A Gift from the Goddess

Book Two-Ch.# 37

“NO!” Kieran roared.

And right as the dagger pierced the surface of my shoulder, Daniel was promptly pushed off me.

“I said *don’t touch her*,” he growled.

The weight of his words fell over everyone in the room, and once again I experienced the tangible sway of his order.

“Kieran,” Daniel huffed out, unable to get back up to his feet. “She-.”

“No, enough! You’re hereby forbidden from moving until further notice,” Kieran said. ” That goes for you too Allison. Sit down. Now. And I don’t want to hear another word from either of you.”

Allison gritted her teeth but did as she was told.

“What… What is that?” I asked. “What did you do to them?”

Kieran looked defeated as he straightened back up, unable to meet my eyes. He simply stared at two people he held dear as they were trapped on the floor.

“An Alpha heir order,” he said. “It’ll only hold them long enough until a full ranked member arrives though.”

“Kieran-.”

“Leave… Rae,” he said quietly. “I can’t do anything else for you now.”

The pain in his voice was clear, an echo in it that stung me. I didn’t want to upset him further, and so, with one hand covering the shallow new wound to my shoulder, I hobbled back to my feet to grab the book and dagger.

“There’s a cupboard to your left which has an emergency hidden staircase inside it. Use that and follow it all the way down. It’ll take you to the car park outside safely without being seen.”

Just as he’d said, upon inspecting the cupboard, there was indeed a staircase inside. But as I stared into the dark passage ahead, I hesitated once more.

…This was the last time I might see him. Did I really want to leave things like this? With lies intended to push him away and a head full of questions?

“Kieran… I…,” I said, my voice trailing off.

So many things I wanted to say, to explain, to ask about. All of which would take too long to get through. And so, in the end, I settled for one thing.

Just one line.

“…I’m sorry,” I whispered.

And I slipped through the doorway without another word, beginning the descent down.

“This isn’t over, Rae,” he called out behind me. “I’ll find you. I promise.”

But I just wiped at the stray tear that had escaped my eye and kept walking.

There were a lot of promises that were made lately. Too many.

“Do yourself a favour for both our sakes, Kieran,” I said quietly. “…Forget about me. My survival might just rely on that very thing.”

I knew what awaited me now. The only remaining path left.

A path that would lead me to the one place I ever truly belonged.

Back into the shadow of my father.

But first… first I had a job to do.

that my absence had been long. Perhaps too long for an impatient man such as

numb as I went through the motions. I wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge everything that had happened, simply just trying to get through the day without breaking down. To keep moving without remembering his

Kieran anymore. He didn’t exist

it was only me

my naive days of the past. Now, I’d need to work even harder to hide my presence, an entire species probably soon intending to hunt me down. Because if

face still haunted me every

I said to myself in the confines of

at me from within the floorboard, promising to give me the very thing that had started all of this. What my father had been desperate to get

was ruined because of you. Perhaps if you’d never existed, I could have lived my life in ignorance until death came for me. That

no pain because I was fine. Completely fine. Just… a girl doing her job. And I pushed

not investing enough in

father had

could see

father’s business to dust. Yes… Miles was a smuggler, but at some point he must have switched sides. Probably working for someone who had it in their best interest to see my father finally go to jail. Some

get back… even if it meant losing his daughter.

back together, I did catch one thing. Something that wasn’t quite like everything else. It looked almost like a journal entry in my father’s handwriting, one dated a few years ago.

written pencil notes around it, wondering if the passage pertained to an associate or partner in crime but… but I wasn’t so

I owe to her, and I am reminded of that fact every day by my fortune; with my business and my Raven. It is through her continuous instruction that I have loyally

by who he was talking about. Because for as long as I could remember, my father had always been alone; both in business and in personal life. Never even so much as bringing a casual one-night stand over to the house,

he wrote here… it was nothing like the man I knew of. Not the cold-hearted, business focused father who I’d lived with for

Not Eric Reid.

the folder of documents closed, no longer wanting to read

it to begin with, such a thing would get me in trouble. But I’d

wrong about that, if only for unexpected reasons. The new information merely added more questions to

And I sighed.

I looked into the reality of my world, the more dark truths I discovered. Truths that would only lead me into

a mistake. Undeserving.

gritted my teeth and got back into the car, throwing the documents on the passenger seat. My father could have them back and secure his business, just

that the juxtaposition

to

curiosity at the time

new path of opportunity for me to

the two choices as they

or a book with a title topic I

front cover read. ‘A history of The Winter

Silver Lake’.

told by Ashwood, at least. I could only imagine the bias I

chase down another search into

the millionth time. It felt as though I’d had a part of

My other half.

My… mate.

person I lo-.

No.

I wasn’t going down this path. Not again.

wasn’t Rae or Rheyna… I was

was time for me to go

exactly what I did.

greeted me as I entered the house, the place quiet now within the late hour of the night. This was my longest time

A needed one.

of the staircase, a light shone brightly through, emanating from down the hallway. I knew what it

father was

be angry? Had he somehow discovered