Chapter 155: Birthday Bullshit With A Side of Daddy

The question caught Nova off guard. Asking a slave their birthday was like asking a shovel how old it was. Most shovels didn’t know. Most owners didn’t care. The question was something that didn’t occur to most people, including other slaves.

"I don’t know for sure. I was assigned the last calendar day of the year," Nova managed after a moment.

Maria’s jaw dropped. "Wait, what? They didn’t even TRY to guess? No healer checked? No one looked at you and said ’this baby is approximately this old?’ They just stamped you with December 31st and moved on?"

"Basically. That is standard protocol for slave orphans."

The room went quiet in a way that made Nova wonder if her explanation had been offensive or if she’d said something wrong.

Maverick broke the silence. "Processing doesn’t sound like a fun birthday. So it’s settled. Nova’s next birthday is going to be celebrated and it’s going to be excessive. Maria is decorating. Attendance is mandatory. This is happening. I’m not taking no for an answer."

Maria clapped her hands twice. "It shall be done."

Nova gave a small smile at that. Something warm was building behind her ribs that had nothing to do with the tea and everything to do with the fact that the Emberclaw family cared enough to plan her birthday. She had watched birthdays be celebrated, but never had one for herself. It didn’t bother her anymore, but growing up, she always used to want one.

"You both are far too kind," she managed after a moment.

"Put us on the list." Dante looked at Nova. "Freya’s cooking is worth the trip alone. You’ll see."

"My cooking is worth more than the trip, Dante."

"I stand corrected. Her cooking is the single greatest achievement in this household, myself included."

"Better."

Maria leaned forward with the posture of a game show host about to reveal what was behind door number three. "Good news, Nova. I know when your birthday is so you don’t have to share it with New Year’s."

"You do?"

Maria gave a dark laugh. "Oh yes."

Nova held up her good hand. "I’m going to stop you right there. I know where you’re going and I swear if you say—"

"You were born on a Celestial Blue Moon."

Nova gave her a flat look.

"I looked this up two nights ago. One just happened to occur the year you were born, Nova. And I informed Maverick. He’s pretending he doesn’t know but he does," Maria continued.

Maverick took a very deliberate sip of his tea. "I was informed. Against my will. At a volume that was unnecessary. I have processed the information and chosen to keep it to myself because unlike my sister, I understand the concept of timing. And correlation does not equal causation."

Freya looked at Dante. Dante looked at Freya. The look between them said "we are keeping all three of them."

"Out of curiosity, what day was the Celestial Blue Moon that year?" Nova asked after a moment.

"October 31st." Maria gave Nova a pointed look. "Which I think is very fitting considering your virgin blood is the cure for the creatures of the night."

Nova’s face turned the color of an apple.

Maverick dragged a hand down his face. "Maria."

"You’re right. I am skipping over the most important part." Maria clapped her hands twice. "Next question. Is Alpha Starborne your father?"

The tea went down the wrong pipe. Nova coughed so hard the cushion behind her shoulder shifted. Maverick caught it. Then caught her.

Maria held out her hand. "Hear me out. Left on the steps of the Starborne manor. Kept by Alpha Starborne against his mate’s wishes. Protected from having your head shaved."

"That was to sell me," Nova choked.

"Is it possible?"

"Gods, I hope not."

Nobody held it together. Maria burst out laughing. Dante’s laugh rattled his teacup on his knee. Freya surrendered her composure with a grace that suggested she rarely lost it and was enjoying the vacation. Maverick buried his face in Nova’s hair and she felt the laugh more than she heard it, a vibration that started in his chest and ended in hers.

When the laughter ran its course, Maria sat up with an expression that communicated she was about to drop another bomb.

"What is it?" Nova asked, knowing full well she wasn’t going to like whatever came out of Maria’s mouth.

"Nova, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m not going to try. Your mark is Starborne."

Nova blinked at her.

Silence.

"Maybe I’m a distant relative," Nova said after a moment.

"Your mark would not be that bright if you were not an Alpha’s daughter," Maria said, apparently the expert.

Nova glanced over at Dante, who had commented on the brightness of Maria’s mark earlier. The pause before he answered told her he was choosing his words carefully.

"She is correct. The mark is always passed through the paternal side. Only an Alpha’s offspring would have a mark as bright as yours, which might explain how you qualified for the Moonfire even with no wolf. If those elders had put their tablets down long enough to think critically, they might have wondered that."

She turned the thought over in her head slowly, the way you turn over a stone you found in the dark, not sure how you feel about what’s underneath it. She had spent her entire life wondering where she came from. She waited for any emotion to come from that but nothing did. Alpha Starborne being her father sounded ridiculous, actually.

"Well, if I am his daughter, I would be his bastard daughter because there is zero chance Luna Odette is the mother. That would be a waste of an asset for them in terms of a political marriage," Nova stated, voice calm.

"Oh, you’re definitely his bastard," Maria confirmed with zero hesitation. "Alpha Starborne has white hair. You have white hair."

Nova thought about it for a moment. Alpha Starborne always had white hair. She assumed it was old age, truthfully, but he wasn’t THAT old. Oh gods.

"On the bright side, the elders paired the two bastards together," Maria said cheerfully. "And I also think it’s funny that the two sisters went to the two brothers. The Starbornes with the Thunderfangs. Bet dear old daddy didn’t plan on that. He planned on selling his problem daughter to get rid of her once and for all."

Maverick dragged a hand down his face. "Maria."

Nova glanced over at her and shook her head with a grin. "Maria. How long have you been holding that theory in your brain?"

"Over a day, Nova. Gods."