A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter Thirty One 

Chapter Thirty-One I stood outside the Elder’s housing estate, staring up at the large black iron gates in front of m e. They were intricate yet terrifying at the same time, but I knew what laid behind them would be even more nerve-wracking.

The doorman saw me and recognised who I was immediately, opening the gates without needing to identify myself or even speak. I entered quietly, heading towards the fate I knew would be waiting for me just inside the lavishly large building. The Elders were a group hand-selected and were only seven in total. A majority vote of both ranked and existing Elders was required to initiate any new members into the council and the process was quite strict. They all had to be over a certain age and bring some sort of credibility or merit to contribute to the betterment of the pack’s future. The only exception to this rigorous selection process was the retired ranked members who were almost always guaranteed a position if one was available… and if they were able to live to the minimum age requirement.

I stepped inside and couldn’t help but gasp a little at how extravagant the interior was. A better description for this place would have been a mansion, not a house. Everywhere I could see was filled with expensive furniture and decorations. I’d never had a reason to come here in the past and so seeing it for the first time was startling. I had no idea they were living in such luxury. “Ariadne,” a deep voice called beside me. I turned my head and saw that Elder Luke was waiting for me, standing by the door for when I would arrive.

In comparison to the other Elders, Elder Luke was by far the youngest member with dark greying hair and light stubble across his jaw; he was never one for keeping a tidy appearance. His intellect had been a shoo-in for the council position, one which had become available not long after his minimum age requirement had been met.

He was always considered a pioneer for innovation and a change in how we looked at things. I n fact, he was one of the first Elders to ever recommend me to join the table for strategy meetings. However, this ended up becoming one of the things the other Elders disliked about him. His modern approach to issues sometimes interfered with the more traditional ideas of the older members.

I bowed my head to show my respect. “Hello, Elder Luke,” I greeted.

In this instance, Elder Luke held a status higher than my own now I was no longer a Luna. But I knew inside that I would have shown him the correct revere he deserved regardless. I always admired his ability to logically find solutions, even before I’d become Luna. He had been one o f the people I had studied the work of in-depth during my years of strategy research. Ik that a part of who I was today was owed to him.

When I had started my journey of becoming the pack’s leading strategist, Elder Luke had actually been the one who had previously held the title. I always wondered if inside he was mildly bitter about it, but he never indicated he felt that like that in the slightest. I respected

him deeply though. If there was one person in the past who could have been considered close t o being my equal on this subject, it was him.

formality, smiling, and motioned

the last. I found that, of the rooms which had their doors open, all of the spaces were taken up for personal offices and meeting rooms. It made m e wonder just how big the place was if we hadn’t even

we eventually ended up in a large but tidy looking office. Unlike the others, there were minimal personal items and more of a focus on the papers

caught titles in here that I’d never seen before. It had been so long since I’d felt that rush of excitement that came with wanting to learn. If I could have

of these? I see several limited edition copies of books I thought were lost to our kind many years ago.” “You have a good eye.” He noted before smiling slyly. “I have come

details, mostly so I could attempt to do the same, but I felt h e probably

“Please take a seat.”

placed. I knew this one would have been arranged so that Elder Luke

me off guard a little. I hadn’t expected him

please call me Aria.

His dark eyes had been watching me carefully since we’d entered the office, always holding this glint of careful questioning in them. I knew he would be studying me closely to figure out who I was and why I had this mark, because I would have been doing the same thing in his position. I had already prepared myself to be examined

“That’s correct,” I replied.

don’t have to answer if you do not

think about how best to reply. ‘Because you proved in my past lifet o not be an asshole like most of the others’? ‘Because you’re the only one who didn’t try to kill me’? I didn’t end up saying any of those options, of course. “Ah… I heard you are a logical thinker like myself. I trust you to be unbiased during our procedure today.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I wasn’t aware that I had a reputation already given I’ve only been an Elder for a year now.” I silently cursed in my head. I’d forgotten to calculate in that I wasn’t supposed to know anything about him yet. The cases he worked on wouldn’t be published for at least another two

What would he need to talk to me about? “I was obviously present during your Alpha summons a few months ago. I heard your recommendation for handling the Jade Moon pack predicament.” I tensed up immediately. I’d been so focused during that meeting on trying to help that I’d forgotten that the person who would think of the strategy one day was in that very room. “We seem to think very similarly. I wanted to praise you for your outstanding advice and maturity shown.” I exhaled quietly in relief. Of course, I had nothing to worry about. There was no way he could have known it was originally his idea… because he, himself, hadn’t even thought of it yet. I did feel a bit guilty though. In a roundabout way, I had taken credit for something he had achieved. “I’m not sure if anyone told you,” he said, “but you ended up being correct about it all. It was, i n fact, the Jade Moon pack, and the wolf in custody had been a ranked member. Alpha Tytus ended up carrying out your plan exactly as you had said. The entire negotiation with the other pack went smoothly and without a single casualty. If no one has thanked you yet, then let me b e the first to extend our thanks on behalf of the pack.” I realised then that I’d

had purposely worn a dress with a back zipper. He waited patiently as I brushed my hair to the side, unzipping the back of the dress just enough for him to see but not enough for