A Gift from the Goddess
Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty A million thoughts and feelings swept through me as I scrambled to figure out whatto do. Should I wave? Smile? Walk over to him? ...Pretend that I'm actually looking at the shopbehind him? It was a sort of nervous energy that made my legs shuffle under me and my heart race.I had so much to say to him, yet so much I shouldn't have said to begin with.

And yet the most important thing, at the forefront of my mind, was still the debate as to whether Ishould tell him about the future. Because I knew he had a right to know, even if I ended upsounding insane.

I took a step towards him and began to hold up my hand to wave.

"Cai..."

But I didn’t get to finish my sentence as he instantly looked away, turning back down to pack hisbag. All I could do was watch mutely as he got onto his motorbike and kick it into ignition, not evenbothering to look at me again before he rode off. It was as if he'd just slammed a door in my face. Istood there shocked with my hand still partially raised, embarrassment creeping up on me. Mycheeks burned at being left looking stupid on the side of the street. “...Aria?" Myra asked, soundingunsure over whether she should ask about what just happened. I balled my hand up into a loose fistand brought it down to hold against my chest. It was fine. I deserved that. Cai may not realise howmuch danger he would be in one day, but I did. And I still had a chance to make a change for thebetter. Even if I never saw him again, even if he never thought of me ever again, I would still do mybest to keep him safe. Whatever it took. I vowed to never let Aleric start that war which wouldbecome the beginning of the end. It was a horrifying reminder that I'd been procrastinating figuringout just what laid ahead for my future. If I embraced my Sainthood and declared ultimate authority,then I would need to b e amassing allies right now for the eventual political takeover within thepack. It was something I didn't want to initiate if possible as it put my entire family at risk and wouldonly serve to create a civil war. But then that didn’t leave me with many options.

I hated to admit it but, when the time came, I knew I may need to prepare myself for the worst -casescenario in order to save the people I cared about, including Cai. If there really were no options leftafter exhausting all possibilities, then maybe, one day... I would need to take up my Luna positiononce more. “Aria?” Myra asked again, having become worried over my extended silence. It pulledme out of the deep thoughts I'd been trapped in. A rabbit hole of grim reminders I didn't want tothink about just yet. I had to forcefully push them aside inside my mind. There was no reason to getcaught up thinking about it yet. There were still so many years before I'd be hard-pressed to make adecision. “...Sorry,” I said, still a little out of it. She frowned, pursing her lip a little. “What was that?Cai definitely saw you right?” I rubbed at my forearm feeling a little awkward still. “...I guess not.”She was silent in thought but let it go. Myra knew me well enough by now to know that, if I didn'tfeel like talking about something, then I wouldn't. She was used to my normally reserved attitude.*...Did you want to get something to eat?” she finally asked. And I forced a smile on my face. “That'sa great idea.”

A few minutes later, we'd walked down to the food district and were checking out all the differentcafes and restaurants. There was a pretty great variety and I was excited to try something different.Normally all the special meals I had were either prepared at the house of someone important, orwe'd attend one of the upscale restaurants reserved for the upper ranked only. It was refreshing tonot feel pressured to act so carefully with my words and actions for once.

As we rounded the corner, a small cottage style cafe then caught my eye suddenly, almost obscuredcompletely by trees and plants. It would be easy for someone to walk by without seeing it. Therewas a sort of beauty about it and I knew this was the place I wanted to eat at for my very firstaverage citizen meal. “Let's got here, Myra,” I said, pointing to the little cafe. We both walked up toit and inspected the menu outside on a little podium. “Oh, Aria, I don't know. It's a little expensive.Maybe we can try somewhere else?” But I was adamant about wanting to eat here. I didn't carewhat it meant in order to persuade her. I had told myself I wasn't going to try and buy her thingsoften, knowing it may make her feel awkward, but I really did have my heart set on this little place. Itwas so beautiful yet private. “It's fine, I'll pay for your meal.” “Aria, you can't pay for everything in mylife,” she said. “I can do things myself too.” “But this is my first time going to a normal cafe. Please,can we go?” I looked at her with hopeful eyes and finally her frown softened. “...Okay, fine,” she said,yielding. I smiled brightly at her and was about to tell her how excited I was but she cut me offbefore I could. "...On one condition.” “Condition?”

