Heirs, 43

(POV: Deniel)

I squeeze my eyes shut, convinced that what I'm seeing is nothing more than an illusion. The goddess would never appear before me, much less like this, out of nowhere. I rub my eyes with the backs of my hands, and when I open them again, her figure is still there, standing a few meters away from me, looking at me with an expression that seems to suggest I'm a complete idiot.

"I can't believe it!" I exclaim, shaken by the madness of the situation.

"I'm not a mirage, Deniel," she assures me. "I heard your prayers and decided to bring peace to your heart."

"You want to reassure my heart?" I question, perplexed and irritated. "My heart has been torn apart for hundreds of years. I've lived a hell on Earth. Don't tell me you've come to reassure it. It took half a millennium for you to hear my pleas?"

"Calm down, Deniel," she pleads. "Don't blame me for the misfortunes that have befallen your life. Don't take out your frustrations on me. I have no control over the decisions made by others."

"I apologize," I murmur, acknowledging my mistake. "But why did you allow my people to be massacred so horribly?" I ask, my eyes filled with sadness. "They are your creations, after all. Didn't it hurt to see them erased from history?"

"It hurt me more than anyone else, after all, they are my children," she responds sadly. "But I'm not to blame for the wrong choices my children made."

"My children were just children. What wrong choice did they make?" I ask, hurt, now that she's here and I want to know everything.

"The witches wanted to extinguish the other races," she explains, and I furrow my brow in disbelief. "They knew you would oppose it and did everything in secret. They kidnapped the wolves and killed them, all in the dead of night."

"This can't be true. We were a peaceful people!" I say firmly, unable to accept this revelation.

"It's true," she affirms in the same tone. "I have no control over my children's choices, as I've said. I witnessed these scenes and felt my heart crushed, but I couldn't do anything," she continues, her voice choking. "My children were self-destructing, and it still haunts me," she takes a deep breath to compose herself. "The wolves decided to rebel when they found out the witches were responsible for the disappearance of their kind. It got worse when one of the victims was the son of one of the Supreme alphas of the time. They retaliated with full force and left no one alive."

"But I'm here," I say, cold.

"Yes, Deniel, and that's wonderful, isn't it?" she asks. "You are the hope of your race."

Tears stream down my face because I know she's not lying, but it's hard to accept. My family didn't deserve that suffering.

"My wife... My children... They didn't deserve it... Why didn't you stop it?" I ask, head lowered.

"I've already said I'm not to blame for your choices," she responds impatiently.

"But you're a goddess! How could you..."

"I can't keep interfering in everything. Choices have consequences, Deniel."

"And the innocent paid for your indifference," I accuse.

"How many innocent ones have you made pay for the choices you no longer live with?" she retorts, and I fall silent. She's right. If they were wrong, I was wrong too, and I involved humans in it. "They are with me now," she says. "And I've already explained it wasn't indifference."

"Alright," I sigh deeply. "You said I'm the salvation of my race. How?"

"Your mate is still unconscious," she states, reminding me of the girl in my room.

"How?" I ask, confused. "That girl is my mate? Why?"

"Because she is the one I chose to make you happy," she answers simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"But she's just a girl!" I exclaim, agitated. "Next to her, I look very old."

"Age and destiny are separate things. She is my chosen one, Deniel."

"I can't," I say, frustrated.

"You've always wished to find your destined one, your soulmate, and now she's here. I gave her to you," she says firmly. "Accept it and be happy."

"She's a werewolf! How can this work?"

"You are the hope of your race, and she will help you restore it," she explains. "Allow yourself to live, Deniel. Allow yourself to love and be loved. I want you to be happy and have a good life."

"But..."

The light blinds me again, and I close my eyes tightly. After a few seconds, the intense light disappears, and I look at the sky, where the moon is present again. I sigh. I need to eat and prepare something for the girl. For my girl. I can smile. Oh, little wolf, you're mine, and against everything I believed, I will take you as my mate and allow myself to be happy.

"Thank you, Selene," I murmur, looking at the sky, before going back inside.

(POV: Scarlett)

I impatiently await a response from Deniel, but he remains silent, and I believe he's already gone. Huffing in irritation, I know I must retrieve my daughter at all costs. However, I can't leave Lina for later. I've waited too long for this moment, and I need to satisfy my thirst for blood because I won't have another opportunity.

"Let's go back," I order my henchman, and we use our supernatural speed to head as quickly as possible to my enemy's house. Now is the time to seize this opportunity and put an end to this disgusting wolf race.

"Start invading the pack's homes," I order my small army, positioned in front of the Supreme's house of this detestable pack. "The houses are a few kilometers from here, in that direction," I point out a path through the trees.

"Yes, ma'am," they respond in unison, and I watch them disappear from my sight. I smile, savoring my victory.

It's time to continue with my little game, I think as I climb up to the office where Lina is, along with her mate, ready to torture her a little more.