A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter Seventy Five 

...I could just ask her,’i thought to myself, staring in the mirror at my reflection

After that night, Aleric and I had agreed that we needed to come up with a plan on how to free myself from the collar… as well as remove Tytus as Alpha in the process. For obvious reasons, allowing him to proceed with marking me was out of the question, regardless of the terms Aleric and I were on now. And so we’d conceded that it was time. Time for Tytus to step down, allowing for proper change.

…But now that just left us with having to think of a way to actually achieve that.

I’d spent hours already pouring over different ideas, but was mostly coming up empty. All of them either wouldn’t work or were morally questionable.

… Which was how it eventually led me to be staring at my reflection, contemplating something I normally never would have considered.

To ask my former self for her help.

The girl I hadn’t heard speak to me in months, yet was still a part of me. No, wait… that wasn’t quite right… She *was* me. Just a part of me that my brain had conjured up, creating a separate entity for me to be able to live with myself and everything I‘d done. 

‘She would be better suited for this,‘ I thought, touching my cheek. ‘She always had an idea or strategy to resolve stubborn problems in the past. And time deadlines just made her work more efficiently.‘ 

…But did I even want her help? 

She had been an instrument of chaos that was wielded by a madman. The only thing she truly knew was how to succeed by any means possible. No matter the cost. No matter who it killed along the way. So long as her Aleric would just acknowledge her existence. 

I didn‘t want things to go back down that route. Just because Aleric and I were working together again, it didn‘t mean that I would allow for things to repeat. I’d already learnt the hard way that sometimes the easiest solutions in politics were only going to weave further conflicts later. 

But he had given me an oath. I needed to believe that he would keep his word. It was true that I still 

osolutely certain that he wouldn‘t suddenly switch one day, but didn‘t I technically know this Aleric better? Couldn‘t I at least give him the benefit of the doubt? We‘d now spent more time together in this life than we ever had in the past. I had been able to learn first hand of his capacity for patience, for kindness, for doing what he thought was right, even if it hurt him. I‘d learnt his humour, his laugh.... 

They were little luxuries I‘d never been permitted to see before this life. Things that made him suddenly much more human instead of the monster I used to perceive him to be. 

And so I sighed, stepping away from the mirror.

No, I needed to do this on my own. 

But how did I ever manage to think of such elaborate plans in the past? I‘d brought an entire country to its knees… and yet I was struggling with one Alpha? Was it because I still felt tied to Tytus, my Alpha, even after everything he‘d done? 

But I knew that wasn’t true. I’d been thinking about it for a while now but, the night I had broken free of Aleric’s Alpha order to stay away from Thea, had been the same night I might have inadvertently freed myself a little from Tytus too. I definitely still felt the connection to the pack. It‘s just that his hold over me was now… lessoned. A quirk of my marking, I was sure.

Documents were sprawled all over my dining room table, bits of information i’d asked Aleric and Lucy to

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Chapter Seventy Five 

acquire for me since I was no longer up to date with the current affairs in the country. Or maybe it was just that some of my information wasn‘t quite relevant yet, the incidents having not yet occurred, 

And so i stared at the pages before me, contemplating over the very familiar layout I hadn’t geen in such a long time.

…And, finally, I thought of the answer to the question i’d asked myself earlier.

Like a game.

She used to look at war and politics like a puzzle, something to be solved that held a reward for her at the end of it. Night after night she would sit at her desk… imagining it all in her head … being able to see and predict how certain people would react… where they might move. She would utilise everything and everyone available in order to get her the result Aleric wanted.

…But I didn’t want to do that. I’d already vowed once to never fall into that mentality again after the last war; the war that made me realise Aleric had just been using me the entire time. The war that made me realise that my pieces on the board were actual living, breathing people.

So was that why I was holding myself back still? Fear of the damage I was capable of? Of becoming ther” once more?

