A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood novel Chapter 3

A shiver went down my spine. I knew this expression well.

 …He was furious at me.

 I immediately tried to back away from him but I knew it was too late. He strode up and quickly grabbed my neck in his hand, pinning me against the wall behind me. And, instantly, the pain shot down from my shoulder where it hit the wall roughly.

 “Aleric… Please…,” I whimpered out against his choke, struggling to breathe.

 His hand loosened slightly but only to ensure I listened to him properly.

 It was crazy, but even in a moment like this, the mate bond was still making sparks erupt from where his hand touched my skin. It was sickening how a Goddess could do this to her child, make them feel these sensations even in a situation like this.

 “Do you think you’re so important that you can treat Thea that way?” he roared into my face.

 “Aleric… she came to me first and?.”

 “Enough!” he cut me off. “I don’t want your excuses. Thea isn’t like you. She is a gentle, sweet girl! What if you had caused her enough stress to induce a miscarriage? Are you really so petty as to kill a child out of spite? A future Alpha no less?”

 Even in his distorted expression of rage, he still looked so handsome. A curl of his shaggy midnight hair had fallen out of place and was framing his forehead, his green eyes gleaming. He stood a foot taller than me, broad shoulders, and built like a God. In times like this, I could feel the height difference so clearly when he stood close to me in this way. He was an imposing, scary man, but I had no choice but to find him irresistible.

 I cleared my thoughts, reminding myself it was only the mate bond making me feel these things for him. His touch and scent were intoxicating but it wasn’t me who really felt this way about him anymore. It was just the curse.

 “Aleric… no, I would never. She came to me even though she knew?.”

 And suddenly, he slapped me across the face. Hard.

 I blinked as my vision blurred and my cheek burned.

 “You’re nothing, Ariadne. You are only here because I let you be here, don’t ever forget it. You may be chosen as Luna by the Goddess but I have the final say in this pack. If you dare to hurt Thea again, I will make sure you regret it.”

 And, with that, he let me go, my back sliding down the wall as my legs gave out.

 I was sure that he had contemplated killing me in that moment. His anger wasn’t anything new to me but this was the first time he had threatened to remove me from my position completely… or worse.

 With one final look down at me in disgust, he then left just as abruptly as he’d arrived. But as soon as the door closed behind him, I erupted in a fit of hysterical laughter, tears flowing from my eyes once more.

 If he had just removed me from my position at the start then this would have never happened. If he had just rejected me immediately as his mate, instead of submitting me to this torture over the last six years, then maybe one day I could have learned to live a decent life without him.

 I was here only because of him. Because the pack and Aleric asked me to be their Luna. I could have tried to live a normal life and tried to forget about him if he’d just freed me earlier.

 …Maybe I could have even found someone to love me one day.

 “Aria?” Sophie asked hesitantly, watching me laugh with concern.

 She must have thought I had finally gone crazy, and she was probably right. Sophie watched what I had just suffered through, only to see me laugh about it all.

 Perhaps I really had finally snapped. Who knew it would happen today?

 “It’s just a joke, Sophie, don’t you see?” I smiled widely, still giggling. “It’s all one big joke. My whole life! I bet the Goddess is looking down at me as a form of entertainment. Do you think Gods get bored? I wonder why else someone would make me Luna only to endure the things I have had to endure.”

 “Oh, Aria,” Sophie said, crouching down to engulf me in her arms once more. “My poor baby. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

 She stroked my hair as my laughter then slowly turned into sobs against her chest.

 “I’ll come with you,” Sophie finally said once I had calmed down. “We can leave together. I’m sure we’ll have more success at escaping if we work together.”

 Sophie… would come with me?

 I looked at the older lady in shock. She would be risking a lot to become a rogue with me and escape. If we were ever caught, she would probably be executed.

 “Come on, I’ll make you a cup of tea and we can talk about what we’re going to do,” she said, pulling me to my feet.

 Hesitantly, I nodded my head and smiled at the old lady.

 Sophie cared for me. It would be okay. We would be okay.

 The next day I got ready for the meeting at eight o’clock with the higher members of the pack council. My long silver hair was still messy but I had done my best to tame it as much as possible.

 Underneath my violet eyes, I could see the dark bags from the stress and lack of sleep I had experienced the night before. Unfortunately, using makeup had shown little results at covering it up.