CHAPTER 156: MORE THAN MATES

Athena reached out, placing a hand on each of their chests. "You both were meant to be more than mates. You were meant to be shields. Weapons. Flame and steel. If you hate each other, the bond will consume us. If you resist it, it will fracture me."

Lucas let out a breath, the fire in his veins just barely contained. "And if we submit to it?"

Her gaze met his with an intensity that left no room for denial. "Then we become something the world has never seen before."

For a moment, silence returned.

Cassius’s heartbeat pounded like a war drum beneath her palm. Lucas’s wolf stood just beneath his skin, restless and wary, but present. They were both trembling—not with fear, but with the pressure of the decision hanging over them like a blade.

Then Cassius stepped back first, running a hand down his face, frustration seething through his body. "I need to run. Hunt. Break something that isn’t each other."

Athena nodded. "Then go."

He hesitated, eyes clashing with Lucas’s. There was no apology there, but no challenge either.

Just reluctant acknowledgment.

He left without another word.

Lucas stayed.

She turned to him, tired, still glowing faintly with the remnants of ritual fire. "You’re not going after him?"

"No," he said. "Because I trust him. And I trust you. I don’t trust this bond yet—but I’m willing to try."

Athena’s heart stuttered.

She stepped closer, until their bodies nearly touched, until her forehead brushed his chest. "I didn’t want this," she whispered. "But I feel it. Every breath. Every heartbeat. I can’t pretend I don’t need both of you anymore."

Lucas’s hands lifted, cupping her face, thumbs brushing beneath her eyes. "Then we find a way. Not just for us, but for what comes next."

"And if it breaks us?" she asked.

"Then we break gloriously."

Athena closed her eyes.

In that moment, she wasn’t a goddess.

She was a wolf caught between two stars.

And the Moon watched in silence.

Smiling.

The Hall of Stones had not hosted a full Council in generations.

Hidden deep within the mountains, carved directly into the rock itself, the circular chamber was lit by veins of glowing moonstone that pulsed faintly along the walls. Thirteen thrones surrounded a low, polished obsidian table. Each one bore the sigil of a major bloodline—claws, fangs, crescent moons, and spears etched into silver and bone.

And at the head of the circle stood Athena.

The Moon Goddess.

Dressed in deep midnight robes embroidered with silver thread, her shoulders bare—revealing the glowing marks etched by the Moon herself. Cassius on her right. Lucas on her left.

The Elders were already restless.

Murmurs hissed through the room like wind through old graves. Some of them refused to look her in the eye. Others stared openly, daring her to speak first. The high-backed throne of Elder Markus loomed over them all, the old Alpha’s fingers curled like talons over the carved arms of his seat.

He stood.

"The Moon chooses one Alpha," he said coldly. "Not two. Never three."

Athena didn’t flinch. "She did this time."

Another voice chimed in—Elder Veyla, her silver hair braided with bone charms, her eyes ancient and sharp. "This has never happened in recorded history. Two males marked by the same goddess? It is not a blessing—it is an error. A tear in order."

Lucas remained at Athena’s side, jaw tight, his energy controlled but humming beneath the surface. Cassius stood behind them, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

"It was witnessed by dozens," Athena replied, her voice steady. "It was not an error. It was divine decree."

Elder Dalun, a younger Alpha from the southern clans, leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Then how do you intend to enforce unity? Already the packs are divided. Some follow Lucas. Some still hold loyalty to Cassius. You expect us to tell our wolves they must bend the knee to both?"

Athena met his stare. "No. I expect them to bend the knee to me."

A slow, tense silence fell.

Then Elder Markus growled. "And what of your heat? You claim both males—but what happens when one mark ignites more strongly than the other? What happens when your bond becomes unstable?"

Lucas stepped forward. "We’re aware of the risks. We’ve accepted the cost."

Cassius’s voice was rough but clear. "And if you think we’ll destroy each other, you don’t know us half as well as you think."

Murmurs again. A few Elders looked shaken—others, skeptical. One or two looked intrigued.

Athena raised her hand and silence obeyed her instantly.

"Everything you fear," she said slowly, "is valid. But irrelevant. The Moon doesn’t ask for comfort or convenience. She demands obedience. She demands balance. And you forget..." she let her eyes glow, just for a breath, just enough to remind them, "I am not only a goddess. I am your Luna."

Elder Veyla hesitated. "You understand this will fracture old alliances."

"Yes," Athena said. "And forge new ones. Through me."

An Elder in the back rose—one who hadn’t spoken until now.

He was blind in one eye, his wolf long aged, but his voice carried weight. "What if we refuse this bond? What if we declare this arrangement void?"

Lucas bared his teeth, but it was Cassius who spoke first.

"Then you’ll have declared war. Not just on her—but on us."

Athena didn’t stop him.

Because it was true.

The Elders looked at one another, the old guard shifting uncomfortably beneath the weight of fate rewriting itself in front of them.

Finally, Elder Markus growled, low and bitter. "Then let the old laws fall. May the goddess bear the burden of what she’s done."

Athena’s voice rang like silver. "Gladly."

The wind on the terrace was gentle.

High above the palace, the stars had scattered across the velvet sky like spilled silver. The city slept below, unaware that a war had been delayed—not with bloodshed, but with words spoken sharp as any blade.

Athena stood at the edge of the marble railing, her back to the chamber, the full sweep of her dark hair lifted by the breeze. The two names still glowed on her shoulders beneath the sheer black fabric of her gown, not as hot as before, but alive.

Behind her, the doors creaked softly open.

She didn’t turn.

She knew their scents too well.

Lucas—storm-warm, cedar and smoke, tension masked in the quiet control of a soldier who never lets his guard fall too far. And Cassius—pine and frost, the hint of a predator always too close to snapping, yet held back now by something fragile and rare: restraint.

Neither of them spoke at first. They just stood with her, letting the silence swell.

She closed her eyes.

"We held them," she said. "For now."

Lucas moved to her left, fingertips brushing lightly against the railing. "You did more than that. You shook the pillars of their order."

Cassius came to her right, slower, quieter than usual. "And they didn’t drag us out by our throats. That’s a miracle on its own."

Athena laughed softly—a breath more than a sound. "It’s not a miracle. It’s fear. They’re not ready to face what I’m becoming."

"And what are you becoming?" Lucas asked gently.

She turned toward them at last, letting them see the exhaustion behind her eyes and the fire still simmering in her veins. "Something the Moon hasn’t dared shape before."

Cassius stepped closer, eyes on her, reading more than she said aloud. "You think they’ll try again. Another challenge. A new rebellion."

"They will," she said simply. "And we’ll face it. Together."

Lucas watched her for a long, silent moment, then reached out to cup the side of her neck, thumb resting lightly on the glowing script of his name. "When they see you with us like this... there won’t be room left for doubt. Or politics. Only instinct."

"And what is your instinct saying now?" she asked, voice softer now, almost a whisper.

Lucas’s eyes darkened. "That I need to be closer."

Cassius stepped into her space, his hand finding her hip, anchoring her between them. "And mine’s saying I shouldn’t want that as badly as I do. But I do."

Athena’s breath hitched.

The bond shimmered between the three of them—unspoken, undeniable.

Neither man reached to claim her.

Not yet.

They stood in balance: two alphas, one goddess, three hearts bound by something older than laws.

And for that moment, it was enough.