I was leading the wolves through their drills, trying my best to shove Athena's cryptic warnings into the back of my mind, when the heavy doors of the training center creaked open. Every head in the room snapped toward the sound. Maria stood in the threshold. A small smile touched my lips at the sight of her-it had been a few days since we'd spoken-but the greeting died in my throat when I realized she wasn't alone. She was looking back, speaking to someone hidden in the hallway. Then, Maria stepped aside, opening the door fully to reveal a woman I had never seen before.
She was tall, standing nearly five-foot-eight even without the heels she wore. Her wavy, shoulder-length black hair framed a face dominated by sharp, glowing forest-green eyes-eyes that were locked onto me with predatory focus. Like Athena, she carried a deep, healthy golden tan, the kind earned through years of labor under the sun. Even through her tailored navy-blue pantsuit, it was clear her body was a map of toned muscle, honed by a lifetime of training. Her presence didn't just command respect; it felt like a physical weight, a wave of raw power rolling off her that seemed to swell until it filled every corner of the room.
Around me, the other wolves faltered. One by one, their gazes dropped to the floor, their heads bowing as if the very air had become too heavy to hold them upright. I knew that aura. She was an Alpha like my mate. I refused to look away. I kept my chin up and my eyes fixed on hers as they approached. A foot away from me, Maria stepped to the side and bowed low. "Artemis," Maria said, her voice steady despite the tension in the room. "This is my Alpha: Nova Caliste Zeke of the Ever-Blooming Pack. Alpha Nova, may I present Artemis Silverfang-the future Luna of the Shadow Moon Pack."
Nova nodded and extended her hand. When I took it, her grip was firm-a proper greeting between equals. She smiled. "Maria has told me a lot about you. Thank you for taking care of her in my stead." I shook my head. "There is no need for thanks; it has been my pleasure to get to know her. She has told me a lot about you, as well. You have a wonderful friend by your side, Alpha." Nova glanced at Maria, who still stood with her head bowed, and her expression softened with genuine affection. "She really is," she murmured. Taking the cue, Maria finally straightened and met her Alpha's eyes, the two sharing a brief, silent smile of deep-rooted friendship.
Turning her gaze back to me, Nova's eyes sparked with an intrigued smirk. "I've heard you are exceptionally strong and that you've taken it upon yourself to train the pack wolves. Would you mind if I joined the session?" I smiled, meeting her challenge with ease. "Anyone is welcome on these mats, Alpha. I'd be more than happy to have you join us." But before we could move, Amelia's voice rang out from the entrance. "Unfortunately, training will have to wait."
We all turned to find her leaning against the doorframe. Once she saw she had our full attention, she straightened and offered a respectful, albeit hurried, bow. "Apologies for the interruption, Alpha Nova, but we have an urgent need for our Luna. The session will have to be postponed." Nova nodded gracefully. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. Duty calls." She looked back at me, her smirk returning. "I suppose it's for the best. Next time, I shall be better prepared-and dressed-for the occasion."
"It's a plan," I promised. As Nova stepped back, I caught the looks on Maria's and Amelia's faces. Both looked pleased by our interactions with one another. Amelia closed the distance between us in a few quick strides. The moment she reached me, she caught my hand in hers and offered a sharp, respectful bow to Nova. "If you will excuse us, Alpha, we must be off." Nova and Maria exchanged a knowing look before Nova gave a curt nod. "Very well. We shall see each other again soon, Artemis."
I barely had time to nod in agreement before Amelia straightened and tugged on my hand, practically hauling me behind her as she marched out of the training center. She didn't slow down until we were well outside and out of earshot of the wolves inside. "Amelia, what is going on?" I asked, keeping up with her brisk pace. "Is there a problem? Has something happened?" Amelia let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head but refusing to stop. "Not a problem, exactly."
My eyebrows knit together. "Then why the rush? Why drag me out of my own training session?" She glanced over her shoulder, her expression tight with the stress of a pack organizer. "Word just reached us that the other Alphas are arriving early. Aside from Alpha Nova, the rest of the council will be here within the hour for the summit. With so many powerful Alphas descending on our territory at once, Kayden needs his Luna. We need you at his side to greet our guests and show them the strength of the Shadow Moon pack."
I nodded. Even though I wasn't born a wolf, I knew their customs well. The greeting of honorary guests was a sacred ritual; for an Alpha and Luna to not stand together was more than a breach of etiquette-it was a silent declaration that the guests weren't welcome. The only exception was for those yet to find a mate, in which case the former Alpha and Luna would stand in. Even though I hadn't officially accepted the title of Luna, these Alphas were being dragged into a war because of me. The least I could do was offer them the respect of the custom.
Amelia looked me up and down, her eyes critical. "But before I take you anywhere, we need to make you look the part." I bit back a sarcastic retort and let her pull me toward the house. With Amelia's relentless help, I was showered, dressed, and ready before the first engine hummed at the gate. When I joined Kayden at the front of the house, shock flashed across his face-Amelia clearly hadn't warned him of her plan. But his surprise was instantly replaced by a warm, radiant happiness. He reached out, lacing his fingers with mine as we watched the motorcade file in one after the other, greeting them in unison.
*
"Only the packs closest to our borders are arriving today," Kayden whispered as the last car approached. "The rest will be here tomorrow, the day before the summit." I nodded, my heart hammering against my ribs as a large black sedan came to a halt in front of us. The door swung open, and before I could even process the figure stepping out, a woman's voice-thick with shock and confusion-rang out. "Artemis? Is that really you?" I froze. I recognized that voice instantly. "Delilah?" The name was out of my mouth before I could think. Delilah broke into a wide, beaming smile and hurried toward me, her arms open for a hug.
Delilah hadn't changed a bit in the years since I'd last seen her. She was as radiant as ever, her complexion a soft mocha with warm, pink undertones that gave her a delicate, nearly porcelain glow. Her thick, wavy hair had been meticulously straightened into a sleek bob that fell just below her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. Her almond-shaped, chocolate-colored eyes sparkled with the same infectious happiness I remembered, set beneath thin, elegantly arched brows. She wore a bold crimson blazer with matching trousers, the color striking against her skin, while a shimmering gold top peeked out from beneath the lapels. She looked every bit the modern leader, tied together with strappy gold sandals, oversized gold hoops, and a delicate chain necklace that glinted in the fading sunlight.
At five-foot-four, she was petite, and I felt as though I practically towered over her as she pulled me into a fierce hug. "I can't believe it's you," she whispered into the hug, squeezing me tight. I closed my eyes for a second, the familiar scent of her perfume cutting through the tension of the day. As Delilah pulled back, I found myself face-to-face with her mate: Nicolas Callan, Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack. Nicolas was a man of strict tradition and righteous fury-a fact that betrayed his true age despite his appearance. He looked like a man in his prime, no older than thirty, but his eyes told a different story. They were a piercing, icy blue, appearing cold and weary as if they had witnessed centuries of history.
He stood six feet tall, his large, broad shoulders filling out a charcoal gray suit that looked as though it had been freshly pressed seconds ago. Not a single wrinkle marred the fabric, and his black dress shoes were polished to a mirror shine. His short, blonde hair was styled with military precision, and a neatly trimmed stubble traced his squared jaw, giving him a rugged edge that balanced his pristine attire. When Nicolas's eyes met mine, they narrowed instantly. "It is you," he said, his voice laced with a familiar, dry disdain. "I truly thought my wife had finally lost her mind when she called out your name."
Delilah rolled her eyes, but I couldn't stop the amused smirk from tugging at the corners of my mouth. I met his icy gaze head-on as he stepped up to stand beside her. "Hello to you too, Nicolas. You haven't changed a bit." His nose twitched, and his mouth puckered as if he had just tasted something sour. Delilah sighed, shaking her head at me. "Sorry about him, Artemis. He's being dramatic again." I tried to stifle a laugh as Nicolas grunted and rolled his eyes at his wife's comment. The tension of the "Alpha greeting" had completely evaporated, replaced by the comfortable friction I had long since gotten used to being a tiger surrounded by wolves.
