A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 73

Chapter Seventy–Three 

“... What the fuck are you doing back here?” Aleric asked. 

He stood in my doorway, arms crossed, staring at me like I was insane. 

But I didn‘t care. My mind was made up. There was no way I was going to have this conversation tonight. 

“No,” I answered flatly. 

“No‘?” 

“No, I‘m not doing this now,” I clarified. “I‘m too tired. We can talk later.” 

I rolled onto my side, facing away from him, and pulled the blanket up over my shoulder. Maybe if I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, he would just leave on his own accord. 

“Aria, you need to tell me what‘s going on,” he pressed. “Joseph told me you came back over the border and I thought he was joking until I caught your scent by the stairs. Did something happen? Were you caught?” 

“No,” I mumbled, repeating myself once more. 

“Stop that. Regardless of how tired you are, this is more important. I need to know if something went wrong.” 

I groaned out in frustration but reluctantly sat up, my head immediately pulsing with a migraine.* 

“Nothing went wrong, Aleric. Just let it go.” 

“Obviously something went wrong or you wouldn‘t be here.” 

He was getting angry at me and it was only making me more irritated that we were actually having this conversation. 

“Fine then,” I snapped back, turning to look at him. “You want to know what went wrong? The entire thing. The whole plan. How stupid do you think Tytus is that he wouldn‘t find out that you were planning to hide me in the Silver Lake?” 

His eyes widened a little in surprise. “You’re joking, right? Cai didn‘t organise to move you somewhere else?” 

‘More like didn‘t want to move me somewhere else,‘ I thought, recalling our earlier exchange. And that was only after finding out about Caitlyn. 

“Evidently not,” I answered, not wanting to elaborate further on the other reasons I‘d returned. 

“So... what? You‘re just going to come back here and pretend everything is normal? That you didn‘t almost get killed here? After risking everything to get you out?” 

“I don‘t know, Aleric!” I yelled back. “I don‘t know, okay? I don‘t know what to do about me, or Tytus, or Cai ... and I *especially don‘t know what to do about you.” 

He paused, frowning. “...About me?” 

Ah, fuck. I’d said too much. 

“Wait, are you angry at me because of what I told you in the car?” he asked, piecing together my silence. 

I rubbed my eyes, hoping that this was just a bad dream.“...No.” 

But I didn‘t sound very convincing. 

Chapler Seventy–Three 

“Seriously? How is that fair on me? You were the one who was angry at me for originally not telling you.” 

That did it.

struck a nerve, igniting me once more despite my exhaustion. Crumbling that final piece inside

in that car was not fair– not fair to me. In fact, it was the cruellest thing anyone has ever said to me throughout my lives. I would have preferred it

say

I feel as though everything I learnt the first time around is completely useless. That it was

s that fair?” 

the fuck are

eyes you were, Aleric. You were

“Aria–.” 

to give, I gave it to you. You wanted the world to kneel before you? I gave you the path to do it. You wanted my heart, my soul and complete servitude? I

nothing but an attendant who in

for you. I did it so that maybe you would love me... so that maybe you would just look at

JOU 

back by Selene and told to fix it all, to stop it all from happening again. That if I don‘t then everyone dies. And so that‘s what I did. I worked hard to stop the same future from happening, to stop myself from becoming

saying I apparently rejected you? Hurt you? ...None of this is making any

my lips,

haha...Oh no, no no, not just rejected,” I said, a smile slowly creeping onto my face. “You see, to be reborn, you don‘t just get plucked out of thin air by Selene and sent back. No, no… you have to die first, Aleric. I died. And guess whose face I saw in my nightmares

with this, his face quickly starting to pale, and my smile only grew despite my

was you who believed Thea over me, you who convicted me o f crimes I never committed, and you who held the sword as it came crashing down, slicing through my neck at the trial grounds. You killed me, Aleric. You killed me once I was no longer of any use to you anymore.

Chapter Seventy Theo 

you put

Instead, he just looked at me, his eyes full of confusion, and,

quickly glared down at my hands which were now balled into fists, tightened around the blanket beneath me, and watched as my tears hit the

dictate what‘s unfair this time...,” I choked out slowly. “And you don‘t get to say that

closer towards me but, even once he kneeled down to eye level, I still refused to

me,” he

shook my head, wiping

at me,” he

sob escaped me but I just shook my

“Aria, look.” 

my head up to finally meet his gaze, to meet his green eyes that

at the end of the day, even if I did, it wouldn‘t mean anything.

did.” 

young,” I whispered. “You have time to change, time to become that person.”

grasp and looked back down at

part in, that you died for those very charges,” he continued. “And yet you want to persecute me for sins I‘ve never committed? When have I, m e personally, ever hurt you, Aria? When have I ever given you a reason to not trust me? It‘s

knew he

truth was... I was never going to get my sincere apology. And the things that I went through were never going to be okay. Because the person I needed to hear the apology from was dead in another timeline that was now destroyed. *My* Aleric was gone. And, knowing him, it was likely that

still refused to let myself give in. On even the small chance that things turned bad once more, I knew that it would break me beyond repair. It would be

Aleric, but... regardless of who you are this time, I can‘t be the person you want me to be,” || said, moving away from him. “I can‘t become a Luna again, always living

nupied scrantyce 

expected you to sit back passively i in the shadows as a Luna anyway. I just want you to help me

much different. It still sounded

your life if you want, but I would rather we work together than end up divided in a civil war for power, something that benefits neither us nor the pack. I‘m not so naive as to assume you haven‘t at

her down knowing the impact it would have on Aleric. At the time, I couldn‘t risk tarnishing our current relationship for fear it would lead

was clear now.

was offering was true then this was the best way forward

was oftenng me mutual control, something that was the last thing I ever expected to hear from his mouth This would mean no

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