A FEW DAYS LATER
MICHAEL
The walls were suffocating. Every day since that morning, it had been the same, Adrian watching me with too-bright eyes, Terrence pacing like a caged wolf, Xavier pretending to be calm but his gaze cutting sharp enough to slice me open, and Selene… smirking, always smirking, like she was waiting for me to break. And Zavier gods, Zavier shadowing me everywhere, hand always at my waist, growl always ready, silver eyes daring anyone to take one step too close. At first my wolf purred at it, lulled by his constant presence. But after days of it, the purr curdled into something tighter. Tense. Suffocated.
I couldn't breathe.
So when the dawn light broke across the horizon, spilling gold across the cold stone floor, I made my choice. I stuffed what little I had into a small satchel, nothing but clothes, a worn book, and a strip of dried meat I'd stolen from the kitchens. My wolf whined low in my chest, unsure, but I shoved it down. Better to risk the world outside than burn under their stares any longer. I crept down the hall barefoot, the stone cool under my steps, my heart slamming against my ribs. The air was heavy with the mingled scents of the pack, but most of them were still asleep. Still safe. Or so I thought.
"Where do you think you're going?"I heard familiar voice.
The voice stopped me dead. Low. Smooth. Dangerous. Zavier. I turned slowly, throat tight, to see him leaning against the archway, silver hair catching the morning light, his storm-gray eyes lit like a brewing tempest. He looked infuriatingly calm, but the flex of his jaw, the twitch of his hand told me otherwise. My satchel slipped against my side.
"I need air."I muttered nervously.
"You have air." His gaze cut lower, at the bag. "You're running."
I stiffened.
"And if I am?"I asked.
For a second, his wolf surged, his body snapping straighter, but then he pushed off the wall, stalking closer until I had to tilt my head back just to meet his eyes. His voice dropped to a growl.
"You think you can just walk out, Michael? After I-" His hand brushed my mark, hot and demanding. "-bound you? After I burned myself into your skin?"
The heat in my chest ignited into anger. My wolf shoved forward, baring its teeth inside me, the sound of a growl rattling up my throat.
"I didn't ask for this!" My voice cracked, raw. "I didn't ask to be your mate, or their saint, or her damn prophecy! You think you saved me, Zavier? You chained me. All of you did."
His silver eyes flared, the storm breaking in them, but before he could speak, another voice cut through the hall.
"Michael?"I heard another voice.
Adrian. Behind him, Terrence. Then Xavier. All three, wide awake now, eyes locked on me like I was prey bolting from the snare. Selene appeared last, her smile razor-sharp, lips curling in cruel delight.
"Oh…" She breathed, clasping her hands as though the gods themselves had delivered a gift. "The little saint tried to flee again. How very… predictable."
My wolf bristled, my nails biting into my palms, but the air was already thick with alpha presence. Adrian's wolf surged golden, Terrence's gray storm rolling behind his eyes, Xavier's dark gaze calculating every movement.
"Michael." Adrian stepped forward, palms raised like he could soothe me. "Don't do this. We can talk-"
"Talk?" I snapped, voice cracking. "All you do is fight! Fight each other, fight me, fight over me like I'm-" My throat closed on the word. Property.
Selene chuckled low, her voice curling like smoke.
"Because you are."She said.
That did it. My wolf roared inside me in anger. The growl tore from my chest, louder than before, deeper, rattling the stone walls, forcing their wolves to still. The air vibrated with it, a command no omega should ever wield. My vision blurred, silver light cutting across the edges, and then her voice appeared again. Sweet and delighted.
"Oh, little one." The Moon Goddess purred, her laughter echoing through every corner of the hall. "You grow stronger each time you defy them. How beautiful you've become."
The temperature shifted. Golden light spilled from nowhere, her presence bleeding into reality. And then her touch was on my forehead again, cool and radiant, flooding me with a glow that made my wolf whine with pleasure. My skin shimmered faintly, too bright, too perfect, the blessing she had given before now amplified. The alphas froze, every one of them caught between fury and awe. Zavier's breath hitched behind me, a sound I'd never heard from him before, like his chest had been carved open. His silver eyes burned hotter, darker, his face flushed crimson as his claws dug into the stone wall beside me. The Goddess's laughter rippled soft and cruel as she whispered, just for me.
"See how they break for you? See how he burns? This is your power, little wolf. Use it. Or let them destroy themselves around you."She suggested.
And then she was gone, leaving silence that rang louder than thunder. I stood there shaking, glowing faintly still, every pair of eyes burning holes into me. And all I wanted was to run.
The silence after the Goddess vanished was suffocating. My skin still glowed faintly where She had touched me, and every eye in the hall clung to it like it was some holy relic. I hated it. Hated the way they stared at me, hungry, furious, reverent. Before anyone could speak, Zavier moved. One second I was standing there, trembling, the next his arm locked around my waist and he was pulling me away, his growl low and warning at the others.
"Don't." His voice was sharp enough to slice. "He's mine."
And just like that, I was being dragged through corridors, his grip iron, the others protests echoing behind us but fading with every turn. I tried to struggle, but my wolf that traitorous thing, leaned into him, soothed by his nearness. By the mark throbbing at my neck. We didn't stop until the air shifted. Warmer. Softer. We had stepped out of the stone halls and into something else, a clearing tucked away behind the keep, hidden by walls of ivy and wild roses. The grass here was soft, silvered by the morning dew, and in the center, a small pool caught the dawn light, shimmering like liquid crystal. Zavier finally released me, but only so he could step around and face me, his silver eyes catching the glow still lingering on my skin. His expression, gods, I had never seen it like that before. Not just anger. Not just possession. Something almost… reverent.
"This is my place." He said, voice lower now, calmer. "No one else knows it. Not Selene. Not the others. Just me."
I swallowed, my satchel limp in my grip.
"Why bring me here?"I asked.
His jaw flexed. For once, he looked almost… uncertain. Then he stepped closer, not to cage me, not to trap me, but to brush his fingers lightly against my wrist. His touch was warm, careful, so unlike the storm he usually carried.
"Because you looked like you couldn't breathe in there." He admitted, eyes holding mine. "And I-" His throat worked, his gaze flicking to my mark, then back. "I can't stand to see you run from me."
My chest tightened. The anger that had been burning through me only moments ago fizzled, replaced by something warmer, softer, that I refused to name. My wolf purred, pressing forward, drinking in the gentleness in his storm silver eyes.
"You can't just keep me here." I whispered, but my voice was weaker than I meant. "I'm not… yours to cage."
Zavier stepped even closer, the heat of him sinking into my skin. His hand rose slowly, giving me time to move away if I wanted, and brushed my cheek, thumb tracing lightly as though I'd shatter under his touch.
"I don't want to cage you." He said, so quiet I almost missed it. "I just… want you to stay. With me."
The words hit harder than any growl, any command. My wolf whined low in my chest, betraying me again, and before I could stop myself, I leaned into his hand. His silver eyes widened, the storm breaking for just a moment into something brighter. We stood there in the hidden garden, the morning light wrapping around us like the world itself had paused. His thumb brushed my cheekbone again, slower this time, and the corners of his mouth pulled into something small, soft, a smile not meant for anyone else. For the first time since all of this began, I didn't feel like prey. I didn't feel like a saint or a prophecy or a game piece. I just felt… seen. And gods help me, I wanted more.