AT THE SAME TIME
MICHAEL
The silver glow hadn't vanished yet, not completely. It pulsed one last time across the table, shimmering like mist, and then the Goddess stepped forward. Her golden hair spilled like molten light, her green eyes brighter than the stars. She wasn't just a voice now. She was here. In the flesh. Or at least in the veil between. My breath caught, my wolf sinking low, both reverent and wary. She moved toward me, her bare feet leaving no sound on the floor. The other alphas dropped their gazes instinctively, wolves bowing under the weight of her presence. Even Selene staggered back, trembling as if her own bones remembered who she truly served. The Goddess stopped in front of me. Her smile was soft, but her eyes sparkled with wicked delight.
"You roared for yourself today, little wolf." She murmured. "You demanded your place. And for that… I will give you a gift."
My ears flicked forward, suspicion burning through my wolf, but I couldn't move. Her hand lifted, pale and luminous, and she pressed her fingers gently against my forehead. Cool fire spilled through me. Not burning, not painful. Just light. It crawled down my skin, seeped into my bones, rippled outward. My wolf howled inside me, startled and gleeful all at once. And then it changed.
I felt it. Subtle but undeniable. My reflection in the silver of her eyes was sharper my skin brighter, lips fuller, eyes gleaming with a glow that hadn't been there before. My hair shimmered faintly like the night itself had kissed it. Even my scent richer, deeper, threaded with something that made the alphas wolves stir and groan under their breath. She had boosted me. Beautified me. Made me glow. My cheeks burned hot, my wolf bristling and embarrassed all at once.
"What, what did you just-"I muttered emberassed.
The Goddess only smiled, pressing her lips to my temple like a mother, her golden hair spilling across my shoulders.
"A reward. For choosing yourself. For being mine. Let them all see what perfection looks like when it glows in defiance."She said.
I felt eyes drilling into me, wide and stunned. Adrian's jaw had slackened. Terrence muttered a curse under his breath. Xavier's gaze darted away fast, hiding something tight in his chest. Selene, Selene looked like she might break the table in half from sheer rage and then there was Zavier. His silver eyes flared the instant her light left me. His hand tightened on my waist, claws nearly pricking my side. His jaw clenched, a red flush creeping across his cheekbones. He stared at me like the world had just tilted sideways, like I had become something too much, too beautiful, too untouchable. And still his wolf growled low, dark, possessive.
"Mine." He muttered, the word so rough it rattled my bones. "Even if she dresses you in stars, Michael. Still mine."
The Goddess laughed, delighted, spinning away from me, her golden hair shimmering as she dissolved back into mist. Her voice lingered, coy and teasing him to my embarrassment.
"Oh, Zavier… perhaps that is why I like you. You do not falter, even when I make him shine brighter than the dawn."She grinned.
The last traces of her presence melted away, leaving only silence, and Zavier's arms locked tight around me, his face still red, his wolf still snarling quietly at the room as if daring anyone to breathe near me. And me? My wolf purred so loudly it almost embarrassed me, but I couldn't stop it. The Goddess had touched me, rewarded me. And Zavier, Zavier couldn't look at me without blushing like a boy caught staring at fire. Zavier didn't give me a chance to protest. The moment the Goddess's light faded, his arm locked around my waist, dragging me out of the dining hall. My boots scraped across the stone, my wolf purring, his wolf growling low enough to rattle my ribs.
"Zavier-" I started, heat rising to my cheeks, but he didn't stop until we were just beyond the archway, tucked against the shadowed wall where the scent of roses and iron clung to the night air.
He pressed me against the stone, his silver eyes burning, still flushed from whatever the Goddess had done to me.
"You have no idea what you look like right now." He muttered, voice rough, almost angry. "Do you? You think I'm going to let them stare at you after that?"
My mouth opened, ready to snap back, but then, the voices carried. From the hall. Loud. Sharp. Impossible not to hear. Adrian's voice first, clipped and furious.
"You saw it! The Goddess blessed him in front of us all. And yet you let Zavier drag him out like some prize won at war. He isn't yours alone!"He frowned.
Terrence's voice overlapped, rough and crackling with fury.
"Don't talk about him like he's a relic to share. He's a living, breathing wolf. If anyone deserves him, it's someone who won't chain him down. Zavier marks him, and suddenly the rest of us are supposed to roll over? Hell no!"Terrence growled in anger.
Then Xavier, cool, sharp, but the edges of his restraint fraying.
"You're both fools. Did you not see the way the Goddess touched him? This isn't about preference anymore, it's power. She made him brighter. Stronger. That kind of gift isn't given without reason. If Zavier holds him, he controls more than just a mate, he holds her will."He said.
The air snapped with Selene's hiss, her voice cutting like broken glass.
"Enough. You're all missing the point. I was meant to shape him. The Goddess entrusted me with this path, with this saint, and yet she, she twists the board beneath my feet. Blessing him, rewarding his defiance-"She begun explaining in anger. Her breath came ragged, the scrape of nails on wood sharp enough to make my wolf's ears twitch. "No. I won't accept it. He is mine to direct. Mine to deliver."
Zavier stiffened in front of me, silver eyes narrowing, a snarl ghosting his lips. My chest tightened, my wolf pressing forward, straining to growl back into that hall. But I held it, breath caught as Adrian's voice rose again.
"And what happens when Charlie returns, Selene? What then? You want us to throw Michael aside like some broken pawn? He's no pawn he's-"He asked.
His voice cut off, like he'd bitten down on the word. My stomach turned hot and tight because I knew what he hadn't said. He's ours. He's mine. The sound of fists hitting the table cracked through the hall, followed by Terrence's furious shout. Then Selene again, low and venomous, every syllable vibrating with rage.
"He was never meant to be theirs. Never meant to be his. And if the Goddess thinks I'll stand by while a silver eyed wolf steals my piece, she underestimates me."Selene threatened.
The silence after that burned sharper than the shouts. I could not believe that she dared to threaten Moon Goddess. Zavier's hand slid to the back of my neck, grounding me, his claws just grazing my skin where his mark still pulsed. His gaze flicked down at me, storming but steady, his wolf humming like a warning growl aimed back toward the hall.
"You hear them?" He whispered, low, voice scraping like gravel. "They'll tear themselves apart over you. They'll tear you apart if you let them."
I swallowed hard, my wolf bristling under the words, torn between fury and fear. My hands curled into Zavier's shirt, heat rushing through my face as I whispered back, my voice harsher than I intended.
"Then don't let them. Don't let her."I whispered.
His silver eyes burned, his flush deepening, and he lowered his forehead to mine with a growl that vibrated straight down my spine.
"Never."He said and kissed my forehead.
Weirdly, I felt like I could believe him at that moment and it felt really good.