It was true that, since coming back, I had dabbled in petty strategy now and then, but I hadn‘t done anything near the scale I used to do in the past. Since returning, I‘d tested Lucy‘s loyalty with ‘poisoned’ tea, exploited governments, set up minor traps for potential spies. But I hadn‘t done anything overly significant. Not really. And I think a part of the reason may have been because of that promise to myself… that promise to not let myself become that person again.

I sat slowly down at the desk in front of me, my eyes scanning over all the documents before me, my hands moving over the pages. It felt almost exactly the same as in the past, the words calling out to me, offering to help me see what I needed to. Think what I needed to. 

...But we could do it the right way this time, right? Find a solution that didn‘t entail hurting everyone else in the process to just get what we wanted?

And so I closed my eyes... and broke yet another one of my promises to myself. 1

“...Do you know what wolfsbane is?” I asked Aleric, a few days later.

We were walking in the garden outside, the sun high above us, both of us enjoying the fresh air.

I’d sent him a personal request asking that he take a walk with me today. Though that wasn’t to say didn’t have other reasons for the abrupt invitation either. 

“...You mean like... the poison?” he asked confused, looking at me with concern.

I smiled. “Yeah, that‘s the one.” 

“...Are we still discussing the plan to remove Tytus as Alpha?” 

I laughed. “Yes, we are. Don’t worry, it‘s not what you think. Are you familiar with what it actually does? Wolfsbane?”

“Do I look like a doctor?” he replied rhetorically. “All I know is to avoid it. It literally says everything I need to know about it within the name.”

“Okay, well, I‘m not the greatest with herbalism, so don‘t quote me here, but the interesting thing about wolfsbane is that it slows your heart down… to the point of being lethal if not careful,“ | explained. “In werewolves that lethal point is a hell of a lot quicker, which is why it’s so dangerous for us. But in small doses, it actually works similarly to silver. It moves inside us, slowing us down, making us weaker.

Making us more.. compliant.”

“That‘s your plan? You want to poison him?” 

“Well, no... that’s not my plan. Not the entire plan, at least,” I corrected slowly. “Just a part of the pan.”

“You just admitted to me, right before suggesting this, that you weren’t great at herbalism,” he pointed out. “And you want to somehow administer him with a dosage so accurate that it doesn’t kill him…just weakens him? And then what?”

“Just wait a second, okay? I’m getting there,” I said, taking a moment to touch one of the flowers we were passing. It was coming into autumn so I knew they’d all be dying soon. The colder air was already coming in much sooner than anticipated, as evident in how it cooled the metal collar around my neck.

“You said that you weren’t a doctor, but let‘s not forget who is,” I continued. “For my plan to work, we have to involve more people than just us. It’s impossible not to. At the very least to take over we’d need the general support of the pack but, in particular, there are also several individuals who are critical for helping us reach this goal. Like for example, in this instance with the wolfsbane… someone like my mother would be required.”

He stopped in his tracks to look at me, frowning. “Aria… are you sure? Your mother? What happens if something goes wrong?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, thinking about it again. “She is the best person for the job… maybe the only person given her position as head doctor. Besides, even if I tried to get someone else, she would likely just insist on doing it anyway. We also can‘t forget that we need to stick exclusively to people we can trust. The only way I foresee my plan becoming dangerous in any way at all is if someone leaks it too soon… hence why we need my mother.”

He held my gaze for another few seconds before finally looking away, continuing to walk. 

“Okay, fine… So then how will that work?” he asked.

“I‘ll have my mother send out a memo to Tytus requesting his presence at an annual check–up; something that is mandatory for Alphas if issued,” I proceeded. “According to the documents you managed to get your hands on for me, he hasn‘t had his yearly check–up yet. Once he arrives, my mother will then administer the wolfsbane, which will hopefully be mixed in with something else to prolong the effects a little bit. This will then mean that, come the next day of my eighteenth birthday, he will be weakened. But just a small enough dosage for what we need it for. It‘s important he doesn‘t instantly feel a noticeable difference.”

