Chapter 110: Selene’s Spire

ALEX

The shadows overtake Ariel completely as she steps through the doorway.

I hear her cry out in surprise at something, and I rush to follow her.

But the spire spins around, and I ram right into the solid wall. I fall back, dazed.

Marius and Lucius catch me, one by each arm.

When I regain my balance, I rush toward the entrance a second time.

But now, the archway is closing before my eyes.

Before I can try again, it's just a wall of stone, indistinguishable from the rest of the structure.

I look at Marius.

“It’s okay,” he says. “The Moon Goddess has closed the door because this is Ariel’s journey alone.”

“She’ll be back,” Lucius says. “When she’s finished.”

“She’s lost her faith,” Marius says. “And she alone can find it again.”

I wish I could be there for Ariel. I want nothing more than to stand by my mate’s side every step of the way.

But I understand.

It’s Ariel’s healing gift that’s at stake. She’s the one who denounced the Moon Goddess. And it’s their relationship that needs to be repaired.

I know my mate is strong enough to face whatever challenges wait for her inside the Lighthouse of the Goddess.

“Would you like to pray with us?” Lucius says.

I’d rather be in the tower with Ariel, but at least praying is better than simply waiting.

“Thanks,” I say. “That would be helpful.”

“Hear us, Selene, Goddess of the Moon,” Lucius says, lifting up his hands. “We ask that you bless Ariel’s journey back into your favor.”

“We ask that you spare Amy’s life,” Marius says.

“And that you bring Ariel back to us safe,” I say.

ARIEL

I begin climbing the spiral staircase. I can’t imagine how long it will take me to reach the top.

Outside, the spire disappeared into the clouds. In here, the light is so bright that I can’t look directly up.

As I climb, though, the lighthouse seems to begin spinning again. Or, rather, the stairs begin to spin ~within~ the lighthouse, bringing me closer to the top.

All I have to do is hold onto the railing, which I do as though my life depends on it. I make my way toward Selene, riding on my escalator to Heaven.

The stairs slow down as I continue upward. As they do, the light intensifies until I’m almost blinded.

I close my eyes, but the light shines through as if it's the light of a projector, playing moments of my life on the backs of my eyelids...

I’m struck by images passing through my mind of the pain, sorrow, healing, and beauty I’ve experienced in my life.

I watch the memories play out as if I’m actually reliving them.

~Lying on the ground is an unconscious man, covered from head to toe in tattoos.~

~On his back is a huge tattoo of angel wings.~

~Under the light of the moon, he looks like just that…~

~A fallen angel.~

~I drop to my knees at the man’s side.~

~He has silver burns from shackles on his ankles and wrists.~

~He has injection marks all over his body.~

~Scars from uncontrollable shifting.~

~“He’s…he’s like me,” I murmur.~

~He’s an experiment.~

The image fades, and I see Marius as he is these days. He’s a loving mate, who never forgets who he is or where he came from.

Next, there’s Vivian.

~Vivian’s eyes light up as if remembering what I said to her before I shifted…~

~Follow my lead.~

~She nods, seeming to understand what I mean now.~

~In the past, she’s only ever shifted out of uncontrollable anger.~

~But now she’s going to do it on her own terms.~

~Come on, Vivian.~

~Shift!~

~I hear the familiar crackling and sprouting as she begins.~

~In a flash, her body is breaking open. She still has the body and clothes of a human, but her face and hands reconfigure into her half-shifted wolf.~

~My wolf nods at her approvingly.~

~Vivian is still standing on two feet, but I hear her sniffing the air as she walks.~

~She inhales deeply as if appreciating this form for the first time.~

~She’s connecting with her wolf.~

Vivian’s confident howl fills my mind as the image of her fades. It’s replaced by one of Natalia.

~We’re sitting together in our childhood home.~

~Tears fill Natalia’s eyes as she apologizes to me for everything that happened in the past.~

~“It wasn’t just you. You were just doing your best. It was Mom,” I say.~

~She pokes me in the ribs. “Seriously? Ariel, you’re way too nice. Like, yell at me, be mad, or something! I’ve been a bitch!”~

~Even though the room is coated in darkness, I finally feel like I’m seeing my sister.~

~“I…I just can’t hate someone who’s been through the same pain as me.”~

~Natalia looks like she’s trying to hold back tears, but she’s failing. I feel my own wet tears stream down my cheeks.~

~“But…we don’t need to be like that anymore, right?” she says. “We don’t have to be like Mom.”~

~“That shit stops with us.”~

~She starts to sob, even harder. “But I’ve already been a terrible mom to Xavi…”~

~I put my arms around her, pulling her close. “No, you’re a great mother, and I’ve always thought so.”~

~“Thank you,” she says, hugging me tighter.~

~At that moment, I realize I can’t remember another time Natalia and I have hugged.~

~She’s my sister.~

~How is that even possible?~

~All I can do is thank the Goddess that it’s happening now.~

~The tears leave me feeling lighter than I’ve felt in a long time, and I feel a great weight lifting off my chest.~

~Deep inside me, something is getting mended.~

~An unseen brokenness, fixed.~

I snap back to reality and realize that I’m almost at the top of the spire. I hear the Moon Goddess in my ear:

~“Do you see, my child, the good you’ve done?~

~“You’ve healed all those around you.”~

The stairs stop spinning just before I reach the top, and one more image enters my mind.