The silence that followed was thick with confusion. I realized then that everyone was staring at us with wide-eyed shock. "How exactly do you know Alpha Nicolas and his Luna, Ari?" Kayden's voice was laced with a mix of skepticism and genuine bewilderment. I offered him a reassuring smile. "I met them a very long time ago, Kayden. Back when I was still living and teaching at the Tiger village." He nodded, though the confusion didn't quite leave his face. Before I could elaborate, Delilah stepped closer, her eyes searching mine. "What are you doing here, Artemis? If you've come to mediate between the packs as you did back then, you couldn't have picked a worse time. The tensions are at a breaking point." I shared a knowing look with her and shook my head. "Not this time, Delilah."
I turned to Kayden and linked my arm firmly through his, pulling him closer. I watched Delilah's eyebrows shoot toward her hairline as her eyes darted between our joined arms. "Delilah, I'd like to officially introduce you to my mate," I said, my voice steady and proud. "Kayden Silvermoon, Alpha of the Shadow Moon Pack." Delilah's mouth fell open in a silent 'O'. Beside her, Nicolas's expression hardened, his icy eyes turning into frozen chips of glass. "Of course," he muttered, his voice dropping an octave. "You are the catalyst. You are the reason we have been summoned here."
Delilah snapped out of her trance and threw a sharp glare at her husband before beaming at me. "You finally found him! Oh, Artemis, I am so happy for you."
"Thank you," I said, feeling Kayden relax slightly beside me. "I appreciate that."
"Don't mind Nicco," Delilah added, waving a hand dismissively at the brooding Alpha. "He's just being grumpy."
"I am not grumpy!" Nicolas snapped defensively, his jaw tightening. Delilah ignored him entirely, her smile widening. "Who would have guessed? Your mate turned out to be a werewolf-and an Alpha, no less. Talk about a plot twist."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "Believe me, that was the most shocking part for me, too."
Delilah leaned in, her voice a stage-whisper that she knew perfectly well would carry to her mate's ears. "Don't let Nicco fool you, Ari. He's a big softy on the inside." I saw Nicolas's eyes widen in disbelief as his sensitive hearing caught every word. I didn't bother whispering back. "Don't worry, I know. I remember that quite well from last time."
Nicolas's eyes narrowed at me, but the look was lost as both Delilah and I burst into laughter. He looked between the two of us, finally sighing in defeat as he ran his fingers through his hair, completely ruining his military-neat style. He pulled Delilah close, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and pressing a tender kiss to her temple. The affection in his gaze mirrored hers; for all his icy bluster, it was clear they were head-over-heels for one another. Nicolas leaned down, likely intending to steal a proper kiss, but Delilah was too quick. She slipped out of his hold and bounced toward Kayden and me.
She looked Kayden up and down, her curiosity piqued. "So... how did the two of you meet?" Kayden looked like a fish out of water. His mouth opened and closed as his confused expression shifted into pure bewilderment. He wasn't used to an interrogation that involved romance instead of war tactics. Delilah looked at me and arched an eyebrow. "A long story, I take it?" I felt my smile widen as I gave a slow nod. "Most definitely."
"It normally is when it comes to mates," she said wisely. "That is true," I agreed, my mind flashing through the chaos of the last few weeks.
The spell that had held Kayden stunned finally broke. He straightened, his Alpha mask slipping back into place. "Alpha Nicolas, Luna Delilah... please, forgive my silence. Allow me to officially welcome you to the Shadow Moon domain." Delilah waved a hand dismissively before he could even finish. "Oh, don't worry about all that. We've already introduced ourselves. Besides, my husband already knows you, and we've known Artemis for years. There's no need to choke on formalities."
Kayden's eyes widened at her bluntness. Nicolas let out a long, suffering sigh. "My apologies, Alpha. My wife is still... adjusting to our ways. However," he added, his voice softening with a rare note of humility, "her words hold merit. Our history with Artemis makes these rituals feel a bit redundant today." Delilah rolled her eyes and turned back to her mate. "Oh, please, Nicco. Don't be so stiff. That tradition is practically ancient-and definitely outdated." Kayden's lips thinned as he fought back an amused smile, while Nicolas gasped, looking truly offended that his wife would call their history 'outdated.' Knowing Nicolas as I did, I knew exactly what was coming: a ten-minute lecture on the vital importance of ancestral laws and the structure of shifter society.
Before he could take a breath to start, I clapped my hands together, the sharp sound echoing in the driveway. "Alright," I said, catching everyone's attention. "How about we move this conversation inside? I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a drink." Delilah beamed at me, her eyes sparkling with gratitude for the rescue. She immediately stepped forward and linked her arm through mine. "I completely agree! A caramel latte sounds like heaven right now. Besides, I'm dying to hear everything you've been up to for the last few years-starting with every single detail of how you and your mate met." I felt my smile tighten into something a bit more strained. I knew Delilah; she wouldn't settle for the "short version." She would want the drama, the romance, and everything in between. Explaining the chaos of the last few weeks while a war loomed on the horizon was not exactly my idea of a relaxing evening.
We were gathered in the main living room of the pack house, where all the visiting Alphas were staying. Luckily, Delilah and Nicolas were the last of the last of the visitors to arrive today, so we could all sit around comfortably. Luca and Amelia showed them to their quarters, as they had done with the other Alphas before they all returned to join us in the shared living space. Delilah sat in one of the armchairs across from the couch where Kayden and I were perched, her hand tucked firmly into Nicolas's.
Kayden and I had just finished the "sanitized" version of our story. We spoke about the pull of the bond and our eventual agreement to be together, but by some unspoken mutual understanding, we both bypassed the darker details of Zander's kidnapping. That was a conversation for the formal war council, not a quiet afternoon with friends. Throughout the telling, Nicolas remained a statue of stoic silence, his expression unreadable. Delilah, however, was his polar opposite. Her face shifted with every word, and I hadn't missed the sharp glares she'd leveled at Kayden a few times during the more... difficult parts of our history.
When the story trailed off, Delilah was the first to break the silence. "Well," she said, her voice laced with a skepticism that made my lips twitch. "That is certainly an interesting tale." She turned to Nicolas, her eyes narrowing. "I thought you told me that when mates meet, they can't resist the pull. You said a wolf would never dream of harming their mate for fear of losing them-that it was this rare, sacred phenomenon."
Kayden winced as if she'd physically struck him. The guilt he still carried for his initial coldness flared in his eyes, and I couldn't help but feel a flicker of amusement at how easily Delilah had dismantled his Alpha armor. Nicolas let out a long, heavy sigh, catching Kayden's pained reaction. "I apologize for my wife's bluntness, Alpha Kayden. As I mentioned, Delilah was born human. She is still learning that our instincts can sometimes be complicated by the burdens of leadership and the weight of old scars."
Kayden nodded, but Delilah's response was immediate. Her lips pursed in annoyance, and her gaze sharpened. "I am sitting right here, Nicolas. Do not dare speak of me as if I'm incompetent." The Alpha's stoic mask shattered instantly. A look of pure, unadulterated panic washed over Nicolas's face as he scrambled to salvage the situation. His hand tightened around hers. "It isn't like that, honey! I wasn't trying to make you feel that way. I was only trying to ease Alpha Kayden's discomfort and give him some context."
Delilah's eyes narrowed into slits. "So, you wanted to ease his discomfort by making me look stupid and ignorant?" Nicolas's eyes went wide, and he shook his head so hard I thought he might get whiplash. "No, honey! Never. I would never-" She rolled her eyes and yanked her hand back from his. A look of absolute doom settled over Nicolas; he knew he'd just earned himself a very long night in the metaphorical doghouse.
