Chapter 90 - Wrath of the Moon

*“For children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy." ― G.K. Chesterton*

***Selene***

A goddess’ duty is eternal. Millennia after millennia, I had watched over my beloved creations from birth to death. I’ve watched them grow, make mistakes, hurt, and bleed. As precious as my wolves are, the gods forbid interference. Our creations must stand with their strength to live their lives to the fullest.

However, there are many within every species who commit crimes so heinous that I stripped the blessing of eternal paradise from their blood-smeared fingers. Sin is not an uncommon upon of Gaia’s green earth, but there was sin that is unforgivable.

Especially when they were committed against my cherished child.

The pleas of mercy from that one despicable wolf a century ago laid fresh in my mind. His wild proclamations of power to pillage and plunder innocent werewolf packs, along with abducting dear Amber, left a sour taste on my lips. Fanaticism was nothing out of the ordinary, but to be confronted with such an excuse, blaming me for his cruel actions, fueled my judgement to cast him to the Underworld, where the mighty judges decided his fate.

And the same shall happen with this group of mongrels.

My legs drew me close to my former children, trembling on their knees, their tears soiling my sacred grounds and their whimpers grating at my ears. I’m not the type of goddess who demands fear from their subjects, but I shall accept it this time, because they knew their fate.

“Goddess Selene, please grant us mercy.” Jonathan Prince requested, bowing his head low to where I could see the top of his aging auburn hair. His wolf, Angelo, also bowed behind him. “Our lives were cut short and—”

“Silence.” I commanded, unable to hide the sneer on my face. “You were so fearless on earth, and I cannot see that same confidence now. Are you afraid of me, Jonathan Prince?”

“No, my Goddess.”

“Hmm.” I chuckled. “You should be.” I turned my head toward Odessa, whom I’ve kept in this suspended space after her death. “And what do you have to say for yourself?”

She didn’t answer, or rather, refused to answer. I could taste her anger from where she kneeled. Normally, I’d encourage one to speak their final thoughts before their fate was decided, but Odessa continued to be stubborn until the end.

“Very well. Now, onto my judgement.” All three stiffened like statutes. “From birth to death, I’ve watched you three walked through life armed with free will and the ability to make your own decisions. You had the power to decide what they will or will not accept in their lives. I wish I could say I was proud, but it’s quite the opposite. I’m disgusted and furious at how the three of you willingly cause substantial harm to others without the afterthought of your impact. What is a bigger crime is that none of you showed remorse, not even with the wills of the universe showed you the signs of failure. Some actions can be forgiven, but many cannot.”

I turned my head to Tristan Dudley, who took initiative to scoot as far as he could away from me. “A child rapist cannot be forgiven under any circumstances. You violated my sacred child and I pray to the Underworld Judge Minos that he’ll send you to the lowest hell imaginable. May Hades not have mercy on your soul.”

The ground cracked beneath the useless man, ghoulish hands of the dead sprouting up and seizing his limbs, pulling him into the Underworld. His pleas fell on deaf ears, but his screams of fear ricocheted across my white world. His wolf followed with him as I bonded them for eternity. Tristan was just one of many of my creations who I’ve revoked the title of ‘my child’. Odessa and Jonathan watched in horror as the hole Tristan was dragged under sealed shut, as if the crack never happened.

“W-What…” Odessa’s bottom lip quivered. “What the hell was that?!”

“Hell.”

“You can’t send us there!”

“I can and I will. And you’ll make your departure next.”

“You’re sending me down there because you gave me a shitty life?!” Odessa screamed, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “You didn’t do a damn thing to help me! I could’ve lived a pleasant life if you hadn’t ruined it with your damn avatar!”

“Not only do you sit there and blame me for your actions, must I remind you of all you’ve done? You’ve tried to kill my avatar twice, allowed another wolf to take the blame, manipulated your sacred mate, and willingly sold your soul to the viper’s avatar. All your actions resulted in Ariel deserting you. I didn’t make you commit those sins, Odessa. You did, under your own free will. Your experience throughout life was unfortunate, as it is for many, but you took your selfishness too far.”

“No! It’s all your fault! You’re no benevolent goddess! You’re a monster! I want to know what you’ve done with Ariel!”

“She has chosen another person to bond with and is happier than she’s ever been.” I answered. “That is all you’ll know about her.”

Odessa met the same fate as Tristan; pulled to the underworld to be judged for the last time. Life is a separate entity and it’ll do what it wants. It takes and gives when it wants. I dusted off the contemptuous words of the wailing woman and glared at the last man standing.