It’s Alex.

Emotion washes over me at the mere sight of him. I know it’s just an image, but I feel an overwhelming desire to reach out and touch him.

I’m reliving the moment Alex brought me back from the edge…

When I was stuck in my wolf form.

~I wake, lying on my side, feeling more rested than I have in ages. I feel Alex’s warm body asleep behind me. I look down as I feel his arm glide over my skin and pull me closer to him.~

~I’ve shifted back to human form, and I look around to see that Alex and I both lie naked next to one another.~

~I turn my body toward him, and he opens his eyes to meet mine.~

~“Hi,” he says with a smile.~

~“Hi,” I return.~

~He brings his hand up to my face and strokes my cheek with his fingers.~

~“Are you okay?” he says, bringing his face closer to mine.~

~“You brought me back,” I say before kissing him on the lips.~

~He pulls away after a moment and looks into my eyes again.~

~“Ariel,” he says, “I love you. I know I let you down, but if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”~

When the harsh light recedes, and my vision adjusts, I find that my cheeks are wet with tears.

The Moon Goddess speaks into my ear again, softly:

~“By healing the king, you healed the kingdom.~

~“My sister, Fate…~

~“She’s always been jealous of the attention you werewolves pay me.~

~“After all, she’s the one who gives most of you your mating bonds.~

~“In a fit of jealous rage, she destined the werewolf kingdom to fall.”~

I feel proud as the realization sets in. Alex was in mourning when I met him, and Lola swooped in to take advantage of his vulnerable state.

But I healed him. And I saved the kingdom from ruin.

“Is that why you gave me my healing gift?” I say. “You wanted me to become queen? You wanted me to save the kingdom from Lola and the rogues?”

~“Not exactly,”~ she says. ~“I didn’t know what would happen when I gave you the gift of healing. But I knew I wanted the future in the hands of a werewolf…~

~“I wanted you all to have a CHOICE in what happened.”~

The stairs start spinning upward again.

When I reach the very peak of the spire, they tilt and lock into place flush against the wall that surrounds me.

I’m now standing in a small domed room with a glass ceiling.

Above me hangs a giant, glowing moonstone.

It, too, is rotating in place—whirring as it increases its speed.

It’s moving so fast now that I can no longer make out its features—so fast that it looks like a white orb.

As I watch, a shaft of light shoots from its center, landing on my face like a moonbeam.

Involuntarily, I let out a howl. I’ve never done it in human form before; I didn’t even know I could.

The experience is almost indescribable, the feeling of wholeness that comes from being bathed in this light.

Warmth spreads through my body, and the aching hole I’ve been feeling since my disconnection from the Moon Goddess is filled by this beautiful moonlight.

A wave of understanding washes over me as I make the connection between my past and my present.

At one end of the spectrum, Curt is injecting my veins with wolfsbane. At the other, Alex is sinking his teeth into my neck to bond us together forever.

I couldn’t have one without the other.

Without my depth of suffering, I couldn’t experience that intensity of pleasure.

If I hadn’t needed to heal myself, I’d never have learned how to heal others.

~Selene was right: I needed to be broken to be rebuilt.~

I feel the Moon Goddess’s presence fill me up, and all I want to say this time is “thank you.”

“Selene,” I say. “Please show yourself.”

I look around me, but there’s nothing here besides the beam of moonlight.

“I was wrong,” I say. “I just want to thank you…for everything.”

I hear her voice again: ~“I acknowledge your gratitude, my child.”~

“I was wrong for doubting your intentions,” I say.

~“All is forgiven.~

~“Our bond is unbroken.”~

My mind snaps back to Amy. She’s the reason I’m here in the first place.

“Does that mean…you’ll restore my gift?” I say. “I can heal again?”

The Goddess’s voice is faint, but I hear it clearly: ~“No, my child.”~

The words cut through me like a dagger. ~What do I have to do to save Amy?~

“I know I was wrong,” I say. “But I’ll make things right—”

Within the enclosed room, a gust of wind seems to wrap around me as the Moon Goddess cuts me off, speaking more firmly now.

~“You were not entirely wrong, Ariel.~

~“The gift of healing was a heavy burden to bear, especially for a mortal.~

~“You accused me of acting like my sister Fate…~

~“And I admit now that you were right.~

~“I always intended for werewolves to make their own choices.~

~“You shouldn’t be my pawn any more than you should be bound by the destiny my sister sets.~

~“I’m setting you free from the burden of your gift so that you may follow your own path more freely.”~

“But—”

The wind drops from the room, and I know that she’s gone.

The moonlight disappears, and darkness engulfs me as I step on the stairs. They tilt slightly, gently gliding me down toward the ground.

I’m glad that I’ve reconciled with Selene.

I feel whole again now that we’ve forgiven each other. I feel like myself.

I don’t want to live in a world where every deity has malicious intentions, and I’m relieved that I don’t.

But if coming to her most sacred temple and repairing my relationship with her hasn’t restored my gift, then I don’t think anything will.

I can’t give up on Amy, though. So there must be another way to avoid what the doctor says is inevitable.

Marius is outside waiting for me now, and I’m not going to give him bad news.

The staircase finally locks into place at the bottom of the tower, and I gladly place my feet on solid ground.

If the Moon Goddess won’t save Amy, then there’s only one option left…

~I have to force Fate’s hand…~