I felt an amused smirk tugging at my lips. As much as I was enjoying the sight of the mighty Alpha Nicolas squirming, I decided to throw him a lifeline. "It's not that he thinks poorly of you, Delilah. He's just trying to make sure Kayden doesn't misinterpret your questions. Kayden doesn't know your background yet-Nicolas is just being overprotective of your image." Nicolas nodded eagerly, looking at me with pathetic gratitude. Seeing his desperation, Delilah's expression finally softened, and she let out a long, weary sigh. Sensing the opening to move away from his own past mistakes, Kayden leaned forward and pivoted the conversation. "So," he asked, his voice curious, "how exactly did the three of you meet?"
As soon as the question was asked, Delilah's mood shifted instantly, her face brightening with nostalgia. "We met a few years after I found Nicolas. I'd already been turned into a wolf by then, so I was adjusting to this crazy new world. Looking back, it's been quite a while." I smiled, seeing the fondness in her eyes. I turned to Kayden to fill in the gaps. "I was still living and teaching in the Tiger village at the time." Kayden nodded, but the confusion hadn't left his face. He still couldn't connect the dots between a reclusive Tiger village and a traditionalist Wolf pack.
"Artemis came to our pack territory," Delilah explained, her hands moving animatedly as she spoke. "From what I heard, she visited several packs around that time. She was the head of the Tigers' delegation." "Tiger delegation?" Kayden repeated, his voice a mix of horror and fascination. "I was spearheading a campaign to end the animosity between our species and other shifter species," I explained calmly. "I wanted to build peaceful relationships-to bridge the gap between tigers, wolves, and the other shifters." Kayden's eyebrows shot toward his hairline. "You did? You were a diplomat?"
"It was my main project," I said, my voice softening. "At least, it was until I had to leave the village." Kayden went quiet, understanding the unspoken weight of that sentence and how it led to her being a "runaway" in his forest. Delilah didn't let the mood stay heavy for long. She smirked at her husband. "Yeah, and my Nicco here was not keen on having a tiger in his territory. He was incredibly salty the entire time she was around." Nicolas's eyes widened in disbelief, his voice jumping an octave as he defended his honor. "I was not salty!" He paused, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "...Wait. What is 'salty'?"
Delilah rolled her eyes, and I couldn't stop the chuckle that bubbled up at Nicolas's sheer bewilderment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kayden wearing the exact same look of confusion, which only made me laugh harder. "Oh, you were very salty during my visit, Nicolas," I added once I'd caught my breath.
Nicolas shifted from confused to visibly annoyed, while Delilah beamed, clearly enjoying her husband's plight. I turned a more serious gaze to Kayden. "If it wasn't for Delilah, my stay with the Crescent Moon pack wouldn't have been nearly as pleasant. It helps that she's open-minded-she doesn't carry the same ancient prejudices toward tigers that the rest of you do." Delilah pressed a hand to her chest, her expression softening. "Aww, Ari, you're so sweet." She paused, her eyes searching mine with a new intensity. "Besides, you helped me just as much. You taught me about the different species and helped me find my footing in this world. But I have to say, it is wonderful to see you looking so at ease. You seem less... guarded than you were back then."
Her words caught me off guard. I hadn't realized I'd carried my wariness so openly in the past. A genuine warmth spread through my chest, and a small smile touched my lips. "Thank you, Delilah. I truly am much happier now." She nodded, satisfied, but the touching moment was short-lived. "If you were spearheading a project to bridge the gap between our species," Kayden asked, his voice low and thoughtful, "how is it that I'm only hearing about this now? A movement like that should have made waves."
I let out a slow, heavy sigh. "The animosity between our kinds is a deep-rooted poison, Kayden. Progress was slow-nearly invisible. And just as I was finally starting to make headway, I was forced to leave the village for good." Kayden's expression shifted into one of quiet understanding. He knew the timeline; he knew when I'd appeared in his woods. He began to nod, but before he could offer a word of comfort, Delilah leaned forward, her curiosity finally boiling over. "So... why did you leave, Artemis? You keep mentioning it, but you've never actually said why you had to walk away from everything."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kayden stiffen at the exact moment I did. We were caught in a silent telepathic debate: tell the truth now, or wait for the formal meeting with the other Alphas? Unexpectedly, it was Nicolas who broke the tension. "It likely has everything to do with why we've been summoned here in the first place," he said, his voice deep and resonant. Delilah's mouth formed a small 'O' of realization. She nodded slowly. "So, we'll get the full story during the meeting, I take it?"
"Yes," Kayden said, relief evident in the set of his shoulders. "That is correct." Delilah smiled brightly. "That makes sense. Better to say it once than have to repeat such a heavy tale for every Alpha who walks through the door." Both Kayden and Nicolas nodded in perfect, solemn synchronization. Delilah suddenly stood up before saying, "Anyway, thank you for a lovely evening. Ari, it was wonderful to see you again. I hope we get more time to catch up properly while we're here. But," she added, casting a teasing glance at her mate, "it's getting late, and Nicolas is prone to getting cranky if he doesn't get to sleep at a decent hour."
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, and I heard a sharp snort from Kayden as he struggled to maintain his composure. Nicolas's jaw dropped, his eyes wide with indignation. "I do not!" he defended himself, jumping to his feet. His mouth worked for a moment before he managed to find the words. "Would you please stop making me sound like a deteriorating old man you're forced to look after?" Delilah arched an eyebrow, her smirk widening. "Well, you are an old man, Nicco. It's hard not to treat you like one when you're over five hundred years old." Nicolas winced as if she'd struck a nerve, his lips tightening into a grimace. Before he could retort, Delilah reached out and patted his chest affectionately. "Don't worry. You're my old man, and I love you anyway." He sighed, his hand covering hers where it rested over his heart. "I swear, woman, you will be the death of me."
"Well," she whispered, smiling up at him with pure adoration, "at least you'll love every second of it." A wicked grin suddenly replaced Nicolas's grumpy expression. A familiar gleam sparked in his icy blue eyes-a look I had seen on Kayden's face more than a few times. The "old man" was gone, replaced by a predator who was very much in his prime.
Knowing exactly where that look led-and having no desire to be an audience to it-I cleared my throat and stood up. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kayden follow my lead with perfect timing. A bright blush bloomed across Delilah's cheeks, and she suddenly found the floor very interesting, while Nicolas let out a long, suffering sigh, looking thoroughly annoyed that his moment had been interrupted. "Do either of you need help finding your room?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral to hide my amusement, "Or do you remember the way?"
Delilah kept her gaze trained on the rug in embarrassment, but Nicolas didn't miss a beat. He tightened his grip on her hand as it dropped from his chest. "Thank you for the offer, Artemis, but I require no assistance. I remember exactly where we are staying." I nodded, though he was already beginning to lead a flustered Delilah toward the hallway. Before they disappeared around the corner, I couldn't resist one last parting shot. "I hope you both enjoy the rest of your night." Delilah looked back over her shoulder, offering me a quick, grateful smile before Nicolas practically hauled her out of the room.
Once their footsteps faded into the hallway, a heavy silence settled over the living room. I turned to Kayden and let out a long breath. "Well... today was certainly interesting." He smiled, the tension finally leaving his shoulders as he looked at me. "That is an understatement." He reached out, taking my hand and lacing his fingers through mine. "Come on. We should follow their lead and get some shut-eye. These next couple of days are going to be just as busy, if not more so." I nodded, the weight of the coming summit-and the 14-day countdown-returning to the back of my mind. "I think you're right."Letting him lead the way, we walked toward our own room, leaving the quiet house to prepare for the storm of what the next couple of days will bring.
*
*
The air in Kayden's office was so thick with tension it felt like a physical weight-a massive boulder we were all straining to keep from crushing us. We had been holed up there for hours: Kayden, Luca, Amelia, and I, dissecting every possible strategy for tomorrow's summit. To survive the coming onslaught, we needed a united front. But convincing a dozen Alphas to march their people into a meat grinder was a near-impossible task. No leader wants to go into a war blind, and that was exactly our predicament. I had my theories, my fragments of foresight, and my knowledge of the Tiger village, but I couldn't offer them a hundred percent certainty.
Every shifter in the room knew the grim reality: wolf shifters hated tigers for a reason. Tigers were a formidable, predatory force. Even a small group of them could decimate an entire pack, regardless of its size. These Alphas weren't fools; they knew that joining us meant risking everything they had spent lifetimes building.
