A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood novel Chapter 104

Chapter Une Hundred Foul 

Chapter One Hundred & Four 

“What you seek... it may have greater repercussions than you realise,” Selene said. 1 

The cold of the Abyss was stinging me, a reminder that I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Leave and hopefully not come back anytime soon. 

“This is what I want,” I reaffirmed confidently. 

Her lips tightened into a line, considering my request further. “Ariadne... What I do is not an exact science. There may be complications with what you seek, ones that even I have no control over. Just your revival alone could have issues without this added risk. Are you willing to accept that, despite what it may produce? That this may bring about a legacy that has waves far greater than you anticipate?” 

But I simply nodded my head, certain in my decision. 

I didn‘t care about the risk. If there was even a slight chance of this working, I had to take it. This would b e my one and only opportunity I wanted to start my new life with minimal regrets. 

“I’m sure,” I said. “If there are issues then I‘ll figure it out. Just like always.” 

“... Very well, then,” she said. 

And with that, she took a step forward, cupping my face in her hands to kiss my forehead, and sent an eruption of familiar tingles where our skin met. Instantly, I felt those same intense emotions rushing through me all at once. Something I‘d almost forgotten from the last time we stood here. 

Once done, she moved away and looked at me with distaste. A stark reminder of how our relationship had drastically changed over these last few years. 

“Be warned, child, that this is it,” she said sternly. “There will be no third revival. The next time we meet, you will accept what has happened and begin your life anew inside the Abyss as all souls must.” 

The thought of that alone filled me with dread but I knew returning here would be inevitable. Death was a normal part of life. However, I wouldn‘t fight back next time. No, I‘d allow myself to give in and enjoy the happy memories of my life. Hopefully, by then, there would be several more to add to the collection. 

Selene then began to fade before me, her eyes never faltering as they watched me carefully. Even up until the very last second, I could feel the resentment and bitterness she held. Luckily for her though, now she was whole again, she would live out her eternal life where I would exist for only a blink of her eye. Something of immense reassurance for her, I was sure. 

Before I could contemplate on her demeanour any further, a weightlessness then came over me, a dizziness consuming my head. 

And before I knew what was really happening, I felt the familiarity of my body once more. 

And everything felt… hazy. 

As if I were underwater 

I could start to feel my heartbeat... feel the warmth of my body. 

But I wasn‘t quite... there yet. 

It seemed different from the first time when I‘d awoken in bed at fourteen. Something felt... off. Was this because I hadn‘t travelled back? 

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Chapter One Hundred & Four 

And with another moment, I realised something important; instantly explaining the sensations I was experiencing 

Thea‘s death would have become a fixed point in time. I couldn‘t return to when she was still alive because I was using her dead body to revive. So, if this wasn‘t the past.... 

...It meant that this time, I was returning not to my prior self… but rather to my own corpse. What I was experiencing now was my body reanimating. 

“...Wanted to s... goodb...,” a voice then said, piercing through the fog. 

Someone was here. Next to me. Could they see me coming back? 

Their words were too unclear to understand what they were saying, too muddled as it cut in and out. 

“...‘m sorry... I didn‘t...,” it continued. “...I thought… It‘s been a whil...” 

It was slowly becoming more distinguishable but not quick enough for my own impatience. I wanted to hear what was being said right now, see whoever was talking with my own eyes. 

I‘m right here,‘ I screamed inside. I‘m alive.‘ 

But if anyone noticed, I couldn‘t tell. 

“...I love you,” they then said, a tone of finality in their voice. 

And I realised they were leaving 

But I was here. They just needed to just wait a minute. Wait until I could find the strength to break through this veil. Just a little bit longer. 

However, before I could worry any further, something else then came to my attention. A new intense feeling, one I never would have expected. 

Sparks. 

As if tiny, pleasurable firecrackers were being thrown all over my body, I could feel as sparks erupted from skin contact, all stemming from where a hand was now laid on top of mine. A warm hand that made me feel alight with its presence. A familiarity to it that I craved. 

I recognised this reaction. In fact, I remembered it well from a time long ago. 

It meant.... 

–And with that, I abruptly woke up with a long heave at the air. 

