Awakening The Goddess: Book II

Chapter 2: Is It Over?

Eriana

“Eriana,” Derion called out quietly from the driver’s seat. I’ve never heard his voice waiver so much. All of the confidence that usually exudes from his voice was gone and I understood completely. Ba Pef could take whoever he wanted, whenever and there wasn’t much we could do about it. 

“I’m here,” I whispered as I cradled my belly, trying my best to shield my son from the evil around us. I heard him sigh in relief but now was no time for us to let our guards down. We were fine but that doesn’t mean everyone else is. The others were in their cars but we didn’t even know if they were affected. 

At last glance, Bria was in the backseat asleep, worn out from running around with Gia and Mario. I felt around to unbuckle my seatbelt before scrambling around to get to the backseat. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the car but I knew I had to get to my baby. 

As I moved over the middle console, I felt his hand around my arm. I gently laid my hand on top of his, trying to comfort him but he wouldn’t budge. 

“I have to get Bria. I’ll be right back,” I said as I tried to comfort him.  He let me go, I’m sure against all of his instincts. When I stumbled into the backseat I felt around for Bria’s car seat until I found her. I ran my hand over her face and I felt her breath against my hand. Knowing that she was okay made me feel so much better.

“Is Bria…,” he started, his voice still not as constant as I know it to be. 

“Yeah, she’s fine,” I sobbed. I hadn’t even realized I was crying until this moment. I unbuckled her from her car seat and handed her off to Derion before making my way back to the front seat. I felt around for the glove compartment until I finally found the box that Maria was finally able to finish with Greg’s help. 

They tested it on a variety of things but not on a soul. We had no way of knowing if it would work how we needed it to, especially on Ba Pef. It worked in theory but until we put it into practice, it was just a pretty box. It was now or never because who knows when we’ll get this opportunity again. 

I felt around for the car door but before I had a chance to open it, I felt Derion’s hand around my arm. I knew he was afraid, terrified really but this was a rare chance. Ba Pef hadn’t shown himself since he took Darius a few months ago. 

“I have to, Derion,” I said quietly. I ran my free hand up his arm until I found his face. I slipped my hand around his neck and pulled him towards me as we clumsily searched for each other’s lips. Once found, I poured a thousand lifetimes’ worth of love into him, in case this was my final moment with him. I needed him to know that he was and will always be my everything. Loving him and being loved by him will always be my greatest achievement in any lifetime. 

I finally pulled away from him and my face was wet with tears and I didn’t know if they were mine or his, but I knew that I would do anything to protect him and I would do even more to get back to him. 

“I love you, Derion. Forever,” I said as I slipped out of his grasp and out of the car with Pandora’s Box. I stumbled about on the road until I could get my footing. The surrounding air is so thick and his presence was so palpable I felt like I could reach out and touch his soul. The sense of terror was stronger on the outside than it was in the car. The feeling of dread and terror crept up my spine, trying to make me surrender and bend to its will but I wouldn’t give Ba Pef the satisfaction. He held no power over me. 

I felt around for the locking mechanism and pushed my thumb into it, letting it draw my blood. The box opened slowly revealing a bright light that made the darkness dissipate right before my eyes. I watched in awe as the darkness was dragged into the box. Ba Pef’s sinister laughter filled the air as the last bit of darkness was engulfed and the box closed on its own. 

He was gone. The air was breathable again and I could hear the animals in the surrounding forest going on about their lives. I stood in the middle of the street, just holding the box full of terror but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was the end of it. Why did he laugh? What am I missing? I examined the box the best I could in the darkness, but everything seemed fine. It worked exactly like it was supposed to but something was wrong. This was too easy. This felt like deja vu, but I couldn’t remember what happened the first time. 

“Eriana!” Derion’s voice rang out, his deep baritone pulling me from my thoughts. I felt the sparks shoot through me as he pulled me towards him and into a tight embrace. His heart was racing as if he’d just run a marathon. I felt his hands run through my hair before his lips crashed into mine, sending my body into a frenzy. We were so lost in our love that we didn’t even care that we were in the middle of the street until Anthony called out to us. 

