A Gift from the Goddess

Bonus Chapter - Quick HRecipes !! Important !! - You need to have read up to at least Chapter 96 to avoid spoilers. Continue reading at your own discretion.

This is just a short one-shot between Aria and Aleric during their tat the cabin. Explicit warning Meat... herbs... garlic... butter... carrots....

| stared at the ingredients as if they were a dangerous foreign entity.

Not to say they were, but it wasn’t exactly like | knew how to approach what | was going to attempt. Things had seemed so much easier when | was just reading about it... opposed to having to actually do it.

With a sigh, | picked up the kitchen knife and began peeling the carrots; preheating the pan on the stove whilst | did so.

Aleric had been doing the cooking for us both, having at least sexperience with it. During times when he'd been on duty for the Winter Mist, there had been moments he‘d had to cook whilst making camp somewhere random.

| 1, on the other hand, had experience that went only as far as boiling water for tea. After all, I'd lived my whole life surrounded by attendants and chefs.

But it couldn‘t be that hard, right? | wanted to surprise him and give him a night off. Between the tspent withand patrolling, | was sure he was getting exhausted. | thought this might be a good way to show my appreciation for his hard work.

I'd only read a few cooking books before, but | hadn‘t retained much. | knew the basic principles and theories, and knew what steps to do. The issue was in actually executing it though and making it taste good in the process.

The cabin had cstocked with bare essentials to last a while, the vegetables coming from a small, adjourned greenhouse and the meat was whatever Aleric picked up from hunting on patrol. Altogether, we were pretty fortunate considering we were in the middle of nowhere.

_ #Slick* I winced, looking down to see I'd cut myself.

| definitely needed to focus more. It wasn’t like | could heal quickly, thanks to the silver ring.

After washing my hands and the knife, | threw out the spoiled carrot and tried again. He was going to be hany minute and I'd wanted to be finished before that. Though that was probably justbeing overly optimistic considering my skill level.

Carefully, | proceeded to finish with the carrots, though taking far longer with it than 1 perhaps should have, and threw sbutter, herbs and garlic into the pan. When that was sufficiently all nice and melted, 1 placed the meat on top, satisfied it at least smelt nice. That was surely a good sign if nothing else.

“What are you up to?” Aleric then said from the doorway.

| looked up sharply to see him there, a little surprised since | hadn't heard him approach over the sound of the pan.

“Oh, I'm ah... I'm cooking,” | said, a little embarrassed. “I wanted to surprise you before you got home.” “I'm still surprised,” he said walking behindto wrap his arms around my waist. “Surprised you haven't burnt the house down.” “Hey!” | yelled offended, squirming in his grasp. “Con, it smells good!” But he heldagainst me, laughing as he refused to letgo.

“Aleric!” “No, you're right, I'm sorry,” he said, his head travelling to my neck and nibbling gently. “It does smell pretty good.” Though | wasn’t sure whether he was still talking about the food.

“Ok, well I need to finish up here and I'll —.” | didn‘t get to finish my sentence though, instead losing my chain of thought. His hand had started tugging up the hem of my dress and immediately begun trailing across the bare skin of my stomach.

“... lum,” was all I said.

What was | doing? | tried to remember as | felt his attention then change, reaching up to grab at my breast and sending a shiver throughfrom the sensitivity there.

| could feel his warmth against my back, his breathing deepening near my ear, sending another wave of desire through me.

“What's up?” he asked, his other hand now venturing past the hem of my underwear, causingto gasp from the unexpected sensation. | leaned back against him, melting into the feeling of pleasure he gave, greedily taking every second of it he had to offer.

“Aleric,” | moaned, turning my head to capture his lips against mine. His taste was intoxicating My whole body then started burning up, my heart racing. But just before | was beginning to get too lost in the moment, | completely spun around and pushed him back against the kitchen bench, wasting no tin jumping onto his lap.

| could tell he was just as enthusiastic as me, his own lower-body betraying him, and | proceeded to move my hips against him, relishing in the way he reacted to me.

This was my doing. He wantedjust as much as | wanted him. Did my touch send him into delirium just as his did for me? Was it even better for him with the mate bond? Before long had passed, it soon becclear that this wasn’t nearly enough for either of us.

Working as quickly as | could, | then undid his pants and positioned myself perfectly on top of him before....

“... Fuck,” Aleric slowly groaned, feeling as he pressed his length into me, and my own moan accompanied it.

How was it that he felt so perfect against me? As if he was naturally meant to always be there. Every sensation he had to offerwas enough to makelose control instantly. As if proceeding with only pure desire.

| started to move again, his hands on my hips as he guidedagainst him, and every few seconds | would alternate between his lips, ear, and neck.

His own movement then slowly becmore forceful as he quickened my pace, sendinginto my own frenzy as that familiar buzz started to build inside me.

