A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 72

Chapter Seventy–Two 

“...What‘s her name?” I found myself asking politely, though I didn‘t really feel present. 

Truthfully, I didn‘t feel much of anything. My body had gone completely numb, falling into autopilot responses as I struggled to come to terms with what Cai had just told me. 

He found his mate. 

But he was only nineteen. He shouldn‘t have found her so soon. 

‘Caius knight dies at the age of twenty–one with no Luna, mate or child‘. That was the future for Cail had known. Yet somehow this timeline had changed enough that he had met her earlier. It was a cruel slap in the face as reality reminded me, once more, that it would refuse to ever let me be happy. Even for just the few years I thought I might have had with him. 

“Caitlyn,” he replied awkwardly. “She seems... nice. Sweet.” 

‘Nice? Really? That was the best he could say about the woman who was supposedly his other half? His soul mate? 

I wanted to ask him how they met but a part of me couldn‘t bear to hear any more details. Knowing her name would be enough. 

“Aria,” he said, tilting my chin up to look at him, to meet his golden eyes. “It doesn‘t change anything for m e... I still want to be with you.” 

Instantly, my body tensed, the gears in my head finally starting to kick back into reality. His words managed to trigger a pain inside me that I was all too familiar with, something I had tried so hard to push t o the furthest part of my mind. It was almost exactly like it was in the past. 

...Except I wasn‘t the girl being abandoned by her mate anymore. 

No, now I was being set up to become Thea. 1 

“No,” I said flatly, grabbing the keys and dagger by my side to leave. “No, I‘m not doing this.” 

“Aria, wait. Talk to me.” 

I stood up and started to walk towards the car but Cai quickly rushed to stand in my way. 

“Aria, please. Can we just talk about this for a second?” 

“No, this was dumb from the beginning,” I said. “And I‘m not just referring to us. I mean this whole plan for my escape too. It‘s rushed and clumsy.” 

“We‘ve got everything sorted. We‘ll get you back to the Silver Lake and take care of you.” 

There it was again. No insinuation of moving me, no mention of Iris or the rebellion. As if he thought everyone wasn‘t going to just assume that the Silver Lake was the first place I‘d go. 

“Tell me, Cai, what exactly was the plan? Do you even have one?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest. “I was under the impression you were working with Iris for this but I‘m quickly realising that maybe that‘s not the case.” 

He frowned. “Why would I be in contact with Iris for this? I haven‘t seen her since last year.” 

A cynical laugh escaped my lips. “This is actually ridiculous. The first place Tytus is going to look is the Silver Lake, especially once Aleric is forced to confess that info. Then we‘re back to square one; avoiding a war between two territories because of me.” 

Lilapler Seventy Two 

“Then we‘ll move you,” he argued. “We can go somewhere else until it‘s safe.” 

“Just the three of us, yeah?” I snapped back snarkily. “You, me, and Caitlyn?” 

bad. He should have never touched me tonight knowing he had someone bonded to him. I was too familiar with the anguish of seeing your mate

home, Cai,” I said, stepping past him to continue walking to the car.

grabbed my wrist and tried to pull

was pissed because he

this exact situation

he reached out to grab me,

managed to quickly bring the dagger up and

touch me,” I

eyes went wide in surprise but I didn‘t waver. In truth, we both knew he could very easily swat my hand away without any issue whatsoever,

flicking back and forth

Maybe his words had meant to come off as appealing to the side of me that still cared for

instantly, my hand tightened on the blade.

my eyes narrowing

he was trying to call that bluff. But in that moment, I sure as hell didn‘t feel like

repeat that cycle... the very fact he could even ask that of me made me feel sick. It made me regret so many of my actions and question why

it was a reminder of who I really was, what I was actually capable of,

from. Never forget

grabbed at his shirt and pulled his torso down so I could speak directly into his ear.

“You shouldn‘t test someone who has killed

are you talking about?”

away. But do you want to know the truth? The real truth? You see, I knew you in the past, Caius Knight, Alpha of the Silver Lake. Our packs were at war for

just enough so I could look him in the eye. “Because of me,” I said. “I was your dooth. I killed you. I did it for my own political

became heavier, my heart pounding loudly in my chest as I confessed the words! never wanted him to hear. “... I did it for my family‘s honour... I did it

brutally deprived me olu! That was what your

us spoke, just my words hanging in the

that he didn‘t really have feelings for me, just a version of me I‘d let him see. Not some young, tormented girl he met in high school... but a killer. Someone who had wiped more territories off the map just from within her own quarters, than he had ever visited from

done this a long time ago. But had been too weak to go through with it; to sever that tie that had become a lifeline for me. Cai

time to wake up and acknowledge that this wasn‘t a fantasy, that being with him was always something that

to let go of that delusion and prevent a cycle from repeating.

gently trying to

out of my hand and push me away already. He could have overpowered me within seconds without any

the knife in further, trying to prove my point. Because, even though I didn‘t want to, needed him to at least believe I would, to take me seriously,

you want to make it two for two?” I asked darkly.

that there was

yet searching his face, I couldn‘t help but wonder how incredibly naive it was of him to still look at m e with those eyes. As if I hadn‘t just confessed to murdering him. As if a part of him actually still wanted

should let m e go. Or at least take this as my confirmation that I didn‘t want to be involved with him anymore; even though a part of my mind was still screaming at me to take it all back, to find a way to

quickly pulled away from him, taking a few steps backwards

Cai,” I said, my voice finally betraying my exhaustion. “Go home and be an honourable man to your mate.” 4

I left.

the car, the key in the ignition, and I left.

go, yet I realised that all paths ahead were likely the wrong choice. And so I just drove. Without a destination, into the dark, and with my

Chapter Seventy–Two 

second. 

time to relax or give in to the pain just yet... because I needed to think.

the aching inside, I tried to focus

yet to run away meant risking my life to the mercy of the world... and Tytus. There was no safety for me. Not really. Maybe if I could get in contact with Iris I could try and

knew of only one person, outside of the Winter Mist, who was in contact with Iris, one person who I could trust my life and whereabouts with... and it was the same person I had just threatened with

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