AT THE SAME TME
SELENE
The mirror rippled like moonlit water as I willed it to show me what I needed to see. At first, only shadows stirred… until the image sharpened, pulling me into their secret sanctuary. Michael. His light hair was a tangle across the nest, strands brushing his face where sleep had softened every sharp line of defiance. He looked impossibly young in that moment, fragile even, curled into Zavier's chest as though he belonged there. And Zavier, his silver eyes closed now, but the possessiveness radiated even in slumber, one arm caging Michael tight, his fingers splayed protectively over the boy's ribs. Then my gaze caught it, the raw bond mark at the juncture of Michael's neck, Zavier's claim. I pressed a hand against the mirror, lips curling as a thrill coursed through me. He had done it. Zavier had bound him. The Moon Goddess stirred at the edge of my mind, a silken, sharp voice rippling with excitement.
"So soon… so perfectly… perhaps the heir will not slip us after all."She grinned.
I should have been furious. Michael was meant to be the saint, the symbol I shaped, not the possession of a single alpha. Yet as I stared, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest, the way his wolf purred faintly even in sleep at Zavier's nearness, I felt no anger. Only anticipation.
"Zavier, you arrogant beast." I whispered to the glass, smirking. "You've bound him before the others even had their chance."
The goddess laughed in my mind.
"Then let the others fight for him. A wolf claimed once can still be claimed again. Imagine the strength of four."She said.
I tilted my head, considering. Adrian's steady calm, Terrence's fire, Xavier's restraint… none of them would let Xavier have him unchallenged. And Michael… poor, stubborn Michael. He thought he could resist me. Thought he could run to Rose, thought he could hide behind his defiance. But here he was, pressed against Zavier's chest, trembling no longer, his body already betraying him. The mirror shimmered, their image fading, but I could still feel it, Michael's light head against silver eyed Zavier, wolf soothed and silenced, a claim burning into him like a brand. I touched my own reflection, meeting my gleaming eyes.
"The game has shifted." I murmured. "And now… let's see how long before the others take what they want as well."
The goddess purred her approval. And I smiled, sharp and delighted. The mirror still shimmered, holding their image as if it knew I wasn't ready to look away. Michael, light hair falling like ink across his cheek, lips parted slightly in his sleep. Zavier's silver eyed beast pressed behind him, arm locked tight around his waist, bond mark raw and red on his throat. I could hear it even through the glass, the faint, low rumble of Michael's wolf purring. Not growling. Not resisting. Purring. A sound that told me all I needed. His instincts had chosen, whether his mind admitted it or not.
"He did not fight it. The bond rooted itself. That boy is not lost yet."Godness said proudly.
I curled my lips in a smirk, fingers tracing along the mirror's edge.
"Zavier moved first. I didn't expect him to have the courage to stake the claim before the others."I said.
Not courage, the goddess purred.
"Instinct. He smelled what you and I have known, his heat approaches. And no alpha worth his blood would risk letting another taste him first."She said.
My heart skipped at the word, heat. I had already suspected, sensing the flickers of tension rolling off him whenever he thought he was alone. Now, with the goddess confirming it, my pulse raced with anticipation.
"Then his body will betray him." I whispered, eyes drinking in Michael's sleeping form. "The saint he pretends to be will shatter the moment his first heat burns through him. He won't be able to resist. Not the bond. Not Zavier. And certainly not all four."
The goddess laughed in my mind, high and delighted.
"Imagine it, Selene. Imagine his wolf swollen with their scent, his body ripened for the heir we demand. He is already claimed once. When the others bind themselves to him as well… oh, the child born of such power… even the heavens would bow."Moon Godness smirked.
I tilted my head, considering. Michael muttered in his sleep then, a small sound, pressing closer into Zavier's chest as if afraid of the cold even in dreams. My heart twisted with something dangerously close to affection, but I crushed it beneath purpose.
