Rhiannan POV
I lasted thirty minutes in that fuckin' library before I was ready to torch the whole damn thing with moonfire and piss on the ashes.
I'd tried. Really. But my brain was crackling, my fingers were twitching, and every page I turned felt like another reminder that I had no idea what the hell I was doing with all this power. I needed movement. I needed release. And possibly to hit something. Hard.
"I need to train," I snapped, slamming the book shut with enough force to kick up a dust cloud.
Kaleb raised a brow. "You saying you wanna get sweaty, or you wanna fight?"
"Why not both?" I grinned, already on my feet.
The moment my boots hit the training field, I felt better.
The sun was warm. The grass was soft. The air smelled like pine, leather, and wolf musk. And Kaleb's shirt was off, so...bonus points.
Arwen strolled out behind me, sighing like a disappointed dad on vacation. "Are we fighting or flirting? I need to know how much eyeliner to sweat off."
"I'll rip that liner off your face if you don't shut up," I called sweetly, running ahead of them.
Then the hairs on my arms stood up.
Not magic.
Not the mate bond.
Instinct.
Something was off.
Too late.
A rogue wolf exploded from the trees, fangs bared, claws flashing, and slammed into my side.
I hit the dirt hard, rolling with the momentum, fury lighting my veins. "You wanna DIE today?!"
He lunged again, but I was already moving, ducking, spinning, flipping the bastard into the mud with a snarl.
But before I could finish him...
"Surprise, bitch."
Oh no. My eyes rolled at the sound of her voice.
I turned, and there she was.
Lettie fucking Silver.
The Barbie looking, wolf humping, bleach blonde reject of a soap opera side character stood with one hand on her hip, the other clutching a gleaming dagger. Her nails were perfect. Her smile was venom.
"You didn't actually think Kaleb would choose you, did you?" she cooed.
"I think he did when he came in me and bit me, yeah." I cracked my neck. "What's your damage, peroxide princess?"
Kaleb and Arwen arrived in a blur of growls and fury. Kaleb tackled the rogue wolf mid run, slamming him into the earth and snarling so loud the trees shook. Arwen had blades out before his boots hit the ground, dark magic dancing across his skin.
Lettie didn't even flinch.
Instead, she walked right the fuck up to Kaleb and slid a hand across his chest. "You don't have to settle, Alpha," she purred. "We were meant to rule together. This little lost goddess act, it's cute, but it won't last. You need someone strong. Someone with pure blood."
Kaleb shoved her hand off with a snarl. "You mean someone with a shriveled soul and delusions of relevance? Pass."
I was seeing red.
Literally.
Something inside me snapped like a live wire, magic roaring to the surface.
"You want me gone so bad, bitch?" I stepped forward, power cracking across my skin like lightning. "Say it with your chest."
"I challenge you," Lettie hissed, eyes wild. "To an official Luna duel. You can't refuse."
The rune stones lit up. The fucking cameras on Faenet activated, glowing like stage lights.
Of course they were recording. This whole goddamn mess was LIVE. Wolves from the pack formed a solemn circle as they watched the challenge unfold.
"Fine," I growled. "You wanna dance? Let's fucking dance."
We circled. I growled low in my throat. Being a wolf sure would be fucking handy right about now.
She struck first, fast, dirty, sharp, but I was faster. I parried, twisted, drove my knee into her gut, and slammed her to the ground.
She spat blood and laughed. "You'll never be one of us."
"Oh sweetheart," I whispered, voice deepening with something ancient and wrong. "I'm not one of you."
The silver exploded from my skin.
Bones shifted. Muscles ripped. Light poured out of me.
Gasps echoed.
Screams rang out.
And in the blink of an eye, I was no longer human.
A giant silver wolf, celestial, terrifying, massive, stood where I had been. My growl shook the air like thunder.
Lettie screamed and ran.
I lunged after her.
One snap. One bite. One spray of blood across the runes.
Her throat tore free like paper. Her body crumpled.
Silence.
Then..
The bond howled through me. Kaleb. Arwen. Pride. Shock. Arousal, I laughed. The perverts.
The cameras? Still rolling.
Faenet? Exploding.
And me?
I stood over her corpse, silver fur rippling, eyes glowing with stars and vengeance.
The Goddess Wolf had awoken.
And she was done being nice.
The moonlight dimmed as my body cracked and twisted, bones folding in on themselves, fur retracting, silver bleeding back into skin. I dropped to my knees, bare, trembling, breath ragged and burning in my lungs.
Lettie's blood was still on my tongue.
The crowd was roaring, wolves cheering, howling, stomping the earth like some blood-soaked halftime show.
But all I heard was static.
All I felt was empty.
I wrapped my arms around myself and stared at the ground, fingers digging into the dirt like I could claw my way out of this fucking reality. My ribs ached. My heart throbbed in my chest like it had forgotten how to beat steady.