I looked around the room, struck by how the weight of the world had changed my friends. Amelia's usual lightheartedness had vanished, replaced by a mask of grim determination and sharp concentration. Luca mirrored her, though a flicker of frustration danced in his eyes, as if he were trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. Then there was Kayden. He was completely submerged in the maps, and reports spread across his desk. Every few minutes, his hand would rake through his hair, leaving it disheveled-a silent tell of the storm raging in his mind. He wasn't just an Alpha anymore; he was a man trying to figure out how to keep his mate and his people alive.
Amelia suddenly leaned back, the papers in her lap crinkling as she stared up at the ceiling and let out a long, weary sigh. "I think that's all I can accomplish for one night. I don't know about you all, but I've hit a wall. I need a break." Luca wasted no time. He dropped his reports onto the coffee table and rubbed his hands over his face, a muffled groan escaping him. "I couldn't agree more. I need to move my legs... and my stomach is starting to eat itself," he added, subconsciously rubbing his midsection.
Kayden didn't look up, his eyes still scanning the text in front of him as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two go ahead. I'm going to stick around and see if there's anything else I can find before the rest of the Alphas arrive this evening." As they stood up, Amelia glanced at me, her expression softening. "Are you coming with us, Ari?" I offered her a small, tired smile and shook my head. "No, I think I'll stay here for a while, too." Amelia nodded, her eyes lingering on us for a moment. "Okay. I'll bring both of you something to eat when we come back up."
"Thanks, Amelia. We'd appreciate that," I said. She squeezed Luca's hand, leading him toward the door, and the thud of the door closing echoed through the now-silent office. The second they were gone, Kayden's rigid posture collapsed. He let the papers fall into his lap and leaned his head back against the couch with a heavy, soul-deep sigh. His eyes were closed, his face etched with the exhaustion of a man carrying the weight of a thousand lives. I couldn't resist reaching out, my fingers finding his hand and giving it a slow, reassuring squeeze.
He kept his head resting against the back of the couch but turned his face toward mine, his fingers immediately lacing through mine in a firm, grounding grip. He sat up slowly, a fierce light burning in his eyes. "We're going to make it through this, Ari. Even if we have to stand against the tigers alone. No one-no one-is taking you from me." His free hand rose to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing my jawline with a tenderness that made my heart ache. I knew he was trying to convince himself as much as me, but the sincerity in his voice acted like a balm, dissolving the crushing weight I'd felt moments ago. I leaned into his touch, a small smile playing on my lips. "I know, my love."
"I won't let anything or anyone harm you," he whispered, his gaze dropping to my lips. "As long as we're together, we can weather the storm." The warmth in my chest flared as he began to lean in. I closed my eyes, waiting for the familiar pull of his kiss, but the air in the room suddenly turned sharp and cold. "Aww... how touching."
The voice was musical, dripping with a dry, immortal amusement. Kayden snapped upright, his body tensing into a combat stance as his eyes frantically scanned the shadows of the office. To him, the room appeared empty, but I felt that unmistakable, heavy presence-the static in the air that always preceded her. "Kayden," I whispered, my eyes locking onto the armchair where Amelia had sat only minutes before. His gaze followed mine, and as he looked, the air began to ripple like heat over pavement. A shimmering light coalesced, and suddenly, Athena was there, sitting regally with one leg crossed over the other, watching us with an expression of divine curiosity.
Athena looked even more regal than she had at our first meeting. Her flowing gown was a deep, shimmering white, but the hem was now steeped in a gradient of purple-a pale lavender at the waist that bled into a dark, royal violet at the floor. Her leather armor was strapped securely over the silk, and her golden-bronze hair was pulled into a high, commanding ponytail, allowing the thick curls to spill down her back. She looked entirely too comfortable, leaning back in Amelia's chair with her arms resting nonchalantly on the leather, watching us like we were a particularly entertaining play.
"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" Kayden demanded. His voice was a low, vibrating growl, his teeth bared as he shifted his weight, preparing to lunge. It was a move that would be nothing short of suicidal. Athena's smile widened, an eyebrow arching in lazy amusement. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, pretty boy." The condescension in her tone hit Kayden like a physical blow. I felt the heat radiating off him as his muscles coiled, ready to launch himself across the desk. Before he could make a move he'd regret for the rest of his very short life, I slammed my hand against his chest, holding him back.
He looked at me, his eyes flashing with confusion and protective fury, but I kept my focus on the goddess. "I didn't realize we would be meeting again so soon, Athena." She smirked, the light from the desk lamp glinting off her bronze armor. "Well, I did say we would be seeing each other again. Did I not?" I let out a tired sigh. "You did. I just didn't expect it to be this soon." She waved a hand dismissively, the gesture elegant and terrifyingly casual. "Time is irrelevant when you have an eternity of it to waste." From the corner of my eye, I saw Kayden looking between us, his mouth agape. He pointed a thumb toward the goddess, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Ari, you aren't seriously believing this... this bullshit, are you? A goddess? In my office?"
I pulled my hand back from Kayden's chest, the warmth of our shared moment turning into a cold, stinging prickle of betrayal. I looked at him, my brow arched in flat disbelief. "I told you everything, Kayden. I told you about the meeting, the warning, and the 14-day deadline. You just watched a woman shimmer into existence in a high-security office without your sensors even twitching... and you're still calling this bullshit?"
Kayden's jaw worked, his teeth grinding as he searched for an answer that wouldn't make things worse. But before he could speak, Athena's musical voice cut through the air, dripping with a smug, razor-sharp amusement. "The truth is, he never believed a word of it," she said, leaning back as if she were revealing a minor plot point in a play. "He thought his poor, 'fragile' mate was suffering from a lack of sleep. He assumed the stress of the Tigers was making you hallucinate. He only humored you to keep you calm-all while planning to watch you even more closely, like a child who might wander off into traffic." The blood drained from Kayden's face. He turned to me, the panic in his eyes confirming every word Athena had uttered. "She's lying, Ari! I don't-I didn't think that."
Athena didn't even look at him. She lazily crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand as she stared at Kayden with the clinical interest of a scientist looking at a bug. "Oh, but that is exactly what you were thinking, my child," she purred. Her tone was so thick with condescension that it made my own skin crawl. She wasn't just proving her power; she was stripping him of his Alpha dignity, treating him like a toddler who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Athena's eyes shifted back to me, cold and clinical. "Wolf shifters have always been remarkably dense. They refuse to believe what is right in front of them, blinded by an intense, narrow loyalty to their own faith and their own goddess. No matter what we say, their minds won't shift-not without years of exposure. Unfortunately, we don't have an infinite amount of time. But," she added, a cryptic glint in her eye, "it's a good thing we won't have to worry about that much longer." Before I could demand to know what she meant, a light knock echoed against the door. "I hope you two are still decent in here, I just wanted to-" Amelia started to say as she swung the door open, but the words died in her throat. Her eyes locked onto the figure sitting in her chair.
I scrambled to find a lie-any justification for a woman in ancient armor appearing in a locked office, but I was silenced by the sheer shock of Amelia's reaction. "Athena?" Amelia breathed, her voice trembling. "What are you doing here?" My heart skipped a beat. She knew her. Athena smiled, a look of genuine affection softening her sharp features. "Amelia, darling. Perfect timing." Without a second's hesitation, Amelia dropped to the floor. She knelt, bowing her head so low her forehead nearly touched the carpet. "Oh, Great Goddess Athena, I beg your forgiveness! I spoke out of turn... I wasn't expecting you to be here."
Kayden bolted to his feet, his face a mask of horror and confusion. "Mia? Don't tell me you believe this crap, too! Get up!" Amelia didn't move. She cast a pained glance at Kayden, then looked back at the floor. "I'm sorry, Oh Great One. I have been unable to change their minds all these years. Their hearts were too hardened." Athena rose from the chair with the grace of a stalking predator. She stepped toward Amelia and leaned down, placing a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. Amelia looked up, her eyes wide with reverence. "That is quite alright, little one," Athena said, her voice now sweet and maternal. "I never expected you to break through their stubbornness. Besides, you have accomplished everything I required of you. There is no fault in that."
