IN A MORNING
MICHAEL
The room was too loud. Too hot. Too full of teeth and anger. I woke with Zavier's arm around me, his silver gaze cutting the air like a blade the moment he realized the others were standing there. Adrian, Terrence, Xavier, and Selene, smug as ever. All of them are watching.
And I hated it. I hated the way their eyes burned holes into me, like I was a prize caught in the wrong snare. Like I had betrayed them by daring to sleep without permission. Zavier shifted, pulling me closer, chin dipping into my hair, his chest vibrating low and steady. My wolf purred at the sound, traitorous and content, even while my stomach twisted at the tension sparking between everyone else.
"Michael." Adrian's voice was tight, controlled, but his golden eyes burned. "You let him mark you?"
I sat up halfway, Zavier's arm still locked around me like a shackle, his claim hot on my neck. My cheeks burned. "Let? Don't make it sound like I had a choice. You all saw what happened. You left me."I said.
Terrence's storm gray eyes flashed as his wolf surged against his skin.
"We didn't abandon you. We trusted Selene's word-"He started.
"Trusted her?" I snapped, glare darting toward Selene's smirk. My voice cracked with fury. "While I was burning alive in heat? You left me in a room to rot, except he stayed. He didn't walk out."
That shut them up. For a breath. Xavier's dark, calculating eyes narrowed like knives.
"So what, you think that makes him better? He took advantage. Claimed you while you were-"He asked.
"He saved me." The words ripped out of me before I could stop them. My wolf growled low in my chest, rattling the walls with its warning. "None of you were there. None of you gave a damn. He did. He's the only one who wanted me, not some prophecy. Not some saint baby. Me."
The silence after that was heavy, furious. Adrian's hands curled into fists. Terrence muttered a curse. Xavier's jaw ticked, like he wanted to argue but couldn't. Selene only looked amused, eyes glittering like the devil herself. And Zavier? Zavier just tightened his hold until my back was flush to his chest, his voice a low snarl meant for them all.
"He's mine. I won't say it again."Zavier said.
My wolf rumbled, pleased, leaning into him instinctively. My head tipped back, resting against his shoulder, even as my heart hammered with anger. Adrian stepped forward, amber eyes blazing.
"Michael, you don't know what you're saying. The goddess-"He started.
I snapped. My body trembled as the growl tore free, deeper, sharper, more commanding than I thought possible. An omega's growl, raw, guttural, a sound that shut alphas up. Every single one of them froze. Even Selene's smirk faltered.
"Enough!" My voice cracked like a whip, my chest heaving, wolf surging through my skin. "You want to argue about gods and prophecies and heirs? Fine. Do it without me. Because I'm done listening."
The growl rolled again, vibrating off the walls, forcing their wolves down whether they liked it or not. And in the silence that followed, I ripped away from Zavier's arms, shifting before anyone could stop me. Dark fur split through skin. My body dropped to all fours, my wolf exploding free with a snarl of defiance, before I bolted. Out the door. Through the hall. Into the gardens. Away from their rage. Away from Selene's schemes. Away from everything except the one truth echoing through my bones. I was tired of being their game piece. And still… even as I hid among the moonlit hedges, my wolf purred softly to itself. Because it remembered Zavier's arms. His bite. His claim. And it wanted more.
The night garden smelled of earth and dew, the flowers trembling where my paws crushed the grass. My breath came fast, steaming in the cold air, but my wolf kept purring low and steady, traitorously soothed by the bond mark throbbing at my neck. And then the air shifted.
The moonlight grew brighter, pooling silver across the grass until it bent shape formed into her.
Golden hair spilled like molten light over her shoulders, every strand aglow with the very essence of dawn. Her skin shimmered faintly, not pale like mortal flesh but luminous, kissed by stars. And her eyes, gods above green, deep and endless as forest heartwood, burning with secrets and laughter both. She was beauty made flesh. Untouchable. Sacred. Infuriating. The Moon Goddess smiled at me, as though I were nothing more than her favorite child caught sulking.
"So fiery, little one." She purred, her voice silk and bells at once. "Even in your anger, you glow with instinct. I could not have chosen better."
I growled, snapping my teeth, ears flat, but she only laughed, delighted. Her bare feet brushed the grass, leaving no mark as she circled me.
"You were never meant to be Charlie." She whispered, bending close until her golden hair fell like sunlight against my dark fur. "And yet… you shine even brighter than my first choice. That silver mark on your neck? Proof of it. Instinct guided him. Instinct guided you."