Another death.
Another soul gone.
Was this going to be my life now? Ripping throats to survive? Killing women who were once part of this pack? Part of his past?
She was a raging bitch, sure. She came at me first. She hired a rogue to murder me. She challenged me in front of Faenet. But still…
She had a mother somewhere. Maybe even someone who loved her. I didn't know.
And I didn't get to ask.
Because I tore her apart like some goddess-forged animal and now her blood was soaking into the training field.
Applause rained down like salt in a wound.
My vision blurred.
Then came the footsteps. Two pairs. One heavy, steady. The other softer, quicker. I didn't even need to look up.
Kaleb dropped to one knee beside me first, pulling off his shirt and wrapping it gently around my shoulders, his other hand cupping the back of my neck. "Hey… breathe, baby. You're okay. You're safe."
I wasn't okay.
But I leaned into his touch anyway.
Arwen crouched on my other side, sliding an arm around my waist, his forehead pressing softly against mine. "We've got you, love. You hear me? We've got you."
I let the tears come.
Silent. Hot. Relentless.
They carved tracks down my cheeks, dripping off my chin and soaking into Kaleb's chest as he pulled me in tighter, one hand fisting in my hair like he needed to anchor me in place. Arwen kissed the side of my head, whispering some language I didn't know but felt like comfort anyway.
No one else approached.
Not with the look Kaleb shot them. Not with the fury Arwen was radiating.
They held me like I was sacred. Like I hadn't just gone full horror movie on a bitch. Like I wasn't unraveling one thread at a time.
"I didn't want to kill her," I whispered, voice hoarse. "I just… I had to."
"We know," Arwen murmured.
"She left you no choice," Kaleb growled low, protective and dangerous. "She fucking asked for it."
But I wasn't sure that mattered anymore.
I didn't know how to go back.
Didn't know if there was even a back to go to.
All I knew was the warmth of Kaleb's arms, the steadiness of Arwen's breath against my skin, and the weight of what I'd done pressing into my chest like a stone I'd never be able to put down.
The moon watched in silence overhead, and somewhere deep inside me, something ancient stirred.
The wolf had tasted blood.
The goddess had claimed her place.
And I…
I wasn't sure who I was anymore.
But I wasn't alone.
And for tonight… that would have to be enough.
I woke up to the sound of arguing.
Well...bickering, mostly. The kind that sounds like someone's about to punch someone else in the dick, but with love.
"You can't just trust her, Kaleb. She's snarky. She's rude. She has no moral code."
"Yeah? Sounds like my kinda woman."
"She's not a woman. She's a fucking AI, and last time she locked me in a freezer."
"One time!"
I groaned, flopping an arm over my eyes.
"Please tell me you're not talking about another woman."
Silence.
Then Kaleb's smirk dropped onto my neck like honey. "Technically, she's not a woman. She's my ship's AI. You're gonna love her. Her name's Sasha."
I cracked one eye open. "Sasha? What is she, a sexy Russian spy who runs diagnostics with a side of sass?"
"Basically," he grinned. "She runs my ship. And she's dying to meet you. She's been demanding I bring her 'the glowing one with rage issues and excellent tits.' Her words."
Arwen muttered something in Fae under his breath and shoved off the wall, still shirtless, still damp from the bath he'd taken in the moonlit stream. "You trust a starship AI with your life?"
Kaleb just grinned wider. "No. I trust her with yours."
"Gods save me," Arwen muttered, running a hand through his hair.
I sat up slowly, still sore in places I didn't know could ache...but glowing. Literally. The wolf mark on my ribs shimmered when the sun hit it just right, and I caught Kaleb staring again like he wanted to bite me all over.
"Okay," I said, standing and stretching with a groan. "Let's go meet this… Sasha. And then, dragons?"
Kaleb's eyes lit up like a damn Christmas tree. "Yes! Dragon territory. Their libraries are insane. They have scrolls older than dirt and rumors of seer prophecies buried under gold. If anyone's got info on the MoonBlood lineage or that freaky ass pentacle, it's them."
Arwen raised a brow. "And they're just going to let us walk in?"
"Probably not," Kaleb said cheerfully. "That's why we bring you. You're pretty and stabby."
Arwen looked vaguely offended. "I am not stabby."
"You literally stabbed a prince last week."
"He touched Rhiannan's ass without consent."
Kaleb looked at me. "Fair."
"Fair," I nodded.
"Okay, gear up, pretty boys," I said, grabbing my blades and slinging my satchel across my chest. "We're heading to dragonland, on a goddamn spaceship, with a rogue AI who has a crush on me, a moody Fae, and a wolf who just blew my back out."
Kaleb winked. "You're welcome."
Arwen sighed. "We're all going to die."
I grinned, brushing my fingers across the new wolf tattoo etched in silver below my breast. "Not today, boys."