"Shit," I whispered, slamming the journal shut. I must've skimmed through the book a thousand times since yesterday, and still I couldn't find a successful attempt when a previous Moon Goddess removed a mark without killing both of the mates in the process. How could one simple mark have such a huge effect on someone?
"What has you all upset, My Radiance?" A deep voice said from behind me.
I jumped in my seat, my heart racing. Glancing behind me, I sighed noticing Aeron leaning up against the wall. How long has he been here? Why was he here? "Aeron, what are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to see how you were doing..." His eyes darkened for a moment and then flickered to my mark. He stalked closer to me, a smirk playing at his lips, and he looked over my shoulder at my mother's journal. "So, you found her journal... any new powers you've discovered about yourself?" While leaning against the desk, he took the book from my hands. His fingers gently trailed over the cover.
"Teleportation... I think."
A smile stretched across his face. "Ah, yes. That was one of your mother's favorites." His gaze distanced, as if he was thinking back to a memory. "Whenever we argued, she'd always teleport away from me. It was quite funny if I were to be honest."
"You used to fight with her?"
"Rarely. She was a good woman. Definitely, not someone I ever wanted to fight with... I hope if we have arguments, you won't do the same with me. I like to talk through problems, not run away from them."
I swayed my feet back and forth in my chair, my head titling to the side. "Hm, not going to make any promises on that one. I tend to push problems away until they get too big and explode all over me."
His eyes darkened further as he tried suppressing a smirk. His eyes flickered down my body for a moment. "And, what kind of problems 'explode all over you'?"
My eyes widened, and I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hide my flaming cheeks. Did I really just say that? Why must my life be filled with sexual innuendos? "I-uh... I didn't mean it like that."
"You don't have to get embarrassed in front of me... I can keep your little secret to myself," he said.
I nodded, glancing down at the journal. I can't believe I just said that.
"Do you miss her?" Aeron asked, breaking the tension. My head shot up from my seat, my brows knotting together. "Your mother, I mean. Do you miss her?"
My eyes widened at the question. I barely thought about her since the Ascension. Should I miss her? She was never really in my life to begin with and when she was she only hurt me. Sure, she was trying to make me stronger, but she was doing it in the worst way possible.
"Radiance, your mother... she had her ways of doing things, but I know she cared so much about you."
I nodded my head at his words and took a deep breath.
"Well, how about I teach you the basics of divine teleportation after we check out the Challenger hideout tomorrow?" he asked, changing the subject.
The corners of my lips tugged up in a smile. "I'd like that."
With a curt nod to his head, he stood and brushed his fingers down my jaw. "Good. I look forward to it." From a few meters away, the door creaked. Aeron's eyes flickered to the door way. I followed his gaze to meet the dark brown eyes of a woman who was peeking behind the door. "It looks as if you have a visitor. I'll be on my way then... oh and before I go..." he leaned in, his lips grazing against my ear. "One little piece of advice. If you want to fuck, do it indoors. I'm a jealous divine, My Radiance, you know this. The next time I see one of your wolves tearing your perfect little body apart, I might just do the same to his... but unlike you... he won't enjoy my ways."
My cheeks tingled. He saw Damon and me. Who else did? That's... that's embarrassing.
The smirk remained on his lips as his body disappeared into thin air and his total presence vanished.
Once he was gone, I sat, pushing away the thought of our whole exchange. My eyebrows furrowed at the woman in the doorway. "Hello, can I help you?" I asked.
She stepped out from behind the wooden door and into the room. My eyes widened at the beauty she held. Her dark hair sat in natural curls on top of her head. Her slim figure sported the most perfect curves. For a moment, I was totally entranced in her being. "Hi." Her voice was low and sensual. "My name is Nakida."
"Nakida." Her name effortlessly rolled off of my tongue.
The frame of the woman sauntered forward, her hips swaying ever so slightly. With a bow to her head, she smiled. "Moon Goddess, I am the enticer you assigned to the man who marked you, Luca."
A smile tugged at my lips and I nodded my head. "Yes."
"May I talk to you about this matter?"
I motioned for her to sit in one of the seats in front of me. She graciously took a seat and sucked in a breath. "I... I'm not sure I can accept this mission. I know I must, but I am worried. I do not want you hurt in any way Moon Goddess. If I go and this man is enticed by me and it... something happens between us, you will be hurt because you wear his mark. It will weaken you and you need to be strong."
