The Golden Goddess

Gratitude

Aurelia

“Please send a request to my father that I wish to attend today’s briefing,” I told a maiden, once she had dressed me in my lavish gown and placed a golden veil over my hair and face. The trim of crystals tangled in my eyeline, frustrating me beyond belief, but there was no point in arguing against wearing it. Especially if I wanted to leave the confines of my bedroom today.

She nodded, avoiding my eyes, and left the room abruptly. I strolled over to the large oval window and looked out over our land. The charcoal ruins of Trianstal still smoked tauntingly, poisoning the air with its promise of doom. There was once so much beauty in this realm, but slowly the hell fire was destroying it all. Not only was the land suffering but so were the people. Our spirits were low. Our hearts grow heavier by the day. And it was my job to be a beacon of hope. To lift their spirits, but the burden weighed heavily just like this restrictive veil.

So every day, I looked for small things to be grateful for during the darkest of times. Last night, I had another dream but the good kind, not the bad. A vision of the white Alabaster wolf with gold eyes and the moon goddess’ ancient symbol on its hip. I stood helplessly on a pile of bloodied bodies, many of the faces that would now haunt my consciousness from last night, as I called into the night for the majestic beast to hear my pleas. The trees in the distance ruffled and the wind whipped at my hair as I heard the mighty howl in answer. And then it appeared. Just as it always did before me. Our eyes locked and I smiled. It lowered its head in respect as I made my way towards its towering height. But just as I got close enough to reach out and touch the purest white fur I had ever seen, I woke with a start. No matter how much I craved to touch him, my dreams would never allow it.

My visions of this wolf started many years ago when I turned sixteen. The night I should have gained my own wolf. At first, I truly believed it was my wolf visiting me only through dreams, but I soon realised that the wolf was male. An Alpha. The voices in my head would whisper its secrets to me every so often. Alabaster wolf. Human realm. Reincarnated child of Selene. Lorcan. The first wolf created. Our Saviour.

I had kept the dreams to myself for many years, cherishing them as my own, but I soon realised that there must be a purpose to them. When the Shadows of the Cursed started to attack the peaceful wolf villages, my dreams of the white wolf became more frequent. So I informed my father. At first, he seemed resistant to the visions. My father was a proud man who believed he had the war under control. Our armies were strong; our warriors brave. We would defeat evil eventually. But as the years ticked by and with very few victories under our belt, I became more persistent in seeking out this saviour.

A knock on my door had me turning to see two guards enter and step aside for me to leave. Relief flooded through me that I was being granted the chance to sit in on the briefing from Trianstal and my day would be slightly more interesting than normal. I had longed to be a part of my father’s council since the war had started. It seemed only logical to include me when I had such a disturbing connection to our enemy. Protection and mystery were key to my value. I was to be called upon when needed. A face of hope and a reminder of prosperity in the darkness for the pack. But I was not born to merely sit upon a gold throne and be worshipped for my beauty or mystery like they wanted me to be. I knew I was meant for more.

I glided through the private hall that was used for meetings such as this. It was one of my favourite rooms in the palace as it was unlike any of the others. The room was heavily clad in ancient wood from our ancestors' forests, traditional Heroux banners of gold, emerald and navy silks draped beautifully from the ceilings and behind the stage of our thrones. A large metal wolf’s head was mounted on the wall behind our wooden thrones in honour of the founder of this realm. The first wolf ever created by the gods. The room spoke to my soul. To the ancestors who ruled before. To the history of our pack. It had none of the splendid elegance or pretentiousness of the rest of the palace, but that was for good reason. This room was used to hold feasts, celebrations and important events which our pack members were often invited to. The atmosphere and traditional decor was more to their tastes and often made the wolves feel powerful and relaxed in our company when they entered.

My father was already sitting regally on his throne. My father’s most trusted advisor and Beta of the Heroux pack, Kiaus, was to his right as always, leaning over the arm of his own smaller throne and speaking in hushed tones to his Alpha. Their eyes all shifted at my presence to greet me. Kiaus discreetly smiled at me before he quickly averted his gaze, the way he was supposed to. A small smile toyed at the edge of my lips for his rebelliousness to steal a glance at me as I walked forwards and took my place on my own throne directly under the large wolf’s head.

“Lower, darling,” my father whispered, gesturing to my veil. I exhaled in frustration but remained silent as I lifted my hands to the edge of the veil and obediently tugged it over my face. I could still see through the dangling gold crystals but it immediately caused me to feel detached from reality. A barrier meant to keep me hidden from the world.

The doors opened and five of our most loyal and fierce warriors marched into the room, eating up the space with their enormous, muscular bodies. This was another reason I liked to attend the briefings. For the delightful eye candy. I may be forbidden to ever take a lover, but imagination is a powerful thing.

They dropped to their knees, lowering their heads and placed one fist over their heart before us as my eyes raked over their rippling muscles under tattooed exposed skin. There was the second thing I was grateful for today. Our warriors wear very minimal clothing, only animal skins and armour on their shoulders. Their bare chests, impressive abs and strong thighs are always on display. Focus, Aurelia. This is no time for fantasising when a war is racing towards our borders.

