CHAPTER 143: SOON TO BE TESTED

Maybe it was something someone gave you—knowing how much it would cost.

Cassius brushed his thumb over her lips. "Tomorrow, they’ll test me again."

"I know."

"I want you to be the one watching."

Athena arched a brow. "Afraid I’ll be unimpressed?"

"Terrified," he said, smiling faintly.

She smirked. "Then make me regret not breaking your ribs."

Their laughter broke the tension like glass shattering on stone.

And though the world was still fractured, though war still brewed in the shadows and older things stirred beneath the realm—

For this one stolen night...

They remembered what it meant to feel whole.

Athena stood at the edge of the training field, Cassius’s warmth still clinging to her skin like armor she didn’t ask for but desperately needed.

He’d left a few minutes ago, heading toward the barracks to clean up, but the memory of his kiss—the hunger, the ache, the familiarity—it lingered like smoke.

And for once, she didn’t want it to fade.

"Athena," a voice called behind her, sharp and clipped.

She turned. A messenger—young, tense, clearly frightened to address her—held a sealed scroll in trembling hands. The mark of the Alpha Council glinted in wax.

"They... request your presence. Immediately."

She took it without a word.

The scroll felt heavier than it should.

"Dismissed," she said, and the boy nearly tripped in his rush to flee.

Athena’s jaw tightened as she broke the seal.

Twelve alphas sat in a semicircle of stone and shadow, high above the floor where Athena stood. The circular hall smelled of cold marble and iron, and the enormous wolf sigils carved into each wall loomed like silent judges.

She didn’t bow. She never did.

But her presence alone was enough to quiet even the boldest of them.

"So it’s true," murmured Alpha Theron, his voice rich with both reverence and skepticism. "The Moon Goddess walks again."

"I walk," Athena said, "but I do not kneel."

That caused a ripple of discomfort—and something else. Admiration. Fear.

Alpha Siona leaned forward, her braided silver hair catching the torchlight. "We welcomed your return, goddess. But rumors are already spreading... About what happened after training today."

Athena’s shoulders straightened. "Rumors?"

"Cassius," Siona said, eyes sharp. "You were seen kissing him."

The hall went still.

Athena didn’t flinch.

"He was mine long before I was lost," she said coldly. "And if the world now believes I should deny my past to fit their politics, they’re sorely mistaken."

Alpha Kade, the youngest and most ambitious, smirked. "This isn’t about your past. It’s about distraction. If the goddess has returned to fight the darkness, shouldn’t her focus remain undivided?"

Athena’s voice dropped into something deadly. "You presume I cannot love and still be lethal?"

He faltered.

Siona’s eyes narrowed. "Cassius is joining your guard. That alone already raises eyebrows. But if your bond resurfaces, it could be seen as favoritism."

"Let them see what they want. Cassius will earn his place. And if he fails, he knows I won’t protect him."

A pause.

Alpha Theron gave a slow nod. "Then he will be tested tomorrow in front of the packs. You will watch—but not intervene."

Athena’s eyes burned. "I wouldn’t dream of it."

Cassius waited for her near the steps.

He knew something had changed the moment he saw her face.

"You’re angry," he said.

She didn’t deny it.

"They know," she said.

Cassius nodded once. "Let them."

Athena looked at him. Hard. Quiet. "They’ll be watching you tomorrow. Not just to see if you’re strong enough to serve in my guard. But to see if you’re weak enough to make me vulnerable."

He stepped closer. "I won’t let them question your power."

"You shouldn’t be the one proving anything," she said, almost bitterly. "I should be the one defending you."

"I don’t need your protection," he said softly. "I need your faith. That’s all I ever wanted."

Her mouth parted. But before she could respond, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"You’ve got nerve, Cassius."

They both turned.

A tall man in obsidian armor strode toward them. Markus, Commander of the West Wind Pack. One of Athena’s former allies.

And once, her betrothed—before the war tore everything apart.

His eyes locked on Cassius. "The goddess gives you a single kiss and you think you’re back in her favor?"

Cassius said nothing. But his stance shifted—warrior still, but ready.

Markus sneered. "You weren’t there when she fell. You didn’t see her body disappear into that portal. I carried her sword for ten years."

Athena stepped between them, her voice low but lethal. "That sword never belonged to you, Markus."

His jaw clenched. "Neither did she, apparently."

The tension was thick enough to cut with steel.

Cassius met Markus’s stare. "If you want a fight, pick the place. But don’t think dragging history into it makes you noble."

"Tomorrow," Markus said, with a grim smile. "I’ll be the one testing you in the trial."

Athena’s body tensed. "That’s not your place."

Markus’s smirk widened. "It is now. The Council voted. After all, who better to test a man trying to replace me?"

And with that, he walked away.

She couldn’t sleep.

The stars blinked outside her window, cold and distant.

She sat in silence, staring at her reflection in the polished steel of her bracer. Her hand still tingled where Cassius had touched her. Her lips burned from memory.

A knock at the door.

She didn’t answer—but it opened anyway.

Cassius stepped in, moving quietly, respectfully. His shirt was half undone. A bruise bloomed on his side.

"You shouldn’t be here," she said.

"I know."

They stared at each other.

"I don’t regret the kiss," he said.

Athena looked away.

"But I don’t want to be your weakness, Athena. I want to be your weapon."

She rose from the chair slowly. "Then survive tomorrow."

He smiled, tired and raw. "You don’t think I can?"

"I know you can. But that doesn’t mean I want to watch you bleed."

He crossed the room. His hands hovered over her arms, not touching. "Then don’t watch. Feel."

And for one breathless second, she leaned in—forehead to his, like before.

But this time, there was no fire. Just warmth.

"I missed you," she whispered.

He nodded. "I know."