“Hey! Stop sucking face and get out of the street, man! You’ve got traffic backed up a mile-long back here!” Suddenly, I was acutely aware of how many people were actually around us and it made me a little self-conscious. Ever since the incident with Peyton, I feel like more people hate me now. I just wanted to hide behind Derion and go back home. 

Derion, being the amazing mate and man that he is, sensed my anxiety and ushered me back into the vehicle, making sure to protect me from the glares of angry pack members. You’d think people would be happy that I convinced Derion to spare her life, but no. Apparently, they were all looking forward to a public execution. 

“Ugh, they hate me,” I said as Derion climbed back into the driver seat after buckling Bria back into her car seat. 

“They don’t hate you, Sunshine. They’re just confused,” he responded sweetly as he rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. 

“About what? I’d already punished Peyton so there was no need for her to die. I literally put the fear of god into her. She wouldn’t dare disrespect me again after I let her experience death.” 

“I don’t want to argue tonight, baby,” he replied as he kissed the back of my hand. He always did this, instead of engaging in the conversation with me, he just tries to sweet-talk his way out of it and I’m sick of it. 

“I’m not trying to argue, Derion. I just want to understand and you keep doing this,” I said as I pulled my hand from his and he let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Right, but when I tried to explain this to you, you got very upset and wouldn’t talk to me for two days even though I was just explaining to you why they thought the way they did,” he responded as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to hide his annoyance. 

“It wasn’t what you said, Derion. It was how you said it,” I rebutted. 

“I don’t know how else to say it, baby. They think it makes you look weak to let her live after she blatantly disrespecting you,” he said simply. 

“Is that what you think, too?” 

“No, because I know what you did to her. No one else does but you won’t let them know. They don’t know who you are, Heret. They don’t know what you’re capable of,” he responded, invoking my name causing a surge of power to run through me. 

“But even if they don’t know what I’m capable of, why can’t they just take me at my word that she’d been punished already? Why is that so hard to believe?” 

“Because you didn’t grow up here. People know you but they don’t know you. They don’t know if you’re genuine and honest. They don’t know if you’re a keeper of your word. They have to get to know you as a person and as a Luna, then they will understand.” 

I sat in silence for a few minutes, letting his words sink in and he was right. From their point of view, not publicly executing Peyton looked like an act of weakness. I can’t be seen as a weak Luna then expect people to feel like they can rely on me. How can I fix this though?

“You can either kill her or show them what you did,” he spoke as if he’d read my mind, but if he could, I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised. 

“I’m not killing her,” I said firmly. I didn’t want to drain the life out of one person, let alone fourteen hundred people. I sighed as I watched the trees blur into nothingness as Derion drove us home. I tried to think of other options that would satisfy the pack members but nothing came to mind. Unfortunately, Derion was right. I would just have to show them who I am. 

When we finally arrived back at the packhouse, I carried Pandora's Box to Derion’s office and I put it inside of his safe. Until we could figure out what to do with the box now, it would have to just stay locked up in his safe. No one knew the combination, so it should be safe, right? Who would dare steal something from him?

I examined the box once more to make sure everything was still okay, and by the looks of it and from the instructions Maria gave me, everything was functioning perfectly. However, that feeling of dread remained in the back of my mind. 

“Stop stressing. It’s bad for my son,” Derion said as he took the box from my hand with a kiss and placed it inside of his safe. He turned back to me and caressed my face with his hand. I leaned into him to let the warmth comfort me and send all of the stress of the day away. 

“Let’s go to bed,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his torso. He didn’t bother to answer, he just picked me up bridal style and carried me to our bedroom. I leaned into his chest, listening to the thrum of his heartbeat but it sounded off. The rhythm was strange, it still matched my own but it wasn't right but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I looked up at him and I ran my fingers along his chiseled jawline, causing him to look down at me. 

"Are you okay, babe?" I asked, trying not to freak out.

"Yeah," he replied with one of his signature smiles. "I couldn't be better." 

Well, that was a lie.