Faster and faster we moved, going until he was almost completely controlling me, arms now wrapped aroundto hold my body to him. All | could do in turn was coil my own arms around his neck and hold on as I let him take over, almost at my limit.

In this position, his length was now pushing even further in as his speed increased, stealing moans from my lips with every thrust. | could feel myself tightening too, getting closer and closer until....

Finally, with a last cry escaping my lips, | felt myself cundone against him, shaking as the waves of pleasure swept through me. The overwhelming bliss fogging up my mind as the seconds ticked by.

Aleric wasn’t far behind in his own end, a groan alertingto his finish, and proceeded to rest his forehead against mine as we both fought to catch our breath.

How could things be this good? How was one person able to makefeel so euphoric from their touch? It seemed almost like a dream.

But, of course, with every dream, it had to cto an end eventually The smell of burning quickly snappedout of my trance, remindingof exactly what I'd just been doing The meat “Shit!” Without looking back, | jumped off Aleric’s lap and ran to the stove... only to find it really was burning “Oh.... no..,” | whined, turning it over.

It was almost completely black on the opposite side, no longer looking appetising in any way.

The dish was ruined With a dejected exhale, | gave Aleric an apologetic look, only he didn't seem phased in the slightest.

In fact, by the tI'd served us our half-burnt dinner, the review | received from him was overwhelmingly positive.

Apparently, in Aleric’s words, the meal had been delicious. It was ‘one of the most satisfying dinners he'd ever had’.

...Though, *somehow*, | knew he wasn't talking about the food. Sigh.

Bonus Chapter - The Cycle of Change This chapter follows a young Elder Luke (Luke Hastings) 30/40 years prior to the main story. It was a very different twhen things were not so accepting. This POV shows the beginning of how Elder Luke becthe man he is today and why he holds the strong values he does - known by Aria as one of the deadliest men in the pack.

Fifty-two. There were fifty-two books | needed to reshelve today. Several more than the day before, even more than the day before that. It meant | would need to work late today in order t o finish this in time. At least | had the entire day to get through it.

With a sigh of resignation, | grabbed my trolley and began the journey to the back of the library where | would start the process, giving small smiles to those | made eye contact with along the way. This was the life of a librarian. Day in... day out...

Not to say | didn’t enjoy my work. On the contrary, | immensely loved what | did for a living. But | couldn’t deny that it wasn’t as interesting as say the ranked members of our pack. No, they led an eventful life of luxury and power. The kind of lives only unranked members such as myself could dream of.

“Excuse me,” a deep voice then said behind me, makingturn around.

| was surprised to hear someone had followedall the way to the very back, however, | quickly realised why.

“..What can | do for you, sir?” | asked politely, taking several steps towards the man.

“I was hoping you could helpfor a moment. I'm trying to find something...” He had the strong build of a warrior, with broad shoulders and a small air of authority about him to match that position.

| raised an eyebrow questioningly as | cto stand directly in front of him. “...Looking for a particular book, perhaps?” “No, not quite...,” he replied, looking down at me.

“Then how can | be of service today, sir? What exactly were you looking for?” His hands then cup and grabbed either side of my face, sparks immediately erupting throughout my body from where our skin made contact.

“...My mate,” he whispered, right before his mouth cdown to meet mine.

Immediately, | was enveloped by him as we drew closer together, my senses overridden by his touch... his scent... his taste. It was only once | found myself pressed up against one of the shelves that | realised we were at my place of work... not our house. they felt lange A deep chuckle escapedas | pulled away, smiling up at the man. At my mate.

“What are you doing here, Xavier?” | asked quietly. | was conscious of not being too loud so w e weren't caught.

“I didn’t think I would see you until tonight.” “I need a reason to visit you now?” he questioned back, his lip pulling into a crooked smile.

| laughed once more before untangling myself from him, walking back towards my trolley.

“It's not as though | don’t appreciate your presence, it's just that | know you are meant to be a t work right now.

And it’s very unlike you to skip out on such a thing.” He then sighed, his smile turning into more of a guilty one. “I cto tell you that I'll be heading out over the border today. Official business in one of the neighbouring packs. My unit has been asked to supervise the proceedings.” “... Then do they not expect you to be packing right now?” | asked, a small frown forming between my brows. “I would think that you'd... not want to risk coming to see me.” His face then contorted from the unpleasant topic. “Luke... You know it's not like that. I just... I'm so close to this promotion, | can feel it. Maybe today will be the day they recognise that.” But | remained silent, my jaw clenching to stop myself from speaking my mind.

“Hey...,” Xavier then said softly, coming up to place his hands on either side of my waist tenderly. “Soon, | promise. Maybe in a few years, and after | get this promotion, we can make our relationship public. We can even finally buy a house in town... a nicer one at that too.” His touch was makingwant to melt into his arms but | managed to hold myself back.

