A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter Seventy 

.... With a sudden lurch inside my chest, my eyes flew open. I was gasping heavily, trying to compensate for the suffocation that had afflicted me only moments earlier. 

... Except I wasn‘t mounted on the glass shard anymore…. 

I was in my bed. 

My hands frantically grabbed at my body, inspecting for any sign of damage... but there wasn‘t any. 

So it wasn‘t real? But I had felt it. It couldn‘t be a dream. I know it wasn‘t a dream. 

But it ended up easier than expected to figure out exactly what had happened. 

The nausea hit me first, forcing me to throw myself over the side of the bed and empty out the contents o f my stomach. Then the ringing in my ears followed... then, finally, the bloody nose. 

...It was a vision. Easily the longest one I‘d ever had; the realest one I‘d ever had. Somehow it had been strong enough to show itself even with my collar, now punishing me with the worst side effects I‘d ever had to date. 

My head still struggling to clear from the trauma of what I‘d just experienced, I tried my best to focus on what I‘d seen. But the shock of the situation was hard to overcome. 

...Because the reality was.... I had died. 

I‘d died because I‘d tried to stall for time and fallen as a result of an accident. A goddamn accident. The idiot had fucking butterfingers and killed me. 

Somehow it had felt seamless though, as if I really had just woken up before it all played out. So when was all of this meant to happen? A day? A week? A month from now? 

But I didn‘t need to wait long before I got my answer. 

... Because suddenly I could hear the sound of my front door clicking open, and a familiar creak groan out into the silence. 

They were here. Right now. 

Okay, it was time to think fast. I knew what went wrong and what I could avoid, I also knew what their intentions were. There was no need to call out or make my presence known, and I already knew now that I was helpless to defend myself given their size and strength. 

But my body ached as though I really had just been thrown out of a window, my head pounding with a migraine worse than any other. Whilst I had more options available to me this time, there was no way! would be physically able to accomplish much. Hell, I doubted I‘d even be able to wriggle free this time. 

No, there was no way I could defeat him… but I knew someone else who could. 

I had been only seconds away last time from being able to achieve the best strategy available to me, seconds that had been wasted trying to confirm who was there the first time. But I didn‘t have that problem now. 

Inhaling as much as I could, I screamed out into the night. Screamed for the one person who I knew could save me. 

“ALERIC! ALERIC, HELP! PLEASE!” 

The pounding of feet quickly rushing towards my room was the first thing I heard and i knew it was the intruder. I was sure he was probably wondering how his cover had been blown so quickly. 

Chapter Sevenly 

Without waiting, I dropped to the ground and crawled under my bed; though a much tighter squeeze than I expected. He would be able to find me here, I knew, but literally all I needed was a few extra seconds. Just a couple of seconds for Aleric to find me. 

My bedroom door then flew open and the man appeared at the threshold. I couldn‘t see his face but I could tell he was searching for me, probably attempting to use his heightened senses to help locate my position in the room. Silently, I held my breath, but I knew even the tiniest of sounds, the smallest of movements, would be easily picked up on by him. 

In the end, though, it wasn‘t enough as he soon appeared in front of the bed and reached down to grab m e from under it. 

“Let me go!” I screamed, weakly pushing away from him to no success. 

With no time to bind my mouth this time, he proceeded to just quickly throw me over his shoulder and run for the window. I struggled, wriggling as much as I could, but my movements were completely ineffectual against him. Like I had thought, my body really was far weaker than it had been in the vision. 

burst open, and the dim outline

“ARIA?!” 

Aleric, please!” I screamed

want to die again,

‘Please...‘ 

hand was on the man‘s arm. He was just about to open the window before Aleric appeared. Just a

only just catch sight of how Aleric had broken the man‘s arm like a toothpick, as if it wasn‘t attached to one of the largest, most muscled werewolves I‘d ever seen. But it worked. The intruder doubled over, cradling his

in

wait though. Immediately, he grabbed at me under my arms and hauled me off the guy‘s shoulder, my body still shaking from the adrenaline pumping through me. I wanted to cling to him for safety but I knew I would only be getting in the way. Which was exactly what the man must

me, the top of my head only narrowing missing Aleric‘s hand that came up to

ordered, grabbing the guy‘s arm and

managed to toss him with such ease, I had no idea. But it was effortless for him, as if he were tossing a bag of sand rather

could and looked on mutely as the scene unfolded before m e. The man was still struggling with the pain in his arm but had managed to get to his feet... and then

perhaps that wasn‘t the best idea.

even trying to shift... but, really, everyone here knew it was over. The difference in power between the two was as clear as night

it back his dans

“Aferd, wat dort 

throat, instantly making

rrow dealt with i sacrumpled on the floor still in shock I was alive. I was alive. It felt live an eternity since my life hadnt been in danger, having just experienced this scenario won in the succession of a few minutes

he ran over to engulf me into his arms, the man‘s blood covering him and all Maybe I would have recoiled from his state normally, but now I clung to him for life, try body still staking I dont tatter that he‘d just killed the guy and was getting me coated in blood too, I just needed to feel the contot only be could provide in that

he asked, his breathing still hear from everything that had

stiffy, mowing that my blood was from the vision not the

“I’m okay” 

of us needing the time to calm down and feel reassured the other was okay But before too long Alene finally went to pull away only it ghtened

don‘t go yet,” I

was surprised I hadn‘t passed out yet My adrenaline was slowly meaning of the aching in my body only getting wobe and itly mind was still selambing to cope with angel

gently powing tumself to sit against

letting me have my moment of feeling safe event was just to a

was exactly how we were positioned when the warriors finally came upstairs and found us, huddled together

heit Miss Chrysalis,” one of the

alan in the

where the man‘s body

started inspecting the scene beginning the investigation of the corpo

soundprool than drealised given theit slow response Boedondo long it had taken them, they must not have heard anything until Aleric broke the deadows and made me

for questioning and 

i quetiy ctumed in “We should have taken him gotten answers about why he was trying to kidnap me

death the minute he touched you. He could

shook his head Alla”

added in my head, a shiver going down my spine How long was going to take this link

Chapler Seventy 

bury this memory along with the rest of my traumas?

cold?” he asked, mistaking my

the shock and the blood–soaked clothes, my body was definitely feeling a little chilly.

“Can you walk?” 

sure if that was

I could stand by myself. To my relief, someone also quickly provided me with a blanket. There was a short conversation with the warriors about what had happened and a few orders to scout the area for anyone else,

and started walking through some hallways, I didn‘t snap back to reality though

was his quarters.

in here tonight. Tomorrow I’ll work something else out.”

his

ever glimpse of inside his living area. A place I‘d never

asked after I just stood there,