Chapter Eighty Five 

Nebunang inside my head was enough to eventually snap me out of the vision and I fell to the ground, We the pain subsided

What id just wen was indescribable

And not just seen but felt. Id felt what they had; what both Thea and Selene had gone through. Their pain

43s a universe spanning far beyond my limited knowledge, a timeline as old as time itself

And it has now been burned into my brain

Sene had been right. Only describing this story wouldnt have been enough. What Id just experienced gave me angrer understanding than just simply being told

that cont meanl accepted what this meant for me. For all of us. Something she was probably electing me to be lenient on given her status

* We dont mean anything I whispered to myself, still somewhat in a daze. Were just... fodder. Pawns. Foot solders for you.” 

I locked back up sharply and met her eyes. She was staring at me with caution, taking in my manner. And sve probably was right to do so

This is why you didnt tell me earlier. Why you kept everything a secret,I said, my voice slowly becoming stronger you knew that if I knew the truth, the real truth, that I would have immediately declined to come back Were not stopping a war to protect *us, were fighting it purely because of you. Because of your own selfish actions that began all of this. *We* didnt do anything to Thea. *We* didnt hurt her, betray her or even ask to be reborn with her powers. *You* made that decision. *You* put us in the front Ene to face your mother so you wouldnt have to take responsibility for your actions. And once were cone Thea will just continue with her original mission for revenge. All because you couldnt accept losing something you loved again. Just like when your brother died. Tell me, Selene, how many more of my kind need to ce because you couldnt accept that fact?” 

My mentioning of her brother must have been a sore spot as I could feel the pressure start to exude off of . her, a nerve apparently now struck

Wy child, let us not forget.” 

But were not,’ I interjected, shakily getting back up to my feet. Your children, that is. Not really. Were bor of Theas powers. She is, by technical definition, our socalled Great Mother. Her powers gave us new life and we carry her blood. You are merely a surrogate, at best.” 

you carry a piece of me directly,she argued, a tone of anger now obvious in her voice. However you want to look at it for the others, that is your choice. But I, personally, gave you this new life. How dare you acı ungrateful.” 

And were the others grateful too?I asked. The ones who came before me? Because I know Im not the first one you have blessedwith your mark. What happened to the other Saints, Selene? Did they die for you too

Her eyes narrowed, clearly not happy with the change in topic

* ..Were they descendants as well?I prompted when she still hadn‘t replied. “From the other two lines that died? Are they gone now because of your actions?” 

Finally, she spoke, her voice low with the undertone of warning

...They were.. mistakes

Mistakes? What did that mean? That they made a mistake... or that she regretted marking them

...What had she done to them if she thought that way

What would you do with something that failed to do its job?The voice inside whispered. We were created only to benefit her, an organic tool to keep her mother trapped on the mortal plane. What do you think shell do to us if we arent useful?‘ 

She wasn‘t wrong but I wasnt sure what I could do about it

Think for a second,the voice continued. When she gave us a piece of herself, she was weakened, remember? She told us she was. Just as Thea was broken into pieces, she, too, broke off a piece of herself for us. What do you think shes going to do once Thea is gone?‘ 

And suddenly I realised what she was implying

If we truly want to survive this then..

Then I needed to be wary of Selene too

Not just wary,the voice corrected. ‘There is little chance shell let you keep that piece of her once weve removed her biggest threat. Shell want it back shell want to become whole again. And whos to say what is even keeping us alive right now? What if that piece is the only thing sustaining us? We were meant to be dead. We dont even belong in this timeline.‘ 

...She was saying that Thea wasnt our only enemy

At the end of the day, its you or her,the voice said

But what was I meant to do? Kill Selene? That was insane. She was a Goddess

So is Thea‘ 

But I couldnt kill her. I wasnt strong enough for something like that. Thea was at least weaker

‘Do you honestly think youll get a better chance than right now? Or do you want to wait until she comes back to rip that piece out of you? After weve done her dirty work and were tired from fighting against a different Goddess? What do you have to lose by trying?‘ 

per se but that didn‘t mean

die either way. You need to

But 

DO IT NOW 

acting on reflex from her order, I pulled my dagger

is the

as my hand came swiftly up,

is the enemy‘

her throat...

is the

the enemy.‘

the enemy

KNEEL!Selene roared

to my knees

a second too

a blow for sure, knowing Selene wouldn‘t ever let her guard down like that again. It meant that, like i t or not, we probably weren‘t going to survive this ordeal to grow old one day. She‘d

ev

as if the air had suddenly become thick and almost electrical. So much so that even the rocks and dirt were vibrating from the pressure radiating off her. And her eyes… her eyes were now ablaze, blindingly bright like silver

U

r

barely drawing blood… I saw where I‘d nicked her skin as

It may have been caused by the tiniest of pieces missing from her but it was enough. Enough for me to

this way?” she said furiously. “No, forget it. I have grown tired of this. You now have had more help than what any of the others

forest, the ground still trembling as she left. It was

least, an *almost* complete one.

adrenaline pumped through me from accepting my new fate. Something that caught Selene‘s attention enough for

silver eyes looked me up and down, a frown

you knew from the very beginning that such a thing was impossible. But

she took in my words,

air, just like she‘d done the first time I‘d seen her.

than just that, more than just a

I saw something

behind the surface, but it had been visible

moment... I‘d seen Selene show

Like I wasn‘t

then felt relieved when I‘d lived. Now, after being shown the cold truth of my world from Selene, nothing felt as though it mattered

it was like I was just waiting for the

Chapter EightyFive 

looming above me; something that I‘d thought I‘d prepared myself for and yet having to suddenly acknowledge that made things feel so... pointless. Because the

the pack... but even that didn‘t hold the appeal it

Uust so long as

hurt me, betrayed me, rejected and humiliated me. For even the ones who stood in opposition o f me with such prejudice even though I was just trying to

the majority of packs were still doing in the

wrong when the only thing that mattered was the results? Just as Selene had said, we were all children in this universe with our naive perspectives. But, unlike

my other self. She‘d shown me how all of these niceties to avoid war were pointless when none of these

just make them all kneel

much of Thea‘s power you held; how much ‘Goddess‘ was in your veins. The things Selene had shown me had given me a higher understanding of how all of this worked; probably more so than even all the Elders combined. It was clear to me how we‘d built a hierarchical system in our society based around those varying levels of diluted

power

Lake to submit thanks to their lineage, but that didn‘t stop me from commanding loyalty and respect from the other packs. To force them into

with the Silver Lake. Nor would there ever

completely back under my command within the month? Starting a war with the Winter Mist now

sure to constantly keep tabs on Cai though; Iris having helped to secure an inside source to notify me should Thea ever return there. I even sent Elder Luke to visit him and assist with his ailment. Because whilst I still didn‘t trust him, it didn‘t

without any further arguments from

one single

making me look up from my desk.

Elder Luke, his face expressing an urgency to it I hadn‘t seen

Luke worried but I‘d be lying if said it didn‘t pique

Nothing had seemed to sway him during our work together over the past month, something

asked, straightening up in

took a second to calm himself

Aleric,” he said, “He‘s

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