A Gift from the Goddess

“Please forgive me, Alpha,” I heard Elder Luke quietly mutter behind me before he quickly closed the meeting hall doors. 

*Click* 

And suddenly I was locked in here. With them. 

“Aleric... Cai,” I said cautiously, my hand already moving slowly towards my dagger. “Didn‘t expect to find either of you here of all places.” 

Not only had someone broken Aleric out of the cells but they‘d also succeeded in getting Cai over the border without my knowledge. And I knew, without needing to think too hard on it, that only Elder Luke was capable of something like this. 

My mind was already racing with what was going on, analysing their movements carefully to ensure ! wasn‘t taken off guard. If they were under Thea‘s influence then they might try to kill me. I couldn‘t think o f any other reason for why they would have trapped me like this. 

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Aleric said, taking a step forward. 

And, immediately, I unsheathed my dagger and held it up defensively. They were mistaken if they thought I would go down easily. 

“Who‘s blood is that?” Cai then asked, bringing Aleric‘s attention to it as well. 

“None of your business,” I bit back. 

“...What the hell have you done, Aria?” Aleric growled. “Is that Lucy‘s scent I can smell on you?” 

“Nothing you wouldn‘t do, Aleric,” I snapped, taking a few steps forward cautiously. 

I heard him then sigh quietly at that and look towards Cai. “We‘re going to have to go with Plan B.” 

And quickly, I got into a crouch and readied myself. “What is this? Did you just tell me that Lucy was a spy to throw me off your trail? Didn‘t want me to suspect you of working with Thea anymore so you could organise this? Are you all in on this? Elder Luke too? All of you working for her?” 

“Not everyone is your enemy, Aria,” Aleric said. “You‘re sick and you don‘t even realise it.” 

I laughed at that. “Oh, *I‘m sick*? How about the person who murdered my parents?” I asked before turning towards Cai. “Or the person who slept with the creature trying to kill us? Did you just forget that taking me out is just one step closer to your own death?” 

“We‘re not trying to kill you, Aria. We‘re trying to help you.” 

«But then I saw it. A flash image of him charging at me, throwing me to the ground and ripping out my 

throat. Almost as vivid as a vision… but different. 

“I knew it! You‘re lying!” I yelled, adjusting my stance. “Always lying! You think I‘m going to let my defences down this time? I won‘t be taken out so easily anymore. There‘s no silver collar to hold me back 

now,” 

“You should kill them before they kill you,‘ the voice said. “Maybe there is a way to take their abilities. If we could gatekeep all three lineages then there wouldn‘t be any need for them. No more liabilities.‘ 

I was too focused on the situation at hand but I knew that what she was saying sounded too risky. We weren‘t a God and even if I could take their abilities, I wouldn‘t even know how to go about doing that. 

Just try it, she said. ‘Before they get to you first. Before they make the choice for you.‘ 

Cai ended up being the first one to move, charging from the right, but I sensed his movement perfectly. H e was aiming to tackle me to the ground but he was mistaken if he thought something like that would 

work on me. Aleric‘s distraction of talking to me wasn‘t going to be anywhere near enough to get the drop on me. 

Instantly, his body flew past as he missed me entirely and I quickly turned to be ready for a counter. 

He was still too slow though. In the month since I‘d last seen him, it looked as though he‘d regained the majority of his strength but he wasn‘t yet back at his peak. I knew what Cai was capable of on his best day and this wasn‘t it. 

He tried several more attempts at landing a hit on me to no avail. In fact, it was useless for him to even try since I could sense his attacks seconds before he moved. 

“That‘s not going to work on her,” Aleric then shouted from the side, moving in to flank behind me. “She can foresee your movements.” 

“Evidently,” Cai replied dryly, not taking his eyes off me. 

“Scared, Cai?” I asked and faked a lunge forward. He immediately jumped backwards defensively causing me to laugh. 

But the humour was cut short as I felt Aleric attempting to take advantage of the mild distraction. 

“Nice try,” I said and moved back just as Aleric‘s hands tried to grab me. 

He‘d left himself open by doing this though and, utilising his proximity, I quickly brought my knife up to get a hit on his arm, hoping to maim him. However, he was almost as fast as me, managing to move out of the way to avoid in time, 

The whole thing was reminiscent of the day before my birthday when we‘d been sparring in the gym. Except neither of us had things holding us back now. For what I was lacking in brute strength and extensive fighting knowledge, I was able to make up for in speed and foresight. And, unlike him, I was actually armed. 

The dance began as we both attacked and countered each other, now almost perfectly balanced and in sync. It was impossible to say who had the upper hand as everything moved in a blur. Perhaps it might have even gone on forever... but then I felt it; 

Cai coming in from the side, deciding to finally interfere. 

