Chapter 7

 

The day was bright, but her mood was not. The packs had gathered safely behind the wall of the Goddess, the Alpha’s had gathered. All territories had been evacuated; it was as if they had already been scrubbed from the Earth.

Her face was tipped to the sky, her eyes closed as she reviled in the brief break of sun through the clouds. She stood not far from the entrance to the Gealach Gleann, close enough to feel the hum of power that it resonated.

Her mind and body feeling the pull to emerge herself in it once again. Like an addict regaining their fix, it felt sickly sweet. Her mind was calm, the beast under control for the first time since the pack wars, it sensed its creator’s presence. The only power they ever bowed too.

Her breathing was heavy as her mind was plagued with memories, the horrors of her past. Fields of blood, piles of bodies. The heartache, the agony that crippled her very being every single day.

 

She would find no solace in this place or in the events that were to come.

Her claws and gums ached as she felt the tides of emotions beginning to drag her down into their depths, but her body stilled as a firm hand landed on her shoulder, taking part of the strain.

“Ada.”

Her father’s voice was soft in her ear as he leaned in close to her, she felt his warmth at her back. A backbone of strength against what was to come. He listened to her racing pulse and sympathy rolled off of him into the air.

The life she had lived was not the one he had wished for her, she deserved so much more. Instead, she was a powerful pawn in a higher plan, something as a mere Alpha, he could not control. He only served the Goddess; his daughter was her interpreter.

He turned her to face him and cupped her face in his hands as he looked into her eyes. So, strong yet so damaged. The fear in her eyes shone straight through to him as she let herself have a moment of vulnerability, the last she would be allowed to have.

“You have seen and done so much; it is so wrong to ask it of you again,” He whispered to her.

 

She heard the break in his voice as his eyes watered, making her own eyes itch and lip tremble as she held it in. Still striving to be the strongest for him, to cause him no more pain. She placed her hands over his own and brought the palms together before placing a kiss atop them and taking a step backwards.

Adelaide steeled herself as her father nodded and stepped to her side, a ghost of a breath between them. She faced the gate, to the normal eye just a vast patch of forest and began to walk forward.

Her head was held high as the world around her changed, the barrier bended to her will as she stepped through and snapped back into place behind her.

She gasped as it hit her all at once, the Moon once again overtaking her soul. Silver eyes surveyed her surroundings, the packs gathered on two sides leaving a path to the alter. They looked at her in awe as she walked by them without her own will, knowing now what she was, the real danger she posed.

The Goddess’s conduit, her Harbinger of Death.

The power that hummed through her veins was insatiable, her beast danced freely within her mind, her skin and fur flowing freely with each other after so long. Her madness had left her and in its place the will of the goddess had taken over.

Just as the first time she had entered the Gealach Gleann her free will had taken a back seat within her mind. Her instincts ruled as she was pulled to the Moon Alter.

It was silent as her feet touched the ancient stones that were cold as she stepped upon them and looked at the stone table before her. Her claw marks were etched deeply into the stone, as was her blood. The rituals she had undertaken tying her to the moon forever.

She beast willed her to reach out and touch it, regain the guidance and clarity the Goddess gave her and what she had pushed away after the pack wars.

As her hand reached out another gripped her wrist, her head lifted to meet to gaze of the familiar face.

“Greetings, Conduit.” Leonidas greeted her.

Leonidas greeted her as he always did, physical contact and a gentle smile. His being calmed what was left of her fretting nerves. As the priest to the Goddess he never left the protection of the Moon Valley, he was what linked them all to her faith, and performed her rights on the champions she chose.

He was the oldest of their kind, born during the Roman Empire, and was as mysterious as he was strict in his teachings. He looked no older than forty-five, with white hair that reached his shoulders and hung loosely.

His hand was cold against her, her skin heated in a sweat as her body worked to adapt to its old powerful friend.

The power of the Goddess was a drug indeed.

She gave him a nod in greeting as he took both of her hands. Her heart began to beat rapidly against her chest as her mind whirled and her body stayed calm. Leonidas muttered a flurry of words for a few seconds before slamming both of her hands down onto the stone table.

She sucked in a breath as the alter rumbled beneath her before unleashing her voice in a haunting scream as her body collapsed into a kneel before the table, her hands stuck to it as they glowed a burning white. Her eyes rolled and her mind turned blank as her vision was washed with white.

Greetings, my Star.

The words were whispered into her mind as she felt the touch of the Goddess on the back of her neck. Just as it had begun the light within her hands diminished and her screams ended.

She slumped against the table in exhaustion as her will was returned to her, the Goddess retreating for the time being. Her hair stuck to her brow as she stood on shaking legs before she pushed it away. The now silver strands sliding through her fingers like butter as she faced the packs.

Leonidas stood beside her as she looked upon them, they gasped and gaped at her in awe as she did so. Many had been born during or after the packs wars or had been to young and had not seen or remembered such a ritual and the tolls it took on the physical body.

A conduit took on the attributes of the Goddess when connected to her. The silver hair reflected the moon, the silver eyes reflected her all seeing gaze.

Leonidas brought her forward from her deepest thoughts, as she tried to re-grasp the feelings within her mind and body, by placing her hand palm down onto his own palm and spoke to her in a tone that rang out to all.

“Another has been chosen?” He asked her carefully.

The crowd muttered at his words as the Alpha’s that stood before them shifted on their feet, she saw her father frown from his position. As she spoke the moons words.

“Yes,” She spoke slowly.

Her heart dropped as the newest chosen floated within her mind, her beast growling in displeasure at the prospect while her mind whirled in sympathy. Another life the Goddess would overrule.

“A Conduit?” Leonidas questioned further.

“A re-birth.”

Leonidas stilled and her hand clenched his as their connection continued. A re-birth was never heard of in their lifetime, a divine gift the Goddess bestowed upon her greatest wolves, a curse for they were that it was bestowed upon.

A heavy silence filled the valley as they waited, thudding heartbeats filling her ears as the tension rose.

“Who?” He pressured.

“Adam,” She whispered.

Her mind darkened as she spoke the words, trying to find him in the crowd. Her world crumbling to black as her body gave way beneath her.