A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood novel Chapter 4

An all-out fight broke loose causing mass panic to ensue inside the meeting room.

 Everyone quickly jumped to their feet to make as much distance as possible between themselves and the fight, but there wasn’t much space to work with. Before long, snarling and snapping were the only noises heard coming from my father’s wolf as Aleric fought him off in his human form.

 “Brayden!” Aleric yelled finally, huffing from the exertion of the fight.

 My father was strong, almost as strong as Aleric. It was true that Aleric would win in the end during a one-on-one fight, but my father would give him severe wounds on the way out. He would not be taken down easily.

 Brayden didn’t hesitate even for a second before he grabbed at my father from behind and pushed him to the ground. Together with Aleric, they used their weight to pin the large wolf down.

 “Get me silver cuffs and have him taken down to the cells immediately!” Aleric ordered furiously to everyone in the room.

 They all scattered quickly to obey the Alpha, not wanting to upset him any further.

 “And you,” he said, turning his cold eyes to me with disgust. “Get the fuck out of my sight and stay in your room until I say you can leave. You will remain there and conduct all of your business from within those walls. Do I make myself clear, Ariadne?”

 I couldn’t talk. Words wouldn’t come to me as I stared in fear at this man. I was sure he would send me down after my father or kill me if I misspoke at that moment. And so, I did the only thing I could do.

 I mutely nodded my head, hastily returning to my room in a daze.

 The days passed quickly after that as I organised the final touches of my escape. And soon, everything was ready. I had packed my bag, noted instructions for my Luna duties over the following few weeks, and had even left a letter for my father. I wasn’t sure if he would receive it given his current incarceration, but I needed to tell him that I was thankful for what he had done for me. It was nice to know he had loved me after spending all these years believing otherwise.

 It pained me to even think of leaving him behind, but there was nothing I could do to save him now. The cells were the most heavily guarded place in the whole territory. Even attempting to break him out would lead to me being instantly caught.

 The night of the escape I was having a final dinner with Sophie. We had decided to leave once dark so it would hopefully hide our presence better. Tonight, there would be a large celebration happening in the main square so the guard patrols would be at their lowest.

 So far, there hadn’t been any issues or even any visitors since Aleric had banished me to my room. I was grateful for the peace and quiet, and happy I didn’t have to see the stares of my pack members as I walked by. I was sure their opinions of me had only gotten worse now my father had committed one of the highest offences possible; attempted murder of the Alpha.

 “It’s time to go,” I said nervously to Sophie.

 I was scared. I was scared that we would be caught, that I would be dragged back to this hell and possibly executed. But if we could pull this off, leave and finally be free, it would be worth everything.

 Sophie nodded her head as I grabbed my backpack, getting ready to leave.

 “Where did you put your bag?” I asked, noticing she hadn’t put anything by the front door yet.

 But before Sophie could answer, the door then suddenly crashed open and several pack warriors stormed in.

 They grabbed my arms and pushed me up against the wall, stripping me of my backpack before restraining me in silver handcuffs. Immediately, a few of them started searching the house and began sifting through all my belongings, as if looking for something in particular.

 I wanted to call out to Sophie to make sure she was okay, but then, out of the corner of my eyes, I was just able to witness as they forced Sophie outside. It happened so quickly there was nothing I could do.

 “What is the meaning of this?!” I screamed, my face still pressed against the wall. “I am your Luna and I demand that you stand down and explain yourself.”

 I could tell the weight of my authority washed over them, making them hesitate… but only for a moment. The one holding me loosened his grip slightly but they didn’t completely let go. This meant the order had to have come from Aleric himself. He was the only one who would have had enough authority to allow them to ignore me.

 Another minute passed before Brayden finally walked in the door, glancing only quickly towards me. “You can ease your grip and turn her around,” he said to the one holding me.

 They spun me to face him but his face was unreadable. Were they doing all of this because they discovered my plans to escape? It seemed a little over the top for something like that. No, this felt like something bigger was happening.

 One of the warriors then suddenly walked up to Brayden, a few items in hand.

 “We found these, Gamma,” he said, presenting them to Brayden. “It also looks as though she was planning to run away before we caught her. She was wearing a backpack full of clothes and supplies when we arrived.”

 I couldn’t see what the second item was but the first one was the letter to my father I’d left on the bed. And instantly, a sinking feeling hit my stomach. I knew that letter could be misconstrued as sympathising and thanking the man who had almost killed the Alpha. I had planned to leave before anyone read it.

 Brayden scanned the letter, his face still completely emotionless, before he sniffed at whatever else he had been given. His immediate reaction was to grimace and turn his face away.

 “Is this yours?” he asked, showing me a small bunch of herbs. I didn’t recognise them, but then again, I’d never been great at herbalism.