Chapter Six: Forced Destiny

Zoe had not choice but to make her way up the mountains. She had to go back to the temple and face her mother, Madelyn. She honestly did not know what to say. 

By now she knew that the news would have reached the temple. She looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds were beginning to darken. The rain would be coming soon. 

Was the Moon Goddess crying because of Zoe choices? She had heard fables as a child about the Moon Goddess crying and the God of Heavens sending her tears to the realm so the people would know her love. 

But those were just stories her mother told her at bed time. Stories to shield her from the reality of the world. When it rains a storm is to follow. 

When Zoe finally came to the doors of the temple she inhaled the crisp air in the high altitude. She looked ahead and pushed the double wooden doors open. She had noticed that there was no attendant at the door when she had arrived. 

She walked into the foyer and saw the table in the center of the room. Gold and black decorated the room before her. 

There was a small clay statue of a woman sitting next to a wolf. This was how Zoe viewed the Goddess after all the stories that she had been told. 

Now she felt like she was staring at her own image. 

The table was in between two staircases that divided the room. The staircases led to the bedchambers of the priestess as well as the areas to perform rituals and rites. Zoe's personal chambers were on the far end going up the stairs on the fight handed side. 

Before she could make her way to the room, she was stopped by an ordinant. 

"The High Priestess would like an audience with you Vi before you retire." The ordinant explained. With a sigh she followed the guard to the left hand stairs and made there way to the council chambers. 

Zoe did not need to ask what it was about. As she made her descendent to the room she noticed the ordinant stopped at the doorway and gestured for her to go inside. Zoe rapped her knuckles on the door. 

"You may enter." A voice announced from the other side.

The ordinant reached for the door's handle and motioned for Zoe to go in-alone. Zoe swallowed her fears as she walked through the doorway. 

There was a brown wooden table in the middle of the room that had a small golden chandler hovering above it. All five candles were lit. At the table of six chairs three occupied them. 

Facing the door was High Priestess Cylvia. She wore her traditional red and gold garments that she would wear to bed and nightly prayer. Her white locks were braided down and fell down her back. Her face was unreadable.

On the right handed side Zoe's mother, Madelyn sat with a stone emotionless face. She wore silver and blue robes for prayer while her brown hair had been cut into a pixie cut years ago. Zoe could smell that she had been crying earlier. 

And finally sitting in the chair on the left was Elder Council Grace. She had been present at the meeting with Zoe a few hours. No doubt Grace had come to be the bearer of bad news. She was still in her attire from the meeting. A loose fitting gown that stopped at her ankles. However her blonde hair was free to cascade down her shoulder. 

"Zoe, please sit. We have much to discuss." The High Priestess motioned towards the chair opposite to hers. Zoe walked over and pulled the chair and took a seat waiting for it to be over.

"So as we know that you spoke with the council to have your title changed however you were met with unfortunate turn of events." It was clear the High Priestess was trying to maintain her distaste for the situation. 

Suddenly my mother's hands slammed to the table. "You have damned our temple! Do you realize this Vi?" My mother shouted towards me. 

"Madelyn," Grace said as she reached across the table and grabbed my mother's hand. "we must stay calm in these times." OF course Grace was here for emotional support to my mother. She had been there for her since my birth. She was family.

"Thank you Grace. I know you are upset and everyone has a right to be however this can not be over looked. So Vi do you have any questions?" The High Priestess said. 

"Why did I not SHIFT sooner? I am 21 now and I am just going through the CHANGE. Why?" Zoe said looking at the women in the room. 

"That was a decision that your mother and I made. Normally, most go through the CHANGE when they hit puberty but with you being the next in line as High Priestess your mother and I took precautions to insure your powers would not falter." The High Priestess said insuring herself.

"What type of measures?" Zoe said a little louder. This was beginning to sound ridiculous. 

"We made sure that you would only perform rituals and barriers from the temples. However if it came time to have you perform like you did at Alpha Nikoli's rite of passage ceremony we blessed your amulet with tools and ingredients to stop the process." The Priestess continued to explain. 

