A Gift from the Goddess novel Chapter 111

This chapter follows a young Elder Luke (Luke Hastings) 30/40 years prior to the main story. It was a very different time when things were not so accepting. This POV shows the beginning of how Elder Luke became the 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 I needed to reshelve today. Several more than the day before, even more than the day before that. It meant I would need to work late today in order to finish this in time. At least I had the entire day to get through it.

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

Not to say I didn’t enjoy my work. On the contrary, I immensely loved what I did for a living. But I 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, making me turn around.

I was surprised to hear someone had followed me all the way to the very back, however, I quickly realised why.

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

“I was hoping you could help me for 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.

I raised an eyebrow questioningly as I came to stand directly in front of him. “...Looking for a particular book, perhaps?”

“No, not quite...,” he replied, looking down at me.

“Then how can I be of service today, sir? What exactly were you looking for?”

His hands then came up 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 came down to meet mine.

Immediately, I was enveloped by him as we drew closer together, my senses overridden by his touch… his scent… his taste. It was only once I found myself pressed up against one of the shelves that I realised we were at my place of work… not our house.

A deep chuckle escaped me as I pulled away, smiling up at the man. At my mate.

“What are you doing here, Xavier?” I asked quietly. I was conscious of not being too loud so we 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.

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

“It’s not as though I don’t appreciate your presence, it’s just that I know you are meant to be at 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 came to 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?” I 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, I can feel it. Maybe today will be the day they recognise that.”

But I 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, I promise. Maybe in a few years, and after I 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 making me want to melt into his arms but I 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 same promise.”

“Well… I 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.”

I 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 I sighed in response, rubbing my face with my hand.

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

I 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 I loved about him too. His ability to have hope and see the good in people was one of the things that made me fall 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 is to me, Luke. I’m sorry that I can’t… That we can’t… Well, some people 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. I 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 through me once more. However, this time, I 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. I didn’t know how long it would be until I saw him again, his out of town pack business sometimes taking an uncertain amount of time. There was one thing I did know for sure though, and that was that it would certainly be a lot quieter around the house for a little while.

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

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

“Apologies, ladies,” I said, politely approaching them. “We’re closing up now but we’ll be open again tomorrow morni...—.”

However, it was then that I 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?” I asked, worried if someone had accidentally gotten hurt on the premises.

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. I 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?” I 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 some of our warriors died. Cindy’s mate being one of them. Someone from their unit came and 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…,” I said, flustered. I was struggling to keep composure even though the anxiety was starting to constrict around my chest, almost as if it were suffocating me.

I shook my head and tried again. “...Do we… Do you know who was hurt?”