“Rafandra, what news?” My father asked with impatience, causing the men to rise to their feet. Our head warrior of the Heroux army stepped forward, lifting his head to meet his Alpha’s gaze as the others kept their eyes cast to the floor.

“Alpha Aramis. The village is reduced to ashes. Only 89 survivors. 258 fatalities. 120 of them are unaccounted for,” Rafandra replied, relaying the devastating statistics of last night's m******e without emotion. He was used to this by now.

My father’s wolf growled through him in anger as he clenched his fists on the arms of his throne. “Where were their defences? You had sent over 100 warriors to the borders, had you not?”

“I had, my King. But they were still greatly outnumbered. And now, the Cursed have another 120 damned souls for their cause,” Rafandra spoke carefully, holding my father’s gaze in respect. “If I may?”

My father nodded, dropping his head in his hand and rubbing his forehead with stress.

“The attacks are growing in size and frequency. They are sensing our desperation. My men are stretched too thinly across the realm, trying to defend and protect too many territories. It may be time to change tactics.”

I held my breath as the room fell silent with anticipation. Kiaus leaned into my father’s ear to voice his approval.

“Where is your brother, Rafandra? What of Kafele? I trusted him with this critical task of bringing the white wolf to us and he has been gone for nearly a week.”

Rafandra shuffled uncomfortably on his feet, worry shifting in his eyes. He tossed his long brown dreadlocks over his shoulder as he stood taller. Even without using my powers of aura reading, I could tell he was just as concerned about his brother’s whereabouts.

“I do not know, my King. Perhaps the trip to the human realm has been more difficult than we had anticipated. But he will not fail you. What I am suggesting, until his return, is to move all the smaller packs behind the Heroux walls so our defences can regroup and become stronger in numbers.”

“No,” my father shook his head and Rafandra’s chin lifted at the refusal. “Bringing everyone inside the walls means an imminent attack on us. We are not ready for that. Not until we have the saviour.”

I swallowed, my mind whirling with so many conflicting thoughts. I could see both sides. It was a lose, lose situation. We continue as we are but more villages will fall to The Cursed. Or we protect everyone behind the high-ironed walls of our fortress, inviting our enemy directly to our doorstep.

“Then let me find him,” Rafandra proposed, taking us all by surprise. “It is extremely out of character for my brother to not fulfil an order from you directly, my king. Something must have happened. Allow me to go to the human realm, find Kafele and bring back the saviour.”

“And have both my head warriors leave my realm in the midst of a war?” My father scoffed, shaking his head.

I could not bite my tongue any longer. “Father, the most important thing right now is ensuring the white wolf helps us. Rafandra is right. We must get him here as soon as possible or there is no hope.”

The warriors dropped back to their knees on hearing my voice. It was a very rare occurrence. I refrained from rolling my eyes behind my veil and when my father’s head snapped towards me, his dark gaze piercing the barrier of gold fabric. I swallowed nervously. I defied him. One of the most sacred rules imposed upon me was not to speak in front of pack members without his permission and especially not to interfere in matters of politics.

He closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath before he turned back to Rafandra.

“Very well, Rafandra. You may travel to the human realm. Take only four warriors with you. I will send Kamari to meet you at the portal to allow you through. The realm is counting on you, Rafandra. You may be blessed by the Golden Goddess.”

I stood from my throne on his order and stepped forward to bless the warriors’ journey to the unknown. They knelt before me, closing their eyes as I muttered the ancient divine language of the gods. When I had finished, I made my way back to my place.

The warrior nodded seriously, bowing to us all in respect before spinning on his heels and striding out of the hall with his men in tow.

My father immediately stood up, turning to glare down at me with disappointment. He didn’t utter a word, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. He had trusted me to attend and I had upset him. He stormed from the hall, seething with anger and desperation. I sighed, lifting my hands under my veil to rub my face.

“There goes any chance of freedom for the rest of my week,” I grumbled.

Kiaus stood from his chair and approached me, his hands clasped behind his back, which caused his biceps to bulge from under his navy robe that hung from broad shoulders. His beautiful sandy curls sat regally on his shoulders as he kept his head dipped low, allowing me to appraise his strong physique in secret.

“When will you learn, my Goddess?” His tone was playful, even though his head was tilted towards his feet, refusing to look at me. “Your father is not a hard man to please.”

“And you would know,” I couldn’t help but smile from behind my veil. “You must share your secrets with me one day, Kiaus. You are clearly far wiser than me.”

“Oh, I do not believe that for a second,” he replied with a cheeky grin. His blue eyes flicked up as he peered at me from under his lashes, keeping his head low to give the impression he was still not looking my way to the guards behind.

I tilted my head and held his gaze through my veil, enjoying the connection with another person before he bent to me at the waist and left the room. Kiaus was the only member of this pack who had ever dared to break the rules and treat me as a person rather than an object. No matter how brief our little moments were, they made me feel seen. I smiled to myself, counting it as the third thing I could be grateful for today.