"Yes." I breathed. "We'll use the heat. Let Zavier think he's won. Let him keep Michael close, soothe him, sink deeper into that claim. When the fever rises, the others will not resist. And Michael… his body will beg for it."
"And his soul? " The goddess teased, though her voice carried weight. "Do not forget, Selene. He is not Charlie. He was never meant to be their saint omega."
I glanced once more at the boy in the nest. Light hair, fragile frame, soft lips curled against the alpha holding him as if he had belonged there all along. My smile turned sharp.
"No." I murmured, eyes glittering. "He will not be their saint. He will be mine. Mine to shape. Mine to offer to the Moon when the heir is born."
The goddess purred approval, echoing through me like the toll of a silver bell.
"Then prepare yourself, Selene. His heat will break him. And when it does… your game will truly begin."She said.
I leaned closer to the glass, watching Michael's chest rise and fall, the bond mark glowing faintly against his light hair.
"Yes." I whispered. "It's only a matter of time now."
And in the mirror's reflection, I swore I could almost see the moon itself smiling back at me. Suddenly, the mirror's silver sheen rippled, as though stirred by some unseen force. My lips parted to taunt, but before I could speak, the Moon Goddess laughter cut off suddenly. Her silken voice, always so steady, cracked with something I had never heard before shock.
"No…" She breathed, her tone sharp and breathless. "No, no, no…"
I froze, fingers tightening against the mirror's edge.
"What is it?" I demanded, my voice low and cold. "Speak."
The Goddess presence shuddered in my mind, as if the very heavens trembled.
"His heat… Selene, his first heat." She gasped again, her voice climbing into disbelief. "It has already happened. With Zavier. Only with Zavier."
My heart slammed into my ribs. I snapped my gaze back to the nest, to Michael's fragile form curled into the alpha's chest, the faint glow of the bond mark still pulsing red against his neck. His wolf purred faintly, not restless, not resisting. Content. Claimed.
"Impossible." I hissed. My nails scratched faint lines into the mirror's surface. "His heat was not due for another cycle. I prepared every calculation, every thread of fate. He was supposed to wait, he was supposed to be taken when all four could-"
The Goddess interrupted me, her laughter bubbling again, but now it was frantic, tinged with wild delight.
"Foolish child! Do you not see? The boy's wolf betrayed you. His instincts chose Zavier alone. The first heat cannot be repeated. It roots itself in the one who answered it."Moon Godness said.
"You mean-"I started.
"Yes." The Goddess whispered, her voice trembling now, but with hunger. "He belongs to Zavier. Entirely. No other alpha will break through that claim unless Michael himself rejects it… and look at him, Selene. Look at him."
I looked. Against every instinct screaming in my veins, I looked again. Michael was nestled in Zavier's arms as though born to be there. His lips curled faintly in sleep, light lashes brushing flushed cheeks. Every tremor of unease, every thread of resistance I had tracked in him before gone. His wolf was utterly, dangerously calm. My chest tightened.
"Then… the others…"I begun.
"The others are too late. They will rage, they will tear at each other, but Zavier, Zavier moved first. And the boy's heat sealed it. No heir will come from four. It will come from two."She said.
I swallowed hard, fury and reluctant admiration tangling inside me. Zavier. That silver eyed beast. He hadn't just acted first, he had outplayed me. My lips curled into a bitter smile, even as the Goddess hummed her satisfaction.
"So that's it then. Michael's wolf has already crowned its mate."I said.
"And so has fate." The Goddess breathed, her laughter returning, softer, steadier now. "You thought to bind him to four, but instead, he is bound to the storm. And perhaps, Selene, perhaps that is even stronger than you imagined."
The mirror still shimmered, Michael's light hair splayed across Zavier's chest. The alpha shifted slightly in his sleep, pulling him tighter, protective even in dreams. For the first time, I felt something sharp and unfamiliar burn in my gut. Not anger. Not excitement. Something worse, a doubt in my powers to keep Michael in his right spot.