55. The Fog Of The Goddess.

ADRIAN

The drive to the Luna Shrine felt like the longest, roughest road I had ever taken in my entire life. Caleb sat beside me in the passenger seat, his elbow propped against the door, his eyes fixed on the forest outside the window. I could feel his tension; it rolled off him like smoke, thick and suffocating. But my own tension… it was a storm, violent and wild, ripping through me with every heartbeat.

Every time I closed my eyes, Lucy’s skin flashed before me, glowing… glowing with a mark that should never have existed. The mark of the Luna. A mark that appears only when the Alpha’s love is genuine — pure, mutual, undeniable.

But I didn’t love her.

I didn’t even like her.

I didn’t want her.

And still, that mark glowed like fire under her skin, mocking me. Mocking everything I believed in. Mocking the laws of the Moon Goddess herself.

How?

How was that possible?

What did she do?

What had I done?

My hands tightened around the steering wheel so hard the leather groaned. Caleb glanced at me.

“Adrian,” he said softly, “you shouldn’t drive like this.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

“You’re not.” His voice held no judgement, only worry. “You look like you’re about to tear the whole world apart.”

I didn’t answer. What was I supposed to say?

That I still felt the ghost of her perfume in my lungs?

That I still felt angry, violated, confused… and worst of all, ashamed?

Caleb sighed. “We’ll get answers.”

I nodded, though the knot in my chest didn’t loosen.

Would we?

Could we?

The car rolled deeper into the woods, the road narrowing, the air growing colder and stiller. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath as we approached the sacred grounds. The Luna Shrine was old, older than any pack, built in a time when the wolves and the Goddess spoke freely.

A faint mist settled around the car as we pulled into the stone clearing. I cut the engine, shut my eyes for a moment, and inhaled deeply.

I needed strength.

I needed clarity.

But all I had was turmoil.

Caleb stepped out first, stretching as though trying to loosen the tension in his shoulders.

“Let’s go,” he said.

We walked side-by-side toward the entrance path, our boots crunching against the gravel. The shrine stood tall and solemn, carved from pale moonstone, the runes on its surface glowing faintly even in daylight. Priests and priestesses moved silently around the open courtyard, tending to incense, symbols, ancient relics.

The moment we stepped inside, the air changed.

A cool, scented breeze drifted through the temple, carrying lavender, old magic, and something else — something ancient.

Then her voice cut through the silence.

“I have been expecting you.”

The High Priestess.

Caleb and I both turned sharply.

She stood on the stone steps, her white robes fluttering slightly, her face serene but unreadable. Her hair, silver as moonlight, tumbled down her back, and her eyes — pale blue and glowing faintly — locked onto us with unsettling precision.

Caleb lowered his head in respect.

I did too, though it felt harder today.

Her gaze drifted to me first. And when she inhaled, it was sharp, almost startled.

“You carry confusion, Alpha,” she said. “Pain… and something unnatural.”

I swallowed hard. “That’s why we’re here.”

She nodded once. “Come.”

---

The interior of the shrine was dim, lit mainly by the floating silver flames hanging in the air. A white wolf statue stood at the altar, eyes made of crystal that seemed to shift and shimmer.

Caleb and I knelt before her.

The Priestess circled us slowly, sniffing, reading, sensing. When she passed behind me, she paused.

“The scent,” she whispered. “The touch of magic that is not from us. Foreign. Tampered.”

Caleb gave me a quick look. “We suspected someone used a charm.”

The Priestess hummed. “Charm, yes. But not a simple one. Something… forbidden.”

My stomach twisted painfully. “It wasn’t me,” I said quickly. “I didn’t willingly— I didn’t choose—”

Her hand lifted sharply and I shut up.

“I know,” she said.

Only two words.

But they hit deeper than anything.

“Then help me,” I said, my voice cracking slightly. “Please.”

The Priestess lowered herself so we were face-to-face.

“Speak. Tell me what troubles you.”

I inhaled shakily. “Lucy. She appeared at my home last night. Smelled different. Looked different. And something happened — something I couldn’t control. I tried to fight it, but… I wasn’t myself.”

Caleb added quietly, “She seduced him using something unnatural.”

My voice dropped. “After I woke up… the mark of the Luna was glowing on her arm.”

The Priestess froze.

Her eyes widened.

Her breath left her chest.

The flames flickered violently.

“You… saw the mark?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

“Glowing?”

“Yes.”

Her lips parted in shock — and fear.

“Impossible,” she whispered. “Impossible. The Luna mark cannot be forced. It cannot be faked. It can only bloom through true love.”

“I don’t love her!” I snapped. “I— Moon help me, I don’t feel anything for her. Not last night, not today, not ever!”

Her expression softened. “I believe you.”

“Then explain it!” I shouted. “Explain how her mark appeared!”

The Priestess walked slowly to the altar, placed her hands on the stone, and closed her eyes. The flames hummed, the runes stirred, and a cold wind swept through the shrine.

When she spoke again, her voice was much quieter.

“It is… foggy.”

“Foggy?” Caleb repeated.