“W-wait, my Goddess!” Jonathan stammered, waving his hands in front of him. “B-Before you cast me down, may I see my wife and daughter?”

“I don’t grant requests to hell-bound mongrels.” The man bowed his head again and whimpered as his wolf did the same. “It is comical to think you deserve that privilege, especially since they’ve witnessed all the horrid things you’ve done.”

Jonathan shook, visible tremors rocking from his shoulders to his knees. Celeste and Nuria had enough burden on their shoulders because of their husband and father weaponizing their names and deaths to use against both Kiya and Neron. A mother who could only stand by and watch her only son suffer is a punishment I wouldn’t grant on the lowest of my wolves. How does one cope with their non-existence becoming the reason he subjected some to abuse?

“I just… want to see them again…”

“*If you’re thinking that, you’ll get a heartwarming reunion, you’re sorely mistaken*.”

My head turned behind to see the women in question walking toward us with Celeste’s wolf in tow. Angelika must’ve stayed behind at the gates. Celeste marched past me and stood a few feet in front of Jonathan. While I couldn’t see her face, a mother’s fury is unparalleled by any flame. Not even Prometheus could imitate that fire with his flame. Nuria took her place next to me, clutching my hand as she tried to hold back her tears.

“Celeste…” Jonathan rose to his feet to meet his wife. “I-I have—”

A thunderous slap resounded through our surrounding space. My eyes widened with surprise as Nuria bristled. “How dare you use the name of your mate and child to justify hurting my niece and our son! You knew for a damn fact that it was your fucking brother that killed us! How could you hurt a child like that?!”

“C-Celeste, you don’t understand.” Jonathan’s attempts at reasoning were met with an irritated scoff from his wife’s lips. “Her actions that day cost you and Nuria your lives! She had to be dealt with!”

“She was a child!” Celeste screamed, her fists shaking at her sides. “A baby! You almost killed her and allowed her to be… *violated*! And you nearly destroyed our son! Our first born! You didn’t want to avenge us, Jonathan; you wanted to inflate your own Alpha ego!” The woman shook her head in shame, turning away from the tearful blues of her husband. “If I knew this was the man I married and mated, I would’ve rejected you from the start. My father had every right not to trust you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I meant **every** word.” Celeste snarled at him. Ashia growled next to her, ready to attack Angelo, but a palm from her human’s hand to her back made her stand straight. “You brutalized Kiya and our son. That is unforgivable. There is nothing you can say that’ll ever make me think otherwise. I don’t sympathize with child abusers and gaslighters.”

“Nuria!” Jonathan turned to his daughter, who pressed her body close to mine. As if she was trying to melt into me. It broke my heart. “Make your mother see reason. Everything I’ve done was for you both!”

“You broke my best friend and big brother!” She spat, seething beside me. “You aren’t the Dad I loved. You’re a stranger and I hope you pay for what you’ve done.”

“Your wife and child have spoken, Jonathan Prince.” I snapped my fingers once more and the ground beneath his feet crackled and crumbled. Celeste returned and buried her face at my side. Given our height difference, she reached under my chest while Nuria reached to my waist. Hades’ ghouls grabbed at Jonathan and pulled him down into the darkest reaches of hell. “It would be a miracle if Hades grants you mercy.”

Jonathan’s screams and pleas for his wife and child lingered long after he was gone. Nuria burst into tears, grasping at my dress as she sobbed her heart out. Celeste reached over and caressed her hand in hopes to soothe her. An exhausted sigh left my lips as I rubbed the back of the young woman with Ashia nestling her large obsidian body at my feet. Casting away my wolves was hard, but mending broken hearts was much harder.

“He never apologized…” Nuria whimpered, sniffling. “He never said ‘I’m sorry’ to any of us.”

“Sadly, my darling, not everyone is capable of such a feat.” I sighed. “Jonathan has no regrets. He never saw fault in his actions, and never will.”

“What now?” Celeste asked, gazing up at me with pained sapphires. “Should we return to the gates and continue to watch over my son?”

“I want Neron…” Nuria cried.

That was when an idea struck my mind. I looked from Celeste to Nuria, thinking heavily at my next actions. Bending the rules forged by the gods is an entertaining event, for I’m no stranger to such. However, looking upon these two and understanding how their lives were ripped from their hands by a vile man has sparked flames of remorse deep within my heart. Ashia’s blue eyes fluttered close when Celeste kneeled and ran her palm through her thick fur.

I’ve made my decision.

