A Gift from the Goddess by Dawn Rosewood

Chapter Thirty One 

Chapter Thirty-One I stood outside the Elder’s housing estate, staring up at the large black iron gates in front of m e. They were intricate yet terrifying at the same time, but I knew what laid behind them would be even more nerve-wracking.

The doorman saw me and recognised who I was immediately, opening the gates without needing to identify myself or even speak. I entered quietly, heading towards the fate I knew would be waiting for me just inside the lavishly large building. The Elders were a group hand-selected and were only seven in total. A majority vote of both ranked and existing Elders was required to initiate any new members into the council and the process was quite strict. They all had to be over a certain age and bring some sort of credibility or merit to contribute to the betterment of the pack’s future. The only exception to this rigorous selection process was the retired ranked members who were almost always guaranteed a position if one was available… and if they were able to live to the minimum age requirement.

I stepped inside and couldn’t help but gasp a little at how extravagant the interior was. A better description for this place would have been a mansion, not a house. Everywhere I could see was filled with expensive furniture and decorations. I’d never had a reason to come here in the past and so seeing it for the first time was startling. I had no idea they were living in such luxury. “Ariadne,” a deep voice called beside me. I turned my head and saw that Elder Luke was waiting for me, standing by the door for when I would arrive.

In comparison to the other Elders, Elder Luke was by far the youngest member with dark greying hair and light stubble across his jaw; he was never one for keeping a tidy appearance. His intellect had been a shoo-in for the council position, one which had become available not long after his minimum age requirement had been met.

He was always considered a pioneer for innovation and a change in how we looked at things. I n fact, he was one of the first Elders to ever recommend me to join the table for strategy meetings. However, this ended up becoming one of the things the other Elders disliked about him. His modern approach to issues sometimes interfered with the more traditional ideas of the older members.

I bowed my head to show my respect. “Hello, Elder Luke,” I greeted.

In this instance, Elder Luke held a status higher than my own now I was no longer a Luna. But I knew inside that I would have shown him the correct revere he deserved regardless. I always admired his ability to logically find solutions, even before I’d become Luna. He had been one o f the people I had studied the work of in-depth during my years of strategy research. Ik that a part of who I was today was owed to him.

When I had started my journey of becoming the pack’s leading strategist, Elder Luke had actually been the one who had previously held the title. I always wondered if inside he was mildly bitter about it, but he never indicated he felt that like that in the slightest. I respected

him deeply though. If there was one person in the past who could have been considered close t o being my equal on this subject, it was him.

and motioned for me to follow him down a

fancy as the last. I found that, of the rooms which had their doors open, all of the spaces were taken up for personal offices and meeting rooms. It made m e wonder just how big the place was if we hadn’t even seen the personal living quarters

others, there were minimal personal items and more of a focus on

read every academic book in the pack’s library collection, but my eyes caught titles in here that I’d never seen before. It had been so long since I’d

to our kind

do the same, but I felt h e probably wouldn’t go around telling his secrets to a

“Please take a seat.”

would have been arranged so that Elder Luke would be able to inspect my mark

little. I hadn’t expected him to

call me Aria. I’m

with this confirmation today.” His dark eyes had been watching me carefully since we’d entered the office, always holding this glint of careful questioning in them. I knew he would be studying me closely to figure out who I was and why I had this mark, because I would have been doing the same thing in his position. I had already prepared myself to be examined like a test subject for this process. After all, no one had held this mark for over a

“That’s correct,” I replied.

You don’t have to answer if you do not wish t o though.

took several moments to think about how best to reply. ‘Because you proved in my past lifet o not be an asshole like most of the others’? ‘Because you’re the only one who didn’t try to kill me’? I didn’t end up saying any of those options, of course. “Ah… I heard you are a logical thinker like myself. I trust you to be unbiased during our procedure today.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I wasn’t aware that I had a reputation already given I’ve only been an Elder for a year now.” I silently cursed in my head. I’d forgotten to calculate in that I wasn’t supposed to know anything about him yet. The cases he worked on wouldn’t be published for at least

handling the Jade Moon pack predicament.” I tensed up immediately. I’d been so focused during that meeting on trying to help that I’d forgotten that the person who would think of the strategy one day was in that very room. “We seem to think very similarly. I wanted to praise you for your outstanding advice and maturity shown.” I exhaled quietly in relief. Of course, I had nothing to worry about. There was no way he could have known it was originally his idea… because he, himself, hadn’t even thought of it yet. I did feel a bit guilty though. In a roundabout way, I had taken credit for something he had achieved. “I’m not sure if anyone told you,” he said, “but you ended up being correct about it all. It was, i n fact, the Jade Moon pack, and the wolf in custody had been a ranked member. Alpha Tytus ended up carrying out your plan exactly as you had said. The entire negotiation with the other pack went smoothly and without a single casualty. If no one has thanked you yet, then let me b e the first to extend our thanks on behalf of the pack.” I realised then that I’d completely forgotten to follow up on what happened with the Jade Moon pack. There had been no reason for me to feel stressed or uncertain since I already knew it would work. Though, hearing now that it had been successful still gave me a sense of comfort. Everyone who had died previously during the Jade Moon debacle would still be alive right now. “But, I feel we’ve digressed enough… shall we begin with the confirmation?” I swallowed nervously and nodded my head. Elder Luke stood

worn a dress with a back zipper. He waited patiently as I brushed my hair to the side, unzipping the back of the dress just enough for him to see but not enough for me to feel completely exposed. I was thankful that