Ch. 8- Moonlight Madness

The day of my big pool party had a bit of a rough start when that meal mangling oven broke.  It quickly turned around though when the repairman rang the doorbell.  I knew I found my next father candidate as soon as I looked into his glowing blue eyes.  He had to leave as soon as he was done repairing the oven so I was only able to get his name before he left for his next job. 
His name was Davin Hendricks and I made sure to let him know that if he couldn't make the pool party at the temple that I was also hosting an after party at the Pink Flamingo on the beach.  The party was going to last from noon until early the next morning and I didn't want to disturb the children’s studies so I’d planned for it to start at the temple and end at the dance club.


My party guests would be transported in my latest automobile, the motive mobile.  One of my followers was quite the enthusiast when it came to vehicles.  The van would fulfill all the needs of my guests on our way to the venue ensuring everyone would be ready to party the night away.


After the kids were off to school and Paulina had finished cleaning I changed into my swimsuit and fired up the grill on the gazebo.  


My burgers were outstanding as I knew they would be. The guests couldn't get enough of them not even a crumb was leftover.  That faulty kitchen stove was totally to blame for my previous failed dishes and not my culinary skills.


The water slides were a splashing success, they brought back fond memories of childhood for many of the guests.  Many showed off stylish moves as they glided from one end of the slide to the other.


Some were not as stylish as others and comical spills were taken but a good time was had by all nonetheless.


As the sun began to set the party was moved to the Pink Flamingo.  The karaoke machine was a hit.  Paulina and I kept the party energy high by singing a duet of the latest popular party song.

As I was taking a break from dancing and singing at the bar the mixologist placed a tray of party drinks in front of me.
“Courtesy of the hairy gentlemen over there miss,” she said before bouncing off to serve other patrons.  After sampling one of the tasty drinks I felt energized and ready to party again.


“Thank you for the drinks Mr…”  I said as I danced over to the werewolf with the great taste in drinks.
“Its me Davin Hendricks Ms. Divine, the repairman,” he growled in a way the made my spine tingle.  “You invited me to your party earlier this afternoon.  I must say it’s the best party I've ever been to maybe even the best this town has had in years.”
“There will be plenty more parties like tonight now that I’m here.  And please call me Aphrodite.”
Davin and I danced for a couple of songs before he cocked his head to the side to listen to something only he could hear.  He explained that he had pack business and excused himself but promised I would see him around town again.


After he left I spent the rest of the night picking the brain of one of the supernatural fans to find out everything I could about werewolves.  By the end of the night I had enough information to woo a werewolf and all the guests had gone home singing the praises of my fantastic party hosting skills.


Blasius’s birthday was coming up soon so I spent the next few days reading his favorite books to him to give him a head start with his skills.
“B is for banana. B is for ball.  B is for baby boy learning to crawl.”
“Turn now Mama?”
“Yes you can turn the page now.”


When Blasius wasn't listening to his stories he was playing with his toys.  He was growing especially fond of a strange little doll I received for him on the day of his birth.


Exploring the temple was another of his favorite pass times.  He never grew bored of walking around the temple.  For a toddler the place was enormous every room outside of the nursery was a grand adventure for him.


One of his favorite places to play was in front of Uncle Poseidon's display case.


One night while reading to him Blasius aged without warning and finished reading the book aloud to me himself.


Blasius was well behaved as one could expect for a fairy child to be.  He often helped me tend to the kitchen garden by talking to the plants to keep them happy and healthy.


Needless to say with three teenagers and a fairy child there were pranks played and booby traps set through out the house.


The girls didn't take the pranks as seriously as the boys who seemed to be having a prank war with one another.


“Ahhh!  I my head looks like a pixie stick barfed in my hair.  BLASIUS IF THIS DOESN'T COME OUT IN TIME FOR MY DATE TONIGHT YOU ARE DUST DUDE DUST!!”


For the most part the boys did get along well.  Blasius was following in his big brother’s footsteps and joined the scouts as well.  Alcander still participated in scavenger hunts of rare and unique items with his scout buddies and gave some of his finds to Blasius as gifts.


