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.” 

did

nerve, igniting me once more despite my exhaustion. Crumbling that final piece inside me that still cared about what

you said 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

you say

so goddamn unpredictable that I feel as though everything I learnt

s that fair?” 

what the fuck are you talking

a monster. Because i n my eyes you were, Aleric. You were my torturer, my abuser, and you would parade that bitch

“Aria–.” 

| continued, my eyes now filling with tears. “Everything. Anything that was within m y power to give, I gave it to you. You wanted the world to kneel before you? I

nothing but an attendant who in the end threw me to the

you. I did it so that maybe you would love me... so that maybe you

JOU 

did. I worked hard to stop the same future from happening, to stop myself from becoming your Luna, to

rejected you? Hurt you? ...None of this is making

my lips, realising

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

face quickly starting to pale, and my smile only grew

the trial grounds.

Chapter Seventy Theo 

you put me

but no words came out. Instead, he just looked at me, his eyes full of confusion, and,

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

don‘t get to say that you love me. It‘s nine years too late for

kneeled down to eye level, I still refused to raise m y

at me,”

shook my head, wiping at my face.

me,” he repeated.

sob escaped me but I just shook my head

“Aria, look.” 

gently grabbed my chin and raised my head up to finally meet his gaze, to meet his green eyes

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 the day, even if I did, it wouldn‘t mean anything. Yes, I‘m sorry that those things happened to you, but I can‘t look you in the eye and genuinely apologise for something I never did, and I guarantee you that it

did.” 

whispered. “You have time to

looked back down at my

“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 to make right what happened to you, but I hope that my actions over these last few years have at least proven to you that, whoever the fuck you‘re talking about... they‘re not me.”

he was right.

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 person

I still refused to let myself give in. On even the small chance that things turned bad once more, I knew that it

away from him. “I can‘t become a Luna again, always living in your shadow and hoping that what i do ensures my survival for one more day. I refuse

nupied scrantyce 

to sit back passively i in the shadows as a Luna anyway. I just

that much different. It still sounded

together than end up divided in a civil war for power, something that benefits neither us nor the pack. I‘m not

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

it was clear now.

then this was the best way forward

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

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