Chapter Eighteen
I woke up to the feeling of someone lightly shaking my shoulder.
I wanted to protest against the touch, refuse to open my eyes, but the shaking was insistent.
“Aria?” a voice called to me.
It was familiar and warm. It sounded like home.
I managed to open my eyes a bit, fighting against the bright artificial light that assaulted me as I did so. But after several seconds of adjusting, I managed to make out the face of my mother.
“Aria?” she called again.
“I‘m alive…?” I said, my throat dry and sore.
She quickly brought some water to my lips and I began to sip on it, enjoying the refreshing feeling that came with it.
“How are you feeling?” she asked as she began to look over my body, making several notes in a chart by the bed.
How was I feeling? I was sure I had died again. I was in the Abyss, I saw the memory. It was just like how i t had felt last time.
…So, how was I feeling?
I felt confused by the entire situation right now.
“I should be dead,” I replied.
She instantly turned to look at me, a little shocked by my blunt response.
“Don‘t say such an awful thing,” my mother said, her eyes full of concern. “You‘ve fully recovered, there‘s n o need to say something like that.”
Did this mean I was never in the Abyss? Had it just been a nightmare the entire time?
My mother looked like she wanted to say something else, but she was debating internally.
“You know…as a doctor, I‘m happy to see that you‘ve healed so well, but…as a mother, I want to scold you for stupidly running into danger like you did. What were you thinking, Aria?”
| already realised it was dumb the second I came face–to–face with the sandy wolf. She didn‘t really need t o scold me further. On the other hand though, if I hadn‘t been there then there was a good chance Cai would have died fighting off all four wolves, or Myra would have been killed.
my life to him for saving me. I was sure I was only still alive because of
the bleeding, not to mention how he‘d carried me through
I remembered then that Cai had been seriously
Cai okay?”
face changed to one of concern and my heart
shape… but after a day he was able to walk around again. I‘ve instructed for him to take it
going to be fine but I
Chapter Eighteet
you say ‘day‘? How long have
unconscious for three
believe it had been so long already. Time really was uncertain when inside the Abyss. Even if it was only a
she said. “I‘ve been trying hard to come up with other explanations for it but I‘m at a loss.
could be so serious that
“...What is it?”
body… It looks
the floor, then I‘m
I haven‘t even been close to any
sort of
was definitely relieved to hear her say that. I was way too young to be going around with a mate‘s marko n me. Not only that, but sure Aleric would have had a field day
have been marked on your back… with a
And, internally, I cringed.
to curse the Goddess. So much for letting me choose my own fate. She seemed to have plans
appear the Goddess had now marked me as her own.
know what
know. No one had seen the Goddess‘ mark in over a millennium and even then, the accounts were iffy at best. I learnt about it very vaguely during my Luna studies and knew the ramifications it held.
her. My life was
know why you
through finding this out. All the ranked members and elders would
want to lie to her, but I also didn‘t want to break her heart by telling her my story either. I wanted things to be normal between us. I wanted her to care for me in the same way she had in the
my cheek and shrugged my shoulder,
at the reaction but, thankfully, didn‘t push
healed fine, but I was worried about your mental state given the coma
Did I want to meet with him? Not particularly. But I knew it
Chapter Eighteen
I felt completely fine other than
can meet with
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