A Gift from the Goddess

A shiver went down my spine. I knew this expression well.

 …He was furious at me.

 I immediately tried to back away from him but I knew it was too late. He strode up and quickly grabbed my neck in his hand, pinning me against the wall behind me. And, instantly, the pain shot down from my shoulder where it hit the wall roughly.

 “Aleric… Please…,” I whimpered out against his choke, struggling to breathe.

 His hand loosened slightly but only to ensure I listened to him properly.

 It was crazy, but even in a moment like this, the mate bond was still making sparks erupt from where his hand touched my skin. It was sickening how a Goddess could do this to her child, make them feel these sensations even in a situation like this.

 “Do you think you’re so important that you can treat Thea that way?” he roared into my face.

 “Aleric… she came to me first and?.”

 “Enough!” he cut me off. “I don’t want your excuses. Thea isn’t like you. She is a gentle, sweet girl! What if you had caused her enough stress to induce a miscarriage? Are you really so petty as to kill a child out of spite? A future Alpha no less?”

 Even in his distorted expression of rage, he still looked so handsome. A curl of his shaggy midnight hair had fallen out of place and was framing his forehead, his green eyes gleaming. He stood a foot taller than me, broad shoulders, and built like a God. In times like this, I could feel the height difference so clearly when he stood close to me in this way. He was an imposing, scary man, but I had no choice but to find him irresistible.

 I cleared my thoughts, reminding myself it was only the mate bond making me feel these things for him. His touch and scent were intoxicating but it wasn’t me who really felt this way about him anymore. It was just the curse.

 “Aleric… no, I would never. She came to me even though she knew?.”

 And suddenly, he slapped me across the face. Hard.

 I blinked as my vision blurred and my cheek burned.

 “You’re nothing, Ariadne. You are only here because I let you be here, don’t ever forget it. You may be chosen as Luna by the Goddess but I have the final say in this pack. If you dare to hurt Thea again, I will make sure you regret it.”

 And, with that, he let me go, my back sliding down the wall as my legs gave out.

 I was sure that he had contemplated killing me in that moment. His anger wasn’t anything new to me but this was the first time he had threatened to remove me from my position completely… or worse.

 With one final look down at me in disgust, he then left just as abruptly as he’d arrived. But as soon as the door closed behind him, I erupted in a fit of hysterical laughter, tears flowing from my eyes once more.

at the start then this would have never happened. If he had just rejected me immediately as his mate, instead

here only because of him. Because the pack and Aleric asked me to be their Luna. I could have tried to live a normal life and tried to

could have even found someone to love me one

 “Aria?” Sophie asked hesitantly, watching me laugh

 She must have thought I had finally gone crazy, and she was probably right. Sophie watched

I really had finally snapped.

My whole life! I bet the Goddess is looking down at me as

Aria,” Sophie said, crouching down to engulf me in her arms once more.

my hair as my laughter then slowly turned into

“We can leave together. I’m sure

would come

risking a lot to become

make you a cup of tea and we can talk about what we’re going to do,”

 Hesitantly, I nodded my head and

 Sophie cared for me. It would be okay. We

 The next day I got ready for the meeting at eight o’clock with the higher members of the pack council. My long silver hair was still messy but I had done my

 Underneath my violet eyes, I could see the dark bags from the stress and lack of sleep I had experienced the night before. Unfortunately, using makeup had shown

eyes were a dead giveaway to our ancient Beta lineage. It was an unusual sight for people who were not from our pack, but I was proud of my reflection. I was the first daughter born to our Beta family in over a century and the only child of my parents. I was also born two years after Aleric so it was almost guaranteed we would be

to Aleric’s right. But unlike a normal day, today I could feel the gaze of the other ranked pack members and elders as they bore into

must feel, how scorned I am, and yet they looked at me as though I were a

one dared to ask me any questions. They all acted as I wasn’t even there.

 I had told Sophie we would leave at the end of the week. There were still things I needed to organise, and I wanted to ensure the pack had enough prepared to keep it running for at least a little while in my absence. My hope was that no one would notice me missing for a few days and, with any luck, we could cover enough ground to stop them from finding us even if they tried; our

think, Luna?”

 I looked up sharply in surprise, breaking me from my deep thoughts. I

clearing my throat, and tried to think back on whatever they had just been

 “Well… that’s umm…,” I

burst open at that exact moment, sparing me from having

in. I hadn’t even noticed he was absent in the meeting, having kept my eyes

before us, and he looked… furious. Something

he angry at how I had treated

 And, instinctively, I

to my surprise, his eyes then turned not to