Chapter 64

“The renovations have just been completed. It has nine rooms and a pool.” She shook with excitement as she showed us the house. From my reaction, she could tell I was impressed and we were very likely going to take it. It was everything we asked for.

The first house we saw was nice but it just wasn’t big enough for what I wanted. It was in a gated community with similar-looking houses. I frowned the minute we drove past the gates. Everything went to shit when Valens found an unassuming spot. He poked at it a bit and uncovered rotten wood. The caretaker looked stunned, ashamed and terrified all at once when we left.

“The renovators added a nice movie theatre, a recreation room and even an indoor jacuzzi. It’s brilliant, I tell you.” The agent showing us the place couldn’t stop gushing.

“Do you like it?” Valens asked me.

I looked around the place. Truly, it was magnificent. The place was large and stunning with enough land surrounding it. We’d have our private woods, rather than the public woods behind the pack house and the nonsense the gated community had shown us.

“It’s beautiful,” I said and the agent beamed at me.

“You have fine taste, my dear Luna,” the woman said. She turned to Valens. “How would you like to pay? I have the paperwork here with me.” And indeed she did.

“Are we – are we buying it already?” I asked, looking from the woman to Valens.

“Do you have any reservations?” Valens asked while the agent’s face fell.

“Security here is top notch. The gates cannot be accessed –“

I didn’t have anything against the house particularly. I was just surprised one could buy a house just like that.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Valens glared at the woman who had shifted back into sales mood, highlighting everything we would gain from buying the house. Of course, she wouldn’t mention the downsides. It would take hours to clean the freaking place. I wanted a big house but he was getting a ginormous one! “If you don’t like it, there are still two others we can look at.”

There wasn’t anything I wanted that I couldn’t find in this house. Really, all I wanted was space and it had an abundance of it, both outside and inside.

“It’s fine.” I shrugged.

“You know what? We must have a look at the other house first,” he said to me. To the agent, he said, “I will have my accountant and attorney contact you if we decide to buy it. You can send the deed to my office then.” And so we were off again.

The next two houses were actually great. They were definitely not as big as the other but they came close. Unfortunately, they were on the outskirts of the pack so we were back to the second house.

“We should grab a late lunch. It’s almost four and you haven’t eaten since breakfast,” Valens said, breaking the silence in the car.

I hadn’t? I didn’t notice. Sometime during the hours of house hunting, I’d drifted to my own world. I completely ignored what was going on around me. It led Valens to the conclusion that one of the house agents had offended me.

“We are close to the oracle, aren’t we?” I said rather than reply to him.

“Yes.” His eyes darted to me before going back to the road. “Are you upset that we will not be able to move today as I promised?” He asked, his eyes fixed ahead.

I did not actually expect we would get a house so soon. I knew when he promised yesterday that we would move into a new house today that he would be putting a lot of people under duress and we still would not be able to make it.

“I want to see the oracle,” I said instead.

If there was one thing I’d lost faith in over the years, it was the Moon Goddess. It was blasphemous to even have such a thought but I couldn’t help it. She’d failed me repeatedly over the years. Life continued to worsen for me but she never intervened no matter how much I prayed.

I used to pray a lot as a child because my mother encouraged it but the habit slowly faded away as the tears rolled by. I didn’t have enough time to sleep and the more chores piled on my plate, the less I found myself praying. When I first noticed myself drifting away from her, I’d been ashamed of myself. I saw it as the reason she’d abandoned me but it turned out I just wasn’t important to her.

“Do you have a request?” Valens asked.

“Why does it matter? If you’re tired of driving me, say so. I can easily find my way from here.” I snapped.

“I never said I was tired,” he answered, then he sighed. “You have become difficult.” I ignored him. What was I even supposed to say to that?

I wasn’t difficult. I was just having a hard time holding a conversation with him when he reminded me too much of that I’d lost. Sometimes I wanted to be grateful for all he did to help me these days but most times I reminded myself that he was only trying to clear his conscience.

“Maybe I have always been difficult but you never noticed because you only wanted to see me as an unfaithful mate.” I rolled my eyes, looking out the window.

“No, you are being difficult to hurt me like I hurt you. Is that it?” Was this payback?

“You don’t like people arguing with you so I’m just going to keep my mouth shut.” I leaned back into my seat and blocked off his words.

He said something but I didn’t hear him because I wasn’t listening. I’d been pulled back into my mind, sifting through all that had happened within the last week. I imagined how things would have been but I soon got tired and slept off while he drove.

He tapped me awake while I slept. The minute I opened my eyes, a violent fear seized me. My seatbelt wasn’t on me and for a second, I felt myself falling out of the car as it flipped. My mouth opened in a scream that lodged in my throat.

“You are fine. I am here.” I felt a hand brushing my hair and another rubbing my th!ghs.

“Why did you take off my seatbelt!” I choked out when I came back to the present.

“We’ve arrived.” I looked around and noticed we’d parked.

I got out of the car and closed the door behind me with hands that quivered.

“Doctor Conrad recommended a therapist. We should see him tomorrow.” I paid him no mind as I matched into the goddess’ shrine.

There were a few people around but I walked past them and into the oracle’s inner room. I met her sitting stiff as a board behind a desk, her eyes closed. Once I walked in, she opened them and her white eyes pierced me, seeming to see into my soul.

“Aysel. The goddess will speak to you directly today.”