4. Three Months

I looked at the High Priestess. "Who was the First Luna? What does it mean? And... what does it have to do with me?"

The High Priestess hesitated. Her gaze drifted toward the elders before she lowered her eyes.

"That is not today's concern."

The Ironfang elder scoffed.

"She is an abomination. Whatever the Moon Goddess intended, this is not it." He pointed a crooked finger at me. "We should end this before it spreads."

Behind me, my mother gasped.

"You can't mean—"

Her voice broke before she could finish.

Darian stepped closer until his shoulder brushed mine.

Silent.

Steady.

Comforting.

Across the room, Riven's violet eyes hardened. For the first time since I'd met him… 

the smug confidence disappeared.

Kael's expression never changed, but another crack splintered across the edge of the desk beneath his hand.

The Veilborn elder laid a calming hand on the Ironfang elder's shoulder.

"Now, now. There's no need to kill the poor girl." He glanced toward me with forced sympathy. "We don't even know how this happened. We should take her to the Archives of the First Moon.”

“Study the bond. If we understand why this happened..." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "...perhaps we can prevent it from ever happening again."

The Moonshadow elder frowned.

"Or perhaps we simply keep her out of sight until this settles. If the clans learn about this, there will be panic."

"Exactly!" the Ironfang elder barked. "Which is why we should deal with it now."

"We are not murdering the girl," the Veilborn elder snapped.

"And we are not imprisoning her either," the Moonshadow elder shot back.

The chamber erupted into shouting once more.

The High Priestess stepped between them and lifted both hands.

Silence crashed over the room.

"The Moon Goddess has spoken."

Even the elders quieted.

"There are stories in our archives of women who were blessed with more than one mate." Her brow furrowed as she searched her memory. "They are exceedingly rare... but not unheard of."

She paused, her gaze drifting toward the ancient temple walls.

"In each of those cases, tradition required the woman to spend time with each of her mates. Only then..." She frowned thoughtfully. "...was a second ceremony held."

Her eyes lifted, moving from Kael... to Darian... to Riven.

"At that ceremony, the woman revealed the bond she believed the Moon Goddess had truly intended."

A heavy silence settled over the temple.

"But..." she said quietly, "our histories speak only of two mates."

Her gaze lingered on the three young Alphas before her.

"No tradition has prepared us for this."

Every wolf in the room seemed to lean forward.

"There is only one course left to us."

She drew herself to her full height.

"We will allow each bond to grow naturally... and trust the Moon Goddess to reveal her true intention."

She turned to me. "Lyra will spend one month with each of her mates. At the end of three months, she will return here. Another ceremony will be held.” She paused “A PRIVATE ceremony this time. The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes." She looked at each of us in turn.

Darian looked almost... excited. Like someone had just handed him a challenge he fully intended to win. "I'm in," he said with an easy grin.

Kael looked like someone had asked him to swallow broken glass. "Absolutely not." His storm-gray eyes found mine. Heat rushed through my veins.

Again. Seriously?

Was this ever going to stop?

"There is no reason for us to spend a month together," he said evenly. "I believe we've already established that you are not the mate for me."

A bucket of ice water poured through my chest. 

Oh, so that's how he wanted to play this.

I folded my arms. "Or maybe," I said sweetly, "I am the perfect mate for you..."

His eyebrow twitched. "...and you're simply not the perfect mate for me."

Silence. I shrugged. "From where I'm standing, I have three choices."

I tilted my head. "You have one."

Kael's jaw clenched.

Somewhere behind me, Darian let out a low whistle.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Riven raising an amused eyebrow.

I smiled. Petty?

Very.

Worth it?

Absolutely.

I turned to the High Priestess "I accept." 

She clapped her hands together. "Then it is settled."

She turned toward the elders. "Lyra will begin with the Moonshadow Pack."

Darian's grin widened.

"She will then spend one month with Ironfang."

Kael looked less than thrilled.

"And finally..." Her voice hesitated. "...she will spend one month with the exiled Veilborn heir."

"Absolutely not!" an elder shouted. 

"He is exiled!"

"He should never have been considered!"

The High Priestess raised a hand. "The Moon Goddess has deemed him worthy."

Silence. "For the first two months, Riven will remain in exile."

She looked toward him. "For the final month, he will be granted temporary passage solely to test the bond." Then she looked back at the elders. "If you are correct..." A faint smile touched her lips. "...the bond will fail."

No one answered.

After all...

If the Moon Goddess made no mistakes...

What did they have to fear?

"Wonderful," the High Priestess said brightly, clapping her hands once more.

"Lyra, you have tonight to pack." She smiled at me. "You leave for Moonshadow at sunrise."

Under the High Priestess's stern glare, the elders filed from the chamber one by one.

Riven pushed away from the wall. His violet eyes met mine. That infuriating smirk returned. As if he already knew how this story ended. Without another word, he disappeared through the doorway.

Kael followed. He never looked back.

Darian stopped beside me. "I'll see you in the morning." Before I could react, he pressed a quick kiss against my cheek.

Warm.

Gentle.

Normally, I hated being fussed over.

Somehow...

Not by Darian.

He smiled. "You're going to love Moonshadow." Then he was gone.

My mother reached for my hand, and together we started toward the door.

"Lyra." The High Priestess's voice stopped me.

She rested one hand lightly on my arm. Her expression had lost every trace of warmth. "Pray..." She swallowed.

"...that you never discover what happens if you fail to choose."