With graduation fast approaching for the triplets they spent most of their time on their studies and improving their skills.  While doing homework with his younger brother Alcander would often pass down what he thought of as sage advice. 
“Now when you go to a house party the first thing you want to do is find out where all the bathrooms are.  Then when there’s no one around you should set a trap in the sink, tub, and toilet.  Don’t bother with the mailbox or any piece of furniture that’s not in the main living area.”
“Why shouldn't I set traps on the other furniture?” Blasius asked.  “Whoopi cushions are my favorite.  You can never have too many whoopi cushions in my opinion.”
“True but you don’t want to waste energy on a trap that never goes off,” Alcander explained feeling quite wise as he shared his experiences with the younger generation.  He’d felt the frustration of setting a trap never to have it go off and surprise an unsuspecting victim.  “A couch in the bedroom could just be a show piece that is rarely used and you never know how often someone checks their mailbox.”
“Ahh I understand now,” Blasius said with admiration for his older sparkling in his eyes.


With all the hard work the triplets were putting into their skills and studies I spent a fair amount of time giving encouragement and soothing fears.  I often encouraged them to improve their skill by doing the same myself.  I noticed Alesia wasn't as focused on our weekly workout together as she normally was.
“Alesia what’s bothering you darling?  You’re normally calling for me to push myself harder and longer at this point in the exercise.”
“How well do you really think I did at the karaoke night Mom?”
“Alesia everyone loved you last night.  They weren't throwing rose petals just for my benefit.  And your bass solo was absolutely beautiful, I think I saw a few people in the crowd crying it was so lovely.  Soon you’re going to be wowing the venue proprietors when you start your career after graduation.” 


“You’re not just saying that because I’m your daughter are you?”  The worry on Alesia’s face and in her voice stirred my heart.  I was going to miss the lovely music she filled the temple with every time she practiced in the studio.  “Doing good at a karaoke is one thing but the stage at a big venue is another world completely.  They throw food at performers who do badly Mom!  I’ll die if I’m pelted with greasy pizza and subpar produce.”
“They wouldn't dare especially with me in the audience.  I’d have their britches burning faster than they could bat an eyelash.  How about we take a break from working out today sweetie.  Go relax in the hot tub and I’ll bring you out some juice.”


While Alesia went to go change into her swimsuit I made a quick detour to the alchemy table in the study.  I mixed up a vial of potent bliss to mix with Alesia's juice.  The strain of school and nerves about her music career was really getting to her.  After taking the juice out to her I called Octavio.
“Hello, you have reached Octavio Soto master magician. How may I amaze you?” Octavio answered with his businessman’s charm.
“Its me Octavio,” I replied.
Instantly his voice went from businessman brisk to seducer silk.  “Aphrodite, my goddess its always a pleasure to hear from you.  The children are well I hope.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.  They’re all little stressed with graduation coming up.  Alesia is worrying herself ragged about her music career.  She’s scared no one will like her music and she’ll be pelted with produce.”
“Why that is utter nonsense and anyone who dares throw anything but flowers and adoration at the feet of my darling daughter will be banished!” Octavio ranted.  “Alesia is a wonderful musician.  I've seen her bring tears to the eyes of listeners when she preforms.”
“That is what I have been telling her but its not doing any good.”
Octavio sighed into the phone.  “Well I had wanted this to be a surprise for graduation but I will make plans with Alesia tomorrow to tell her the news.”
“What news?” I asked.
“The proprietor that helped me get my career started has been following Alesia's performances.  She thinks Alesia has what it takes to make it big and wants her to start performing as my opening act after graduation.”
After hearing that exciting news I filled Octavio in on how Alena and Alcander were doing and spent some time chatting catching up with him.


Later that night I ran into the dashing Davin after hosting a meet and greet at the Blue Moon Tiki Bar.  The playground at Cornucopia’s central park was depressingly empty.  The town’s men and women needed some loosening up to get over their commitment issues to start solving that problem.