“Your birthday? You really want to wait until your birthday in a few months to remove him? Isn‘t that… cutting it a bit close?” 

“Unfortunately, we don‘t have a choice,” I said. “The only plan that guarantees Tytus will get out of this unscathed revolves around me having my collar removed first; something that is going to be impossible prior to my birthday. He keeps the key on him at all times so the only chance we‘re going to get is in that small moment between him removing the collar... and when he expects you to mark me.”

“…And then what?”

“...And then I order him to revoke his title and hand the pack over to us. Maybe even exile him

Aria, no offence, but I was there the last time you tried ordering someone. It took you several attempts and it left you almost passing out on the floor. And that was

been practising,” I admitted, a little guilty for forgetting to

crossed his features and I didn‘t blame him. Honestly, it still surprised me too that I was

it. Though… it’s a lot harder. Like trying to filter a water dam through a funnel. But I can still do it, or rather, I can still practice it. It’s just that I’ll need to have the collar taken off first before… before I can remove the funnel and harness the dam instead, if you get

was only dangerous if it gets leaked? You‘re literally betting everything on the small

mean, there are several things I’m implementing to increase the success rate,” i defended. “Like, for example, the wolfsbane should make him a bit more susceptible to the command even if I‘m not at full capacity… but you’re also incorrectly assuming a little here. I never said that I was betting everything on this. I’m not stupid enough to put all of my eggs in one basket. Technically…

face, waiting for me to

abdicates the position unhurt. Unfortunately, Plan B is not

actually mean–.”

You‘ll need to challenge him

are you nuts? You want me to

that,” I hurriedly corrected.” No, technically, if you read the laws of challenging an Alpha, they state you are only required to incapacitate him. It‘ll be even easier because of the wolfsbane too. But, in the event that I can‘t pull off the command, then you‘ll need to challenge him, Aleric. There‘s literally no other choice. If you don‘t then I doubt he‘ll even permit you to go through with the original punishment of marking me. Currently, he just sees me

I was telling him was the truth, that it really was the only viable backup plan. And, whilst I also knew their relationship wasn‘t the greatest, it was still something wished I didn’t have to ask of him. Because at the

I‘m only agreeing because I want to put my

good to keep positive thoughts like that,” I said, brushing off the pressure he was trying to place

the main area where other people would

take over, we need to start working on public image immediately. I‘m sure there will be some who don’t agree with our more… forceful methods of title succession. We‘ll need to start preparing the narrative as soon as possible so it won‘t be as negative once the time comes. The goal is to show people that removing Tytus early is the right thing to do. To help them see our side. That’s the only way that people will even begin to entertain the ideas we‘re proposing.”

more accurately, the only way they’ll probably

out here today then,” he said before his eyes lowered to where my hand was touching

trying to find any reason to put off leaving without my scarf. But we were running out of time, and even

enjoys chaining a Saintess who did nothing wrong. He likes… proving he is better than the Goddess herself by imprisoning her earthly

amused. “You’re hardly innocent… and you don’t even believe that Goddess crap. You told me yourself that the whole ‘faith in the Goddess’ thing is basically a

need to know that. They just need to believe it. Honestly, the more pious they are, the easier it’s going to be for people to accept our mutual co–alphaship.”

the way, several curious faces

worried about that?” he asked. “About… if something happens and

asking me if I was still worried whether he would betray me. The answer was, of course, yes. How could I not be? It

trust I was putting in him to help me execute this strategy was already too much. After all, the second Tytus found

it through to the end. The benefits of eliminating civil war with Aleric outweighed the alternatives, and it gave me the position I needed in order to start focusing on stopping Thea instead. Stop... Whatever the hell

at him, my expression becoming more

answer to that,

quickly, I continued walking up the stairs, not

help with?”