Amelia nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "Thank you for your benevolence." Only after Athena's hand dropped from her shoulder and the Goddess took a step back did Amelia finally stand. The movement seemed to break the spell of silence holding Kayden. He exploded. "Mia! What the hell is going on? What is this?!" Amelia looked between Kayden and Athena, a weary sigh escaping her, but before she could explain her lifetime of secrets, Athena cut her off. Her eyes locked onto mine. "I take it you told him everything I said during our first meeting?" I nodded slowly. "I did. Every word."
"Good," Athena purred, a sharp, satisfied smile crossing her face. "Then I won't waste my breath repeating myself to the uninitiated." She turned and walked behind Kayden's desk with the confidence of someone who owned the building, reaching for his high-backed leather chair. It was the final straw. Kayden roared, charging toward her. "What do you think you're doing? Get away from my desk! I don't care who you've fooled, you aren't-" He never finished the sentence. Just as he reached the edge of the mahogany, Athena gave a casual, dismissive wave of her hand. The force hit him like a physical wall. Kayden was lifted off his feet, flying backward through the air until he crashed hard into the sofa. The impact rattled the frames on the wall. I watched, breathless, as Amelia's face crumpled into a look of deep pity-she had clearly seen what happens when mortals challenge the divine.
Athena didn't even blink. She sat in Kayden's chair, resting her elbows on the desk and cradling her chin in her hands, looking perfectly at home. As Kayden scrambled to sit up, the defiance had vanished from his eyes, replaced by a wide-eyed, staggering shock. He looked at the woman behind his desk not as an intruder, but as a predator he couldn't hope to outrun. "Good," Athena said, her voice dropping to a smooth, dangerous silk. "Now that you are more inclined to listen, I suggest you do so very carefully." Kayden's jaw clenched, a muscle leaping in his cheek, but he remained silent. Athena nodded, accepting his submission as if it were only right.
Athena tilted her head, her gaze drifting toward Amelia with a strange, distant fondness. "I know you are all burning with curiosity regarding Amelia's relationship with me, so let us settle that debt first. You see, Amelia was once one of the Moon Goddess Artemis's handmaidens. Artemis has always kept a few of her most loyal wolf shifters close, chosen from the moment of their birth. Amelia was one of the few selected for that divine honor." My heart hammered against my ribs. Amelia, a servant of the Moon Goddess herself?
"But," Athena continued, her voice turning sharp as a whetted blade, "when the Moon Goddess set this current chaos into motion by gifting her power to a newborn tiger cub, I had to get creative. We had to ensure the survival of this world." My eyebrows knit together, a cold dread settling in my gut. "What do you mean by that? Creative how?"
A small, uncharacteristically sad smile touched the Goddess's lips as she looked at me. "I am the goddess of wisdom, Artemis. I see the threads of what could be. In almost every version of the future I glimpsed, the story ended the same: Kayden rejected you. He was unable to overlook the fact that you were a tiger-his mortal enemy. In most of those timelines, you didn't even make it past the pack borders before he cast you out. In the few where you did, Luca and the others eventually convinced him that a union with a tiger was a death sentence for the pack."
I felt Kayden's hand twitch beside me, but he remained frozen, his face pale. "We needed an anchor," Athena said, her eyes flashing. "Something-or someone-to tether the two of you together long enough for a bond to form before his instincts could ruin everything. We needed someone within his inner circle who would advocate for you, even if they didn't know why they were doing it." It made a terrifying kind of sense. Amelia had been the one to push for me, the one to soften the blows of Kayden's initial coldness.
But a glaring flaw remained. "But wouldn't that mean they would have been safe?" I asked, my voice rising. "If Kayden had rejected me and I'd just... disappeared into the woods, wouldn't the Shadow Moon pack be safe? They wouldn't be in this mess with Zander. They wouldn't be facing a war." Athena let out a weary sigh, and I noticed Amelia's gaze drop to the floor. She looked ashamed, or perhaps she simply couldn't bear to hear the brutal truth about to be spoken.
The Goddess's glowing violet eyes locked onto mine, piercing through my defenses. "I know you think that if you had vanished, none of this would have happened. But your logic is flawed, Artemis. If you had left-if you and Kayden had rejected the bond-you wouldn't have saved them. You would have practically signed their death warrants."
My heart hammered against my ribs, a sudden, suffocating weight pressing against my chest. It became a struggle just to draw air into my lungs. "What do you mean?" I managed to rasp. "How would leaving have doomed them?" "Do you honestly believe Zander would have left them in peace just because you were gone?" Athena's voice was sharp, devoid of pity. "Please, stop kidding yourself, my dear. Zander and the Council of Elders would never leave your mate alive. Especially not a mate who is a wolf-someone they cannot control and someone who represents a direct threat to their purity of blood."
She leaned closer, the light from the desk lamp casting long, jagged shadows across her regal features. "The moment they caught wind of your mate's identity, they would have moved to eradicate him. They would have slaughtered anyone standing in their way just to ensure the bond could never be realized. Even if you had rejected each other, they would have ordered his execution as a 'safety precaution.' If you had left, this pack would already be ash, because they wouldn't have had you-or your power-to stand between them and the slaughter."
The world began to tilt on its axis. A high-pitched ringing erupted in my ears, sharp enough to drown out the sound of the ticking clock and the heavy breathing in the room. I felt my lungs working-shaking with the effort-but no air seemed to reach them. It was as if I were drifting away from my own skin, watching the scene unfold from a great, icy distance. My body was no longer mine; it was a hollow shell, shivering as a sudden, glacial chill raced through my veins. I could see Kayden's mouth moving and the violet glow of Athena's eyes, but they were like ghosts in a fog. The "spinning" had stopped, replaced by a terrifying, hollow stillness. I was no longer in the office; I was a passenger in a dying vessel, trapped behind my own eyes while the Goddess of Wisdom calmly dismantled my world.
My hands curled into tight fists as I listened to this woman-this supposed Goddess Athena-speak of my pack's annihilation as casually as if she were discussing the weather. "Now look here," I snapped, the growl in my chest impossible to suppress. "My pack is not the weak link you're making us out to be. We handle ourselves. We proved that when we tore through that tiger hideout to rescue my mother and Artemis."
Athena tilted her head, a single, elegant eyebrow arching in challenge. "A tactical success, certainly. But you caught them off guard, Alpha. Tell me-if the roles were reversed, if a thousand tigers fell upon your borders while you weren't prepared, would your pride be enough to stop the slaughter? Or would your 'brave' pack simply be a feast for a superior predator?" I opened my mouth to retort, but the words died in my throat. The cold, hard logic of her question hit me like a physical blow. My jaw clamped shut, my mind spiraling as I searched for a solution-any strategy-that would prove her wrong. But the retort never came.
Athena's gaze shifted, her eyes narrowing as they landed on my mate. A heavy, eerie silence had fallen over her. When I turned, the blood drained from my face. My mate was hunched over, clutching at her chest as if her heart were trying to escape her ribs. Her skin had turned a sickly, ghostly gray, and a cold sweat beaded across her brow. Panic clawed at my throat as I watched her struggle for air. She wasn't just breathing; she was drowning on dry land.
I didn't think; I moved. I lunged from my seat, dropping to my knees in front of her. I cupped her face in my hands, my thumbs frantically stroking her cheeks as I tried to pull her back from the ledge. "Artemis? Honey, look at me. Look at me, my love!" Her eyes were wide, the pupils so dilated they had swallowed the iris whole, staring through me as if I didn't exist. She was lost in a void I couldn't enter. Her body began to rack with violent tremors, a rhythmic shaking that felt like she was wrestling with an invisible predator.
