It turned out that Priestess Irena had been keeper of the sacred knowledge, and her female side of the line had been entrusted with the task of waiting for the Earth Goddess’s descendant to claim entry to the Rabbit Hole—the shifters’ most sacred place, where only the Earth Goddess’s bloodline could enter.

“The vision of the oracle has come to pass in my generation,” Irena said in tears, her aged, thin hands trembling.

Stuffing an apple pie to my face, I nodded. I got her. Her waiting wasn’t futile. I showed up. But I was done talking. I was busy and distracted by so many cakes.

My mates cut in, comparing notes, asking the priestess who else knew about the Rabbit Hole. After all, the messenger to a death deity—either to Hades or Pluto—had first informed me of the Rabbit Hole. This whole thing could be a bogus or a trap the gods set.

Caution was good, and I left caution to my mates. I was impulsive and reckless in all things, but they were the careful planners and strategists.

There were only my mates, Xihin, Hector, Celeb, and Amber with me in the sunny, wooden tea room. On the shifters’ side, the three alphas and Irena sat across from me with an array of cakes between us.

Our warriors guarded the door. Alaric had created a sound-barrier for extra precaution.

The alphas’ eyes widened when I reached for another cake. I’d eaten only thirty-one.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m hungry,” I said in half-truth. “It takes a lot to maintain this goddess’s body. And you might wonder how I stay fit while consuming all the sweets.”

Cadmar nodded soberly. Now they were convinced that I was a goddess, no one wanted to contradict me anymore.

“My metabolism is faster than yours,” I explained. “My friend Amber here has slower metabolism, so she never eats more than three cakes.” I felt sorry for her, but there was nothing I could do for her. “If I take a sip from a god, then I don’t need to eat for a week. But unfortunately, I no longer have a god in my cell.” I regarded Wyatt and let unholy hunger surface in my eyes. “If any of you let me drink from you, then I’ll eat fewer cakes. I’m at the top of the food chain. I can eat and assimilate anything and anyone.”

My mates tried not to laugh. 

“Eat as many cakes as you want, Cass,” Dustin said. “There’ll be more. I personally guarantee it. There’ll always be an endless supply of cakes for you in Moonshine.”

They didn’t want me to drink their essence, then.

I let disappointment show on my face. “I’ve never tasted a shifter. I’m kind of curious, you know. Well, will any of you refill my brew? My mates need another drink as well.”

While Wyatt couldn’t rise quickly enough to bring pitchers of brew, Irena darted her gaze between my mates and me. “Only Goddess Gaea’s direct descendant can enter the Rabbit Hole. Even my ancestors and I, the assigned high priestesses, haven’t been granted access.”

“What happened to those who weren’t allowed to enter?” Lorcan asked.

“Some were incinerated instantly, and some were shred to pieces,” Irena said. “It’d be worse for a vampire, High Lord or not.”

Wyatt smiled viciously.

“We’ll enter,” Lorcan said quietly. “We’re bonded to Cass. Where our mate goes, we go.”

But I was suddenly alert. “No, Lorcan—”

“We go where you go,” Reys said.

Pyrder grinned at me. “There’s no chance you can get rid of us, Cass baby.”

He had shifted to his fae form so he could drink the shifters’ brew, the best kind.

Anxiety speared me, and I put down the half-eaten cupcake on my plate, no longer having an appetite.

“Don’t worry about us, sweetheart,” Alaric said. “We’re in this together, and we’ll never leave your side.”