"We did not realize until you left that you left with out the amulet but we did not think you would CHANGE so soon." Zoe's mother muttered. 

"It must have been Alpha Nikoli's power. There have been times when young weres will change by accident due to his power. Not even his father was that able to manipulate the CHANGE without a thought or even a command." Grace said looking towards me.

"So let me get this straight you diminished my CHANGE at the fear of me losing my abilities?" Zoe said. She stood up and got her self away from the table. She did not want her anger getting the better of her. 

"There is more." Grace said.

"Don't!" Zoe's mother shouted. 

"Madelyn you need to tell her something." Grace shouted. 

Madelyn glared at Grace and then looked to her superior. The High Priestess nodded. 

"She does have the right to know now." 

Zoe could see her mother swallow and take a deep breath. "I did not want you to start questioning your lineage. You wanted to know about your father when you were a little girl and I thought if you became a SHIFTER you would start up again." 

Zoe's eyes grew larger from shock with this confession. 

"Mother I was seven! Of course, I would ask about him. But it does not take long to realize as a child when you have been ABANDON!" She screamed. 

"Zoe calm down. WE understand that you are upset but anger gets you nowhere." Grace stated. 

"And you knew too." Zoe turned at Grace. She could only nodded. Zoe scuffed and threw her hands in the air.

"Zoe there is still the matter of you being the Alpha's mate." The High Priestess said. She had created more tension in the air. 

Zoe's mother rubbed the tears the had fell and wiped her nose with a handkerchief. "There is nothing to discuss, Cylvia. My daughter is not going to be mated to that monster!" Madelyn shouted.

"But you are fine with Zoe being passed around and used as a sexual sacrifice for visiting tribes." Grace snarled. This meeting was getting out of hand. 

"ENOUGH!" High Priestss shouted. Both of you! This is not up for discussion." 

"Is it true High Priestess Cylvia?" Zoe said calmly.

"Is what true dear?" She asked.

"It is true that if I reject Nikoli's claim that he and I die? And when he dies the tribe dies out with us?" Zoe tried to hold back the tears forming. She did not want to die. 

"How did you hear this child," Zoe could hear the concern in the High Priestess's voice. 

"Nikoli told me." Zoe said. Tears formed and her eyes began to blur. She felt like she knew the answer but she needed someone to tell her it was a lie. 

High Priestess sighed and looked over to Grace before answering. 

"Yes, Zoe. What Alpha Nikoli told you was the truth. His life is imbedded with the pacts. That was the point of the rite of passage when he swore the oath all those years ago." The priestess paused as she looked at the elder. 

"Since Nikoli has found his Luna that bares all three marks fate has been set. YOu and Nikoli are bond to each other as a blessing to the MOon Goddess,"the elder said with high spirits.

"Right this is a blessing. My daughter is now the slave to the Alpha." Zoe's mother spat. 

"That is not how it works Madelyn. You know that. The Alpha sees his Luna as an equal. HE defends her and protects her." Zoe could tell that Grace was getting offended. She was a council member that stood by Nikoli even when the others thought he was too young to become the Alpha of the pact. 

"Be that as it may, you are destined to be the Luna of the Cresent Moonstone Pact. And it pains me to say this but the Luna cannot be amongst the tribe priestess." High Priestess Cylvia stated.

Zoe felt the room starting to spin. "What does that mean?" 

Zoe's mother began to speak.

 "It means that you are no longer welcome in the temple, Zoe. You still carry the title of Wicca of the Pact but you cannot reside in the temple. You cannot be here during rituals and prayers. You are banished." 

Zoe feel on her knees in front of the three women. 

"I am so sorry my dear, but your mother is right." Cylvia said. "With a heavy heart as High Priestess of the coven, I banish you, Zoe Archer from the temple." 

Zoe's mother was being led out of chamber by Grace. The elder mumbled something to the high priestess so Zoe could not hear. 

Just like that Zoe had no where else to go.