**Erick's POV**
Something startled me while we were sleeping. Looking at the door, I noticed a glowing light beneath the door. "Rhian, Rhian." I nudged her gently, trying to wake her.
"Hmmph," she groaned and rolled towards me.
"Rhian, I am going to need you to wake up and tell me I am not seeing things."
That was enough to grab her attention, and her eyes flew open. "What?"
"Shh, I don't know if anyone is out there, but look at the door, the light at the bottom." I put my fingers over my mouth and gestured with my head.
"We need to go check it out."
"Stay here, I'll go." I prayed she'd agree.
"Yeah right, I am coming with you." She looked around the room, finding a pair of shoes and she slipped them on. "Let's go."
She stood at my back with her hand resting on my shoulder blades. I slowly turned the knob and opened the door. It looked like the lights Susan had used to light our pathway to the ceremony. The problem was that when I looked closer, there were no wires, just a pathway of glowing lights.
"Let's follow them," she suggested. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to where the lights were leading. The lights led to the door in front of the outside path we had walked earlier. Remaining vigilant yet increasingly curious, the pathway to where our ceremony was held was fully illuminated.
"What is going on?" Rhian looked at me, questioning.
"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine at this point." We reached the clearing and both of us immediately froze, seeing what was before us. There is a woman with silver hair, wearing a sheer white flowing dress. Although what was shocking was the ethereal glow surrounding her.
Rhian suddenly drops to her knees, dragging me down to kneel with her.
"Come to me, my children." Her voice was melodic and instantly soothed the fear that had just filled my thoughts. "Don't be afraid. Please, come closer."
"Yes, Goddess." I heard the words come from Rhian's mouth as she stood. I followed her lead and held her hand as we approached the glowing figure.
"Do not be afraid. I came to you because the others are correct. Erick, you have a very special purpose and challenge ahead of you. I wanted to offer you some guidance and a gift to help you and your mate to fulfill your destiny. Tonight was a very special moon and it is easier for me to appear more clearly when the moon is closer to the earth. With the ceremony complete, I can speak to you both together."
"Thank you, Goddess." I was struggling to comprehend and come to terms with what was happening right now. I had come to terms with the possibility they were correct about me, but at the same time, I was extremely doubtful. What made me so special? How would I even fulfill the prophecy if I didn't even fully understand the world I was living in?
"I knew precisely what I was doing, young man."
What in the world? Did I just say that out loud?
The Goddess interrupted, "No, you didn't say it out loud. I can see your thoughts. You are my creation, you can't hide anything from me."
"I apologize. I didn't mean to doubt you." I hung my head.
"By doubting yourself you are doubting me. That is part of the reason I am here. I believe it is time for me to restore your memories. It will shed light on the broader scope of what is happening now." She approached me and placed her hand on my head.
I didn't even have time to answer when I felt myself collapse as I saw a bright flash, then everything went black. My head was spinning as I began to open my eyes. I wasn't in the clearing anymore.
It was a dark musty cave with a fire illuminating the small space. He recognized Eliza standing there over the fire entranced by the flames and smoke. She was chanting in a language he didn't recognize.
She can't see you, it is easier if I show you your past. This is when it all began. He was taken back. He could hear the Goddesses' voice in his mind. Maeve was a druid and often practiced divination. This is when she saw a glimpse of her own death. Beyond being angry, she proceeded to make a deal with the Fae.
Images and pictures continued to appear and reappear in front of me like a slideshow. All the while, I heard the Goddess continue to describe the events that had transpired in my past.
She was rash and impetuous and in her hurry didn't take into account how deceptive fairies can be. She demanded to be made an immortal Goddess, trying to rewrite her future. The fairy tricked her and instead granted her the nine lives that are typically bestowed upon fairies.
If she was able to successfully change her predicted fate, her immortality would be granted. Knowing she was to be murdered created a vicious, jealous, and vengeful woman. She was able to use her beauty to enchant rich and powerful men, but it was never enough. She had an innate need to be the best, wealthiest, smartest, most powerful person.
It caused paranoia and doubt in anyone close to her. Despite the fact, her ex-husband treated her awful she couldn't stand the fact that he and her sister had produced an heir. Her sister, your mother, was nine months pregnant when she murdered her. They were able to save you by cutting you from her stomach.