From the periphery of my vision, I saw Amelia frozen-her face a mask of horror-as if she feared any move she made would shatter Artemis completely. Athena, however, remained the eye of the storm. She sat perfectly still in my chair, her violet eyes tracking my every move with the cold, detached curiosity of a scientist watching an experiment. Rage boiled over, hot and bitter. "Don't just sit there staring!" I roared at the Goddess. "Do something! You claim to be an all-powerful god-help her!" Athena didn't blink, but Artemis's body reacted to the sound of my voice. Artemis's fingernails were cycling-lengthening into lethal, jagged claws before shrinking back into human nails, over and over. Her body was trying to shift, a primal instinct fighting a war against her will.
I gasped as the hand she had clamped over her chest pierced her own skin. Red blossomed across her shirt, staining her skin. I grabbed her wrist, forcing her hand away from her heart. She fought me, a terrifying, inhuman strength pulsing through her arm, but I braced myself and held on. If she shifted now, in this state, I didn't know if there would be anything of my mate left when it was over.
"There is nothing I can do to help her," Athena's voice rang out, cool and crystalline over the sounds of Artemis's struggling. "Only you can save her now." I snapped my head around, glaring at her with a look that would have withered a mortal. "What the hell do you mean, only I can help her? You're a god! Fix this!" Athena didn't answer with words. Artemis's body suddenly jolted in my arms, a violent, electric spasm that forced my attention back to her. I tightened my grip, pinning her against me as she thrashed.
"She is dangerously dissociating," Athena explained, her voice cutting through the chaos. "You have heard the stories of what happens when a shifter retreats too far into their mind. The animal takes over the vacuum. It acts on pure, predatory instinct. If she completes the transformation in this state, she will be feral. It is nearly impossible to bring a shifter back once they have surrendered their consciousness to the beast." My chest tightened until I could barely draw breath. "Then tell me what to do!" I pleaded, my voice cracking. "Please... I can't lose her."
I couldn't take my eyes off my mate. Her head suddenly snapped back, her jaw hinging open in a silent, agonizing scream. A sickening crack echoed through the room-the sound of a bone breaking and resetting as the tiger tried to force its way out. "You are her mate," Athena commanded, her voice finally losing its nonchalance. "Use the bond. Don't just hold her body-reach for her mind. Anchor her. Force her consciousness back to the surface before the tiger swallows what is left of her." Another convulsion racked Artemis's frame, as if she'd been struck by lightning. The hand I held pinned behind her back suddenly surged with a terrifying, inhuman strength.
As I struggled to keep her still, her free hand lashed out. Claws whistled through the air, slicing across my chest-a hair's breadth from my throat. I didn't have time to feel the sting; I lunged forward, catching her wrist and pinning it behind her back with the other. "How do I help her?" I roared, my voice cracking with a panic that echoed off the walls.
I heard the rhythmic, impatient click-click-click of Athena's nails against the mahogany of my desk. She let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh. "You are her mate, Alpha. Use the bond to bridge the gap between her drifting soul and her failing body. And for heaven's sake... get creative." I didn't wait for a manual. I hauled her up and forced her down onto the couch, pinning her weight against the cushions. I kept her hands trapped beneath her small of her back, and to keep her from kicking me or herself, I straddled her, my knees locking her legs in place.
She was a whirlwind of muscle and fur beneath me, her body bucking with terrifying strength. I ignored the stinging cuts on my chest and the sweat stinging my eyes. I reached out, cupping her cheek with my palm, feeling the heat radiating off her skin. Leaning down, I pressed my lips near her ear, my voice dropping to a low, steady vibration. "I'm here, Artemis. I'm right here, my love. Everything is going to be alright. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Underneath me, her body suddenly shivered-a deep, soul-shuddering tremor. It wasn't the violent jolt of the transformation; it was the reaction of her spirit to mine. The mate bond flared, humming like a live wire between us. In that moment, a small, fragile blossom of hope took root in my chest. She was still in there.
I didn't let my mind dwell on the "what-ifs." I focused entirely on her. I pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, and the effect was instantaneous-her body stopped thrashing, stilled by the sudden, intimate contact. I followed it with soft kisses to the bridge of her nose and her eyelids, coaxing them to stay closed, before trailing my lips across her cheeks. Moving to the sensitive line of her jaw, I worked my way to her ear. I caught the lobe between my teeth, a light scrape that elicited a sharp, sudden gasp from her. Her body shivered beneath mine, but the violent tremors were gone, replaced by a deep, sensory reaction. I looked down and saw her chest rising and falling in a more rhythmic, even pace. It was working. She was coming home.
I shifted my focus to the hollow of her throat, my hands beginning a slow, hypnotic rhythm, drawing small circles against her skin to soothe the lingering adrenaline. As I nipped lightly at her neck, my hand moved instinctively, finding the swell of her breast. I began to knead the soft curves, my movements turning from purely soothing to something more desperate and grounding. Finally, I found it-the crook of her neck where my mark sat, the permanent brand of our souls. The moment I pressed a tender, heated kiss against the scarred skin, Artemis arched her back. A soft cry of pleasure escaped her, and she pressed herself firmly into my palm. When I looked back up, the terrifying, glassy void in her eyes had shattered. Her pupils were still blown wide, but now they were dark with heat and recognition instead of feral panic. She blinked, her gaze slowly sweeping across the office as the world came back into focus.
I knew I probably didn't need to continue now that she was regaining her senses, but I no longer wanted to stop. I swept my tongue across the tender flesh of her neck, dragging it slowly over my mark. A ripple of her pure, unadulterated pleasure surged through the bond, crashing into my mind like a tidal wave. Her body responded instantly. A low, musical moan escaped her lips, and she began to struggle against me-not in panic this time, but in a frantic search for leverage. She groaned in protest when she realized her arms were still pinned by our combined weight, but I was relentless. I caught her hardened nipple between my fingers, a sharp pinch that sent a secondary jolt through her, even as I sank my teeth back into the crook of her neck.
Another wave of pleasure, stronger and deeper than the last, coursed through us both. She cried out, the sound vibrating against my skin, while a matching groan rumbled in my chest. My own body was reacting with a violent, pulsating need that I could no longer ignore. I shifted my weight, driving my knee firmly between her thighs and pressing against her core. The contact was electric. One of her hands finally wrenched free from beneath her, her fingers diving into my hair and her nails scraping sharply across my scalp. As I moved my knee in a slow, deliberate rhythm, Artemis gasped, her body momentarily turning to stone beneath me before melting. In that second, the last of the barriers between us dissolved; our minds became completely, flawlessly connected. She tugged at my hair, a silent command I was all too happy to follow. I let my teeth recede, lingering just long enough to lick away the tiny beads of blood from her neck before allowing her to pull my face up to meet hers.
The moment our lips locked, I lost all sense of where we were. My hand slid beneath her shirt, pushing her bra aside to find the heat of her skin. Artemis gasped into my mouth, and I took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, tasting her, reclaiming her. When her hand closed around my throbbing length, my hips buckled. A wave of pleasure so intense it felt like a physical blow crashed over us both. I was done with talking; I was ready to tear her clothes away and sink myself into her right there on the couch. Then, a firm hand clamped onto my shoulder, and a loud, pointed cough shattered the silence.
We both froze. The fog of lust cleared instantly, replaced by the cold air of the office. I looked up to find Amelia standing over me, her hand still on my shoulder and her face a mask of profound discomfort. I glanced past her toward the desk-Athena had moved. She was now leaning against the front of the mahogany, her arms crossed, and an amused eyebrow arched. She looked like she was watching a particularly entertaining comedy at the theater. I looked back down at Artemis. Her eyes were clear now, but the heat of a second ago had been replaced by a stiff, panicked realization. "You can get off me now," she whispered, her voice tight. "I'm fine."
I could feel her body turning to stone beneath me. Even the tips of her ears were flushing a bright, tell-tale red. A soft, melodic chuckle drifted from the desk-there was no doubt it was Athena-but I ignored the Goddess. I shifted my weight, moving to the side so Artemis could scramble out from under me. I watched, a heavy sigh of disappointment escaping me, as she hurriedly readjusted her bra and smoothed her shirt. The animalistic tension was gone, replaced by a thick, awkward silence.