 “Coming from another party Aphrodite?” Davin asked.  “I think I’m a little hurt that I wasn't invited.”
“I was hosting a meet and greet for the shy wall flowers of the town.  Its amazing what the right atmosphere and certain mood enhancing drinks flowing freely from the bar can do to the shiest of creatures,” I replied.  I saw more than one party goer quickly exit the photo booth to capture and shred their images.


“I didn't invite you because I think you’re far from being a shy creature Davin.”  All I wanted to do was rub his belly as he stood before me under the starlight in nothing but his swimming shorts.  “So what has you out so late tonight in just your swimsuit?”


“I am hunting with my pack this evening.  I broke off from the rest to follow the sent trail of something that smelt too divine to ignore,” Davin said taking my hands in his.


My laugh echoed into the night sky as he led me down the beach to the water.  “It’s a beautiful night for a swim don’t you think,” Davin said before dropping my hand to remove his shorts and dive nude into the water.
“Oh this one is not shy at all,” I said to myself before joining him in the water.


By the time I returned home the children were fast asleep in bed.  I’d worked up a wolfish appetite while out in the water with Davin.  Luckily there were plenty of leftovers from the meal Alena had prepared earlier in the evening.  It was Ceviche a new dish she had recently learned to make.


Half way through the bowl I could tell that Alena had not been stingy with the chili peppers in the dish.


In the morning I was going to have to tell her not everyone had her love and tolerance of spice.


The next morning after the kids were off to school I called Davin over for an emergency repair with the hot tub.
“Well the hot tub looks and feels fine Aphrodite.  And with the upgrade I just installed it should never “break” again.”


“Do you have anything else that requires my attention?”  He asked giving me a knowing smile.


“You’re the expert why don’t you tell me,” I answered coyly as I rubbed my hand over his knee.


“You keep that up and you’re going to bring out the wild man in me Aphrodite,” Davin warned before taking my mouth with his.


After a mind melting make out session I relaxed against the side of the hot tub.  “I should head for bed soon before I go under.”
Davin took in a deep contented breath and went ridged.  “There’s danger.”


Before I could ask what was wrong Davin had jumped out of the hot tub to face the zombie that had pulled itself out of the ground next to us.


One look at Davin’s werewolf form had the zombie running away in fear.


“Davin you saved me.  I didn't know the zombies could come from the ground on your home lot.  I could have been attacked and turned into one of those creatures if you hadn't been here,”  I said thinking about how my skin would look if it turned that horrible pea green if I had been turned by that creature.  As the goddess of beauty I would naturally look wonderful in any form but pulling off the zombie look would be a stretch even for me.


"I've grown to really care for you Aphrodite.  I could never let anything happen to you in my presence.  Even though I know you could never be one of my kind you and yours are as good as pack to me.”


“Oh Davin,” was all I could manage.  Davin wanted to be leader of his pack some day so I knew how important expanding his werewolf family was to him. 
He was one of the few in his pack that had been born a werewolf and not turned.  The werewolf clan of Cornucopia had also been negatively impacted by the Alistair curse.  Most of their pureblood members had died childless and their converts consisted mostly of the supernatural fans that toured the island.  They would stay and play werewolf until homesick and return to their old lives on the mainland.


“I’ll stay here tonight and watch over you and the children, my pack will understand.  The zombies have really been getting out of control lately.  I’ll keep watch to make sure no others trouble you at home.”


“Davin you wonderful wolfman you!” I exclaimed jumping into his arms.
After Davin chased away the first zombie five more pulled themselves from the ground around the temple.  Their moans and frustrated yells at not being able to get inside made the children restless most of the night.  One of them even rang the doorbell before Davin could chase them all off.


Alesia stayed up practicing piano since she couldn't sleep.  The music helped to drown out the moaning of the zombies and Davin’s growls as he chased them away.  If Blasius heard what was going on outside he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully for weeks.


Alena spent part of the night soothing Rin.   She had to take her upstairs to the perch in the bedroom after the poor thing was scared half to death by the zombies at the windows.
“Its okay now Rin you’ll be safe up here. I won’t let those zombies get to you.”