My wolf trembled, tail flicking as I tried not to meet her gaze. But the green of her eyes caught me, pinned me, softened me until I huffed low, ashamed of my own weakness. She cupped my muzzle gently, her touch cool and radiant.
"Do you know why I let him bite first?" She asked, voice lilting. "Because Zavier's claim was never about prophecy. It was desire. Pure. Relentless. He chose you, not a title, not a future heir. You. And that is what binds strongest of all."
My heart thudded, fur bristling as the words sank deep, embarrassingly warm. Her smile widened, wicked and sweet all at once.
"Oh, Michael, you blush even in wolfskin. How precious."She said and grinned.
I gave a sharp growl, snapping my head away, but she only laughed again rich, silvery, echoing through the whole garden. Then her tone shifted, softer, though her grin lingered.
"Charlie will return one day. Rose too. The others will fight, claw, bleed for a chance at you. But no matter what storms come, your place will always be nearest to him." Her gaze glimmered with silver light, almost conspiratorial. "Your Zavier."She added.
The name vibrated through my chest, through the bond mark, setting my wolf purring again before I could stop it. The goddess leaned back, delight dancing on her lips.
"Yes. Purr for him, little one. For that is the sound of destiny already decided."She grinned.
And then she was gone, dissolving back into silver mist, leaving me shivering in the moonlight, fur bristling, my wolf's purr echoing embarrassingly loud in the quiet.
AT THE SAME TIME
SELENE
The mirror pulsed faintly beneath my hands, silver light rippling across its surface like water disturbed by stone. I had been watching, breath caught in my throat, as She appeared before Michael. The Moon herself. Golden hair cascading like fire through water, eyes gleaming green with the kind of purity that made mortals tremble and she had laughed. Not at Michael's defiance, not at his growls, but with delight. Her voice lingered still, echoing through my mind like a sacred hymn.
"Purr for him, little one. For that is the sound of destiny already decided."Moon Godness said.
I pulled back from the glass, my pulse hammering. Zavier. It was Zavier's name She had blessed. Zavier's bond She had praised. My lips parted, a sharp breath leaving me. Of all the alphas, I had expected Zavier to hesitate, to hold himself back like the others, waiting for my command, for the proper moment. But no, he had moved first, claimed first, and the Goddess… approved. I clenched my fists, nails biting crescents into my palms.
"Why?" I hissed into the empty chamber. "Why him? Why only him?"
The mirror shimmered in answer, but it was not my reflection that stared back it was Hers again. The Moon Goddess's faint after image, lips curled in sly amusement.
"Because he desired him without prophecy. Because he would have kept him even if he were no saint at all."She said.
Her words struck through me, sharp as any blade. My breath hitched. Michael… not as saint, not as vessel, but as mate. The Goddess's smile widened, playful and merciless.
"Oh, Selene, do you see? The others will rage, they will fight, they will claw for their piece of him. But this bond this wolf of silver and storm, he has already buried himself deepest. And Michael purrs."She said.
I shivered, involuntary, hearing again the faint sound that had slipped from the boy soft, warm, utterly submissive in its instinct. The noise of an omega wolf safe in its alpha's hold.
"…Then what of Charlie?" I whispered, voice tight. "The chosen saint. The real one. The one you promised me."
The Goddess tilted her golden head, eyes gleaming with secrets too ancient to name.
"Charlie will return. Rose too. And when they do, your work will grow harder." Her smile sharpened like a blade wrapped in silk. "But Michael will remain. Nearer to Zavier than to any of them. And perhaps…" She leaned closer, her voice a wicked purr in my ear. "…perhaps this was My will all along."
I staggered back, heart pounding. Her laughter rang, bright as bells, before fading with the last shimmer of moonlight. Silence fell over the chamber, but not within me. I pressed my palm hard against the mirror, staring at my own reflection, eyes wide, lips parted. Zavier's wolf had won the first claim. The Goddess delighted in it. And Michael… Michael was already slipping from my grip, curling closer to Zavier with every breath. I bit down hard on my lip, tasting iron.
"So be it." I murmured, voice shaking but sharp. "If Zavier thinks this game is his… let him enjoy the first victory. But the others won't stop. And neither will I. The bond is only the beginning. And the Goddess herself has permitted me to play harder."
The mirror rippled one last time, the echo of Michael's purr faint in the glass, mocking, haunting. I let it burn into me like a brand.