Snapping out of the trance I was in from her beauty, I nodded. Luca would certainly be enticed by her. She was stunning. "If you would not like the mission, I could find someone else for it, but I think you will do nicely for him. Don't think of it as hurting me but helping your species from endangerment. A betrayer to me is a betrayer to the whole species, Nakida."
"Yes, Moon Goddess." She bowed her head. "I went to go visit him one time so far. He seemed very disinterested in me, but I will persist."
"Good. I just need information out of him. I want to know the absolute true reason as to why he marked me, if he plans on betraying me further, if he knows any information on the Challengers. Any information is good information." I nodded my head and gazed at her.
"Yes, I will do this for you."
"For us," I said, smiling her way and stood up. My head snapped to the doorway as someone fumbled with the handle. Suddenly, the door flew opened.
"Mae! Mae! I have to tell you something!" Aaisha stood between the frame, gasping for breath. "This morning, I saw a bitch hittin' up your man Luca. I was 'bout to beat a sis's ass."
Nakida glanced at the Aaisha, raising a brow. Aaisha's eyes widened and she pointed at her. "You!"
Quickly, I rushed in front of Nakida, holding out my arms for Aaisha. "Aaisha, calm down. This is Nakida. I asked her to do that for me."
Aaisha's brows furrowed together and she took a step back. "Why'd you do that?" She placed her hands on her hips, her gaze flickering between Nakida and I.
"Luca has betrayed the Moon Goddess," Nakida spoke as she stood up from her seat.
"How?" Aaisha asked. Her gaze locked onto mine.
I pulled my shirt down just slightly, letting her see my mark.
"That little piece of shit marked you?! I'm 'bout to beat hisass now." Aaisha turned on her heal, storming to the office door.
"Where are you going?"
"To get my bat."
"Aaisha, stop," I said. "There's nothing you can do."
"I can beat the crap out of him."
"No, please sit down," I said. She huffed, but then walked to the chair beside Nakida and took a seat. "He marked me the night before the alpha meeting, and then during the meeting he challenged Damon for his title."
Her eyes widened. "He-he did?! Richard never told me this. That man is keeping everything from me nowadays. I swear to the Moon Goddess. Did anything else happen?"
My mind wandered to Luca. If I told Aaisha about Luca calling me weak, she'd flip out. Was it a good idea to tell her? Probably not. Was I going to tell her because she was my best friend? Definitely.
"I threw him in the prison cell that night with Damon and Valerio and he called me weak."
Him calling me weak didn't really affect me now. I knew his words meant nothing, but the reason he said them hurt me the worst. He was trying to make me feel bad for following my heart.
After a few moments, her eyes glowed. Her hands balled into fists. "He called you fucking weak?! I'll show him who's weak." Nakida grabbed onto Aaisha's arm as Aaisha stood up. "Don't you try to stop me either," Aaisha turned to Nakida.
"I'm not going to stop you. We are going to do it together," Nakida said, standing up.
"Sit down. Both of you," I demanded. They sat. "Nakida, you have a mission, and Aaisha, you can't beat him up...Not yet anyways."
They both nodded to me.
"This must be why Richard trained his men extra hard this week," Aaisha said, her lips pursing. "And, why Luca has been an ass to me lately."
"Is Richard fighting alongside Luca?" I asked.
Aaisha shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so. We've been fighting lately, so I haven't paying attention to what he's been doing. But...ya know what. I'm Team Mae. Forget men. Who needs them anymore?"
"Amen to that one," Nakida said, raising her hands in the air.
"We are strong ass women by our damn selves. Men are only good for one thing... getting on our goddam nerves." She clapped her hands between each word clearly frustrated with Richard.
I cocked a brow at her. "What about sex?"
Her eyes widened. "Shit... I forgot about that. Well... then... they're good for two things."
A smile stretched across my face and I laughed. I'm glad she never changed. Out of all the people in my life, she was my only constant. My best friend. I loved everything about her.
A knock rapped at the door and Valerio peaked his head in. "Mae, we should star-" His eyes widened, and he ducked down as a pencil from my desk was thrown at him.
"Get out! We're havin' a rant about men."
Valerio smiled, threw his hands into the air in defense, and backed out of the room. "Well, I'll leave you ladies to it then."
A/N
I'm back! How have you all been?! It seems like I haven't been on here in forever.
Tell me one fun thing you did in the past week!
What do you think of Nakida? (And, y'all thought we were gonna have another sexy man introduced this chapter.)
Mae's gonna learn how to teleport with Aeron!
The first battle between Luca and Damon will be taking place soon! Predictions?
Warmly, Destiny <3