and slotted it into the shiny new lock that was fitted onto my door, pushing it open. Only Lucy, Aleric and I had access to my quarters

and handed him a large pile of

is it?” he asked, inspecting the

important things that have happened, of things that are currently happening, and of things that may happen in the future. I’ve also sorted it by date order. Not in the way you’re probably thinking though. What I mean is that I‘ve sorted it in the order of things that require your attention right

right now since I don’t presently hold any rank within the pack. There isn’t a way for me to

do all of

to it as I think of it. For now, at least, it’s a starting point. If we can tackle some of the bigger items then it’ll make the first year

my attention behind his head, making me lose my train of

them. Almost as if a whole shelf of the library had been moved in

bit weird since I know you liked reading so much. But everything sort of clicked when you told me you used to live in here. Thought you might want some new things

Or… sort of. It was a gift, in a weird ‘probably stole these from the library’ kind of way.

library. I recognised all the titles immediately, could even almost remember exactly where they would

rapport with Aleric was only going to work in my favour for the

“I‘ll be sure to read them when I get a

eyes

already read these too,” he stated, exposing

look great, thank

truthfully, you‘d probably have a hard time trying to find something in the pack I haven‘t already read. Once upon a time, I had more free time than I knew

collections? Surely there has to be something,” he said,

there actually anywhere else that

I‘d been mulling on. Something that I needed

the perfect way to do it. “Actually…,” I said,

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myself, staring in the mirror at my

as well as remove Tytus as Alpha in the process. For obvious reasons, allowing him to proceed with marking me was out of the question, regardless of the terms Aleric and I were on now. And so we’d conceded that it was time. Time for Tytus to

that just left us with having to

already pouring over different ideas, but was mostly coming up empty. All of them either wouldn’t work or were morally

it eventually led me to be staring at

ask my former self

right… She *was* me. Just a part of me

this,‘ I thought, touching my cheek. ‘She always had an idea or strategy

did I even

truly knew was how to succeed by any means

that I would allow for

he had given me an oath. I needed to believe that he would keep his word. It was true

time together in this life than we ever had in the past.

Things that made him

sighed, stepping

I needed to do this on

in the past? I‘d brought an entire country to its knees… and yet I

it for a while now but, the night I had broken free of Aleric’s Alpha order to stay away from Thea, had been the same night I might have inadvertently freed myself a little from Tytus too. I definitely still felt the connection to the pack. It‘s just that his hold over me was now… lessoned. A quirk of my marking,

all over my dining room table, bits of information i’d

maybe it

so i stared at the pages before me, contemplating over the very familiar layout I

finally, I thought of the answer to the

Like a game.

held a reward for her at the end of it. Night after night she would sit at her desk… imagining it all in her head … being able to see and predict how certain people would react… where they might move. She

vowed once to never fall into that mentality again after the last war; the war that made me realise Aleric had just

Fear of the damage I was

set up minor traps for potential spies. But I hadn‘t done anything overly significant. Not really. And I think a part of the reason may have been because of that promise to

front of me, my eyes scanning over all the documents before me, my hands moving over the pages. It felt almost exactly the same as in the past, the words calling out to me,

we could do it the right way this time, right? Find a solution that didn‘t entail hurting everyone else in the

my eyes... and broke yet

what wolfsbane is?” I asked Aleric,

walking in the garden outside, the sun high

request asking that he take a walk with me today. Though that wasn’t to say didn’t have other reasons for the

he asked

that‘s

discussing the plan to

are. Don’t worry, it‘s not what you

like a doctor?” he replied rhetorically. “All I know is to avoid it. It

it slows your heart down… to the point of being lethal if not careful,“ | explained. “In werewolves that lethal point is a

Making us more.. compliant.”

plan? You want to poison

not my plan. Not the entire plan, at least,” I corrected slowly. “Just

just admitted to me, right before suggesting this, that you weren’t great at herbalism,” he pointed out. “And you want to somehow administer him with a dosage so accurate that

I said, taking a moment to touch one of the flowers we were passing. It was coming into autumn so I knew they’d all be dying soon. The

just us. It’s impossible not to. At the very least to take over we’d need the general support of the pack but, in particular, there are