Chapter 18 – Divine Intervention

I stepped into a dream carved from silver light, where the air crushed the breath from my chest. My knees shattered against a floor of glass flowers that cut into my flesh.

Then, she appeared, not just an ordinary woman, but a cold, glowing presence that felt like the moon had taken a human shape just to sneer at my mortality.

Selene, the Moon Goddess.

This time, she didn't radiate warmth but something more like a terrifying disgust.

“You look pathetic, Amani,” the tone vibrated through my bones rather than my ears.

I tried to stand, the glass slicing into my skin.

“I’m being bled dry. My mate is in another woman’s bed, and my wolf is in pain. What do you expect?”

“I expect the Luna I chose, not the victim you’ve become,” she snapped, her stare like frozen stars. “Stop showing them your weakness. Not to the coward who wears the title, and certainly not to the scavenger at his table. You weren't made to be a footnote in Vance’s tragedy. You were meant to take Eclipse Star to heights they can't even see from their dirt-stained beds. Yet you’re here, sobbing in the mud while they strip you bare.”

The arrogance of it made my blood boil despite the chill.

“You’re the one who allowed all this. You watched while he let a snake into our home. If I'm pathetic, it's because you gave me a mate who lacks the spine to be worthy of me.”

She didn't flinch.

“The bond is a compass, not a leash. If you're lost, it’s because you stopped moving. The solution is within reach, closer than your own breath.”

She paused as if she wanted me to absorb the depth of her words.

 “Zebub isn't your end, she's the whetstone. She is the challenge you need to sharpen yourself against. You want to be free of that brand on your neck? Then stop whining about the fire and start using it.”

“How?” I whispered, my palms bleeding onto the glass.

“Find the monster,” the Goddess murmured, her tone turning into a velvet threat. “The Lycan isn't a myth. He is the true match I kept in reserve while you played house with a boy. He is the heat that will burn Vance’s mark into ash. But he won't come for a broken Luna waiting for permission to exist. He only shows up for a Queen who has already taken her throne.”

“I have to submit to a monster because you botched the first choice?” I spat, the words tasting like copper.

“Trust your instinct and follow the fate I wrote,” she countered, her form starting to blur into mist. “Go back. Stand in that house. Let the pain burn, but don't let it bend you. The Lycan is close, Amani. Make sure you’re worth the hunt, or die in the shadow of a rogue. I expected more from a daughter of the Eclipse.”

The glass shattered, and the silver light imploded.

I woke up in the hut, chest heaving. For the first time in weeks, the mark on my neck didn't feel like a burden. It felt like a bullseye.

“Amani?” Menelik was watching from the corner. “You were shaking. Did the agony start again?”

I sat up, the duvet falling away.

The hollow ache remained, but a hard layer of resolve had paved over it. I wasn't ready to tell him about the Lycan or that the Goddess had called me a failure before dangling a beast in front of me as a prize.

“No. It wasn’t them,” I said.

He moved closer. “Then what? You look… different. Your scent is sharper. Like a blade being pulled from a sheath.”

“I’m going back, Menelik.”

He froze. “To that house? To be a battery for their fun? You’ll be dead within the week.”

“I won’t,” I replied confident, standing up and ignoring the throb of the bond. “I was looking for a way to hide. That’s a coward’s move. Selene wants me strong? Fine. I’ll show her what a wolf can do when she stops following the rules.”

“What’s the plan, then?” he asked. “From here, it looks like you’re walking back into a meat grinder.”

I looked at him, the quiet power he used to block out an Alpha’s bond. My instinct screamed, and I finally listened.

“Zebub thinks she’s winning because I’m running. She thinks I’m the intruder in this triangle bond. I’m going back to remind her whose name is on the deed to this territory. I’m taking the challenge she’s throwing and shoving it down her throat. If Selene wants a Queen, I’ll give her one. One that makes her regret ever calling me weak.”

Menelik reached out, his hand hovering near my face. “It’s a dangerous game. The siphoning will still hurt.”

“Let it,” I whispered, leaning into his touch for one last moment of quiet.

Menelik’s eyes flashed, a quick, violent burst of gold. He didn't pull away. His grip on my jaw tightened.

“I think you’re more dangerous than the Goddess realized,” he murmured. “Go back. Play your game.”

“Good,” I said, heading for the door. “I will never relive my old life. I came back for the better. Victory is my new creed.”

Stepping out into the rain toward the border, I felt Sara stir. She wasn't whimpering anymore. She was baring her teeth.

The Goddess wanted a show?

I was so ready for that.