Leaving you to live proved to be a deadly mistake for her. When you grew older, you avenged your mother's death and murdered her. That set in motion the cycles of reincarnation. Through the first few cycles, you maintained your memories. However, as you continued to best her, she was able to slip you a magic potion.
The potion caused you to lose any previous memories of your past lives. She hoped it would give her the advantage of seeking you out and killing you before you were aware. Despite her best efforts, even the removal of your memories didn't prevent you from eventually killing her.
I knew that, with the infighting amongst the wolves and humans, you would be the perfect person to aid me in uniting my children. I took the liberty of making a few additions to your bloodline. You see, this is the ninth cycle. If she is not successful during this life, the fairy that deceived her added a clause to the deal.
If you succeed in fulfilling your destiny one last time, it is you that will become immortal. Who better to help guide and keep my children in line than a demigod? Eliza for years thought she succeeded when she had your parents killed because there was never a report of the child living. Samuel intervened on my behalf. I knew him and his pack was the perfect family to take you in.
I withheld your wolf as a means to allow him to grow stronger. As well as to set you apart from an ordinary wolf. It is unheard of to first transition so late in life. I needed Samuel to recognize that you indeed were my chosen one. I knew Rhian would compliment you wonderfully. She is loyal, brave, smart, and you won't be able to accomplish this without her.
My head spun again and I opened my eyes realizing Rhian had my head in her lap and I was lying on the ground. "You will never believe the dream I just had."
"Umm, dear, lookup, it wasn't a dream." She pointed across the clearing where the Goddess stood.
"Yes child, not a dream. Now listen closely, both of you." She moved closer as we stood to face her. "Your fate is not yet sealed. While I can aid in this journey I can not complete it for you. In order for you to fulfill your destiny, you will have to defeat Maeve. Do not underestimate her despite your previous success. She is a formidable opponent and her desperation will leave her actions unpredictable. Even from me."
"If I did kill her again, what would happen to Rhian? You said I would become a demigod and immortal, but what about her?"
"Patience, I will answer all of your questions. As I was saying, I can not predict the outcome of the events but, I can help give you an advantage. First, you two with each other will not be limited by distance while mind linking. Second, Rhian, you will be able to break into the thoughts of others. It will be easier with werewolves, but if you practice, it can work on a range of species."
She walked over to Rhian and placed her hand on her temple. "Use it wisely, not everyone will be supportive on your journey, but stay focused on the goal in front of you. Don't get sidetracked. Now, as for you, I have already bestowed upon you greater speed and strength than the strongest alpha. It will help you greatly, but, your biggest obstacle is your past, and the potion she slipped you has caused a barrier around your mind, but also your heart."
"Rhian had no issues breaking past every barrier because, as your mate, it is instilled upon you to trust, love, and protect her. She is not the only one who cares for you. She is not the only one willing to risk everything for you to fulfill your destiny. Have faith in the pack, have faith in family. You are not alone and you will never be alone again."
With those words, Rhian stepped closer to me and put her arm around my waist, and squeezed me. Her words hit me hard because I knew, even without being aware of my previous lives, my current life's past had caused me to be fiercely independent and not rely on others.
"Also, if you conquer Maeve once again, and can unite the species, I will bestow immortality upon Rhian personally. I brought you two together and I will not separate you." She walked over and placed a hand lovingly on each of our cheeks.
"I have to leave you, for now. The sun is rising and it is almost time for you to wake up. The pack is waiting to hear from you. I wish you both blessings on the road ahead." Before our eyes, she appeared to become more translucent and the glow that initially appeared around her now appeared on the moon, still visible behind her.
I turned to Rhian. "We need to talk, she showed me how this all began."
"I know, when I was holding your head it was like I could see and hear everything from your point of view. It was surreal. Maybe it has something to do with the ability she gave me."
"We have a long road ahead of us. Let's head back and meet with the pack. We need to prepare them for the battle that is to come."
Rhian took her arm and wrapped it around mine before grabbing my hand. I could feel how close she was as we walked. I watched her face as we walked slowly back. "I love you," I whispered before turning and kissing her temple.
"I love you, too." She softly kissed my nose as she tightened her grip on me. For the rest of the walk, we went in silence. The sun was peeking out from the horizon and I knew there was no point in trying to sleep, so I put on a pot of coffee as we prepared for the big meeting to come.