He looked for an opening and I sensed his next move, but I was only just able to miss it by a second. Taking on just one at a time might have given me the slightest chance of victory… but two? 

And it ended up being just as difficult as I thought. The only thing giving me a real edge now was the knife, both of them having to give a clear radius to avoid that. If they managed to disarm me I knew it would be over. 

... The strange thing though was that neither of them had shifted. Taking them on in human form was only giving me the better advantage. I knew that if they were both to take their wolf forms I would be in trouble; my own wolf now lacking in strength since her absence. 

“Kill them both,‘ the voice instructed frantically inside my head. 

‘Do it. Before it‘s too late.‘ 

‘Do it.’ 

back aloud in frustration.

more. I just wanted my head to b e mine again and

Cai asked, closer behind me than I realised.

perty Seven 

didn‘t reply

strike his jaw, I sent him

was probably capable of overpowering me in overall strength again; him having recovered enough for at least that much. However,

yelled urgently, his golden eyes locking with

felt that wave of electricity in the air, trying to persuade me to stop. That same energy he’d manipulated

I tightened my grip on

can defeat Thea once we have

my

‘FINISH IT. ...And 

nei tianty toht 

Chapter Eighty–Eight 

voice yelled from behind

us both flying along the ground and sliding several feet

putting everything into this. It was almost impossible to

something he didn‘t, something to give me the advantage here; my dagger.

quickly as I could, I brought it

he disarmed the knife from me, throwing it as far

It was over. 

“Get it over with. Kill me. Just like my parents, Aleric. Is that the kind of ‘help‘

and pushed my shoulders back down again to try and stop me

he said furiously. “That is exactly how I helped

some sort of messed up reversed logic where you‘re actually the hero? I bet that was Thea‘s doing. I bet she made you think that what you did was justi–.”

Aria!” he shouted, cutting me

stilled, shocked at what he‘d just told

lying. You‘re just lying so

I need to do that? I could just finish

blood on you. How can you possibly expect me

you?” 

saw their blood then tell

there actually been wounds? I‘d seen their lifeless forms in my mother‘s office but I couldn‘t recall ever seeing where the blood would have come from. I‘d just put two and two together when I saw Aleric‘s hands.

to a spy, Aria. Someone posing as one of the warriors,” he continued when I didn‘t answer. “He came down to the office with me when Tytus ordered for your mother to be detained. Except he didn‘t try to bring her in. Instead, he tried to kill

dead on the ground?”

found me with the body of the spy. We concluded that he was going to try and frame me for killing your mother... so we let them all think that it worked. If Thea was going after your family then we all agreed it was safer for them to be thought dead rather than alive, or at least until we could remove Tytus for full control. Your mother then quickly dosed your father and herself with a drug to give them the appearance of being deceased; obviously working well enough to fool even you. But they‘re both alive, Aria. Your father

Chapter Eighty–Eight 

all these months, waiting for me to give them

I was struggling with how it contradicted what I thought I saw… but on the other

you tell me sooner?” I argued.

once in over three months and it

could have told me

down a little. “...Only now I‘ve had to protect them from you. I

started struggling again under him, trying to move free.

now he was trying to say that

with me,” I said, wriggling in his grasp.

out of

the same one that made me want to believe him. Like

right?” he asked and pulled himself back upright, allowing for me to sit up. Risky considering I could have made a run for it.

arm forcefully and stretched it out between us, his grip tight as he held

I said, trying to pull

his hand down the inside of my arm along

I’m meant to

said as if that was going to make things

“And...?” 

my answer. “And what happens after your

he was still holding my arm. What was he talking about? Shifting maybe? Was he referring to how my wolf was absent?

finally realised what he was

cold feeling of dread quickly

back at his arm frantically, touching his skin over

had said there was no changing it, that it was set in stone the moment of our conception. So where was it? I knew what this was supposed to feel

was nothing.

was my mate... and I

Chapter Eighty–Eight 

asked, panic filling my voice.

sadness as he quietly watched me, and everything came crashing down. Just his look alone was enough to

no feeling of relief from

Just... nothing. 

tear fell down my cheek as I held

with me?”

were mates. I‘d lived four years already knowing he was tied to me so it just felt like any other day. Somehow between everything that happened with Tytus, with my parents, with losing my wolf, with becoming

then why wasn‘t it there?

actually sick?

that if I really was the problem, if something really was wrong with me, didn‘t that mean Aleric was maybe telling the truth? Were my parents alive?

though I couldn‘t breathe and I began questioning everything that had happened over the last few months,

said quietly. “It was like nothing else I‘d ever experienced and words couldn‘t come

still vividly recall the first time I‘d seen him in the past, how it was meant to feel and

tightening “Except the person who entered was acting as though nothing was different, as though we hadn‘t just felt the most intense emotional pull of our lives, forcing us to gravitate to one