I looked over at Mia, but she refused to meet my eyes. In the short time it had taken me to move, and for Artemis to frantically fix her clothes, Amelia had practically teleported to the far side of the office. She was staring intensely at a blank spot on the wall, her face a deep shade of crimson, looking like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. Athena, however, was the picture of divine patience. She remained leaning against the front of my desk, her palms flat against the mahogany on either side of her. She watched us with the calm, terrifyingly observant eyes of a predator that had seen it all before. Just as the silence began to feel like it might suffocate us, she spoke. "Congratulations on returning to your senses, my dear," she said, her voice smooth and devoid of any real bashfulness.
I stared at her, the confusion thick and heavy in my mind. Beside me, Kayden's jaw was set in a hard line of irritation, his eyes flashing with a mix of protective anger and sheer disbelief at the Goddess's nonchalance. "What just happened?" I asked, my voice sounding small even to my own ears. Athena sighed, a sound of weary patience. "You, my dear, came dangerously close to allowing your tiger half to completely consume your consciousness."
I shook my head, a reflexive denial bubbling up. "That's impossible. I would never let that happen. That's the kind of thing that only happens in horror stories and fairytales to scare young pups into submission." Athena raised an eyebrow, slowly crossing her arms over her chest as she remained against the mahogany of the desk. "My dear, I have walked this earth since ancient times. You are far from the first shifter I have witnessed reverting to a purely animalistic state. It is a tragedy often born of grief-the loss of a pack, or more commonly, the loss of a mate."
She paused, her violet eyes boring into mine with a terrifying intensity. "But I have also seen it happen to those whose animal spirit is simply too vast, too powerful for their humanity to contain. Your tiger is not a common beast, Artemis. It is ancient and overwhelming. Until now, your will has been a fortress, keeping that power at bay. But guilt is a corrosive thing. It ate away at your walls until they faltered, and your tiger saw its opening. It wasn't trying to destroy you-it was trying to protect you by drowning your guilt in its own predatory instincts."
"You have always hated placing others in the path of Zander's cruelty," Athena continued, her voice echoing the dark thoughts I'd kept buried for years. "The guilt of those who died helping you escape has been a rot in your foundation. When you realized your mate and his pack were now the targets, your guard didn't just slip-it shattered. Your tiger sensed your agony and did exactly what it was bred to do: it tried to swallow you whole to protect you from yourself. Self-preservation is a primal, unthinking thing."
Every word she spoke was a jagged piece of truth that cut deep. I felt a wave of fresh horror-I had almost become the very monster I was trying to protect the pack from. "It is a stroke of luck that Kayden was here," Athena added, though her tone suggested luck had nothing to do with it. "Only a mate has the frequency required to soothe an animal that has gone feral. Without him to anchor your consciousness, you would have been lost." Kayden's hand found mine, his thumb tracing a slow, grounding circle against my skin. The warmth of his touch brought a sudden, sharp clarity to my mind. I looked at the Goddess-really looked at her-and the pieces clicked together. "You did this on purpose," I whispered, my voice growing steady with sudden realization. Athena arched an eyebrow, the picture of innocent curiosity. "Whatever do you mean, my dear?"
"Don't play dumb," I snapped, my eyes narrowing. "You knew exactly how I'd react to those truths. You withheld that information during our first meeting in the training center, specifically so you could drop it like a bomb while Kayden was in the room. You needed me to break, and you needed him to be the one to fix me. You've been choreographing this since before we even met."
An amused smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "I wouldn't be the Goddess of Wisdom if I couldn't plan several steps ahead. It is exactly why I convinced my sister Artemis to lend me Amelia. We had to ensure Kayden wouldn't reject you on sight-we needed a buffer to make sure you both had time to let the bond take root before his instincts ruined everything."
Beside me, I felt Kayden's entire body go rigid. "You say that," he began, his voice low and vibrating with a new kind of dread, "but how is that even possible? Mia has lived in this pack her whole life. I have memories of us as kids. She grew up with us." Athena sighed, sitting back on the edge of the desk and gracefully crossing one leg over the other. She looked like she was explaining a simple chore to a slow-witted child. "I thought you would be a bit quicker on the uptake, Kayden. We are gods. We don't just read minds-we can rewrite them. We can plant false memories as easily as a farmer plants seeds."
She leaned forward, her violet eyes glinting. "We only sent Amelia down to you just before you started middle school. Every memory you have of her before that is a fabrication. I intentionally made those false memories feel distant and slightly cold-making it seem like the three of you didn't get along-so your adult minds wouldn't question why you weren't closer as toddlers." Kayden's jaw tightened so hard I heard his teeth grind. His free hand balled into a white-knuckled fist.
"What about Luca?" he spat, the words sounding like they were being torn from his throat. "He's her mate. Is that a lie, too? Is their entire life just a god's prank?" Athena rolled her eyes, her boredom returning. "Do not be dramatic. Even the gods cannot forge a mate bond. Only the Fates decide who is tethered to whom. Luca and Amelia were always meant for one another; we simply... adjusted her arrival time to suit our needs."
Artemis's hand tightened in mine, a silent anchor of support as the world I thought I knew continued to crumble. I watched Amelia, but she immediately dropped her gaze to the floor, her shoulders hunched as if she were waiting for a blow. Her shame only stoked the fire of my rage. Every memory of us-every secret shared, every laugh over the years-felt tainted. I felt betrayed by my own mind, and by the woman I had called one of my best friends. "If you have no control over the mate bond," I spat, my voice harsh and jagged, "then why send her at all? Why choose her?"
I knew the answer was likely a cold calculation, but I needed to hear her say it. Athena arched an eyebrow, her expression maddeningly calm. "Just because we cannot forge the bond doesn't mean we cannot see the threads of it. I simply looked for the perfect candidate. It worked out quite well when I discovered that Amelia was fated to be the mate of your Beta and best friend, Luca. It made her the perfect Trojan horse-she wasn't just a stranger; she was someone your soul would instinctively learn to trust through your bond with him."
I ground my teeth together, the sound audible in the quiet room. My jaw ached with the effort of not lunging at her again. "And before you get too agitated, Alpha," Athena added, her voice dropping into a low, clinical tone, "you should note a small detail. If I hadn't stepped in, the two of them would never have met in this lifetime. Not in a few hundred years." My eyebrows knit together, my anger momentarily derailed by a sharp, cold confusion. "What do you mean? If they're mates, the Moon Goddess brings them together. That's how it works."
"It is exactly as it sounds," Athena stated, her voice as smooth and cold as marble. "Artemis's handmaidens are bound by ancient laws. They do not leave Olympus without explicit permission, and they must remain pure and chaste for as long as they serve. Typically, a handmaiden is only dismissed after centuries of service. Given Amelia's youth, she wouldn't have been free for another two hundred years." She leaned in slightly, her gaze piercing. "So, even if by some miracle Luca survived the coming war with the tigers-and we both know he would have died fighting at your side, Alpha-he would have lived a life of hollow agony. He would have searched for a mate who was locked away in the heavens, unreachable until the day he drew his last breath."
My jaw tightened until I thought my teeth might shatter. The betrayal burned in my gut, hot and bitter, but the image of Luca-my brother in everything but blood-living with the same crushing loneliness I'd endured before finding Artemis... it made my heart ache with a hollow, heavy sadness. I looked at Amelia again. Despite knowing she was likely just a pawn in a goddess's game, the words tumbled out of me, laced with venom. "So you knew. You knew everything that was going to happen, and you just lied and manipulated us anyway."
Amelia's head snapped up. The shame in her eyes was gone, replaced by a flash of hurt and a sudden, sharp defensive fire. "I never lied to you, Kayden," she said, her voice trembling but firm. "Then what do you call this?" I roared, my hands balling into fists. "What do you call hiding your identity for a decade? What do you call living a life that was planted in our heads by a god?" She raised an eyebrow, a flicker of the handmaiden's steel showing through her grief. "And if I had told you the truth? If a twelve-year-old girl had looked you in the eye and told you she was a servant of the Moon Goddess sent to watch over you? Would you have believed me, Kayden? Or would you have cast me out and lost your best friend's mate before you even knew what he was to me?"
