Chapter 229
Selene POV
The moon goddess stared at me for a few minutes and then shook her head
“I’m sorry, but I cannot!” she replied after a few minutes. “If Kragen finds out, he’ll try to save you. It’ll put him at risk,”.
“You said my death will be irreversible, right… he won’t stand a chance,” I cried. “Please… He needs to know that I choose this for myself. He needs to know at least that much; my death will break him and I know this. He’s that way
She shook her head again, giving me an apologetic smile “I’m sorry Selene but I cannot grant that wish. You can ask me for anything but that. I need to leave now
Without waiting for a reply from me she vanished. I remained there for a few minutes, unable to say a word or think. As I turned to climb down the mountain, I spotted Kurtis at the bottom of the hill staring at me. Trying to wipe off the worst of the tears, I came down mustering a smile as I walked towards him.
“It’s been ages, Kurtis,” I said with a bright smile “What brings you here you should be careful, Noah is in the pack now, I wouldn’t want you to run into any trouble with him,”.
“He was the one who invited me,” he said quietly, studying my face. “He’s going to reinstate me as Alpha and also has given Xavier his former position as Coalition leader. I am to assist him just as we planned originally,”.
“Oh, goddess!” I squealed with joy “That’s the best news ever, Kurtis. I’m so happy for you… are you happy?”
“I don’t know what to feel, Selene,” He chuckled sadly. “This was what I wanted all my life… the change I badly craved and now I have an opportunity to do it but I feel empty. Anyways, you were having a lot of conversation up there… who were you talking to or to what?”
“Oh, it was the m I trailed off in realization of what Kurtis had just said. If my guess was right, it meant he didn’t see me with the moon goddess. Was she only visible to me or did he come when she had gone? But after she left, I didn’t converse anymore.
“No!” I said instead with a smile “I was just reminiscing,”.
“Reminiscing about dying?” he questioned arching his brow. “I heard you talking to something, asking it to give you more time and that your death was irreversible. What the hell is going on, Selene? And I don’t need you to make excuses or lie… I heard everything you said. Plus, I think it’s time you open up a bit more. I am your friend and I’m tired of being kept in the dark, so speak,”.
“Relax, Kurtis,” I jabbed at him playfully, “I told you I was reminiscing. You know, Noah is sick and I come up every day to just talk, hoping that some random gods or the moon goddess herself would help me out and give him back his health. Maybe that’s what you heard… it’s always a pretty intense discussion, I promise you. Anyway, I promised to play with the girls today. I should get going,”.
I slapped him heartily on his shoulders and made to pass when he drew me backwards, tightening his grip on my wrist. “I know you wouldn’t want to talk about it but either way, you can either choose and go and tell Noah about what I heard you saying or you could tell me and I’ll know whether it’s a cause of concern or not,”.
I stared at him trying to hold back the laughter that bubbled inside me. As if he would be any better than Noah. If I told Kurtis that I was going to die instead of Noah, he would never allow me to do that. More than anyone, I know Kurtis was a mini Kragen…he didn’t know how to let things go, especially if they were dear to him. He had a track record of doing things like that.
“Aside from the fact that I am your Luna… making idle threats? C’mon Kurtis… that’s so out of character. What’s wrong with you today?”.
“What’s wrong with me?” He scoffed “You’re trying to sacrifice yourself for your husband, Selene… Is that what you’re trying to do? To leave him with the kids and die off after everything that you’ve done to keep them? You even had to make friends with the king of the underworld and you want to throw it away for what? Momentary butterflies in your chest? Do you love Noah so much that you want to die for him?”
“How – How did you know that?” My eyes widened with trepidation.
“I was here long enough to listen to your little tete-a-tete. Although I didn’t see who you were talking with it’s none of my business. You better stop whatever it is that you’re planning. I don’t care how you want to do it but you’re not going through with anything. I’ll tell Xavier, I’ll tell Noah… I’ll tell everyone if I have to. That’s suicidal,”.
“Kurtis!” I sighed “I have to do this…you think I want to die off and leave my pup in the hands of Noah or the girls with Xavier and his vicious family… of course not but I have to. I must do it or else the cycle will never end. Who knows, I might even give birth to a child with the same fate. The only way to avoid it is to repatriate
“After several decades and centuries?” Kurtis fired “What has happened has happened… there’s nothing you or me or anyone can do to make up for it. The king was stupid, and so was everyone back then. Why must you be the one to pay?”
“Because it was my great-grandmother who did it,” Kurtis. “Carmen… the wife of King Adolphus, Luna of the first Werewolf pack… is my grandmother and Xavier well comes from a long lineage that can be traced back to Dimitra – Gaia’s daughter. Anyways, I don’t want to bore you with all the details but the bottom line is, I must do these things to make up for that hurt and end the cycle Updates are released by.net
“How sure are you?” Kurtis flared; his eyes were red “Because some stupid ghosts told you so? How can you know that your death will change anything? You cannot just jump to conclusions because you want to. You have to think all of these things through. Please, Selene… I beg you,”.
“The moon goddess!” I said after a while “She came to me herself and I don’t know why you cannot see her but this will not be our first meeting. I was asked to choose between my child – my unborn baby or myself and I’d rather he live… he has a lot ahead of him than me staying alive. This is the path I choose, Kurtis… I must see it to the end,”.
His lips trembled as he stared at me. I watched as a tear rolled down his cheek before he finally spoke. “It’s always about you, Selene… You always want to be the hero of some goddamn story, selfless giving your life. Are you a martyr? This child of yours, you haven’t met him, surely his death will not be as painful. It’s going to be easy; I assure you, Selene. You don’t have to do this…please. Think about us… your children, Noah, Xavier… Your death will unhinge everything… what will we do
He trailed off sobbing. My eyes glistened with tears as I stood there not knowing what to do. I didn’t know if I should console Kurtis.
After a moment, Kurtis came to me and grabbed my hands “Aren’t you afraid? What will happen next? Does Kragen even know about this?”
“He doesn’t and he shouldn’t know,” I said firmly. “I am scared shitless about what the future holds for my children and for all the people I call family when I am not here but I don’t want to be a burden to anyone in the long run. The punishment for leaving my partner with my fate is death. I’ve always been destined for death, Kurtis…I can no longer delay it. When I boarded that plane and left that day… I choose this path,”.
“Didn’t the moon goddess see how much you had to go through?” Kurtis yelled.
“There are natural laws that must be followed,” I was beginning to sound like the moon goddess “To give a life is to kill one and the world is unbalanced because of me. We can no longer keep tethering without knowing what will happen. Once my death happens, the world will go back to how it was before,”.
“And us?” Kurtis cried “What will happen to us? Will we magically forget you? Is that what you think? Your death, Selene… will tear us apart… it will break me, it will break everyone. Do you seriously want to leave behind damaged souls? Really?”
“I’m sorry, Kurtis,” I fought back the tears that bubbled to my throat “My mind is made up and I won’t be changing it,”.
He straightened… gave me one last look and turned on his heels, leaving me alone. As I watched him walk away, I knew exactly what I’d be asking the moon goddess for.
I would wish that everyone forgot…