The Golden Goddess

Fractured Soul

Rafandra

My fists clenched at my sides as I paced the carpeted landing of the castle floor. It stank of vampires here and it put me even more on edge. I battled with my natural urge to flee this scene as fast as possible before I stormed back inside that room to do more permanent damage to my brother. But I had to follow the ingrained expectations as a loyal warrior to stay and ensure he followed through with his mission.

“I deserved it,” I heard Kafele grumble through the door. “That was pretty tame for Rafe. I am sure he has a lot more fury to release than that and he has every right to.”

‘Yes we do!’ Zaven growled menacingly in my mind as I gripped my hands on the wooden bannister and lowered my head between my arms.

Using every ounce of my control, I tapped into our mind-link abilities, which, as twins, allowed me to not only speak to Kafele but to see what he could through his eyes. I may not be able to face my brother right now, but I had to put our differences aside and make sure he followed through with what he was sent here to do.

‘Brother, I’m sorry. Let me explain,’ his voice entered my mind when he accepted my link.

‘No. Do what you were sent here to do. Tell them,’ I ordered with unrelenting fierceness in my tone.

I could see the Queen directly in his line of vision as he sat on the edge of the bed. Neve was next to him, touching his arm with affection which sent tingles across his skin. My nostrils flared when I felt them too. I couldn’t handle this for much longer.

‘Get to it!’ I ordered.

“I presume I have been out for a few days for Rafe to have come looking for me. Which can only mean that my pack is growing more desperate. My realm and our entire pack are under constant attacks by a powerful dark evil. The seers have informed my Alpha and Luna that our species will be wiped out and the realm will fall to the evil that lurks unless we find the Moon Goddess’ reincarnated original child and protector of our kind. Only if he fights alongside us do we have a chance of winning,” Kafele explained.

“I am sorry to hear that your pack is at war, but what exactly are you asking of me?” The Queen questioned, swishing her black hair over her shoulder as her magenta eyes scrutinised Kafele.

“The seers have said you can lead us to the wolf we seek. That he was reborn in this realm.”

“I would love nothing more than to help your pack, but I do not know of any wolf that is said to be the reincarnation of one of the Goddess’ original children. Do you know the wolf’s name?”

“Yes. His name is Lorcan Romano Black.”

By the look of pure shock on her face, the Queen knew exactly who that was.

“What?” Neve shouted by his side as he turned to look at her. My grip tightened on the wooden frame when I was forced to look upon her beauty through his eyes once more. “Lorcan? It can’t be?”

“You know him?” Kafele asked.

“You must be mistaken,” the Queen suddenly jumped in with a harsh tone. “Lorcan is not the wolf you seek. He is not the reincarnation of the Moon Goddess’ first creation. He is my son.”

Kafele blinked up at her, momentarily stunned as my mind whirled.

‘Just because he is her son does not mean he is not the saviour. We need to see him. Get her to agree. This is your role. Don’t mess it up,’ I snapped before I cut the mind-link and left him to deal with this alone. Shoving off the railing, I stormed down the grand, gothic-style staircase aimlessly. I needed some fresh air. I needed to think.

“Kafele? You’re awake!” A loud voice boomed from behind me as I reached the front door of the castle. I froze, before turning slightly to take in a large man with long brown hair tied up in a bun and deep brown eyes. He was a wolf. An important one. I could tell from his stature. Before I could correct his mistake, he ate up the space between us in long strides and gripped my shoulders firmly before pulling me into his chest. My body tensed at the contact and odd gesture. He released me quickly with a chuckle. “Sorry. I have just realised you have no idea who I am. I’m Niko Chevilier, Beta of the Blood Moon pack and Neve’s dad.”

I blinked back at him wordlessly as he continued. “I am not normally the hugging type, but as her father, I just wanted to express how truly grateful I am to you for protecting her with your life. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to keep her safe and she told me about everything that you did in that horrific place to escape and get her to safety. If it wasn’t for you, I fear she wouldn’t be here today. So I am forever in your debt, Kafele.”

