POV Monna
It had been many years since Nero and I found the cure for immortality.
Now I was seventy years old.
Fucking seventy.
I still couldn't believe it sometimes.
Seventy years old and the mother of twelve children.
Nathaniel, Lucas, Caleb, Marcus, Elias, Nora, Rowan, Selene, Tobias, Lillian, Aaron… and my youngest, Jamine.
Twelve children. A full house. A full life.
And yet the house still felt quiet sometimes.
My husband had died five years ago.
Of cancer.
No magic could heal it. No spell could reverse it. Not even vampire blood could save him.
I tried everything.
Every spell I knew.
Every ritual I could find.
At one point… I even considered sacrificing a life for his.
But he wouldn't allow it.
He was stubborn like that.
Even when he was dying.
"Monna," he had told me once while sitting in bed, his voice weak but steady. "You're not killing someone to save me."
"You don't know that it would work," I argued.
"And even if it did," he said, smiling faintly, "I wouldn't want to live knowing you did that."
"You're being ridiculous," I told him.
"Maybe," he said. "But I'm still right."
He was a good man.
A very good man.
And men like that were rare.
That's why I loved him.
When he passed, everyone mourned.
My children loved him.
The town loved him.
But in the end… there was only one thing we could do.
Move forward.
Carry the grief with us.
That's what Nero said at the funeral.
I still remember his words.
"Pain doesn't leave," Nero had said while standing beside the grave. "You carry it with you. But if you're strong enough, it stops being a burden and becomes a reminder."
"A reminder of what?" my daughter Nora asked him.
Nero looked at her calmly.
"A reminder that the people we lost mattered."
Since Nero and I discovered the cure, he had decided to settle in Salem.
And he turned it into something incredible.
The town flourished.
Trade ships arrived almost every week now.
Markets were full of food, spices, cloth, and goods from places most people had never even heard of.
People came from everywhere to live here.
Humans.
Witches.
Werewolves.
Even vampires.
Nero had turned Salem into something completely new.
A supernatural haven.
Vampires were given safe feeding grounds.
Werewolves had land outside the city where they could transform freely without fear.
Witches practiced magic openly without being hunted or burned.
And surprisingly… the humans accepted it.
Mostly because Nero made sure there was peace.
And anyone who threatened that peace didn't last very long.
Salem was slowly turning into a real city.
And one day Nero planned to rename it.
Castlevina.
Strange name.
I asked him once where he got it.
He just smiled and said, "Something I saw at a play."
Never explained further.
Now he was finally returning from the Amazon.
And with him… my youngest son, Jamine.
Out of all my sons, he was the strongest in magic.
Though he wasn't the strongest of my children.
That title belonged to Nora.
My first daughter.
And my sixth child.
Right now she was currently fawning over Nero's brother.
Dante.
When Nero first told me what Dante and Mekesa were, I didn't believe him.
"Vampires who can use magic?" I said.
"That shouldn't even be possible."
"They're called heretics," Nero explained.
"They were born siphoners. When they were turned into vampires, the siphoning ability stayed."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they can draw magic from themselves."
That was… concerning.
But what was even more concerning was Nora.
Because she wasn't just a normal witch.
She could siphon magic.
And she could cast magic.
She could do both.
Something that had never existed in witch history.
At least none that we knew of.
But I suspected the reason for that came from her father.
He wasn't just any man.
He came from the Gemini Coven.
From a family called Parker.
And that was how everything started.
FlashbackPOV Monna
Salem
"So," I said to Nero while wiping down the bar counter. "Where are you off to next?"
He leaned back in his chair and grinned.
"You know me, Monna. I always have somewhere to be."
"And werewolves to find."
"Oh, that sounds reassuring."
He smiled
"My siblings and I are heading to Mexica."
"Mexica?"
"Yeah. Somewhere inside the Aztec Empire."
He took a drink.
"There's a werewolf pack there. The Crescent Pack."
"Oh?"
"They're actually nobles there."
I blinked.
"Nobles?"
"Yep."
"People respect them. They know they're werewolves and they're fine with it."
I chuckled.
"That's the Aztecs for you."
We kept talking for a while before the door opened.
I didn't even look up.
"Sorry," I called out. "We're closed."
A man walked inside anyway.
Dirty blonde hair.
Green eyes.
Travel-worn clothes.
Nero glanced at me and smirked.
"Isn't that your type?"
"Shut up," I muttered.
Nero stood up and walked toward the stranger.
"Hey man," Nero said casually. "Like my lady friend said, we're closed."
The stranger looked surprised .
Then Nero placed a hand on his shoulder.
"But, lucky for you" Nero added, leaning close, "My friend likes your type."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"And what type would that be"
Nero leaned in and whispered.
"The type with magic."
The man froze.
His eyes widened.
Then Nero patted him on the shoulder and walked toward the door.
"Have fun, Monna," he said.
