Chapter 6

The Moon goddess walked back to her shrine. The soft glow of her presence resonated and illuminated the leaves of where she walked pass.

Her face was covered, no one had seen her face before.

She always had a black veil dolled over her face. She had a human shape. She was the one who did.

Others could change their figures if need be but they could not be in their human shapes for too long. They usually went back to their normal wolf forms at the dawn of night. But the moon goddess was always in her human form. This made it a little wonder as to how she was able to achieve it and how she could see even with her face she always had dolled up with a black veil that hid her looks.

She felt it at first as a faint prickling at the edge of her senses. No one would dare. She thought. Everyone revered her because she beared the Oracle's words to them. No wolf would dare.

But then a whisper of caution made her glance around.

She could tell because she could notice. Shadows seemed to shift, the trees rustled with an unnatural hush, the air carried a tension that was not typical of the serene realm she had always walked.

Someone was following her.

With a calm but yet vigilant demeanor, she quickened her pace not wanting to turn nor confront her pursuer directly.

The sensation of her being tailed grew more obvious and stronger, the presence behind her refused to be ignored. Whoever it was, the person was skilled in concealment she thought.

As she noticed there was a bend in the path she was approaching, she subtly altered her path, leading her tailer into a secluded area.

She paused, her senses tuned to the rustling leaves.

A figure emerged from the shadows.

"Why do you follow me? " She asked with a wave of authority.

" Forgive me Great One, I sensed a disturbance and feared for your safety" came the reply from the figure that was still hidden behind the leaves.

The moon goddess sensed the voice as familiar but she could not point where she has heard it from before.

"You need not to shadow my steps because I am capable of safeguarding myself"

She could hear the snicker from the shadow which confirmed her thoughts.

" Why do you follow me Freya, child of mortal"

" What did I lack?" She asked, realizing now that the moon goddess had realized who was after her.

"It is not a lack dear one. The Oracle sees all, both the present and the future that may unfold, and she makes decisions for all. Your destiny may lie beyond the confines of what you seek "

" What purpose did all the trials I passed through serve as if not to prove ones worth? I have fought in battles, I endured hardships, I trained hard to be strong, I did everything all in the name of our packs prosperity. Why then did the Oracle not see my present and future of being worthy and seemed suitable of being by the Alpha heir's side?

"The ways of the Oracle are not for human comprehension" the goddess could barely manage to mutter.

Freya in her desperation continued, she took a step closer from the shadows where she had been

"I cannot accept that there is no reason,no explanations. Am I unworthy of an explanation from the Oracle's mouthpiece as well? I need to understand why I was overlooked,why my devotion was not enough. I need to understand why the Oracle had me made the Hunter's leader when she did not trust my devotion to the pack, I need to understand why the scars I have suffered and endured were not enough to prove my worth. My sacrifices,my devotions, were they in vain? I need answers,I need explanations. Why did the Oracle not deem me worthy of her favour? Have I not sacrificed enough?"

" Child of the earth and sky.... The moon goddess went.

" Your worth is not measured solely by your sacrifices. The Oracle's decisions are guided by forces beyond mortal understanding."

Freya's lips curled in a scornful sneer.

"Forces beyond mortal understanding? Or perhaps the Oracle's whims are as fickle as the wind, playing favourites without reason or merit."

The moon goddess' gaze hardened lightly, a hint of warning in her voice.

"Do not presume to question the Oracle's wisdom. There are intricacies at play that you cannot comprehend"

" Perhaps I comprehend more than you think!" Freya shot back, her voice dripping with disdain and pain.

" I have seen the blood spilled for this pack, I felt the pains of every trials endured. Yet,I am cast aside like a forgotten relic"

The moon goddess' patience was wearing thin. Her tone turning colder.

"Your bitterness blinds you, Freya. The Oracle's vision extends far beyond your personal desires. There are greater destinies at stake"

"Destinies that conveniently overlook those who have given their all!" Freya retorted, her voice laced with bitterness.

"Your disrespect borders on insolence, The Oracle's choices are not yours to question."

"For what good is blind faith when it leads only to disappointments?"

" You will find no solace in disrespect Freya. Your path may not be what you expected but it is yours to navigate with either grace or bitterness"

" If I was not found worthy of being the mate of the Alpha Heir, why then did the Oracle choose me to find her? Was it because I am expendable, a mere pawn in your divine game?"

" Your role was not assigned lightly. There are reasons beyond your comprehension"

" Reasons? Or excuses?" Freya scoffed, her anger unchecked.

" Did you not consider the consequences? What if I refused? What if I found the mate but decided to end her for my own interests?"

" The question you ask should be directed to you, Freya. Would you?"

Freya's laughter was bitter, filled with scorn.

"What differences does it make? I have already been denied what I deserved. Spare me your cryptic words"

"Never forget this... " Freya goes on.

" My loyalty has it's limits" " I do not know when it would run out but never forget that it has it's limits"

Saying this with a defiant glare, Freya turned away to leave, her heart in a storm of emotions.

The Moon Goddess stood and watch her disappear out of sight. She sighed but then continued her journey to her shrine.

In the depths of his lair, Damien pondered on the issues that plagued his mind.

The absence of Freya as his mate was the first puzzle that filled his mind. She had proven herself time and again of being worthy of being his mate. She wasn't old, she was still young and only older than him by perhaps a year or two, he thought.

What could the Oracle have seen that he did not, and why was she not picked nor given any other mate. She pondered.

As he contemplated on this, his thoughts drifted to the woman he had been seeing recurring in his dreams.

Her features were always blur, but she had a birthmark at the back of her left ear.

He had always wondered why that feature of hers was the first he saw whenever he had dreams about her.

Freya had a birth mark too. She had a birthmark at the back of her right ear.

He had always dismissed them with thoughts that she had sustained them from fights.

But now, the similarities of her and the woman in his dreams birthmark kept on lingering in his memory.

Was there a reason for that. He asked himself. Who was the woman.

"Who are you?" He whispered to the empty expanse of his lair, his gaze unfocused as he tried to grasp the fleeting fragments of his dreams.

"Why do you haunt my memories, yet remain beyond my reach?" He retorted.

" Why do things I want for myself remain beyond my reach?" He asked no one in particular.