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Looking at the arch once more, I realise that this is more than just an arch, and it’s going to take more than telling a truth to pass. The truth can be ugly, and in some cases deadly. This is what the queen planned for me. What will it reveal about me? This is what I’m expected to sacrifice for the greater good—the possibility that whatever I’ll see in the archway is going to destroy my mind. If I don’t do this, I’ll fail the challenge, and my mates might get hurt in the process. There isn’t much choice, but even if there was, I would still choose to risk myself if it meant I could save my guys.
“My mates need me, and I have nothing to hide,” I insist, meeting the keeper’s dark eyes. He stares back and simply nods, stepping aside for me to pass.
The creatures behind me manage to break past Star, racing towards me with their thorny claws extended. Taking a deep breath, I step over the threshold of the archway.
Time stands still as everything around me freezes. It seems like nothing is happening, but then I feel it, like a presence at the edges of my consciousness. I start to fight it, to push it away, but nothing seems to help. The more I struggle, the more it probes. It pulls at everything I am, poking and prodding, showing all of my faults and failures. Every bad judgement call and mistake is played out in my mind. It wants to expose my darkness, to parade it in front of me and make me out to be someone who is hiding the worst parts of myself, but I already know about the dark being living inside me. I accepted that I’m different and carry darkness within me a long time ago. I told the truth to the keeper, I have nothing to hide. I’ve never tried to pretend to be anything I’m not. When it comes down to it, I’m a frightened little girl who feels inadequate because she is neither fully werewolf nor witch, and doesn’t truly belong to either. The darkness inside me speaks to me more than I would like, and sometimes, I think about giving myself over to it. Even now, it’s trying to grow within me and take control, whispering to me that I should just give in, and it will protect me.
Be strong, little wolf,the goddess whispers in my mind.Remember all of your strengths. You are exactly what you are supposed to be.
I remember Ivar’s words from earlier. Trust in my ability, and trust in my goddess. He must have known what I was going to experience with the archway and gave me the way through it. The goddess is right. She created me as I am, and I’m only a mortal who makes mistakes.
Pushing all of my love and trust for the goddess towards the darkness that seeks to take over me now, I accept my faults and flaws. That love grows until it’s like a ball of starlight inside me, the dark thoughts and feelings cowering away from the strength of it.
The presence in the arch changes then, feeling less aggressive, its tendrils caressing my mind rather than holding it captive. I get the impression that it’s… pleased with me, and I’ve passed its test. I wait for it to release me, and my whole body seems to tingle as I feel the goddess settling over me again.
My eyes open, but as I look around, I see that I’m no longer in the maze. At least my mind is no longer there. I’m in a vision, or perhaps it’s a memory. Either way, I’m watching from a distance, as though it’s a movie playing out before me rather than it happening to me.
A woman that I now know as my mother walks through a heavily wooded forest, a hand on her very pregnant belly. Several feet behind her is a tall male who gives off very strong werewolf vibes. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was an alpha. It hits me that this is probably my father, and the unborn baby is most likely me. His dark, almost black hair is kept short, his tanned skin muscled and covered in tattoos. He seems intimidating, but I realise that he’s keeping an eye on my mother, the softness in his expression showing a love that can’t be faked.
She glances over her shoulder at him, smiling once, her hair blowing around her face as a breeze catches it. My heart thuds painfully in my chest at seeing the connection between them, but it quickly fades as a strange feeling fills the woods and my mother looks around, her eyes bright with excitement.
A beam of moonlight shines on a small clearing just ahead, a figure beginning to appear in it. She’s obviously female, her silhouette curved and voluptuous, but I’m unable to make out her features as she’s shining too brightly. The sense of familiarity washes over me, and realisation hits me like a physical blow—this is the goddess.
My mother tries to dip into a curtsy, but her large belly makes it difficult, and she wobbles on the spot until a glowing hand rests on her arm.
“You know that’s not necessary,” the goddess says, causing chills to rush over me. I’ve never seen her in physical form before, and although I can’t see her features, I get the feeling that she’s smiling.
My mother chuckles, her voice musical, and she beams up at the glowing figure. “I know, but it’s just polite. You are a goddess, after all.”
“No, we are family.” She places a glowing hand on my mother’s cheek, and the goddess’s glow seems to dim. I swear I can see her soft, kind expression.
I didn’t think it was possible for my eyes to open any wider, but I was wrong. She called my mother family. Did she mean literally? No, there’s no way my mother is related to the goddess.
“Are you sure I have to die?”
The question makes my blood run cold. My mother knows her fate then, and it’s the crack in her voice that really hits me. I’ve never known this woman, and I didn’t know that she died until recently. Because of this, my feelings towards her have always been clinical, but between the vision that I saw with the queen, and now this… From the way she cradles her bump, I can see how much she cares about her unborn baby. This stirs uncomfortable feelings in my chest, along with grief for a woman I never knew.
“I’m sorry, I truly am, but even I can’t save you from that fate.” The goddess’s hand drops, and the grief in her voice brings tears to my eyes. Turning, she begins slowly walking through the clearing, knowing that my mother will follow. “You’re sure you want to give her up? You could spend your short time together.”
From the glances at her protruding belly, I realise they are discussing what will happen to me after my birth. My heart pounds in my chest, and my breath catches in my throat. Me, they are talking about giving me up.
“No, she would find us. I need to keep her as far away from my daughter as possible.”
“You know her life is going to be hard, but I will shield her for as long as I can.”
I’m sure she’s talking about trying to keep me far from the queen. The goddess’s words also make sense. I always wondered why I had a closer relationship with the goddess than anyone else I knew. None of my pack talked with the goddess, and they spoke of her more like some distant, abstract figure rather than a living, breathing goddess who watched over us.
“Why did it have to be me?” she asks, her voice broken. “Why my baby?”
The goddess is quiet for a moment, her steps slow as she looks ahead. “When my sister sacrificed herself, she blessed the truest family. Your family. You have the blood of a goddess in you. We’ve been waiting centuries for the one who was promised.”
“You’re sure it’s her?” She already knows the answer, I can see it in her eyes, but she’s desperate to hear something different.
Stopping, the goddess turns to my mother. “Yes, I’m sorry.”
Hanging her head, she nods, her pain visible in her defeated posture. In the background, I see my father stalking over, his expression thunderous, but she doesn’t seem to notice. My mother tilts her head up towards the goddess, her cheeks glistening with tears, one hand lovingly cradling her belly. “Look after her. Let her know she isn’t alone.” Her plea breaks my heart, my throat stinging as I hold back my own tears.
Reaching out, the goddess pulls my mother against her glowing chest, holding her tightly as the female cries. “That is something I can promise.”
Thrown out of the memory, I land on my knees, back in reality and on the other side of the arch with the goddess’s broken words ringing in my ears. Tears roll down my face, but I don’t have time for that, because I hear my name being called out. I have to focus on the present, not memories of the past that I can do nothing to change. My guys need me.
Part of me might have shattered when I went through that archway and saw that memory, but it also gave me something I didn’t know I was missing. Pushing up, I get to my feet and take a deep, shuddering breath, ready to face whatever the minotaur has to throw at me. I may not know how to fight a creature like that nor have complete control over my magic, but determination runs through my veins, and I know I can do this. I am part goddess, after all.
The End
