A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 77

Chapter Seventy–Seven 

“This is fake,” I said, coming off far more flustered than I intended. “There is no way there are people out there just running around with... with god powers. That‘s... that‘s so stupid.” 

It‘s absurd. Insane. Some sort of joke. 

Because if it was real then that meant my life had been far more controlled than I initially realised. That there were powers at be far more advanced out there than just a Goddess mark. And it meant that Cai... 

I wanted to throw up. 

“Based on your reaction,” Elder Luke said, his eyes examining me, “I can‘t help but wonder if this discovery isn‘t actually all that foreign to you. Would I be correct in assuming that perhaps you have personal insight into the theory?” 

He was right. I was getting overly worked up because a part of me had already started piecing it together ... and it scared me. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it became. 

Because, truthfully, there was something I was already all too familiar with; my visions. ‘Foresight‘. It fit perfectly with the attribute allegedly assigned to my house. But I‘d always thought the ability to see ahead was something new, something Selene gave to me only once I returned. What if I‘d always had the latent foundation inside me but couldn‘t harness it until after Selene had directly gifted me a piece of herself? 

...What if, prior to coming back, the ability had only had enough strength to manifest itself as something more diluted, something more normal. 

...Like a keen interest in strategy; the art of being able to plan ahead. 

So that meant the new piece of Selene was sort of like... a booster shot. It wasn‘t just a gift of authority and visions.... It was something already written inside my DNA, just enhancing me to the point of unnatural ability 

But what did this mean for Aleric and Cai then? What did this mean for all of us? 

And, quickly, I started to wonder something else too. 

...Like if this had something to do with why Selene brought me back. 

In the past Aleric and I had joined together to kill Cai... and then Aleric had killed me. We ended up destroying each other. Was this what it had come down to the entire time? Some more bullshit because o f Selene? ...But then how did Thea equate into this? 

The room then started to sway as pangs of a headache began pulsing in my head. 

This was too much. Too much information to process all at once. And that was just with me ignoring every rabbit hole of dark thoughts I wanted to fall into relating to my prior relationship with Cai. Was it even real or....? 

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, fighting against everything inside that wanted to let all of this get the better of me. I already thought I was completely blind when it came to the seemingly never–ending war for the future… and yet it turns out i‘d just been looking inside of a cupboard this entire time, never seeing the much, much larger room attached to it. This new information opened up theories I hadn‘t even considered, much less thought possible. 

“...Aria?” I heard Elder Luke‘s voice call out distantly. 

But it was enough to snap me out of my spiralling thoughts. 

Focus. I needed to focus on what was important right now. I needed as much information as possible sol 

Chapter Seventy–Seven 

could prepare myself. 

“No,” I lied, answering his earlier question about if I was familiar with the theory. “No, I don‘t know anything about it. I‘m just... trying to figure out if there is merit to any of this.” 

Whilst Elder Luke had never given me a reason not to trust him, he was still the kind of man who traded in secrets. I respected him only marginally more than I feared him and that, unfortunately, meant that there would need to be some truths kept hidden for the time being. Perhaps once I became Alpha I could look a t trusting him a little more. 

“The ah... families...,” I said, trying to concentrate back on acquiring more information. “The lineages rather ... how sure are you that there are only three of us left?” 

“I‘m almost certain,” he said, his manner now stern. “I did look but it appears there are just the three remaining.” 

Okay... so Thea wasn‘t one of us. That was at least one theory gone. 

“And is there some sort of... purpose for this?” I asked. “...I guess I just don‘t really understand why we would have these lines to begin with. Selene created families that each hold a diluted piece of her... and yet more than ninety–nine–point–nine per cent of our kind‘s population don‘t display anything like this? | feel as though there should be a reason for it.” 

tension slightly. “Yes, I suppose that‘s one way o flooking at it. It does seem strange. Truthfully, I agree

rubbed his face in thought as he reclined back into

is a purpose for the families then, unfortunately, it is not something I a m

you send me back. No, you have to make me find out on

to do more research into it. Maybe I’d find something Elder Luke missed

stated, my tone not implying I

long. Regardless o fif they thought it was true

I were him, I know I‘d definitely not

time,” I said, taking a moment to find the right words. “I think I‘ll

and slowly walked around the

said. “When can | expect your recent

ask if he‘d support my claim

think everything should be in order come the day of *my birthdayt,” I answered, emphasising the

my meaning. “It always feels better

forward to celebrating with you on that day,” he said

it wasn‘t Elder Luke I was angry with. No, he‘d given me the exact answers I‘d asked for and was offering to help me. My frustrations were better directed at his colleagues and

up the best small smile I could manage.

comes up prior to the

out of the office, heading

for me. He stood by one of the windows, the sun streaming in onto his face as he looked out onto the grounds

he immediately looked up in surprise to see

be,” he said, greeting me. “Good to see you again, too,

without having time to prepare myself first had completely taken me

ingrained

I suppose it really shouldn‘t change my opinion of him by too much. I‘d already seen for myself how he could throw people around as though they weighed nothing, seen him take on a small army of rogue wolves by himself. And not just that either. He had been a strong leader in the past, bringing our pack to the status we obtained. There was no denying the power he

it was an Alpha thing but maybe it had been more selective than that.

he asked slowly when I hadn‘t spoken, a

Luke and himself. “I didn‘t expect t o see you in

inside,” he explained. “Lucky I did. If I‘d returned to the packhouse you would have been waiting a while

myself. Being escorted everywhere for my safety was getting tiresome.

session good?” he asked, looking pointedly between Elder Luke and

I noticed how Elder Luke was staring at us with a keen fascination, as if studying how we were interacting with one another. Was he wondering

being examined. “... There won‘t be any problems with the deadline for that thing we‘ve

probably sense something was off, his head tilting slightly as he looked down at me, his frown deepening. My demeanour most likely had changed significantly since when he‘d dropped me off, becoming more unsettled, despite the confirmation that Elder Luke would

no longer wanting an audience anymore for our conversation. My head was still hurting and I

Whapter Seventy Seven 

Elder Luke. “Thanks for your time. I‘m looking forward to working closely with you one day.”

as well,

about his pleasantries. Anyone overhearing would think they were referring to when Aleric naturally

said, giving a small bow of my

out of the lobby, heading towards the car park.

“...Aria–.” 

I held up a hand at him as we got into the car. “Not yet. Just… give me some time.”

keep this from him. It was his right to know just as much as it was mine. I just... needed to get my head

the packhouse in silence. My mind continued to swirl with the new information, wondering

we eventually found ourselves back in my quarters, facing the moment I‘d need to finally tell him,

ro 

started, staring across the room so I wouldn‘t have to

the pack together,” he said, confused. The out –of–the–blue subject matter was probably not what he‘d expected me to bring up. “Why? ...

table and placed all the books down, grabbing only the one which had the diagram | needed to show Aleric. It took a little bit of flicking through to find the page again but soon the

Aleric asked, coming up behind

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