“Come now.” She chuckled. “This is observing?”
“Hecate, you know exactly what they have done.” The venom in Selene’s voice was thick.
The Three-faced Goddess, Hecate, nodded. “I do.”
“Will you stop me?” Selene questioned.
Hecate seemed to think about it for a second before she shook her head. “No sister. But you cannot be the one who does it. If you wish to reclaim his wolf, and sever the bond, then have your champion use her magic, or the spear, to follow your will.”
I felt the anger surge for a second before it calmed. “Will you help her?” The question seemed to catch Hecate off guard.
There was another pause before she pulled back her hood. Her shifting face was still beautiful. Maiden, Mother, Crone. One after the other. “If she allows me entry, I will guide her.”
“If who allows entry?” My father stepped off the wall.
Both goddesses turned to face my father. “You are no fool.” The words were curt, but kind. Selene smiled. “You are protective. But she is grown.” My father opened his mouth, but the goddess raised her hand. I felt as she turned inward. “Do you consent?”
I looked at my two wolves to see how they felt, but they just stared at me. Nix bumped my hand.The Moon Goddess is connected to us, and our consent is freely given to her. But Hecate is from your magic. You have to consent to her entry…not us.
Megan nodded.It’s your choice. But if you want an opinion. We have already let in Selene, so what’s another goddess living inside of us? As long as she means no harm to us, I don’t mind.
I nodded and then turned back to the waiting Goddess.I consent,She has blessed me,and if this is something I have to do to protect our realm and give you justice. Then so be it.
“Good girl.” Selene smiled, then she pulled back. One moment she was inside of me, and then next she was standing next to Hecate. She shook her hair out and took a deep breath before stepping in front of Theo. “I condemn you, Theo Bariso, to an eternity of rebirth without your other half. Your wolf’s spirit will be cleaved away from you. He will be judged separately, and ifI find he was complicit in your decisions, then his soul will be reabsorbed.”
Theo searched her face. “What does that even mean?”
“It means,” she paused. “That your soul, throughout every lifetime after this, will be unfulfilled. You will spend eternity feeling something missing. You will never be content, never be truly happy, and you will never know the feeling of true love.” Theo choked. “Your wolf will be judged by me when we return to my realm, and if I feel like his soul was tainted by your wretchedness, I will reabsorb his soul. He will never live again, never to roam this world again. The power I will use to create a new soul, so that the spark isn’t wasted. But who he is, who he has been for the seven lifetimes he has already lived, will be gone.”
My mouth dropped open. “Our wolves have lived before?”
The Moon Goddess turned to me with a smile. “Of course.” She pointed to me, Rowan, my father and mother. “Where do you think mate bonds come from? I don’t decide every lifetime. Your wolves are with who they were meant to be with. Erubus and Nix have been with each other for over seventy lifetimes. Same with your parents’ wolves.”
“What about Megan and Kurt?” I questioned.
She sighed. “A relatively new pairing. But yes.” She looked down at Theo. “You reap what you sow.”
Hecate walked over to me. “What is your decision?”
“I consent.”
“Do you understand what that means, little one?” Her face shifted to the Mother’s face. The love and care I saw staring back at me comforted me.
“I do.” I nodded once and then closed my eyes, waiting for her to enter like the Moon Goddess does. I took a deep breath in, but instead of air, I was met with…nothing. My eyes flew open, and I realized I was choking on green pulsing smoke.
Nix jumped to her feet.What the fuck is that?
Chapter Forty-Five
The green smoke curled around me, it felt heavy and hot as it trickled down my throat like a living thing. There was movement in it, but my entire vision was filled with the smoke. I felt tears spring to my eyes as I choked. I felt my body trying to repel the foreign entity as it tried to get in.
Relax.A youthful voice called to me, and I realized it was the Maiden’s voice.Your body is fighting my entry.
I closed my eyes. This was the Goddess.
Of course, it is. Why did you think it was anything else?She giggled, and I forced my body to relax.
I don’t know. The Moon Goddess just fills my body when she wants to take over.I tossed back.
