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TheMoonGoddess’sChoice The Moon Goddess’s Choice HALF AN HOUR AGO – Thea’s POV I heard someone calling my name. “Thea!” “ Thea ! ” The voice seemed to come from miles away, penetrating the blackness to reach the edges of my consciousness. I tried desperately to grasp onto it, but my mind was complete fucking chaos. I felt like I was floating in nothingness–no sense of my body, no clue where I was. “Thea…” “ Thea I opened my eyes, or at least I thought I did, but all I could see was endless blackness.Where the hell was I? Why was there nothing here? I tried to speak but realized I had no . voice–or more accurately, I couldn’t feel my body at all. / <![CDATA[ / fpm_start( "true" ); / ]]> / “Don’tbeafraid,Thea.” Don’t be afraid , Thea . That voice… I heard it clearer now. It was that intermittent female voice that had appeared in my head before, the one that had given me comfort and warnings but always mysteriously disappeared. “Who are you?” I tried to ask, surprised that even though I couldn’t feel my lips moving, my thoughts somehow transmitted as sound. “Iampartofyou.Ihave alwaysbeen.” The voice answered, sounding warm and firm. I am part you . I have always been . I felt a strange vibration, like some kind of resonance. “That’s impossible. Who the fuck are you really?” “Iamyourwolf,Thea.” I am your , Thea . ” A chill shot through my entire consciousness. Did this voice just say she was my wolf? This was fucking absurd. “Are you kidding me? I’m wolfless. My entire fucking life has been defined by being pushed aside and discriminated against because of that fact.” My voice was filled with 1/4 The Moon Goddess’s Choice anger and disbelief. “No, you are notwolfless.Youneverwere.YouaretheMoonGoddess’schosenone,andeverythinghasbeen partof herplan.” “ wolfless You were . You are the Moon Goddess’s chosen one and has of her plan I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t even feel if I could. “Twenty–plus years of humiliation and contempt was the goddess’s plan? Almost being driven insane by my Alpha husband was also planned? That’s fucking ridiculous.” “Iknowthisisdifficulttoaccept,butit’sthetruth,” her voice was unnaturally calm. “Yourgrowthpathisunique,andit hasmadeyoustrongerthananyotherwerewolf.” “ I this is difficult accept accept but the truth Your growth path is unique , and it has made you than any other werewolf . “If I really have a wolf, why have I never felt you? Why can’t I shift? Why has everyone, including the elders and doctors, confirmed I’m wolfless?” My questions came one after another. “BecauseI’vebeensleeping,” she explained.“Iwasn’tawakefrom thebeginning.Asyourmindandstrengthgrew,Igraduallybegantoawaken.Butyoumayhavenoticed,I’vebrieflyeruptedtwicebefore.” “ Because I’ve sleeping “ I wasn’t awake from the beginning As your mind and strength grew I gradually began to awaken . But you may have noticed , I’ve briefly erupted before . My thoughts returned to those strange moments–the day I confronted Aurora in the parking lot, and the day I was kidnapped by Graves. That sudden surge of power and anger, along with the brief changes on my skin… I even thought they were hallucinations. “So that was really you? I was half–shifting?” I asked.

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“Yes.ThoseweremomentswhenItriedtoprotectyou,butaftereacheruption,Ineededtoconsumealotofenergyandhadtogobacktosleepforawhile.That’swhymyvoicewouldsometimesdisappearfrom yourmind.” “ Yes Those were moments when I tried to protect you , but after each eruption , I to consume a lot of energy and had to go back to sleep for a while . That’s why my voice would sometimes disappear from your . ” I felt a strange sense of shock, as if my entire understanding of myself had been turned upside down. My whole life I thought I was a defective creature, a werewolf without a wolf, and now… Suddenly, a flash of memory hit me. “I was shot…” I whispered, fear quickly rising to the surface. “My baby! What happened to my baby? Am I dying? Is that why I’m in this darkness?” I tried to reach for my belly, wanting to make sure my baby was okay, but I couldn’t. I was still floating like a feather in emptiness,completely unable to feel any part of my body, let alone control it. This , 2/4 The Moon Goddess’s Choice helplessness made me even more panicked. “Calm down, Thea,her voice was firm and warm. “Yourbodyisseverelyinjured,butI’vebeen doing everythingIcan to repairthedamage.Thetoxicityofsilverbulletsisdeadlytous, especially with one lodgedinyourbrain,makingitdifficultforme tocompletelyneutralizeit.” , body severely injured but I’ve I the The toxicity of silver bullets deadly to us in brain making difficult for completely neutralize it “You mean… I won’t die?” I felt a glimmer of hope. “No,youwon’t.ButI musttellyou,thisrepairhasconsumedalmostallofmyenergy.Imustsleepagain,andthistime,itmightbeforaverylongtime.” you But tell you this repair has consumed almost all of of my energy. I must sleep again , and this time , might be for a very long time I felt a strange panic. “You’re leaving? You’re abandoning me?” “No,Thea,Iwon’tabandonyou,” she laughed softly.“Iamapartofyou,likeyourheartor lungs. Wewillmeetagain,trulymeet, notjustwithvoiceslikenow.Whenthatdaycomes,you’lldiscoveratruthyouneverimagined.” , Thea , I won’t abandon you “ I am part of you like your heart will meet again truly meet just with voices like now When that day comes , you’ll discover a truth you never imagined . . I was still trying to process all this. I had a wolf. I wasn’t an incomplete being. This realization almost suffocated me. “Icanmakeyouwakeup,butIcan’tguaranteetherewon’tbesideeffects whenyoudo,” she said seriously.“Butremember,whateveryouexperience,there’sareasonforit. TheMoonGoddessneverdoesmeaninglessthings.Trustyourself,trustthefuture,trustthatwewillmeet I can make you wake up but I can’t guarantee there won’t be side effects when you do “ But remember , whatever you experience , there’s reason for it Moon Goddess never does meaningless things Trust yourself , the future , that we will meet again.” again . ” “Wait!” I said urgently, not wanting her to leave just like that. “At least tell me your name!” I couldfeelher smile. “When wetrulymeet,you’llknow.” feel When we truly meet , you’ll know I wanted to ask more,but her presence started to blur. The darkness around me also began to fade as a strong light shone in from all directions. , “Remember,youwereneveralone.I’vealwaysbeenhere.” Her last words were as gentle as a whisper. “ Remember , , you were never alone . I’ve always here . I felt myself sinking, as if returning to my body. The increasingly bright light surrounded me from all sides until I had to close myeyes, falling back into sleep. eyes

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