A Gift from the Goddess

Book Two – Ch#28 Over two weeks had gone by since I first came to the Ashwood pack.

And things were going… pretty good, to be honest. There hadn’t been any major incidents since my arrival and, though there were certainly still a lot of adjustments yet to be made, I was settling in quite nicely. I was learning more every day and even had a routine now. Sort of. Most of my mornings were spent reading or exploring; though the latter entailed an escort after what happened in the town square. I’d also found a library inside the packhouse that helped educate me a little more, albeit there were still a lot of gaps in my knowledge. But I was getting better. Slowly. And I was getting healthier too. In fact, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d felt a wave of real nausea. My head was finally starting to feel… clear.

And as for Kieran…? Well… things between us couldn’t be better. Every day we had grown closer, discovering new things about the other. And when we weren’t shacked up in bed, we were usually out sightseeing or training.

Which was where I was heading; a private one on one training with Kieran. The usual way I’d spent my afternoons over the course of my time here. It was the thing I usually most looked forward to, the exercise being both something I enjoyed as well as something familias. I grabbed my sports bag from the table, and with one final look around the room, I left to go meet up with him. We normally met at the place we trained, him coming directly from whatever Alpha heir work he needed to do in the morning.

However, as I began my commute through the packhouse, I was surprised by one of the faces I saw. Not that he wasn’t allowed here, just that… it wasn’t normal for him to frequent this place. Nevertheless, I Nashed him my best smile. “Afternoon, Sterling,” I said without stopping.

It was intended to be just a quick greeting and nothing more, knowing I had somewhere to be.

After my last encounter with Kieran’s uncle, I’d come to learn that only the eldest of ranked members were given titles, thus Sterling had no actual authority. The move he’d pulled on me during my welcome dinner was apparently a power play in spite of that. Not that I let his pettiness get to me.

I continued to walk past him towards the front door… however, his words behind

me then gave me pause.

No… they made me freeze. “Where are you off to in such a rush, little bird?” he asked.

And my mind flashed to memories of my childhood; of during my early years with my father. He used to say similar things to me back then. His little bird… his raven.

IT

I shook it off.

This analogy was to be expected when introducing myself with a name like Raven’. I might not like it anymore, nor feel as though I wanted to be that person … but it wasn’t all that strange for a guy like Sterling to say it.

I couldn’t let small things like this get to me.

“I’m ah… I’m meeting up with Kieran now,” I said, keeping it vague. “He’s expecting me any minute.”

He held my gaze for a moment, sending a small chill through me, before finally nodding. “Fair enough,” he said. “Better not keep my nephew waiting then.” And with another polite smile, I left before he could say anything else, grateful for a valid excuse to leave.

It wasn’t as though there was anything wrong with him, but the tension with his family was obvious now I knew the truth. From my perspective, I thought it would be best to just not get involved. Ranks and titles were still a learning curve for me and I didn’t want to accidentally slip up like I had the first time.

Well, that… and I tended to avoid the topic of titles, especially around Kieran. The reminder of what a ‘Luna’ was still made me uncomfortable.

“There you are,” Kieran said upon my arrival. “How was your morning?”

And I found myself stopping to smile like an idiot, just as I did every time I saw him these days. It didn’t seem to matter if only a few hours had passed, seeing him always filled me with a rush of emotions that exhilarated me.

a scratching in my head to go find him as soon as we parted. A need to go be close to him that, at times, felt a bit strange. Almost as if it weren’t entirely me thinking it and

my body, that it was natural for there to be dissonance. I

could have been so in

side, immediately wrapping his arms around me as he placed a kiss on my lips. Tender enough for me to melt at his touch, the scratch inside soothing… but my

have your ass kicked?” I asked, biting my lip fiendishly He raised a brow at me. “We’ll see about

regime of Gavin. But, if anything, I felt even more skilled than before. Kieran was one of the only people I’d met able to fully keep up with me, his technique almost as good as my own. It inade

major disadvantage against him. But it was one that I was slowly closing the gap on at an unexpected rate. A revelation that seemed to surprise us

I hadn’t intended to send him flying backwards the way I did, his back roughly hitting the wall. “Kieran!” I yelled

into the movement. Yet it didn’t feel like

to him in concern, but he just

strong now, huh?” he

making up for what he lacked in matching my speed. But I was getting stronger now too. So quickly that I was struggling to adjust my own

“Does it hurt?” But he shook his head. “I’m fine. It

relieved to hear that if

lu move “Seriously,

”

hurt,” I replied back. “II’s ard not to feel terrible

then I guess you could kiss it

up at him, my

that so?” I laughed. “And where

the spot on his chest wielrecalled

it was higher up.

in the chest. Think you knocked your head

the more reason for you to kiss ir better

trail of small kisses from his collarbone to where my leg had hit. And, as I did so, I could feel a small shiver run through him under my touch, feeding the excitement

up al him, lempting him with my eyes. “And your

forward to catch my

how we became absorbed for ile next (rw minutes that passed, his hands holding me to him as we embraced. A need for his bly

eventually, I managed to pull myself away. Just enough lo tease him some

said. “Tlus method of

we’d just stopped, he then seemed to pause, a crease forming

askerl, confused by the abrupt

had passed that he then seenied to realise something, his face becoming happier, “Coine with me,” he said, quickly grabling

he started to lead us outside, heading toward where a thicket of trees were in the distance. It was a small woods area that we promptly entered into, walking until we came

to tell me now?” I

turned back to look at me,