«My lungs greedily took in their first breaths, desperate for the oxygen, and I quickly felt my body begin to 

function once more; feeling as my heart started rapidly pumping blood inside. 

I was back. I was really back. 

Had I been asked to return just a year earlier, I would have firmly rejected it, telling myself I was crazy for wanting this. And yet now I‘d never wanted anything more. Something so impossible yet–. 

“–What the fuck?!” 

I swiftly turned my head to the side, already knowing what I would see, but finding myself taken by surprise, nonetheless, 

Because time suddenly... stopped. 

Almost as if the entire world vanished around me and left behind only one thing. 

Only one thing that mattered in that very moment. 

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Chapter One Hundred & lour 

Or, more accurately, one person. 

...Aleric. 

With his green eyes meeting mine, his crisp scent of the forest enveloping me... an overwhelming assault of sensations hit me all at once. Of a new yet familiar experience beckoning me forward and drawing me i n to him. A gravitational pull that promised only good things should I submit to it. 

...And something else deep inside me then awoke too. 

Amidst my delirium, I also felt the company of something that had been sorely absent for too long. Once a staple within my life, it had gone missing amongst my trauma, regressing to the furthest part of my mind. Now thinking back, I wondered if that were partly due to Thea‘s occupancy inside. But I could feel it now emerging once more, threatening to control me, demanding to make its presence known. 

...And, as a result, just one word was forced from my lips. 

“Mine,” I heard myself growl. 

My wolf had returned. 

Aleric had naturally jumped away the moment I‘d come back, somehow managing to not have a heart attack at seeing his dead mate return. The sheer fear at the situation had caused his face to pale and almost make him fall to the ground. I could only imagine what went through his head. 

But the moment our eyes met, he became frozen in place for a different reason. 

Assumedly, he was experiencing exactly what I was; the mate bond forming within my new life... Only this time, we could both feel it. A first in our very long history together. 

He took a hesitant step forward... then another, and then slowly reached a shaky hand down to touch my cheek, sending more sparks throughout my body. Enough to make me close my eyes for just a moment a s the feeling submerged me; wanting only more of what his touch had to offer. 

No memories could ever compare to this; to the real thing. Everything I‘d felt in the Abyss felt like a cold, lifeless imitation in comparison to what I was currently experiencing. 

Slowly, I then looked back up to meet his gaze. Saw how he was just as consumed as I was, and I immediately lost myself in his eyes, forgetting all else. 

This was why I was here. This is what mattered. 

He brought his face down, inches from my own, and spoke the only words I wanted to hear. 

The words that made all the pain and sacrifice worth it. 

“Mine,” he repeated. 

...And with that, his lips met mine, a fire instantly burning within. A hunger driving me on that I couldn‘t resist, nor did I even try to. I was completely helpless to the overwhelming need for my mate. A craving I‘d been deprived of for too long. 

But before we could get much further, Aleric then pulled away, apparently having more self control than I. 

“Does it feel like you‘re dreaming?” I replied, tracing his skin lightly. 

He helped me up into a sitting position and quickly wrapped his arms around me, sending waves of his warmth through me. Making me feel so cosy and safe in his embrace. 

“How are you feeling?” Aleric asked. “Is Thea‘s...?” 

I had assumed that I‘d be dealing with Thea‘s induced trauma for years, suffering from the scars she left behind. And whilst I definitely felt the pain of the things she did, my head at least didn‘t feel the weight of the damage she‘d done internally. I didn‘t feel the exhausted, fried sensation her constant occupancy left. Now having something to compare it to, it was a wonder I didn‘t notice the effects of her presence earlier. 

Perhaps dying and being brought back had done more than I‘d hoped for, healing even the wounds that I hadn‘t expected to part with so soon. A bonus on top of what I‘d already bargained for. 

I started shuffling with the bedsheet and jumped off the table, taking a moment to steady my legs, before walking to where a change of clothes had been left. Though, more arcuately, I walked to where the clothes I was meant to be buried in had been left. The severity of just how morbid that actually was, wasn‘t lost on me. 

“We‘ve got to hurry,” I said, throwing on the dress.