“The fact that you are denying it is preposterous!” I snap back, unfazed by their status. “They saved you, brought you all back from the dead. They suffered, bled, and died for you! It’s time you did something back.”
My words ring around the empty hall that they refused to fill, too scared I might start yet another outcry of support for our wayward ex-gods.
The High Alpha leans forward, his eyes narrowing on me. His affinity is earth. The High Omega is of dreams, and the High Beta is of hearth. They are idiots. All three of them. I’ve already had strong words with the panel that voted them in. They have assured me they won’t repeat their mistake.
“I want you to alter their paths and give them lives together to be happy. That is not wrong. It’s not hard; it is an easy fix and something they have more than earned. What gives you the right to deny them?” I shout.
The hall echoes with my fury, the gold in the hall shines, and I see my reflection, but in the images, I see her taking her first step, crawling, learning to talk, her excitement, the blossom from child to young omega. She was perfection, and for a while, she was mine.
I can’t stop loving her anymore than I could stop breathing. I am her mother, and I always will be. She will always be a part of me, and I will always be a part of her.
I won’t give up on her. I will never stop fighting.
They sneer at me, and my temper grows sharper, more furious because they weren’t the only ones who suffered, and I am changed by what happened. By losing her and what I know had to happen to her for this whole thing to unfold.
Do they think it was easy? Could they do the same? Send their children into torture and agony to save the world? I narrow my eyes and force myself to control my breathing.
“We’re not changing anything—”
The doors to the Hall of Petitions slam open, and I turn, watching the small army storm into the space behind me.
They came.
Emotion crashes through me so strong that I have trouble holding it back. I can’t believe they came.
All of them.
Familiar faces, people who know, who lived it beside me.
“How dare you interrupt us?” The High Omega snaps.
Flames lick out into the air, and the Beta Goddess of Fire who stands beside me snarls. “How dare you treat them like that? My brother is down there!”
“They are human!”
“They are gods in human bodies. They saved you!” the redheaded beta roars. “Those gods, they brought us all back. Gods can’t die, but if we fall the way we did, only gods could bring us back. My brother’s death brought us back, and the Alpha of the Hunt lifted us and restored us here. How dare you, how dare you leave them!” she hisses.
“The Earth is improving, their civilizations are working things out. Things are changing for the better. It’s peaceful. They have wolves; they are accepting each other and rebuilding. What need do they have to be there? They are weapons.”
“THEY ARE GODS!” A handful of us roar at the same time.
I clench my hands into fists, my rage cresting like a wave inside me. I fight to swallow it down and try to speak calmly because they are losing patience.
“Give them mercy; give them something to live for. Stop feeding them pain and suffering!” I plead.
A goddess with long, inky black hair, dark skin, and eyes with starlight in them steps past me, the picture of decorum and peace.
“My name is Taryn—well, no, it’s not. It was when I was down there. Hmm, I think not. Let me tell you about myself; maybe you will understand. I fell in love with a human, and I gave birth to two children. To be fair, I didn’t know I was a god at the time; I thought I was just human.” Her voice catches, but she stands up tall. “It was another life, so why do I still feel like it’s happening now? Why is the love still just as strong? We carry through our lives what we experience. Let them know peace, happiness, and love. They have earned it.”
The beta presses her lips together and shakes her head. My hope crashes. I look down at the shiny marble floor, wondering if anyone has ever had to fight this hard before.
“The Luna Alpha—” the beta begins.
“SAVED US ALL!”
I turn and find Marshall and Kendric standing side by side. Brothers in arms, best friends, lovers, and two alphas who sacrificed so much to give us a chance to win. Kendric spares me a long look.
I wonder, do they hate me for the pain I put them through? For all the deaths they suffered through? Life after life, I led them in finding tasks and dying. I don’t know if I forgive myself.