“You say this every time, Xavier. We've been together for almost ten years now and it's always the spromise.” “Well... | mean, things might be different soon,” he said, finding an excuse. “Alpha Dominic is getting older and I've yet to hear the Alpha heir Tytus express any sort of... ‘grievance’ with our kind of relationship.” | immediately tsked and pushed my way out of his arms. “That child? He barely knows what he’s doing. The only thing he knows is fighting.” “That's not true!” Xavier snapped back, a tone of irritation now in his voice. “Don’t say things like that about our future Alpha.” Our eyes then locked for a few moments, his blue ones filled with frustration at my remark, and | sighed in response, rubbing my face with my hand.

“Apologies...,” | said, doing my best to sound as genuine as possible.

| should have expected him to have that reaction. He was a good warrior after all, and a patriotic one at that.

Loyal to almost a fault, believing so wholeheartedly in the cause of making our pack great. It’s what made him the perfect soldier.

...But it was also what | loved about him too. His ability to have hope and see the good in people was one of the things that madefall for him. Strong... attractive... and genuinely an amazing person. He complimented my more cynical nature perfectly.

Xavier then sighed, his shoulders relaxing. “It's fine. Just... you know how important my work i sto me, Luke. I'm sorry that | can’t... That we can’t... Well, speople just aren't so accepting, you know?” I nodded my head, unable to meet his eyes, but knew well what he was talking about.

Because whilst things definitely seemed to be getting better in terms of change, there was still a while to go before we reached the point we needed to. Movements were already starting across the country, bringing attention to the issue, and people were beginning to realise the truth of the matter. Because if the so-called Goddess could gift us with another being then, regardless of who they were, didn’t that mean there was a divine purpose behind the choice? “The Goddess has a plan for us. | can feel it,” he continued, almost as if he'd read my thoughts. “Don’t lose faith in our future just yet.” He then walked up and kissed my cheek, the sparks emitting throughonce more. However, this time, | allowed myself to give in to the sensation, bringing my hand up to hold his head against mine, craving his presence for just a little longer.

We said our goodbyes shortly after that. | didn‘t know how long it would be until | saw him again, his out of town pack business sometimes taking an uncertain amount of time. There was one thing | did know for sure though, and that was that it would certainly be a lot quieter around the house for a little while.

| went about my work diligently for the remainder of the day and, soon enough, closing twas just around the corner. | was relieved; thoughts of my cosy couch patiently waiting forat hfilling my head. Well, at least there was something waiting forat home.

But it was as | was doing the final rounds for closing that | stumbled upon something. Two girls in the corner huddled closely together. I'd seen them here regularly so | knew they enjoyed this place just as much as | did, always treating the books with the respect they deserved. It was something that madelike them more than sof the more rowdy members we occasionally had.

“Apologies, ladies,” | said, politely approaching them. “We're closing up now but we‘ll be open again tomorrow morni...—." However, it was then that | noticed their demeanour properly, cutting my sentence short. Because they weren't huddled together, so much as one was comforting the other.

“Is everything okay?” | asked, worried if someone had accidentally gotten hurt on the premises.

Burimit te pun boleh dihanan The girl who had her arm around the other one looked up at me, her expression wrought with concern.

“You haven't heard?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion. “Oh, it’s so... it’s so horrible. | don’t know how they could have let it happen.” They held my curiosity now and my mind began thinking of everything they could possibly be referring to “What do you mean? Did something happen with the pack?” | pressed. Her friend then choked on another sob and the girl speaking patted her back, soothing her. “It was during a meeting today in a neighbouring pack,” she started, her eyes beginning to brim with tears of her own.

Immediately, my body froze, my blood turning cold.

“... There's been an attack and sof our warriors died. Cindy‘s mate being one of them. Someone from their unit cand found us not long ago to inform her. Apparently, there was a disagreement and a fight broke out.

Several of the warriors fought to ensure the ranked members could escape. They were completely outnumbered” Suddenly it was like the wind had been knocked out of me, the world starting to spin.

“...What... what um... ah, sorry...,” | said, flustered. | was struggling to keep composure even though the anxiety was starting to constrict around my chest, almost as if it were suffocating me.

| shook my head and tried again. “...Do we... Do you know who was hurt?” The girl then sniffled, rubbing her eye as a tear escaped her. “Not really but they‘re bringing the bodies back now. They should be at the hospital soon.” | didn‘t hear anything else after that.

Instantly, my body moved on its own as | sprinted out of the library. | didn’t care that I didn’t close up, | didn‘t care that there were still people inside, all that mattered was getting to the hospital. Seeing him. Making sure he was okay.

...But he would be fine, right? He was strong. There was no way...

| couldn’t even think about that. My wolf was already frantic enough, making it impossibly difficult to think clearly.

