Second Chances

ARIEL

“It’s called the Lighthouse of the Goddess,” Marius says. “It points the way to the Moon Goddess, regardless of how lost you are.”

“But how’s it different from any other temple? Why would she accept me there, if she won’t acknowledge me here?”

“She made the Scripture Pack a promise when we built it for her. It’s her gift to our pack as a reward for being her most loyal followers.”

I wonder if what Marius is saying really applies to me. I don’t trust the Moon Goddess, and I know she can’t be happy with me either.

I look at Alex.

“Let’s go,” he says. “I’ll get Dom and Vivian to hold down the fort here.”

“We’ll stop by the palace and prepare for the trip.” I turn to Marius again. “You’ll guide us there?”

“Of course,” he says. “Amy’s my mate. I’ll do whatever I can.”

I nod curtly. I’m not confident this endeavor will be as successful as he seems to believe, but I’m not about to dash his hopes.

There’s a difference between a minor fault and renouncing the goddess who gave you your gift.

I’m not sure Selene will be able to forgive me for that.

NATALIA

I need to set things right. I ask Chuck to take a walk with me.

I wasn’t as open as I wanted to be yesterday.

Chuck holds the ornate palace door for me as we make our way outside.

For a man who’s more comfortable sleeping in his truck than in a proper bed, he seems to be adapting easily to life in the palace.

He bows as I pass him, and I can’t help but let out a giggle.

Then, as we begin meandering down the gravel path, I become serious again. I intend to be honest.

~More honest.~

“About what I told you yesterday…,” I say.

“Yeah, Moonbeam?”

“I just want to make clear. I’m ashamed I ever ended up with a man like Xavier.”

“Don’t regret your actions,” he says. “That would deny the lessons the Goddess was teaching you through your experiences.”

~But I do regret my actions. How can I not?~

“I didn’t expect you to wait for me like I was waiting for you,” he says. “It’s just that since I first scented you, I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.”

~Oh, Goddess…~

“Besides, you didn’t know where your destined mate was, or have any way of knowing what type of man Xavier would turn out to be.”

But I knew both of those things.

To be fair, I only knew that Xavier had a cruel streak—I had no idea he’d end up a monster. But still, I was so obsessed with his status that I looked past every red flag.

Chuck stops me from taking another step and looks straight into my eyes. “I can tell you’re ruminating on the past. But the past is just that—things that have ~passed~…

“Whatever’s back there, we can start our future together.”

My heart warms to hear him say this. Maybe he’s right.

~I don’t need to tell him. We can start fresh now.~

ARIEL

Alpha Lucius greets us when we pull into the Scripture Pack. He stands as if he’s been anticipating the exact moment of our arrival.

This religious pack of werewolves—once so strange and distant to the rest of us—has rapidly become one of my favorite groups of people.

And today, their piety might just deliver Amy from peril.

“Brother,” Lucius says, wrapping his tattooed arms around Marius. “I’m so sorry the Goddess has given you this trial.”

“Thanks, Lucius,” Marius says. “Let’s pray it ends soon.”

I don’t like the sound of that.

The brothers might find it comforting, but I can’t help but remember that, if I fail here, as I’ve already failed so many times recently… This trial ~could~ come to an end, but not the way we want.

~There’s no time to waste on small talk.~

“Could you take me to the temple?” I say to no one in particular.

Lucius looks at Marius. “Okay if I accompany you?”

Marius nods. “Lead the way.”

Alex puts an arm around my shoulders, and we follow the two brothers through the town.

People stare at us—not because we are king and queen—but because we’re outsiders. I try not to stare at their beautiful tattoos.

I have ink dedicated to my squads, but none to the Moon Goddess.

~Maybe that says something about my priorities…~

Still, my squad wouldn’t have delivered me to the Hunters.

I shake the thought from my head. I’m supposed to be repenting.

My breath catches in my throat as I try to mentally prepare myself for what’s about to happen.

I’m nervous that the Moon Goddess won’t appear to me. But I’m also terrified of seeing her again if she does.

~She must be angry that I renounced her.~

~How will I convince her to restore my gift?~

Lucius and Marius take us down a dirt path, and through a dense grove, until we’ve completely left the town behind.

If Lucius weren’t stepping with such sure precision, I’d think we were lost.

Eventually, we find ourselves on a beach.

Before us ascends a cliff with a treacherous path winding its way from the sand to its craggy peak.

A seemingly endless white spire stands at the top of the slope, the sun setting behind it.

~The Lighthouse of the Goddess.~

We all take a deep breath before pushing on.

I had no idea the Scripture Pack had terrain like this.

Lucius leads the way up the path for well over an hour as Marius, Alex, and I follow, picking our way carefully up the steep rocks.

Though it’s not an easy climb up to the peak, we inch forward. I keep my eyes on the spire, which only seems to grow taller as we get closer.

As we get closer, and I strain my eyes, I still can’t see the top of it—it disappears into the clouds above.

~No wonder Selene favors them…~

How the Scripture Pack even managed to get this much marble up here beats me.

As we reach the summit and approach the spire on level ground now, Marius finally speaks:

“This is where she’ll restore your gift. You’ll be able to save Amy.”

I nod, unsure of what to say.

As we approach the temple, it looks much the same as it did from a distance: a smooth white marble spire reaching into the clouds.

There are no windows that I can make out. And a comparatively small archway at its base serves as the entrance.

I can’t imagine what’s inside.

Whoever designed this piece of architecture clearly had only one goal in mind—to reach the heavens brick by brick.

Lucius and Marius pause at the doorway. They look at each other briefly, then turn toward Alex and me.

“You need to go in alone, Ariel,” Marius says. “You’re the one with the connection to repair.”

“I’ll go with her,” Alex says.

I turn to him. “No, Marius is right… I’m the one who needs to see her.”

Alex squeezes my hand, then lets it go.

I step forward so that I’m standing directly in front of the entrance. I can see only pitch black.

“We’re right behind you,” Alex says.

I step over the threshold, and I’m swallowed by the darkness. I can’t see anything in front of me. I turn back to meet Alex’s eyes, but I can’t see him either.

The others were right behind me, but now…

The ground beneath me has begun to shake.

I fling my arms forward in search of something to hold on to and find myself grasping something cold and smooth that feels like a railing.

The entire staircase seems to be spinning now.

I see the doorway through which I just entered flash continuously before my eyes. But with the speed of the spiral’s movement, no one can enter, and no one can exit.

When the door closes into a wall, the tower floods with soft white light, like that of the moon on a starless night.

As the stairs twist toward the top, I realize that my only way out of here is going to be through a direct confrontation with Selene.

~The only way to go is up…~