"You have to tell me what happened between you and Cai,” she said with a serious face. “And don'teven try to tell me nothing happened because I've gotten to know both of you pretty

well over these last few months. Something is off.”

I bit at the inside of my cheek and debated over whether it was really worth telling her. I didn'tknow how to talk about the things that had happened or why they had affected me so much. T ogive her the full picture it would require me to tell her about my previous life, of which I couldnt do."Does it really matter? It's not like we're ever going to see him again.”

She flinched at my overly harsh words and I instantly felt bad about it. “You know, I normally don'tpush you on things like this,” she said, “but I care about both you and Cai. Can you please tell mejust this once?” I sighed. I could probably give her a basic rundown of the events without going intotoo much detail. She might think I overreacted, and to an extent I probably did, but I wouldn't beable to tell her why it hurt me so badly. “...Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. She smiled and grabbed myhand to pull me into the little cafe. Inside it was completely stunning. There was a small patio thatwrapped around the back which had vines creeping along the walls and fencing. Though it lookedlike it may have been a bit older on the outside, the interior was heavily renovated and modern in ahomey kind of way.

A waitress greeted us by the door and her eyes went wide when she realised who I was, my silverhair and violet eyes being something I couldn't exactly hide from other pack members i n public.But it was easy to ignore her reaction since I had also been getting the same expression from thestore vendors all day.

She quickly led us to a spot on the patio that overlooked a forest below us and, much to my delight,we could even see some of the mountains in the distance. It was obviously the best seat in thehouse and I was definitely impressed. It acted as a nice reminder of how large and diverse, not onlyour pack was, but also the territory we lived on.

"What are you thinking of ordering?” I asked after we'd settled down. Myra had spent some timestudying the menu in front of me with great focus.

“I'm not sure... but they're still serving breakfast this late, so maybe an eggs benedict or omelette?”Both of those seemed like pretty standard choices... but I had my eye on something far better."What about you?” she asked.

"Hmm... I'm getting the chicken nuggets and fries.” She stared at me blankly. “What..? You meanthe kid's menu item?” “Oh, was it only on the kid's menu? Do you think they'll make a full plate if Iask them?” “Aria, why do you want nuggets?” she asked confused. “There are so many other niceroptions.

I thought about it and realised that perhaps my choice might have seemed odd to her. But shehomoea ERITREA

didn't really understand where I was coming from, what my upbringing had been like. “This is myfirst time being able to choose what I want to eat without being pressured and I've never had junkfood before. I think my parents would have a heart attack if I told them I was thinking of eating it.”Her frown eased, finally understanding. Thankfully, she didn't question me further on it. It was truethat I'd never eaten a proper unhealthy meal before. In my past life, my diet had always been stricteven after I became Luna. I'd never touched anything greasy once I had come of age for fear itwould make Aleric think I was unrefined. But I was living a new life now and was so much healthierthan I had ever been. I wasn't trying to impress anyone anymore and I'd already lived one life oflittle to no luxury. In my head, I didn't need to justify it any further. I was getting the damn nuggets.It took some persuasion but the waitress eventually agreed to give me a larger serving of the kid'smeal after several strange looks. I didn't care though. When it finally came out and I took my firstbite, I swear I could have died again right then and there a happy girl. Myra watched on while I ate,her face curious over my reaction, but I didn't let her stare interrupt me. I was having a whole newexperience that was so good it must have been a blessing from a higher power. “So... are you goingto tell me?” she finally asked after I'd finished having an intimate moment with my food. I knewwhat she meant of course. She was asking me to uphold my end of the deal

And so, I started to tell her what had happened; how Cai hadn't shown up and hadn't bothered tocancel when he was so close by, how I'd found him and how he'd acted at first like I was in the onein the wrong. And finally, I told her how he didn't even tell me he was leaving.

She took it all in and listened silently, nodding occasionally. When I was finally done, she sat i nthought for a few moments. “Sounds like you're both in the wrong,” she concluded.

I sighed. “I can't disagree with that statement. I was going to apologise but it looks as though I'verun out of time. He made it pretty clear today he doesn't want to talk to me.” Myra shifted andrested her head against her hand on the table, a small crease forming between her brows as lookedto be thinking.

