CHAPTER 150: PINE NEEDLES

Athena’s body trembled.

The scent of pine needles and blood clung to the air, thick as she sat against a tree’s base, trying to steady her breathing. Her heat had left her weak, frayed at the edges, but it was the betrayal—the undeniable, gut-piercing betrayal—that had left the deepest mark.

She was supposed to be safe. Surrounded by those who bowed to her, worshipped her. And yet someone had used her vulnerability to try and control her bond. Her body. Her power.

Who?

Her vision blurred again.

A cool wind swept through the glade. Her pulse slowed. The fire in her veins cooled to something distant, suspended.

Then the world slipped.

The forest faded. The scent of the earth was gone.

She was standing now. Somewhere else.

The sky above was pitch black. No stars. Only a glowing full moon so large it filled the sky, cracked through the middle like a shattered bone.

A dream?

No.

A vision.

Athena took a step forward.

Moonlight shimmered across the ground, silver grass bending in waves around her bare feet. The air pulsed with energy—something divine. The Moon Realm. She knew it instantly, even if she’d never been here in this form before.

"Goddess of the Broken Oath," a voice whispered.

Athena turned.

An ethereal wolf, blindingly white, stood before her. Its eyes glowed with liquid silver. Its breath steamed the air.

"You come seeking truth," the wolf said. "But truth is a weapon, and you will bleed for it."

Athena didn’t move. "I don’t care. Show me."

The wolf raised its head. "Then walk."

The ground cracked beneath her as she moved. One step. Then another.

Each step brought a vision.

First—Cassius.

Bloodied, kneeling before a wall of fire, his hands wrapped around the hilt of a sword plunged through someone’s chest. His face was twisted in agony. Athena felt the echo of that scream in her chest.

She reached for him—

The vision changed.

Lucas, surrounded by shadowed figures, his blade raised. A crown of light hovered above his head—blazing. Blinding. But every enemy he felled, the crown dimmed. With every kill, it cracked.

"No," Athena breathed.

The wolf’s voice rumbled again. "Those you love are mirrors of your power. But it is not them you seek."

A new path formed in front of her, paved with bones. Wolves howled in the distance.

Then she saw them.

The throne room. Her palace.

The high windows fractured, light bleeding in. A council of Alphas seated at their crescent table. Most faces shadowed.

Except one.

Marcella.

Her golden braid was tied back tightly, face calm, calculating. She stood behind Athena’s throne—not seated, not bowing. Her eyes were fixed on a vial in her hand. Glowing red.

Heat suppressant? No. Something worse.

"Only a little more," Marcella whispered. "Then even the Moon-born will bow to me."

Athena stumbled back, her breath catching. "She—she used me. She tried to tether my heat to her own command."

Another vision replaced it.

Marcella’s chamber.

She stood in the dark with a man—Markus. Cassius’s brother.

He leaned close. "She’s too powerful. But her heart’s still soft. That makes her weak."

"She won’t be a threat much longer," Marcella replied. "Once the ritual binds her heat to the lunar stone, we control the wolves. All of them."

Athena’s pulse thundered in her ears.

They weren’t trying to just manipulate her—they were trying to weaponize her bond, to steal her connection to the Moon Goddess itself.

The wolf turned its glowing eyes to her.

"Now you see. But knowledge alone is not enough. To reclaim what’s yours... you must awaken."

Athena’s chest burned. "Let me return."

But the wolf only blinked. "Choose your strength, Moon-Blooded One. What power will you take back first—fire or forgiveness?"

Athena clenched her fists.

She chose fire.

The realm cracked open.

Flames burst around her. Her eyes flew open in the waking world.

Athena awoke with a gasp, thrashing against soft moss. She was back in the forest, still tucked within the secret glade—safe for now.

Lucas was there. So was Cassius.

But they weren’t alone.

Raya knelt beside her, eyes wide. "She’s burning hot again—her core’s destabilizing—"

"She’s waking," Cassius said, voice low, urgent. "Athena—can you hear me?"

Athena pushed herself upright, shaking. Her skin gleamed with sweat, hair clinging to her neck, but her eyes—her eyes—were silver fire.

"I saw her," she rasped. "Marcella. She’s the traitor."

Lucas stiffened.

Cassius froze.

"I saw her with Markus," she continued. "They’ve been working together. She tried to bind my heat to the lunar stone. They want to use it—to control the wolves."

Lucas’s fists clenched at his sides. "That would give them control over every unmated wolf in the kingdom."

"Not just control," Athena said. "Loyalty. They want to crown themselves as sovereigns of a new order."

Cassius’s voice was quiet. "They’re going to try again."

Athena nodded. "They will. And they’ll come with more than herbs and ritual. They’ll come with war."

Lucas looked at her. "Then we strike first."

She looked between them.

These two men—so different, yet both willing to go to war for her. One, the bond forged through time and battles. The other, through fate and love.

Athena stood on trembling legs, the forest glowing behind her.

"No," she said. "Not war yet. First—we bait the traitor. We play their game. And we burn it from the inside."

Lucas stepped close. "You’re sure you’re ready?"

Athena looked down at her hands.

Power flickered at her fingertips—silver fire, pulsing like a second heartbeat.

She met his gaze.

Marcella

Marcella stood before the mirror, draped in black silk and power. Her reflection smirked back at her.

"Athena," she said the name like a curse, tracing a crimson-painted nail down her cheek, "you may wear the title of Moon Goddess, but you’re still just a girl playing queen."

The whispers in the palace were growing. Every calculated drop of poison she placed in conversation—every false tale, every suggestive glance—was working. Alphas from bordering clans questioned Athena’s emotional stability. Some murmured about her "dangerous heat." Others doubted her authority entirely.

Marcella’s fingers brushed against the letter opener on the desk. A wicked thing, shaped like a serpent.

She didn’t need to kill Athena. Not yet. Just make her unfit to rule. Let the Alphas demand a vote. Let her unravel herself. All Marcella needed was a few more "incidents." A few more leaks.

And tonight, at the council dinner, she’d make sure the High Alpha from the Southern Ridge saw Athena’s "weakness" for himself.

Athena

"She thinks she’s winning," Athena murmured, voice low as candlelight.

Lucas sat beside her, arms crossed, jaw tight. "Let her. She’s working off lies we fed her."

Cassius leaned against the stone wall, shadows draping across his broad form. "She’s clever, though. That forged letter about the council voting to replace you? That almost got traction."

Athena’s eyes narrowed. "Exactly why we don’t act too soon. Tonight, she gets what she wants: me looking tired, distracted, shaken. Let her confidence grow bloated."

Lucas added, "And let her keep whispering to the Alphas who’ve already pledged loyalty. She’s digging her own pit."

Cassius’ gaze flickered to Athena. "And after tonight?"

"We tighten the noose."

Marcella

The council hall glittered with false civility. Long tables gleamed under chandeliers. Wine flowed. The Alphas laughed too loudly.

And Athena?

She sat silently at the head of the room, pale, distracted, barely meeting anyone’s eyes. Perfect.

Marcella glided past, stopping beside the High Alpha of Southern Ridge.

"She hasn’t been herself since returning from the other world," Marcella whispered softly, folding her hands with practiced innocence. "The power’s... changed her."

The man frowned. "There was that outburst last week. During the full moon."

"Yes," Marcella said with a sorrowful tone. "She screamed for hours. Claimed she could see traitors in the stone."

The Alpha blinked. Marcella bowed her head and left him with the image.

Across the room, Athena locked eyes with her.

Marcella smiled.

Athena did not.