Daughter of the Goddess

>> sixteen

Besides having the weak knees for heights that topped the trees I climbed back at home, I also felt extremely out of my element on the stage where Alpha Declan dragged me to. He forced me to part sides with Greyson and I let him know how much I disapproved that arrangement every time he looked at me. However, I managed to not break down in a tantrum, demanding for my mate whom no one beside the Lycans and Alpha Phillip knew of.

"Katja, the thirteenth daughter of our beloved Goddess has been found and today you find yourselves graced with her kindness, power and strength, as well as her beauty," Declan began while I was still fidgeting around like a bouncy ball of nerves. I didn't dare look up, afraid of the amount of people I was going to see before my eyes. I wasn't the only know who knew of my stage-fright and Cassie softly nudged my side. Immediately I looked up and was frozen into an icicle as soon as I saw the crowd.

Many colorful head and eyes seemed to shine at me under the sun and the colors bounced off of everywhere. Couldn't people dress black and white for this occasion? I felt like a bull in front of a red sheet.

Half of what Declan was saying went past my ears as I stared frozen at the people. Everyone's eyes were on me even if I wasn't the one to speak.

Breathe, Katja. It's unhealthy to stop breathing, my wolf smartly instructed. She might have been the only one enjoying the limelight.

"Albeit it took time to find her, we won't waste any more and I guarantee you that as soon as Katja is ready for the assignments she will get to them. Nothing is more important to us all than the safety and lives of our own kind as well as our well-kept secret."

At that I looked to the side where Greyson was standing beside the stage and caught his eyes looking at me as well. As if anything could be more important to me right now than him. I could hardly understand what was going on with me, as the Goddess' daughter as well as me as one of the Lycans now.

Declan kept speaking of some sort of a power that I emitted, but I felt not even a scrap of the promised strength. Perhaps it was exactly what I needed to get through with being on stage. Could I just run off and into the woods for a couple of hours, relax under the leaves and find a safe spot to rest my thoughts at?

Greyson shook my head and then nudged it forward so I snapped my head straight again.

"Now it's time for Katja's former Alpha to give Katja a few words of encouragement." Declan gave me a look under which I burned up like an ember. Did everyone see my discomfort on the stage?

As Alpha Phillip moved towards the stage, I looked to the side at Greyson again. If he was going to let me faint or even as much as fall on that stage I was going to make something of him. His lips tugged up into a smile on my thoughts and unnoticeably he lifted his pinky finger up. The pinky-swear.

Eventually very nervous looking Alpha Phillip stood next to me on the stage, his forehead gleaming in the sunshine from sweat. That was the most comforting thing about him - knowing I wasn't the only one sweating like a pig. The main thing was that I didn't do any sudden movements, then perhaps I was going to remain standing for the rest of the event as well.

"Katja... I... I always thought you were something special," he said, repeating what he'd told me earlier. He laughed nervously. "I told her. S-She was always handy with different weapons, s-showed skill in hunting and fighting other pack members." Suddenly he looked at Declan in alert. "But she only broke an arm once, I swear."

Declan sighed and shook his head. "Get on with it, Phillip," he whispered in annoyance. Phillip nodded in a haste and turned to look at me.

And suddenly he began rambling on so fast. "I have always told you what and important job this is, how much people need the Goddess' daughters and how they are the only living beings that could keep peace amongst our kind. No one could ever harness that kind of power in a petite body and still use it for good." He laughed, however fell silent when no one seemed to laugh with him. He switched his eyes from me to the crowd, to Declan and back to me again. "I, uhh, wasn't prepared for this."