"One thing doesn’t make sense to me though,” she said. “At the time, you seemed to get reallyupset over the situation quite quickly.”

I suddenly felt really nervous and wasn't sure how to reply. “Oh... well..."

"Aria..." she started, “umm, don't take this wrong way but... seeing Cai like that suddenly..."

Myra adjusted in her chair to sit up, looking unsure as to whether she should ask what she wasabout to. And I could say with absolute certainty that I definitely wasn't expecting the next wordsout of her mouth.

“Aria... could you have maybe been... jealous?” It probably seemed a little harsh given how seriousshe was about the question, but I couldn't help it. I burst out into laughter. “Me...? Jealous...?" Iasked whilst still chuckling. “Shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Myra?

Her cheeks blushed. “What are you talking about?” I leaned in closer, raising a brow at herquestioningly. “You think I don’t see how you always stare at him with those big eyes? How youalways blush whenever he was near?” “I do not!” she protested.

“Your cheeks are literally turning red just talking about it,” I pointed out.

She covered her hands over her face in an attempt to hide it. “Stop teasing me, Aria,” she whined. Icouldn't help but laugh harder. “Ok, ok, I'll stop. I'm sorry.” It seemed like such a ridiculous idea tohave been jealous. Cai was renowned for his playboy antics, I knew that already.

“Besides,” I said, taking a sip of my water. I'd been laughing so hard my throat had gone completelydry. “I already have enough boy troubles as it is. Or have you forgotten who I am, Myra?”

She was confused for a second before realisation spread across her face. “Oh, right. We never reallytalk about the other side of your life so I'd forgotten. Aleric, right?” I nodded. “Unfortunately.” “...Unfortunately? I thought being mated to the Alpha was every girl's dream? They're so strong,handsome, and...” “Arrogant,” I finished for her. Not to mention insane, emotionally unstable andmurderous, but I didn't add that part aloud for her to hear.

“Is he?” she asked, curious now. “I've never met him so I wouldn't know.” “I guess most of the packjust sees the poster boy they make him out to be. They have to talk him up since he’s going to beour leader one day.” I internally cringed thinking back to how at one point I'd felt naively the sameway as Myra. As a young girl, they really had liked to talk about how amazing it would be if youwere mated to a n Alpha. Or rather, more specifically, mated to Aleric since he was the young,handsome heir o four pack. All the non-ranked girls were basically drooling at the idea of becomingLuna. However, their dreams had been dashed pretty quickly for the Winter Mist position when theprophecy about Aleric and I was announced by the Elders.

“Well, if you're so against it then, who knows? Maybe you won't even turn out to be mates. It wasjust what the Elder's said would happen, right?

I had to hold in another bout of laughter trying to escape my lips. She would ask what was so funnybut it would be hard to explain the universal joke of me being stuck with Aleric, lest my entire beingbe torn apart and remade from scratch. No, I had already tried and failed at that negotiation once,and with a Goddess no less. I just smiled at her. “Maybe.”

We ended up spending the rest of the day together shopping. Myra was adamant about forcing meto try on and even buy a few clothes, which I obliged out of wanting to make her happy rather thanany particular interest I had in the garments myself. It ended up being an extremely pleasant day,for the most part, which felt like it ended too soon

I managed to get home with ample time to spare after dropping Myra off at home in a taxi. Helenwas extremely happy and relieved to see me return safely too. Though, in comparison, thehappiness she felt when my parents handed her the second cheque of the day obviously had agreater impact on her good mood. School resumed just as it always had over the weeks thatfollowed. I couldn't deny I felt a little empty inside, having lost something that used to be a largepart of my life. I continued to train every day, working harder using the techniques Cai had taughtme, but I noticed my skill improvement didn't increase as quickly as I'd hoped it would without him.There was nothing I could change about that and knew I would need to make do with what I had.Without consciously doing it, I realised I would still look out into the halls at school to see if I'd replacehis friendly face waving at me. And every time a part of me felt disappointed when there wasnothing there. Cai was gone, and I needed to accept that. And so, after another month ofprocrastinating, the day finally arrived.

The day I would be going to receive my Goddess mark confirmation, thereby earning the officialtitle of “Saintess’. From now on, nothing would be the same.