Davin stayed up all night patrolling the temple grounds for zombies.  The kids were able to get to bed in time to get enough rest for school the next day.  I fell asleep feeling safe and secure with Davin watching over the children and I.

By the time I woke up the next morning Davin had already changed back into his human form.  He was looking out the window and I could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking about his pack.


  I went over to him and kissed him good morning.  “Thank you for staying with us last night.  I've never seen so many zombies at once before.”
“My pack and I have noticed that as well but I've never seen them attack a residence like they did here last night,” Davin said as I led him back to the bed.


“I think I have an idea of what may be drawing those creatures to my doorstep,” I said and explained to him what I was doing in order to destroy the philosopher’s stone and lift the Alistair witch’s curse.  “I can’t become a werewolf but I can help you grow your pack in other ways if you’re willing to help me lift the curse.”


“Aphrodite I've been willing to do anything you asked me to do since I first met you when your oven broke.  I’d love to father little werewolf pups with you.”
I leaned in and nipped his bottom lip drawing a soft growl from him.  “Then lets get started wolfman.”


Davin went home later that evening with the strut of a man sure of his virility.  The utter confidence he had in himself was one of the qualities I found most attractive about him.  I had no doubt about his ability and hoped his being a werewolf would result in a multiple birth.


Octavio had taken Alesia out as promised and introduced her to the proprietor that had taken an interest in her music.  Her spirits had been lifted considerably by the time she returned home.  We spent some time coming up with and practicing her routine when a zombie crawled out of the ground in the middle of her big finish.  It was quite a surprise because it wasn't even the night of a full moon.
“Ugh!  I am so tired of you smelly jerks!” Alesia yelled before banishing the creature. 


“Thanks for staying up to help me practice.  Its pretty late so I’m going to go up to bed now.  Goodnight Mom.”
“Goodnight,” I said impressed with how easily she handled her powers now.  I knew the triplets would be graduating and moving out soon but times like this when they showed just how grown up they already were still surprised me.


The next morning I knew I was expecting when the smell of Rin's bird cage sent me dashing toward the bathroom.  Blasius cleaned the cage right away without being asked to try and get back on my good side.  He was still in trouble for dyeing Alcander’s hair blue.


I went into the study to research how to better protect the temple from the zombies when a horrifying image jumped out at me from the screen.
“Alcander Divine!” I yelled after slamming the computer shut.  “If you and your brother keep up with these pranks you’ll both be grounded until your wedding days!”


With the triplets graduation coming up any day now I got caught up in planning their graduation party.  I was also juggling lunch and dinner plans with Octavio, Alesia’s and Alena’s boyfriends wanted to meet with us to discuss their relationships with our daughters.  
I knew exactly what they wanted to discuss but I knew Octavio would be completely blindsided by what the boys would be asking us.  He was an ancient genie and the triplets were still small children as far as he was concerned.  Those meetings were bound to be extremely interesting encounters indeed.
When I got the invitation to attend Davin’s house party I dropped everything I was doing to go and tell him the news of my pregnancy.


“The pack is going to go wild when I tell them the news.  After all this time we’re going to welcome pups into the pack and pups birthed by a goddess.  Other wolf clans from all around will revere us because of the gift you are giving us Aphrodite.”
After the party I made sure to stop by the book and grocery stores.  Now that I was carrying Davin’s child I was officially an honorary member of Cornucopia’s werewolf clan and would be seeing a lot more of them now and when the baby was born.  I wanted to be sure that I had enough food and learned a few more high protein recipes to serve to my extend werewolf family.


In the middle of watching the cooking channel on a Sunday morning a sudden and sharp pain had me jumping to my feet.
“Ahhhh!” I yelled grabbing my rounded belly as it went rock hard.


Alcander appeared next to me still in his pajamas ready to plead his case.  “Mom I swear that booby trap has been there for so long that I completely forgot to take care of it when you said no more pranks.”
One look at me and my labored breathing Alcander knew a prank wasn't the cause of my screaming and began to yell himself.
“Ahhh the baby’s coming!  The baby is coming!”