"You're unbelievable," I muttered.
Nero just waved as he left.
The man slowly walked to the bar and sat down.
"So," he said carefully. "You're a witch."
"Yes."
"And you're a warlock."
He nodded.
Then he held out his hand.
"My name is Jamie Parker."
Present DayPOV Monna
He came to Salem looking for answers about the Moreau family.
Truth be told… he didn't like them.
The only reason he was looking for them was curiosity.
He especially didn't like Gregore Moreau.
And honestly?
Neither did I.
Knock knock.
"Yona!" I called out.
"Yes, Ms. Monna?"
"Get the door please."
"Yes ma'am."
Yona opened the door.
Standing there was my youngest son.
"Hello young Jamine," Yona said warmly.
"Hey Yona," he replied.
Then he looked over at me sitting at the table.
"Hello, mother."
I smiled and stood up.
"Well look who finally decided to come home."
He walked over and hugged me.
"Good to see you too."
"Let me look at you," I said, pulling back.
"You're taller."
"Mother, it's only been 3 months."
I ignored him
" You also look thinner."
"Well"he said.
"That tends to happen when your uncle drags you across the Amazon."
Right on cue, Nero walked through the door.
"Welcome home, Mr. Tone," Yona said.
"Hey Yona."
He kissed her cheek.
"Got any of those barbecue ribs?"
She laughed.
"You just got here."
"And I'm already starving."
"No ribs right now," she said.
"But I'll make some."
"You're a saint," Nero said.
She shook her head and walked toward the kitchen.
I crossed my arms and looked at him.
"So," I said.
"How was the rainforest?"
"Oh it was to die for, Ms. Bennett."
He grinned.
"Would you believe me if I said I got married?"
I raised an eyebrow.
Oh do tell hybrid"
POV Nero
Telling Monna about everything that happened in the Amazon was more fun than I expected.
She was especially happy to rub in my face that I was married now.
to be honest though.
I don't know if what Diana and I have is a marriage.
I mean I don't see how a healthy couple would have a whole sea separating them.
Though I digress.
I very carefully left out the part where Jamine almost died though.
Monna didn't need that kind of stress.
"So," she said after a while, "that's five clans out of seven."
I nodded.
"Yep."
"Five werewolf bloodlines collected."
"Only two more left."
I held up two fingers.
"Paxon."
"BosRoq."
She nodded slowly.
"And then?"
"Well" I said.
"I think I might send one of my siblings to collect the other two."
"Why?"
"Because I need to focus on something else."
"Someone else."
She gave me a knowing look.
"Freya Mikaelson."
I smiled.
"You know me too well."
"Well," she said, "you're in luck."
"I think I know when they'll wake up."
That caught my attention.
Freya was being held captive by her aunt Dahlia.
Esther had given her to Dahlia as payment for helping her have children.
The deal was simple.
Dahlia would help Esther conceive.
And Esther would give her the firstborn of every generation.
But when Esther turned her children into vampires… they couldn't have children anymore.
Which meant the deal stopped.
Except for Klaus.
Which made me wonder.
Could I have a child?
I was an Original hybrid after all.
Just like Klaus.
If I slept with a werewolf…
Would it work?
Then another thought hit me.
Diana.
Was she already pregnant before she became a hybrid?
There was no way to know.
And honestly… it probably didn't matter anymore.
I doubted she could still have children now.
But that brought me back to Freya.
"The spell took some work," Monna said.
"But Nora helped."
I smiled.
Nora was my not so favorite niece.
It's not that I hated the girl.
I actually thought she had a good sense of humor.
Something Jamine lacked sometimes.
But she had this greediness about her.
And from my experience.
That wasn't something a witch like her should have.
"They should both wake up around 1612," Monna said.
I raised an eyebrow.
"That's sixty-nine years from now."
"Yep."
She shrugged.
"I'll be long dead by then."
I frowned.
"You know I hate when you say that."
"You could still become a vampire."
She smiled softly.
"I've lived a long life, Nero."
"I built a family."
"I watched Salem rise."
"And I've spent years killing supernaturals with my favorite hybrid."
I smiled.
"You'll always be my favorite witch."
She grinned.
"I know."
"Where would you be without me?"
That made me laugh.
"Well," I said, standing up. "Have you seen my siblings?"
She shook her head.
"Last I heard Mekesa was at your house."
"And Dante?"
I smirked.
"Oh I know where Dante is."
"Still playing Romeo and Juliet with Nora."
I laughed.
"Well I better go interrupt that."
I started walking toward the door.
"Tell Yona to send those ribs to my house."
Just before leaving, I turned back.
"Thanks, Monna."
"You never disappoint."
"Yeah yeah," she said, waving me off.
"And when you find Nora, tell her I'm looking for her."
"Yes ma'am."
I stepped outside.
Took a breath.
"Alright," I muttered.
"Time to go find a man in love."