- Before too long, I finally arrived at the hospital, and | bee-lined for the administration desk without even stopping to breathe.

“Are they here? The warriors that were hurt?” | panted, trying to get the words out through m y heavy breathing.

“The ones... that were killed?” trinitatis youtube to managed The girl behind the desk looked up atalarmned for a moment, my appearance overly dishevelled from having ran the few blocks here.

“Is there someone you were looking for in particular?” she asked.

“Xavier Burrows, ” | quickly said. “I need to know if he was hurt. If he was....” | couldn’t finish my sentence.

The girl then lookedup and down, a frown forming on her face. “...And what was your relationship to them? Are you family?” It took everything insidenot to growl out at her in frustration, wishing she would just answer the question instead of delaying further.

“What does that matter? just tellif —.” “You're Luke, correct?” a voice then said next to me.

| looked up to see who had spoken and found the leader of Xavier's unit, Gavin, standing there, his face appearing as though he‘d just been through hell.

“I think I've seen you around a few times, right?” he continued.

“Yes, 1... | know Xavier from your unit, sir,” | said, bowing my head slightly. “I heard the news and cto find out if he was okay.” The girl at the desk then chimed in, much to my further irritation. “Apologies, sir, but right now only family-.” “That's alright, Emily,” Gavin said, raising a hand up to pause her. “It's been both a traumatic and horrific day for everyone in our pack... Especially for those of us who have lost a friend.” As he said those last words, his eyes met mine with a pointed sadness within them.

...And, instantly, it was as if someone had drowned me.

| couldn‘t breathe properly. Couldn‘t see properly.

Everything felt... black.

And it was as though a part ofwas being ripped slowly to shreds inside, waves of pain beginning to pulse through me.

“I need to... | need to see him,” | choked out. “I need to say goodbye.” But Gavin then frowned, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “That's not really necessary. The bodies of the deceased will be prepared and a funeral held accordingly so you can pay your respects then. Right now only family are being allowed in.” “He doesn’t have any family!” | yelled back angrily, gritting my teeth. “Bringto him now.” | was his family. His only family. The only one he had left. The only one | had left. Wed found each other in the most unexpected of ways, neither of us ever believing we would be truly happy. But we were. We were happy. In the end, we made our own happiness. Our own little pack of two “...And what was your relationship to Xavier, again?” Gavin then asked, his tone suddenly sceptical, And as | took in his demeanour, | understood the full gravity of the situation | was now in.

Because if | were to tell him the truth, then | would be revealing a secret that Xavier and | had both guarded our entire lives. A truth that many would still disagree with today, including our current Alpha, Dominic.

However, in this instance... it wasn’t my secret to tell. It was Xaviers. It was *his* choice to reveal that sort of information, *his* reputation that was on the line... and he'd chosen not to do so. He'd chosen his job and the pack above all else. It wasn’t my place to asswhat he would want now that he was gone.

The only thing it would possibly accomplish now, in speaking the words aloud, would be to tarnish what he had worked so hard for. A selfish decision on my account for just the smallest chances they would even allowin to see his body. After all, they had no way to even confirm my claim was true.

And so, out of sheer frustration, | then gritted my teeth and threw my hand out angrily, knocking over several items from the administration‘s desk. I'd never felt so much rage inside before, so much hatred and disgust.

They were pathetic. All of them. Cowards the lot of them, including the Alpha.

Without even answering the question, | then stormed out of the hospital, my grief and pain still tearingapart inside, my wolf howling.

And it quickly dawned onthat | couldn‘t sit back and ignore the world anymore.

Just how many people were out there suffering under the sinjustice? There was a fight to be had that I'd purposely remained deaf to, becoming too consumed within my own world with Xavier to risk what we had built.

But he was gone now. And yet, somehow, the world kept going.

As if it didn’t even notice that he wasn’t here anymore.

As if no one really cared.

But I did.

...In the months that followed after his passing, | discovered a lot of different things.

Like, despite my unranked status, there was a lot a person could learn in a place like a library. Not just the wealth of knowledge acquired from the books either... but from the whispers between the shelves too. The gossip no one ever expects anyone to overhear.

But | heard it. | heard it all.

And not just that, but | learned a lot about myself also.

Things | wouldnt have ever thought possible, thought | was capable of... and, some, even unthinkable.

However, it was interesting how it all interlocked, how it all could ctogether for a bigger purpose.

And whilst I still couldn‘t find it withinto believe in a fictional woman who birthed our kind, | knew Xavier was one to have had that sort of faith. Believe in that sort of thing. And from that faith he had held, he had thought there was ssort of divine plan for us; for both of us.

...S0 just what exactly could one lowly librarian accomplish all by themself? What could they do against the prejudice that festered around them? Well, I didnt have an answer for that yet.

But maybe | would think more on it after I'd had Alpha Dominic ‘removed’.

...And | proceeded to do just that.