A flurry of emotions caused me to stumble back from him on my feet. I didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, I was proud of my brother for whatever he did to save Neve, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming pain this man’s acceptance caused me.

“You have the wrong man. Kafele is my twin brother. You should be thanking him,” I gritted through my teeth and turned to storm out of the castle door. The crisp air lashed at my skin and I welcomed it against the heat that was trapping my body in these stupid clothes.

“Wait!”

I paused, halfway down the concrete steps of the entrance as Neve’s father barrelled out into the sunshine after me. I wanted to shift into Zaven and sprint away into the emerald woods that stood invitingly before me, but I knew that was cowardly.

“I’m sorry to have confused you. I had no idea Kafele had an identical twin,” the man explained as I turned to face him again.

“It seems no one did,” I snapped, my rage getting the better of me.

“Well, apologies. But does this mean…” he paused, looking a little uncomfortable as his brown eyes darted across the castle grounds and he pushed a wayward strand of brown hair that had escaped his bun behind his ear. “...that you are also her mate? That my daughter is mated to you both?”

My jaw clenched as I dragged my gaze away from him and stared out into the distance.

“Technically, yes…” I replied curtly.

He whistled and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “That’s a lot for a father to take in. But… I always knew it would take a larger than life man to keep up with her. It makes sense for the Moon Goddess to give her two mates to try and handle her,” he chuckled, shaking his head. He opened his eyes, stepping towards me with his hand outstretched. I stared down at in confusion. “What’s your name, son?”

“Rafe?” Kafele’s voice came from behind us. My rigid shoulders rose as I clenched my fists at my sides when the anger and betrayal returned in rippling waves.

“Rafe?” Niko repeated, looking between us.

“Rafandra,” I clarified, but moved forwards a few steps and avoided his outstretched hand. I guessed he wanted me to hold it and accept his kindness, but how could I when I had no idea what I was even going to do about this situation? How I was even supposed to act. Things should have been different. But my brother stole that from me.

“And you must be Kafele?” Niko stepped towards my brother, who nodded his head with slight uncertainty. “I’m Niko. Neve’s dad. Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my daughter's life. I am so glad you found each other, even though it wasn’t in the best of situations. You are a part of this family now.”

I turned my back on them, unable to witness them embrace and Kafele smiling widely at his acceptance.

“You both are,” Niko added behind me, but I couldn’t turn around.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Niko. Do you mind if I have a moment with my brother alone? He has travelled far to find me and there are some things we need to discuss.”

“Of course,” Niko replied and I heard his footsteps fall away as he returned inside the castle.

I started to march forwards to the edge of the forest that had sweet-smelling blue flowers lining the entrance, beckoning me. Zaven was already on his last thread of patience, pacing in my mind and wanting to unleash hell on his brother, Zion.

Kafele’s cautious footsteps mimicked mine as he followed me at a safe distance into the dense woodland. As soon as we were far enough inside to no longer have any watchful eyes on us, I turned aggressively, lunging at him. My hand wrapped around his throat as I smashed his back against the trunk of a tree. His honeyed eyes, the exact colour of mine, stared at me with acceptance. He knew what was coming and it only made me more furious.

“How could you do this to me? To us!” I roared, smashing my forehead into his nose in an aggressive assault. Blood poured from it instantly but he didn’t fight back. He barely flinched, knowing he deserved far more than a broken nose. I released his neck and stormed away from him a few paces.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, hanging his head low to his chest in shame.

“I don’t want your apology, Kafele! What good will that do now? I want answers! I want you to explain to me why you would go to such lengths to betray me so heartlessly. What have I ever done to deserve this treatment from you? I have given you everything, Kafele. Everything! And this is how you repay me?”

“I know,” he groaned, wiping the blood from his nose and looking up into my eyes. “If I could go back in time, if I could change what happened, I would. But I can’t, Rafe. And I don’t expect you to forgive me or understand why I did it, but please just try to listen.”

