A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 92

Chapter Ninety One 

Chapter Ninety–One 

There was only one choice. 

Only one that would allow me to salvage what little I did have left. I‘d already burnt bridges, destroyed faith... ruined any chance of having the life I used to so desperately crave. I couldn‘t necessarily fix what I‘d already done but I once used to believe that more bloodshed wasn‘t the way to solve the past, and that was probably still true now. Even if Thea made it harder to see things that way. 

No, I needed to save him... even if it proved more difficult than worthwhile. 

Calm down and think. I needed to consider this very carefully. 

There was always a logical explanation for these things when analysed, some sort of strategy. She could mess with my emotions and how I perceived things, but she couldn‘t change the hard facts. They were there if I just focused enough. I just needed to push past what I felt I needed to do, and concentrate on what the situation was actually telling me to do. 

I needed to put myself in her shoes... and see the incentive behind her actions. 

And so, I quickly closed my eyes and tried to see myself as her, thinking through what her decisions might have been that led her here, to this very moment.... 

*...I entered the vault and grabbed the sword because I need it to break the protection... but I’m caught. The young boy who came with Aria isn‘t with her but instead is in the weapons section... but maybe I wanted that to be the case. Maybe I waited so long because I needed to catch him alone.‘* 

*‘I don‘t kill him... because there is something else I require to break the protection. Something Aria has or is located next to. If that wasn‘t the case, I would have just disposed of him and attacked her immediately. But, no, I need him alive and to come with me because I still can‘t injure her directly; I need collateral. Something to use as a shield... someone to be a hostage.‘* 

*‘l approach Aria with the boy and talk to her... Partly because I want to... partly because there is another reason. I try to force her into a situation where she has two options; to attack me or to flee.‘* 

*... Why though? Am I gambling that Aria will do one over the other? And how would either of them help m e?‘* 

| opened my eyes again and looked at the scene in front of me, frowning in thought. Without more key information, I wasn‘t sure which path was the one she was betting on. Both of them were plausible and yet had their own issues. 

... But then I realised something. Something I was overlooking.... 

She was talking to me. 

It might not be in my head anymore but it was still the same thing she‘d always done; bringing up memories, making me lose hope... trying to make me scared and angry. Her weapon of choice was, and always has been, her voice. 

So maybe I didn‘t need to know which one she ‘wanted‘ me to do. Maybe all I needed to know was which one she didn‘t. 

...Which left only one thing I could do. 

“I surrender,” I suddenly said, standing up from the table in defeat. 

“...What?” 

A look of surprise and confusion immediately crossed her and Brayden‘s faces... though Brayden‘s erring 

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Chapter Ninety Ono 

more on the side of terror than shock. 

“I surrender,” I repeated. “You got me. I‘m contained in silver, underground, my bodyguard hostage... What am I supposed to do? You win.” 

“What is this? You don‘t care whether I kill him, is that it?” she said and proceeded to throw Brayden to the ground before her, sword still pointed to his throat. “You think I won‘t?” 

I paused for a second, taking in her abrupt reaction calmly. “No... I don‘t doubt that you will. I just don‘t know what you expect me to do here. I‘ve fought long enough, am both mentally and physically drained to my limit. I surrender, Thea. You win. Give Selene my regards when you finally face her.” 

Hesitation. She‘s hesitating, unsure what to do here. But, more importantly, it proved my theory correct; she couldn‘t hurt me yet. Which meant she couldn‘t kill Brayden either, her only leverage against me. Not yet anyway 

She had tried to push me to act out of emotion, to elicit a reaction that would make me flee or attack her. Which meant there was only one option left. By process of elimination, surrendering was the only thing! could do, the only thing I knew she didn‘t* want me to do. I was basically having to read myself and do the opposite of what I felt I was being persuaded to do. 

‘Your move, Thea.‘ 

Quickly, she then looked around the room, scanning the area around us before her eyes finally settled on a book stacked by the table. Was that what she was after? A book? But why would a creature as old as time need a book? 

as suddenly she kicked Brayden towards me, sending

she was going to try and run. I called her bluff and she couldn‘t do anything else.

my assumption, she instantly turned around and started sprinting towards the exit. But she made a fatal

kept Brayden alive.

I yelled. “Get up. You need to shift and follow her.

in one of the most elite packs in the whole country. If a kick to the gut was enough to keep us down, we didn‘t deserve the title. Sure, Brayden might be annoying

he didn‘t

his feet and, without saying another word, ran after her, shifting mid–air to

the hard

gravely at the handcuffs encircling my wrist and gritted

3...2… 1… 

*Pop.* 

wasting no time in sliding the handcuffs over my now dislocated thumb.

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UTUPILY UNC 

for this situation years ago but it didn‘t lessen the pain. After being sent to my death i n handcuffs already once before, I made a point of learning how to escape from them in this life should I ever find myself in another life–threatening emergency. I‘d told myself that, if they were going to send met o the trial grounds again, it wasn‘t going to be while wearing them. Luckily for me, werewolf anatomy meant our joints were a bit more flexible thanks

if maybe I should be thanking Cai for the cuffs instead of the old silver collar... After all, it wasn‘t as though I could dislocate my

hands were now out of commission. I would only be able to defend myself with just my left; the hand that wasn‘t my dominant one. It also meant I couldn‘t shift right now as running with only

action nevertheless, chasing after the scents of both Brayden and

assume that if she‘d managed to sneak in here, that she had some way of staying hidden this whole time. That she‘d found an entrance that wasn‘t through the packhouse door upstairs. This meant | couldn‘t rely on her

back at the vault entrance, I heard it. Loud growls and snapping noises coming from just outside. It sounded as though Brayden had engaged in battle, despite my clear instruction nott o get involved. The

I made it outside, only to see Thea had

if he was planning to do close combat like that. Wolf form was better for battle when you had

Thea would just use that time he

ordered as I

was a second too late.

his wolf wasn‘t going to be enough to win and started to shift before I could get the words out.

I had predicted, Thea didn‘t look like she was going to wait. She‘d already made the error of letting

moment he‘d be mid–transition as that would be when he

turned to me

too late to

a man who knew

I did the only thing I thought

Brayden, using myself a sa shield. If she needed the book inside then it meant she still wasn‘t going to be able to touch me, it

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Chapter Ninety–One 

–Sillliiiiiiickkkk. 

slicing into me as though I were

shock. Frozen in

where Thea was looking down at me with the biggest smile on her face.

expected it to be fulfilled. In fact, I didn‘t understand how this was possible at all. I‘d thought through everything so carefully. If she‘d been able to hurt me this entire time then why had she waited so long? Why had she bothered to capture Brayden

the pain finally hit me.

excruciating things I‘d ever felt. Perhaps it had been a blessing that this sword had killed me with just one strike

that wish would be a reality soon enough.

yelled, now finished

tried to lean me against the wall for

blade back out, forcing another cry of paint

over then. My expiration date was finally here.

to lose too much blood before I had time to heal. The poison from the silver would prevent my accelerated healing from closing the wound quickly. So even if she decided not to finish the job herself, the silver would do

shirt with my one good hand and pulled him down to look me in the eyes, forcing contact so he wouldn‘t be able to refuse me. That there would be no questioning my very clear order this time.

Of. Here,” I commanded through gritted teeth, pouring

the beginning with odds stacked against me. I‘d wanted so badly for it to be possible to retrieve both the sword *and* save Brayden. But it resulted in just

in speed between the two of them was obvious. There was no chance Brayden would be able to

out of here,

me, he finally carried out my instructions, jumping back and shifting mid–air to escape up

He was

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