She walked back over to me as if she could feel the panic building up in the pit of my stomach. "Ah-ha, found it," she said with the flick of her finger, and a glowing white book came flying from the back of the cottage, landing right in front of me on the table. She placed her hands on my shoulders with a firm grip as the pages flipped by themselves in the giant book until finally, it stopped on a page about the Wolf God and Goddess.

"What do you know of imprints, my child?" she asked in a raspy voice I'd only heard when she was serious.

"Um, nothing much. I've never needed to know about these kinds of things, even before I was a dormant. Father didn't think it was important for Omegas, since I wouldn't have a choice in the matter," I said bitterly.

"Your father is an arrogant man and a fool, but not even he can defy the will of the Gods," she chuckled.

"Okay, but what will would he be defying?" I asked, confused.

"Did you know that Apollo and Artemis weren't enemies? Apollo, as you know, is the God of the sun. His big sister Artemis is the Goddess of the moon. Twins," she said with a gentle smile.

"Wait, so they were siblings?" I asked in shock. "I've always been taught that they hated each other."

"Gods, no," she chuckled. "Quite the opposite, but our Primes would have everyone think otherwise in their petty struggles for power. They loved each other very much—so much so that Artemis even helped their mother, Leto, give birth to Apollo, as odd as that sounds, considering she herself had just been born. Growing up, they were also very protective of each other." As she spoke, the pages of the book turned, showing flashing illustrations of the story.

Artemis was beautiful; she had obsidian skin that glowed like a pearl against the night sky, long silver hair like curled silk, and bright red eyes that looked like rubies. She was adorned in golden jewelry from head to toe and wore a white dress that flowed freely in the breeze. Apollo was equally handsome, with a russet brown complexion and gold undertones, as if the sun were inside his very skin. His hair was as black as a raven's feather and flowed down his back in a raging wave, and his eyes were a glowing gold, like two miniature suns. They were both breathtaking, otherworldly beings to behold. Like Artemis, Apollo also wore gold jewelry and a white chiton, accentuating his statuesque figure.

"They, they look like us..." I marveled at the images in the book. 

"But of course, we're their descendants after all." She said with a chuckle.

I stared at them a little longer, shocked by how much Artemis resembled a Luna wolf and Apollo, a Sol wolf.

"But I thought Artemis hated Apollo for making her kill her lover, Orion?" I asked, remembering the teachings from my childhood.

"Another misconception, Rosie. Orion was nothing more than a friend, a hunting partner to Artemis. She was also the Goddess of chastity, among other things, and could not have a lover. Many thought that because they were of different genders, they couldn't simply be friends, but that wasn't true either. It was Apollo who loved Orion, not Artemis," she said, earning another shocked expression from me. "At first, Apollo was jealous of their closeness and the unknown nature of the relationship between them. He assumed his sister had broken her vow to remain a virgin for all eternity with the beautifully handsome man," she said with a soft grin.

"So, if she's the Goddess of chastity, how could she have descendants?" I asked curiously.

"Artemis never had any children of her own specifically, but she protected many women during their pregnancies and assisted them during childbirth. Because she was a powerful Goddess, a simple touch from her fingertips was enough to imbue the children she helped bring into the world with traces of her divine power. This is how the wolves of the Luna were born," she said with a gentle smile.

"Okay, but if she and Orion were just friends, why did Artemis kill him?" I asked, growing even more curious.

"Apollo got close to Orion in an attempt to understand what was going on between the man and his sister. In doing so, Apollo fell in love with Orion. He even ended up making love to Orion once he realized he was not only a beautiful man in body but also in spirit. The morning after they shared a bed, Orion was filled with joy and wanted to share that joy with his friend, Artemis. Apollo mistook Orion's inquiry about his sister's whereabouts, and jealousy filled his heart once more. Even after Orion told Apollo his reasons for wanting to see Artemis in hopes of calming the sun God, it only made him angrier," she said with a grim expression.

"But why?" I asked, confused.

"Look at the book, my child, and listen well to the story of our Gods," she explained, and a golden light came from the giant book as the pages began to turn faster and images started to form.

"Orion revealed to Apollo that he was a lover of men and made it clear that Artemis was nothing more than just a friend. Artemis was indeed a chaste Goddess, after all. Apollo, on the other hand, was known as a lover of many women, hence how the Sol wolves were born, but he was secretly a lover of men as well. When Orion unknowingly threatened to reveal that secret, Apollo lashed out at him, denying the very love they had shared just the night before. He unleashed his seething rage and left his lover alone in a pool of tears. When Artemis found her friend, Orion explained what happened to her and requested to be alone in his sorrows. However, he was never alone after that. He was plagued with horrible dreams of a golden scorpion with impenetrable armor constantly attacking him and stinging him in the heart. One day, he woke and found that dream had come to life. Apollo had sent the golden scorpion to attack his lover while talking to his sister, who he didn't know already knew the truth of their relationship. Artemis angrily reprimanded Apollo for his treatment of Orion and demanded he go apologize. Apollo managed to change the subject, avoiding his sister's rage, and told Artemis that one of her priestesses was raped by a man currently trying to escape her vengeance by swimming to an island in the sea. Already furious, Artemis went after the man immediately, with Apollo hot on her trail. Apollo pointed out the man in the water, the same water Orion jumped into to escape the giant scorpion he couldn't defeat. With god-like aim and precision, Artemis shot her golden arrow at the man, and he died instantly. Once his plan succeeded in keeping his secret, Apollo vanished, leaving his sister dumbfounded. When she went to find her priestess, the woman had no knowledge of the rape or the man she spoke of. Artemis went to retrieve the body of the man she had slain—her friend Orion. He was dead, floating in the sea. In her rage, she also killed the giant scorpion still hunting for Orion as vengeance for her brother's trick. After many failed attempts to bring her friend back to life, she placed Orion's body among the stars in mourning, a testament to their friendship to show that gender does not limit the enjoyment of friendship of any variety or degree. She also placed the scorpion in the stars behind Orion, a warning to those untrue to their lovers and untrue to themselves. She was not angry at her brother, but she was disappointed that he didn't trust her to love him despite who he chose to love," she said as the book closed and the gold magic faded like a cloud of dust.