Althea – POV
He held me like I wouldn't shatter.
And I had no idea how to breathe through it.
The scent of him—dark cedar and something wild and ancient—wrapped around me like a second skin. His arms didn't cage me in. They anchored me. Not possession. Not control.
Safety.
I pulled away slowly, enough to look into his eyes.
They were like night sky and thunder.
"I'm Althea," I said, my voice quiet.
His eyes softened. "Maximus."
The name settled in my chest like a truth I hadn't realized I'd needed.
"I'm…" I started, hesitating. "I'm not who I'm supposed to be."
"You're exactly who you're supposed to be," he said, simply.
I almost cried again.
I stepped back slightly, needing space to breathe, to gather the words that had been trapped in my chest for too long.
"I had a mate once," I said quietly. "Callan Veyr. Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack."
His brows pulled together slightly, but he stayed silent.
"I was chosen during our full moon ceremony. The scent hit, and we both said it—'mate.'" I looked down. "But he rejected me… right there. For my sister. She wanted him more than she wanted a sister. And he… let her have him."
Maximus's jaw tensed, but he said nothing. Just listened.
"I accepted the rejection. I don't even know how. My wolf—Lunara—went quiet. I shifted and ran. Everything after that is a blur. I just remember the trees… and the river."
"You were nearly gone when I found you," he murmured.
I nodded.
Then I whispered, "I don't understand why the Moon Goddess would do this to me. Give me a mate who broke me… and then give me another?"
Because this one is real.
Lunara's voice echoed in my head—gentler than it had been in days. Solid. Clear.
This one is chosen with care. Not punishment. A gift.
Caelum… he's different. He's not like the first.
I stiffened slightly.
"…Caelum?" I whispered aloud.
Maximus blinked. "What?"
I looked up, startled. "Your lycan … his name is Caelum, isn't it?"
His eyes widened for the briefest moment—just enough to confirm it.
"Yes," he said softly. "He told you?"
"No," I said. "Lunara did. My wolf."
Just then, I felt her stir again—fully present now. Awake. Alive.
He's watching me, Lunara whispered in my mind. Caelum… he sees all of me. And he doesn't look away.
He says I'm… light. Even when I'm broken.
My chest caught.
He wants us, Lunara added. He already chose.
And then, like a ripple across some invisible thread, I felt another voice brush my senses—not my own.
Deep. Grounded. Ancient.
You are her heart, came Caelum's voice to me, low and calm. And she is mine.
I gasped, eyes locking with Maximus's.
"Did… did he just—?"
Maximus nodded, stepping closer.
"He speaks to you too?"
I nodded. "He said Lunara is his heart."
He exhaled like he'd been holding that breath since the river.
Then, slowly, he reached for my hand.
"I don't know what fate or the Moon Goddess is planning," he said, voice low, "but I know this: I accept the bond. You. Lunara. Everything."
The air around us seemed to shimmer, like something was settling into place.
"I will protect you," he said. "Cherish you. Fight beside you and never make you feel like you're something to be chosen second."
A tear slipped down my cheek.
"And you?" he asked, voice softer now. "Do you accept?"
Lunara's voice rang clear in my mind.
Say it, Althea. We are whole here.
I stepped closer, lifting our joined hands between us.
"I accept you, Maximus. I accept Caelum. I accept this bond."
His smile was quiet—devastating in how real it was.
And just like that… the ache in my chest changed shape.
Not gone. But no longer hollow.
I had found something.
Someone.