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

that final piece inside me that still cared about what he would think once he finally

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 if you had just told me you were trying to get rid of me because at least that would be something I could believe and know how to

say ‘lives‘?”

sick of whatever this is,” I said, waving a hand towards him. “This version of you who is so goddamn unpredictable that I feel as though everything I learnt the first time around is completely useless. That it was meaningless. That I went

s that fair?” 

what the fuck are you talking

looked at you as if you were a monster. Because i n my eyes you were, Aleric. You were my torturer, my abuser, and you would parade that bitch Thea in front of me like a prized possession you loved more than anything; never caring what it did

“Aria–.” 

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 gave it to you. I let you lock me away,

this room with nothing but an attendant who in the end threw me to the dogs.

I did it so that maybe you would love

JOU 

what I did. I worked hard to stop the same future from happening, to stop myself from becoming your Luna, to stop you from trapping and hurting me again... and to stop myself from ever having to love you again... because I couldn‘t bear the thought of living through your rejection twice. That alone

the hell is this? You‘re saying I apparently rejected you? Hurt you? ...None of this is making

my lips, realising I‘d

“You see, to be reborn, you don‘t just get plucked out of thin

see where I was going with this, his face quickly starting to pale, and

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. And you wondered why I was so scared of you for so long? Why I‘m

Chapter Seventy Theo 

you put

came out. Instead, he just looked at me, his eyes

fists, tightened around the blanket beneath me, and watched as my tears hit

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

but, even once he kneeled down

me,”

my head, wiping at my face. “No.”

at me,” he repeated.

just

“Aria, look.” 

patience, he gently grabbed my chin and raised my head up to finally meet his gaze, to meet his green eyes that were only

expression serious. “Because the reality is... it‘s not okay. And I can apologise for those things if you want, to say that I‘m sorry but, at the end of

did.” 

I whispered. “You have time to change,

out of his grasp and looked back down at my hands, making him

“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 true that there i s nothing I can say

knew he was right.

had been trying to convince myself of, but it still didn‘t lessen the sting. The cold 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

proven to me time and time again that I could. And yet I 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 the final betrayal I couldn‘t survive.

|| said, moving away from him. “I can‘t become a Luna again, always living in your shadow

nupied scrantyce 

don‘t,” he said, making me look up sharply in surprise. “I never expected you to sit back passively i in the shadows as a Luna anyway. I just

not seeing how it was all that much different. It still sounded basically the same as what

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 least considered taking over once you‘re of age. Especially after what

Only days earlier I‘d had this exact conversation with this but had turned her down knowing the impact it would have on Aleric. At the time, I

was clear

then

something that was the last thing I ever expected to hear from his mouth This would mean no Alpha commanding servitude from

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