A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood

Chapter Thirty Five

INEN

I still remembered the excruciating pain of being hurt every single day I lived in that hell, years before he even rejected me officially. The kind of pain that could only arise from loving someone with your entire being.

I was no longer able to stop the flood of emotions coming up all at once and I was sure my father had no idea what was going on. But he must have understood enough to see that, whatever it was I was trying to tell him, it was enough to cause me to be in this much emotional distress just from talking about it.

He pulled me into his arms and held tightly onto me as I cried against him. Everything had spilled out of me all at once. Things I had sworn to never tell anyone, things I didn't think I would ever be able to share with someone. But I didn't care anymore if he thought I was insane. I couldn't live like this.

“Shhh, Aria,” he soothed. “It's okay.” I just clung to him tighter, burying my sobbing face further into his chest. “Please... help me, papa.” He didn't say anything else after that, he just held me in his arms until I'd exhausted myself.

I was grateful that he didn't push the topic again for that night. By the time I had finished shedding every last tear in my body, he just picked me up and took me to bed. It was a moment that I was glad to still be small enough for him to carry me as he did, knowing that there was n o way I would have been able to rely on my legs again for that day.

And when we finally got to my bedroom, he stayed with me as I continued to cling to him for dear life. He stayed with me until finally, I drifted to sleep.

It was a blessing I was too exhausted to dream that night.

As expected, the next morning my father was obviously wanting an explanation for what had happened the night before.

And so, I told him. I told him everything. And the more I spoke, the more that poured out of m e, and soon I found that I couldn't stop myself from giving every little detail.

I told him how I had ended up as Luna and how I'd become Aleric's blade in his war against the world for power. How I had so desperately fought for his love... only for it to have been given t o another. And lastly, I told him about the trial, how we'd said our final goodbyes in the cells... and how Aleric had finally killed me.

He was silent the entire time, taking in every word I said and never interrupting.

But by the time I finally finished, I looked up to my father and saw a few tears had escaped his eyes Something I had only seen him do once before... right before I had died.

Having confessed about my prior life to my father, I felt liberated at last. I now had someone I knew I could rely on completely and who would help me with what I needed to achieve in order to avoid the same fate.

He'd had a lot of questions, many of which I couldn't answer, but he was content with the answers I could provide him. We spoke about Aleric, how I felt about him now and how I'd been since coming back. And we agreed that, in order to move forward, I needed to stop US

looking back... that the only way I was going to be able to truly find a new fate was if I stopped being haunted around every corner This included working on letting my feelings for Aleric go eventually. I knew it would be tough, and wouldn“t happen overnight, but we both knew I wasn't going to be able to become Beta if I was terrified of the very Alpha I was pledged to. I could see this would be the hardest part of my journey; learning to accept what had happened to me and trying to move forward. The next day, my father went to Alpha Tytus to propose a meeting be held in order to discuss the current Beta heir position, mentioning also that I would be present. I was told he was extremely intrigued by the idea of me attending and immediately agreed for it to be scheduled

In the meantime, whilst we were waiting for the big day to occur, my father and I had begun training after school and on weekends. I wasn't sure what he had ended up telling but he had somehow managed to convince her to let me drop Luna studies. Father and I both now knew that I didn't need the extra lessons and it allowed me to spend my time preparing myself physically for the difficult road ahead of me. The only person who probably ended up unhappy with the new arrangements was my former Luna studies tutor, Helen, who had been enjoying the easy paycheques up until recently. I also found my father definitely lived up to his reputation when it came to fighting. His lessons were informative and I saw myself making the progress I'd so badly been lacking the last few months without Cai. And though their fighting styles were completely different, I eventually was able to adjust to my father's techniques with ease. He pushed me further than Cai ever had and I appreciated that he didn't go easy on me. One of the most vital ways I was going to succeed in this crazy endeavour to become Beta was if I could, by some miracle, prove my merit in battle. That I was just as good as a male heir.

Before long, the day of the meeting then arrived. It had taken over a month to find a time in the Alpha's schedule where he was free for smaller matters, and I found myself incredibly nervous to be facing him.

I stood outside the meeting hall doors with my father, staring at the wood as if it could somehow show me what was waiting for me on the other side. We both knew how much would be riding on this discussion today. “You don't need to be so anxious,” my father said to me. “You've done things far more nerve wracking and crazy than this before.” I knew he was right but somehow it still felt like one of the biggest moments I'd had in either o fmy lives. I couldn't help but feel sick. “Hey,” he said, making me look up to meet his eyes. “Just show them who you are and what you're capable of. You have nothing to worry about.” I clenched my jaw and nodded at him. I could do this. He pushed open the doors and inside I was surprised at what I saw. It looked as if this meeting wasn't just going to be a small chat with my father and the Alpha. No, there were several key figures here, leading me to believe this was a far more serious affair than I had anticipated earlier.

In their usual seats sat the Elders, including Elder Luke who gave me a small nod when our eyes met. However, standing before the council to the left was my Uncle William and cousin, Alexander.

My Uncle William looked so similar to my father that it was almost uncanny. The only difference being his usually very sour personality. He'd made almost no attempts at being a part of my life growing up and so I wasn't surprised to see that it took potentially robbing his son of a rank for him to get up and meet with me. I honestly felt bad for Alexander.

Suddenly, the doors behind us then opened, and Alpha Tytus walked in... followed by Aleric.

The usual fear that tightened in my chest constricted me per normal when I saw him, but I could feel it wasn't as bad today. It looked as if talking to my father had helped somewhat; even if it was just to help stop me from wanting to run away immediately at the sight of him.

We all bowed our heads in respect at their approach and waited until they were seated. “Alright,” Tytus said in an oddly excited tone. “Shall we get started then?”.