The retort died in my throat. I wanted to snap back-to insist that we were a pack, that we were family, and that we would have stood by her regardless of the truth. But the words felt hollow even before they could form. My mind flashed back to the moment I first met Artemis, the skepticism I'd felt, and the way I had struggled to trust even the woman fated to be my soul's other half. If I hadn't even fully believed my own mate at first, how could I expect my twelve-year-old self to have accepted a girl claiming to be a divine servant from Olympus? I was an Alpha; I was trained to look for threats, not fairytales. Amelia knew that. She had lived it.
My gaze snapped back to her, but the fire in my eyes had dimmed to a dull, aching ember. I stared at her, unable to find a single argument that wasn't a lie. Amelia clicked her tongue, a sharp sound of weary annoyance that echoed in the silence of the office. She looked away, her posture stiffening with a cold resolve. "That's what I thought," she whispered, the sound of her sigh feeling like a final door closing on our childhood.
I watched Amelia's gaze drift toward me, her eyes clouded with that same weary, haunted sadness. "Ari, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you who I really was... or what I knew. I just couldn't." I didn't hesitate. I shook my head, offering her a small, knowing smile. "It's okay, Amelia. I understand. There are things in this world we carry that simply aren't meant for other people's ears-not yet."
The wave of relief that washed over her was palpable. The tension in her shoulders bled away, and a genuine, fragile smile touched her lips. She had been terrified that this revelation would incinerate our friendship, that I would look at her with the same accusation I saw in Kayden's eyes. But for me, it made sense. Every time I'd talked to her, I'd felt a shadow of something deeper, a hidden wisdom that shouldn't have belonged to a young wolf. It explained why she had never mocked my beliefs or tried to "correct" my views of the world like the others had. Learning about her connection to the gods was like snapping the final, jagged piece of a puzzle into place. How could I judge her for keeping secrets when I had walked into this pack carrying a trunk full of my own?
A sharp, rhythmic clap echoed through the room, making us all jump. Athena stood there, her expression bright and efficient. "I am so glad we could finally get all of that into the open," she announced, her voice regaining its authoritative lilt. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why I chose this specific moment for our little 'truth-telling' session."
She began to pace slowly in front of the desk. "Artemis is correct-stabilizing her psyche was paramount. And Kayden, you needed a catalyst to truly accept the divine hand in your fate. Without Amelia as the anchor, you would have spent the next week trying to find a 'logical' explanation for my existence. This was... faster." She stopped, her violet eyes locking onto Kayden's with a look that was almost pitying. "And truthfully? I didn't want you to be too shocked when this war ends. Because when the dust settles, Amelia will be leaving this pack. She belongs in Olympus, and her time in the mortal realm is nearing its end."
Kayden's shoulders locked, his entire frame vibrating with a low, dangerous tension. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded, his voice dropping an octave. "Mia isn't just a visitor. She is a member of this pack. This is her home. Why on earth would she leave?" Athena raised an eyebrow, her expression maddeningly practical. "It is simple logic, Alpha. Once a task is complete, the servant returns to their master. She is, and always has been, a handmaiden of the Goddess Artemis. Her soul is tethered to Olympus."
"What about Luca?" Kayden's hands balled into white-knuckled fists in his lap, his voice shaking with a mix of fury and heartbreak. "That is his mate you are talking about taking away. Have you ever once considered him? You claim to be the Goddess of Wisdom-have you no idea what a forced separation does to a wolf's soul?" Athena let out a weary, dramatic sigh. "It is unfortunate, truly. But this was ordained long before you or your Beta were born. Amelia is young; she has centuries of faithful service ahead of her. Only the Moon Goddess herself can release her from those vows, and Artemis is not known for being... lenient with her staff."
I watched the storm of emotions raging behind Kayden's eyes-the urge to fight, the crushing weight of helplessness, and the sheer grief for his best friend. He didn't explode. He simply clenched his jaw so hard I feared his teeth would snap, the silence in the room turning thick and suffocating. Amelia remained a statue of misery, her head bowed so low she looked like a child awaiting a sentence for a crime she didn't mean to commit. The air in the tiny office felt like it was being vacuumed out, leaving us all gasping in the pressure of Athena's gaze. Then, in a sudden, sharp movement that broke the spell, Athena stood up. The shift in her energy was instantaneous, the "teacher" vanishing and the "General" taking her place.
All eyes tracked Athena as she rose. The heavy, suffocating weight of the previous conversation didn't vanish, but it was sharpened by the new edge in her voice. "Well, good," she said, her tone light but carrying a distinct warning. "Now that the air has been cleared, I have one more recommendation before I take my leave." She paused, her violet eyes locking onto Kayden's with an intensity that demanded submission. "Kayden, I suggest you listen-truly listen-to what your beautiful mate has to say. She understands the architecture of Zander's mind better than anyone living. Her instincts are practically flawless. If you don't wish to be remembered as the Alpha whose pride burned his pack to the ground, you will take her every thought into careful consideration."
Kayden's jaw clenched, a muscle jumping in his cheek as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "I don't need a goddess to tell me that," he growled. "I already knew it." Athena arched an eyebrow, a mocking, fleeting smirk dancing on her lips before it vanished back into her marble-cold mask. "Good. Then perhaps I needn't worry about you quite as much as I feared." She swept around the desk, her movements fluid and ethereal, stopping in the exact center of the room. She looked at each of us in turn-Artemis, Amelia, and finally back to Kayden.
"If you truly need me, call my name. I will answer... if and when the time is right," she said. Her voice seemed to echo as if she were already standing in a great hall. "In the meantime, prepare yourselves. Your guests will be arriving any second now."
"Wait-" I started, but before the question could leave my lips, a firm, familiar knock sounded at the door. "No! Wait!" we all shouted in a panicked, disjointed chorus, our eyes darting to Athena.
Luca stood in the doorway, his mouth agape, looking at us as if we had all collectively lost our minds. He glanced toward the center of the room-the spot where a literal goddess had just been standing-but found only empty air and the faint, lingering scent of lavender and olives. "I don't know what everyone's problem is," Luca finally blurted out, shaking off the confusion that clouded his face. "But whatever it is, it'll have to wait. I just got word that a couple more Alphas from the other packs have started to arrive. His motorcade will be at the front steps in less than five minutes. We need to be down there now."
The mention of the arrival of the other Alphas acted like a splash of ice water. Kayden jerked his head to the side, physically shaking away the lingering shock of the "false memories" and the threat of losing Amelia. He smoothed his features into the practiced, impenetrable mask of an Alpha. "You're right, Luca," Kayden said, his voice deep and steady, though I could feel the tremor in his hand. "We'll be down in a moment."
Luca gave us one last lingering look, his eyes darting from my flushed face to Kayden's clenched jaw. He sensed the tectonic shift in the room's energy, but as a Beta, he knew when to prioritize the pack's safety over his own curiosity. He turned toward Amelia, his expression softening instantly into one of pure, soul-deep devotion-the very devotion Athena had threatened to cut short. "Are you coming, my love?" he asked, extending his hand. Amelia looked at Kayden for a heartbeat-a silent plea for forgiveness or perhaps a silent goodbye-before nodding. She took Luca's hand, their fingers intertwining with a familiarity that made my heart ache for them. As they disappeared into the hallway, Kayden watched them go, his gaze dark and concentrated.
Only when their footsteps faded did he let out a long, ragged sigh. He turned back to me, the "Alpha" mask slipping just enough for me to see the raw exhaustion underneath. He reached out his hand. "Come on," he said softly. "We should probably get going." I gripped his hand, feeling the solid, grounding heat of him. He pulled me to my feet, his fingers locking firmly with mine. We weren't just walking out to meet a neighboring Alpha; we were walking out to lead a war while carrying the weight of the gods on our shoulders.