A Gift from the Goddess

Book Two – Ch.#18 

*knock* *knock*

C‘mon… please… *knock* *knock* *knock*

Please open the door…

*knock* *knock* *knock*

Kieran…

*knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *kno–,

I was beginning to panic, thinking that I‘d left it too late but then, finally, the door opened.

“Raven,” Kieran said, almost in disbelief. “You actually came. You‘re–.”

But I didn‘t wait for him to finish.

Without missing a beat, I instantly moved forward and threw my arms around his waist. His scent was mixed in with soap and water, clearly having interrupted him from a shower. But it was the best thing I had ever smelt. Already, I could feel my body start to relax from the warmth coming off of him. Something much needed to help calm the adrenaline pumping through me.

Hesitantly, his arms then moved to encircle me, reciprocating the hug. Almost as if he was still in shock I‘d arrived.

“I was starting to think that you weren‘t going to change your mind,” he said. “I‘ve been putting off leaving for a few hours now, stubbornly in denial.” “I‘m glad you were stubborn… Thank you for waiting.” He pulled away slightly so he could look at my face, bringing a hand to touch my cheek. “How though? Are you in danger or…?” But I quickly shook my head. “I‘m fine… I just don’t want to talk about it, if that‘s okay.” It wasn’t that I wanted to hide it from Kieran… I just wasn‘t sure what to say yet. I didn‘t entirely know myself what I was doing. Was I truly escaping? Or was I just merely playing along with what my father wanted? It felt like I was hedging my bets rather than actually making a decision. Waiting to see how things would turn out first.

Kieran held my gaze for a few seconds, obviously trying to tell if I was lying about being fine, but finally he nodded.

“Okay… I‘ll grab my things and we can go.”

I sat on the couch as I waited for him to get his luggage together, happily watching him move about. Every now and then he would look over at me, almost as if he were expecting me to not be there, and I would give him a small wave in reassurance. By the time he was done, all I could feel was intense nervousness fluttering inside. We took all our bags outside to his car and, once everything was loaded up, he then turned to me, politely

holding open the passenger seat door.

for this?” he asked. “There will be

never been so

smiled at him, now buzzing with anticipation. “I‘m glad

the expression, instead, he seemed almost taken

 is it?” I asked, thinking something was

 he quickly replied, but he then brought his hand up to my

 once more to those sparks. That feeling of being captivated by the way he spoke… the way

 managed to ask quietly, though I couldn‘t help but notice how he had moved

 the first time that you‘ve genuinely smiled

 little guilty for faking during our first meeting. But he continued before I could get an

 that made me forget whatever was in my head. “It‘s so beautiful,” he whispered, his eyes focused on

 quickly turned my head to

 he looked at me alone… and yet his words were making me want to evaporate entirely. I was experienced in persuading men to fall for me, that had

 kiss me… and I really hoped that he did. I could still remember it from the other day, how perfect it had felt. But, due to circumstances at that time, it had been cut far too short. Now, with little else standing in the way, I allowed myself to wonder what more than a kiss

like as it moved against mine…

was I just seeing wrong every time! “We have a long trip ahead of us.” But

 border was only a few hours’ drive, according to Kieran, the actual town itself was located a lot further up north. Along the journey, he did his best to fill me in on basic things I needed to

to remember the right names. “And then you have warriors, each with their own ranks… and

ranks, the Elders don‘t necessarily need to be born into an influential family. Their position is voted by

 Alpha, Beta and Gamma, right?” All of this seemed a bit strange, but I was doing my best to understand. “That‘s right.” “And… You‘re the Alpha‘s

 a birth title as well. Mine would be Alpha heir. It means that I‘ll take over as leader one

 comments made more sense now; the ones he‘d said during the charity event. I remember him asking if it was

 made me realise that, even though my father must have known what I was, he clearly didn‘t have an understanding of everything werewolf related. If he did, I doubted that he

 be considered benea, ah….” He then stopped himself mid–sentence, thinking about his phrasing. “Just… you don‘t need to worry about everyone else as much. You‘re my… guest.” “Okay…,” I said, frowning. “…And one more thing.” His voice then became lower, more serious. “…I‘d love to be able to say

“What do you mean?”

mean… there is a chance that some people might not like you. I doubt you’ll encounter anyone brave enough to say it

Oh.

Eric Reid’s