“Let us return to the gates. There is something I need to discuss with the both of you.”

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***Neron***

Comatose people can still hear, right? They’re unconscious, but their brain was still functioning. At least, that is what I hope was the case. Kiya looked peaceful in her hospital bed; her face was relaxed, her body was still except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest, and she was warm. So warm. Nightfall had made its landing, and the clock was ticking down the minutes to the end of visiting hours.

I knew I must return to Zircon Moon. I’ve been away for too long. But I couldn’t find the strength in my body to leave Kiya alone. Kiya didn’t save my life. She brought me back to life—a task she wasn’t obligated to do. That was a debt I couldn’t pay back. She put her own life on the line to save mine, just as I had done before. Kiya is a lot of things, but I wish she wasn’t so self-sacrificing.

Her life was valuable, but something told me she didn’t believe it was. Because I don’t believe my life was worth saving.

I wonder what she was thinking when she brought me back. I wanted to know how that mind of hers worked—to pick apart the inner mechanisms and see what made this woman so special, so worthy of the world’s pleasures and happiness. My hand reached out and lightly grasped hers, hoping for an involuntary reaction. But there was nothing, not even a twitch of her eyelids. I sighed in defeat, bringing her hand up to kiss the back of it.

The doctors don’t know when she’ll wake up. Comatose patients wake on their own time. What if she takes weeks or months to awaken? Or years?

Her family can’t handle that. I can’t handle that.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. Asim walked in with his satchel bouncing at his hip, coming to a stop at the foot of Kiya’s bed. “I heard what happened with Kiya.” He whispered. “I’ve sent a prayer to Ra for a speedy recovery.”

“That’s very kind of you, Asim.” I gestured to the vacant chair beside me. He nodded and took it. “How are you holding up, considering Osiris…”

“I’m…” Asim sighed, rubbing his face once. “I’m coping as well as I should. Unfortunately, I’ve ignored this guttural feeling that my brother was going to meet his end like this. I’ve tried so hard to believe, through all this crap, that I could, somehow, bring him into the light. I’m still that naïve, optimistic older brother who wanted to see the bright side of things, even when we were children. Destiny wasn’t kind to either of us today.”

“Losing a sibling isn’t easy, Asim. I know that feeling too well.” Nuria’s youthful face flashed in my mind. “That pain stays with you… but it gets easier with time. Have faith.” Asim nodded, falling silent as he patted his satchel. “Have you thought about… a funeral for him?”

“Ah, there is no need for one.” He pulls out an ornamental urn splashed with reds and yellows, holding it in his hands in care. “He’s in here. After his passing, his body… crumbled to ash. He was a vampire, so it made sense. I’m taking him to Egypt, where our mother came from, and releasing his ashes there. Maybe he’d finally get some peace, then.”

To see the man who relentlessly tormented Kiya and I for months as nothing but ashes inside of an urn was indescribable. I couldn’t decipher Asim’s honest feelings behind that perfect stoic mask of his. Perhaps it was best that I didn’t know. With a huff, he placed the urn back in his satchel and focused his attention on me. “What is your next step after this?”

“I’ll be returning to my pack, but…” My eyes found Kiya’s face again. “I can’t…”

“Kiya blessed you with the gift of life, Neron. While I know little about her, do you think she would want you to put your life on pause for her?”

“No.” The corner of my lips lifted to a smirk. “She’d kick my ass from here to Kingdom Come, then back here again.”

“Then, don’t disappoint her.” He chuckled, rising out of his seat. “Your future is brighter now, Neron. You can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t let it pass you by.” Asim departed not long after. His words marinated in my head as my hand tightened around Kiya’s. I don’t know why she saved me, nor why she thought I was worthy of a second chance at life, but one thing is for certain.

I won’t fail her. It was time to make the chances I’ve been wanting to make for so long.

I glanced at the clock on my phone, white numbers reading **8:00 PM**. Pressing the home button, I scrolled through my contacts and found the number I was looking for. Alphas are notorious for refusing assistance, but I won’t be that type of Alpha. This was too important for my ego to inflate like a balloon. I glanced at Kiya once more before rising out of my seat and planting a firm kiss on her forehead, taking a whiff of her fragrant scent and committing it to memory.

“Rest easy, my angel.”

Dialing the number, I held my phone to my ear as I shut off the lights in Kiya’s hospital room and closed her door behind me.

“Good evening, Anthony. Are you busy? Good. I wanted to talk to you and your father about something I have planned, and I would appreciate your expertise on this. What am I working on?”

I grinned. “You’ll see."