“Yes.” Her brows furrowed. “When I look into the threads of fate surrounding her… surrounding you… I see something dark. Something hidden. Something that refuses to be revealed. A veil.”

My heart sank. “So you don’t know?”

“I know this much…” She opened her eyes. “It is not natural.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means someone tampered with destiny. And destiny does not like interference.” She faced me fully. “Alpha Adrian, you must proceed carefully.”

“I just want to fix it,” I whispered. “I just want this undone.”

She hesitated… then slowly shook her head.

“I cannot undo what has happened. I cannot strip the mark. I cannot reverse the bond. I wish I could… but this thread is too tangled, too dark, too concealed.”

My pulse thundered in my ears.

“But it’s wrong,” I whispered. “I didn’t choose her. My wolf didn’t choose her.”

She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I know.”

“Then help me.”

“Alpha… sometimes the Goddess asks us to walk paths we do not understand.”

“What if I don’t want this path?”

“Then endure it. Survive it. And wait. Sometimes clarity comes late, but it comes.”

My breath shook. “I love someone else.”

The Priestess’s head snapped up.

“Who?”

The room stilled.

Caleb tensed beside me.

I swallowed. Hard.

“…No one,” I muttered.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Alpha. Do not lie to the Goddess.”

But I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t say Rose’s name. She was human. Fragile. Pure. Not meant to be dragged into wolf matters.

The Priestess sighed.

“Very well. You may keep your secret. But secrets always surface.”

She stepped back.

“I will continue consulting the Luna deity. I will search through the fog. But for now…” She exhaled deeply. “Go with the flow, Adrian. The answers will reveal themselves.”

Go with the flow.

Accept the bond.

Endure the consequences.

My chest ached.

“Thank you,” Caleb said quietly, though he sounded disappointed.

I didn’t speak.

Because there were no words left.

The Priestess turned away. “You may go.”

---

CALEB

Walking out of the shrine felt like walking with weights chained to my legs. I had expected clarity. Answers. Guidance. Something that would ease Adrian’s torment or undo the nightmare he had fallen into.

But instead…

Fog.

Mystery.

A cosmic shrug.

And a Priestess essentially telling us to “deal with it.”

I ran my hand through my hair, frustrated. This wasn’t what we needed. Adrian walked ahead of me, stiff and silent, his shoulders tight, his jaw clenched. I could practically feel the storm raging inside him.

I quickened my steps until I was beside him.

“Adrian,” I said carefully. “We’ll figure this out.”

He didn’t answer.

“Adrian.”

Still nothing.

He was deep inside his mind — drowning in guilt, anger, confusion, heartbreak. And fear. Yes, fear. He was terrified. Not of Lucy, not of the bond, but of what it meant for him and the woman he actually cared about.

Rose.

He still refused to say her name out loud but I knew.

I definitely knew.

“You can’t blame yourself,” I said softly. “Lucy tricked you. Used something. The Priestess said it too — something unnatural was at play.”

His voice was quiet, hollow. “Caleb… how do I protect Rose from a bond I didn’t choose?”

My heart clenched.

I didn't know.

I didn’t have answers.

“We take it one day at a time,” I finally said. “And we don’t give up. Ever.”

He finally looked at me — tired, broken, angry.

“’ I will never forgive myself.”

“You didn’t do it willingly.”

“But the mark still appeared,” he whispered. “How? Why?”

I took a deep breath. “We’ll dig. We’ll question. We’ll watch Lucy carefully. And whatever she did… we’ll uncover it.”

He stared ahead again, silent.

We reached the car and got in. The drive back was quiet at first, the forest sliding past us like a blur. But halfway through, Adrian spoke again.

“I feel trapped,” he said. “Like my own destiny betrayed me.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Then I’ll help you fight destiny.”

He didn’t smile. But the corner of his mouth twitched, just a little.

---

ADRIAN

Caleb dropped me off at my mansion, but I didn’t go inside. I sat in the car long after he left, staring at my hands, replaying the Priestess’s words.

Go with the flow.

The matter is not natural.

Someone tampered with destiny.

My wolf growled inside me, uneasy, restless.

The air around me felt heavier.

Darker.

Wrong.

Lucy’s glowing tattoo flashed again in my memory and I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my skin.

No.

Something was off.

Something was horribly, dangerously off.

And I was going to find out what.

I stepped out of the car slowly, feeling the breeze brush against my skin. In the distance, the forest rustled, birds called, life went on.

But my world had stopped.

My future had warped.

My fate had been hijacked.

And somewhere out there… Rose was living her life, unaware of the chaos spiraling around us.

Unaware that I had failed her.

Unaware that Lucy had bound herself to me.

Unaware that the mark glowed.

I whispered her name under my breath.

“Rose.”

My chest tightened.

My heart ached.

And the bond I didn’t choose pulsed faintly like a mocking flame.

But this wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.

I would get to the bottom of this.

Even if it meant tearing apart every lie, every charm, every ritual Lucy ever touched.

Even if it meant defying destiny itself.

I took a slow breath.

And walked toward the house, ready for war.