“Oh, I am all ears!” I roared, smashing my fist into the rough, hard bark of a tree. “I can’t wait to hear how you possibly thought it was okay to mark her without me.”

He sighed, stepping forwards, but paused a few feet away. He was clever to keep his distance from me right now.

“When I entered this realm, I was captured on my way to the Blood Moon Pack by a dark warlock. I was taken to this sterile laboratory where they were experimenting on supernatural beings. They were using our blood. They held us in glass cells for days. Neve was in the cell opposite mine. The first time I laid eyes on her, Rafe, she was in a cage. I couldn’t touch her, talk to her, hold her. I couldn’t keep her safe. All I could do was stare at her. Pray to the Gods that I could make it out alive just so I would get to feel her in my arms. To hear the sound of her voice. I had to watch them attack her, drug her, carry her away for experimentation before my very eyes. Can you imagine? Can you imagine what that felt like? I was helpless to protect her,” his own voice was raw with emotion and pure anger as he relived that experience. I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. My own protectiveness, not only for my brother but for her, came to the surface.

“I got us out of there. I fought with everything I had, even though I couldn't shift into Zion because of the wolfsbane they pumped into my system and so did she. We managed to escape by leaping to our deaths into an ocean. The moment we were safe, I became overwhelmed with this feeling. The mate bond is strong but imagine what it was like to have stared at each other for days on end and not being able to touch or speak. It was utter torture. I couldn’t hold back and nor could she. We mated in the ocean.”

“You know I don’t care about that. Mating is different,” I snapped, glaring at him as he nodded.

“That feeling, that intensity and longing after what we had just been through, was only magnified when our wolves suddenly returned. We were hiding in a wood and I couldn’t stop him, Rafe. I never planned on marking her without you, I swear. But we were making love and her wolf returned. She marked me first. As soon as her jaws were locked on my skin, I wasn’t strong enough to hold Zion back. I- I didn’t want to…” he admitted.

My chest was rising and falling with breaths of fury as I looked at my brother for the first time in my life with disappointment. He should have been stronger. He should have been able to control himself. For me. Out of respect and love for me. But he was impulsive and selfish.

“I never would have done that to you, Kafele. Zaven never would have done that to Zion.”

“You don’t know that…” he started, shaking his head. “You don’t know what we have been through together. We didn’t know if we would live to see another day, Rafe, and I couldn’t die without making her mine. You don’t know what you would have done at that moment,” he argued, and my rage erupted.

“I do! I never would have betrayed you like that! You and Neve marked and mated each other with no regard for what this would mean for me. For what this would do to me!”

“No. She didn’t know about you. Don’t take this out on her. I never got a chance to tell her about you before I was nearly killed, so she had no idea!”

My fist connected with his face once again, causing him to stumble back into a tree. “You had a chance, Kafele. You had a choice. And you still marked her. You still linked your soul to hers and sealed your destiny without even thinking of me. And you did it without telling her the truth. I will never forgive you for this.”

“Rafandra… I know you are unequivocally devoted to the old beliefs, but who is to say that it is even true? That you can’t-”

I grabbed his throat again, unable to let him insult the Gods or our traditions. I knew his faith had been wavering over the last few months, but I had no idea he would be this disrespectful.

“Don’t you dare!” I roared at him and he shut his mouth, staring into my eyes. Suddenly, his own irises grew darker as he was mind-linked by someone.

“It’s Neve. The saviour is here,” he explained as I released him and stepped back. I shoved down the agony that consumed me, knowing they had that connection now and I did not. That I may never. I cricked my neck to the side, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. The realm needed us. There was no room for my pain or suffering when my people were being slaughtered.

“Do not speak to me unless it is about the mission. We will settle this when we return to the realm,” I growled as he nodded his head, knowing exactly what that meant. “And keep her away from me. I need to focus. And so do you. It’s time to meet our saviour.”