CHAPTER 155: MARKED BY THE MOON

The moon was full and impossibly bright, glowing so fiercely above the sacred stone circle that it cast no shadows—only silver.

The clearing had been sealed by runes, silent guards posted at the perimeter. Only the wind stirred, whispering secrets through the leaves. The ancient stones glowed faintly, their glyphs alive with celestial heat.

Athena stood barefoot at the center of the circle.

Her robe was sheer silver, sleeveless, her long braid brushed with moon oil and wolf ash. At her feet, a bowl of sacred herbs smoked, its scent clinging to her skin.

Tonight, she was not queen.

Not warrior.

Not goddess.

She was the vessel.

And the Moon would speak.

Lucas stood to her left, Cassius to her right. Both shirtless, kneeling, foreheads lowered in reverence. Their wolves paced just beneath their skin, restless, their energy rolling off them in waves of heat and claim.

Athena’s pulse echoed in her ears.

The priestess, old and silent, handed her the blade.

"It is time, Moon-Born," she said, eyes glowing white. "Speak the name. Make the bond. Let the Moon seal what your soul has chosen."

Athena raised the dagger.

Lucas looked up first. His golden eyes locked on hers—unmoving, unblinking.

Cassius did not look. He stayed bowed, jaw tight, chest rising and falling with sharp, controlled breaths.

She stepped forward.

The entire realm felt like it held its breath.

Her mouth parted.

"Lucas—"

The wind howled.

The ground shook.

The blade flew from her hand, yanked by unseen force. The smoke from the herbs turned black. The runes around the circle glowed brighter than stars.

The priestess stumbled back, eyes wide. "She... She speaks—!"

Athena clutched her chest.

The Moon had intervened.

Light shot down from the sky, a single beam piercing the circle. It struck Athena’s back like lightning, searing straight through her shoulder blades.

She gasped, knees buckling—

—then screamed as fire bloomed across her skin.

Two burning pulses.

One on each shoulder.

A name on the left: Lucas.

A name on the right: Cassius.

Not written by ink.

Not carved by blade.

But branded by divine will, shining with lunar silver and dripping with ancient magic.

The men looked up in horror—and awe.

Cassius whispered, "No..."

Lucas stood. "Athena—"

But she had fallen to her knees, chest heaving, glowing marks still fresh on her body.

The priestess fell to her knees next.

"She did not choose... They chose her," she breathed. "The Moon has spoken."

Athena’s voice was hoarse. "I didn’t— I didn’t choose both."

Lucas dropped to his knees before her. "But you carry us both."

Cassius approached slowly. His eyes were wild with emotion.

"This isn’t fate," he said bitterly. "This is punishment."

"No," Athena said softly, reaching out, fingers brushing both of theirs. "This is something older than fate."

They looked down at the marks on her.

Their names.

Claimed by the Moon.

Not rivals.

Not chosen.

Shared.

Not in the way of men.

But in the way of wolves.

Of gods.

Of something deeper.

They knelt together beside her in the circle, the light fading back into the stars.

And for one breathless moment, Athena felt it:

Not division.

Unity.

Three pieces of one soul.

One storm.

One fire.

One Moon.

The temple had long emptied, the ritual circle now cold and bare, but within Athena’s private quarters—deep in the heart of the palace—the true confrontation began.

The chamber was dim, lit only by moonfire lanterns flickering along the curved marble walls, casting their silvery glow across her skin as she stood facing the open balcony.

The breeze from the high cliffs rushed through, carrying with it the scent of wild jasmine and salt, and somewhere below, the wolves howled—perhaps in celebration, perhaps in confusion. Athena didn’t know, didn’t care. The marks burned on her shoulders, still pulsing softly beneath the delicate fabric of her robe, the names carved by the Moon’s will not fading, not dimming, but shining brighter with every breath she took.

Behind her, the two men entered together.

They did not speak at first. Their footsteps echoed evenly—Lucas with his steady calm, the kind of silence honed by discipline and buried rage, and Cassius with a barely contained storm in every stride, like each step was a challenge to the very earth beneath him.

Athena did not turn to greet them.

She didn’t have to.

She could feel them.

They were like twin stars on either side of her—equally blinding, equally dangerous.

"You knew this could happen," Cassius said first, his voice low, sharp around the edges, but not cruel. "You felt it before the ritual. That it wouldn’t let you choose."

Athena’s shoulders tensed, but she kept her gaze fixed on the moon beyond the balcony.

"I felt the pull," she admitted, each word heavy. "But I thought it was indecision. Not prophecy. Not...this."

Lucas moved closer but stopped just behind her, his presence warm and grounding. "This isn’t something we can ignore," he said, his tone quieter, more controlled. "The Moon didn’t just bind us to you. She bound us to each other."

Cassius scoffed softly. "And how do you suggest we live with that? Do you expect us to play nicely? To take turns?"

"That’s not what this is," Athena snapped, finally turning to face them. Her voice rose—not with anger, but with the unbearable weight of truth. "This isn’t about sharing a bed or battling for territory. This is divine. The Moon chose you both, not for pleasure or power, but for balance. For war. For what’s coming."

Lucas met her gaze without flinching. "Then what are we supposed to be to each other? Brothers? Bondmates? Enemies forced to kneel side by side?"

Cassius paced, hands in his hair. "Do you have any idea what this will mean to the packs? To the Elders? To the gods still hiding behind their temples?" He stopped abruptly, eyes locked on hers. "We were supposed to be your mates. Not each other’s chains."

Athena stepped forward, slowly, until she stood between them.

Her eyes flicked from one to the other, burning gold with the fire of the Moon. "You are not chains. You are keys. Together, you anchor what I am becoming. You hold the halves of me that would tear this world in two if left unchecked."

Lucas looked away, jaw tightening. "You think the world will accept this?"

"No," she said. "I think the world will fight it."

Cassius chuckled bitterly. "Then we’ll be at war with them too."