! and a ferocious growl ricocheted off the walls. "Who the f**k are you and what the hell do you think you're doing with my mate?!"