Darkness. An endless, suffocating void.
I stood in the middle of nothingness, my feet touching neither ground nor air. Just... floating. Suspended in an abyss that stretched beyond my vision. The silence was overwhelming, pressing down on like an invisible weight.
Then, just as suddenly as the void had co, it changed.
A breeze swept through, carrying the crisp scent of damp earth and pine. Shadows twisted, pulling apart like threads of fabric, and suddenly, I wasn’t in the void anymore.
I was in a forest.
The ground beneath was soft with moss, dampened by the lingering touch of recent rain. Towering trees surrounded , their thick canopies letting through slivers of silver moonlight. A mist curled between the trunks, weaving around the roots like living tendrils. The air was thick with the scent of wet leaves, wood, and sothing floral I couldn’t quite place. The silence wasn’t empty anymore—it was filled with the distant chirp of crickets and the occasional rustling of animals.
I turned slowly, my breath uneven.
What is this place?
The wind shifted again, carrying with it a whisper. A voice.
"Sit."
The command wasn’t spoken loudly, but it carried weight, an unspoken authority woven into it.
I barely had ti to register the word before the air shimred, and suddenly, I was no longer standing. A chair had appeared beneath , solid and ornate, with silver carvings that glead in the dim light. In front of , a small round table stood, draped in white silk. On top of it, a delicate porcelain teapot sat alongside two teacups, steam curling lazily from their rims.
And opposite ...
Soone sat, her posture effortlessly graceful. She lifted her teacup to her lips, drinking as though we were simply two acquaintances sharing a peaceful evening.
She was breathtaking.
Her hair was as white as freshly fallen snow, falling down her back in soft, weightless waves. It seed to glow faintly, catching the moonlight in a way that made it look almost translucent. But it was her eyes that struck the most.
A deep, piercing blue—the color of the full moon on a cloudless night.
Even without being told, I knew who she was.
The Moon Goddess.
My hands curled into fists on my lap, tension locking my spine in place.
I had once wished for a mont like this. A chance to ask why. Why she had cursed . Why she had made this way—wolfless, incomplete, abandoned by the very gift she bestowed upon others so freely.
But now, all I felt was hatred.
Rage burned through like wildfire, scorching away any semblance of reverence I might have once had for her.
The goddess set her cup down gently, her expression unreadable. "Do not be so guarded. I an you no harm."
I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "No harm?" My voice trembled, whether with anger or sothing else, I wasn’t sure. "That’s hilarious, coming from you."
She tilted her head slightly, as if she didn’t quite understand my reaction.
But I wasn’t done.
"What do you want?!" I snapped, the words laced with venom.
She let out a soft sigh, her fingers trailing along the rim of her teacup before she lifted it once more.
"To warn you."
I blinked. Then I let out another laugh, harsher this ti. "Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous."
A warning? After everything she had done—or rather, everything she had refused to do?
My entire life had been a struggle. A constant fight to prove I was more than the empty shell she had made . Where had her concern been then?
I leaned forward, my hands gripping the arms of the chair. "Let guess," I said mockingly. "You’re here to tell so grand prophecy? To tell my fate is in danger? That I should listen to you and be grateful for your divine intervention?"
She simply sipped her tea, calm and unbothered, as if my words were nothing more than passing wind.
But there was sothing in her gaze. "This path you walk," she said, placing her cup down, "it will lead you to destruction."
I scoffed. "That’s what you’re warning about? Not the years of suffering you let endure? Not the fact that I’ve been tossed into a life I never asked for?
The goddess sighed, exhaling as if exhausted by , as if I were the one being unreasonable. Her delicate fingers traced the rim of her teacup. The glow of the moon reflected in her white hair, making her seem almost ethereal, almost... kind.
But I knew better.
"I have done nothing but favors for you," she said at last, her voice calm, unwavering.
A sharp, bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it. My hands curled into fists in my lap. "Favors?" My voice cracked with anger. "I was a half-shifter! A disgrace to my pack! What kind of favor was that?"
She tilted her head slightly, as if my outrage was amusing. "That was because your mother pleaded on your behalf to make you one."
I froze.
"What?" My voice barely ca out as a whisper.
The goddess lifted her cup to her lips again, taking a slow, deliberate sip.
"Why?" I demanded. My mind raced with possibilities. My mother... she had asked the goddess to make a half-shifter? That didn’t make any sense. Why would she do that?
"That," the goddess said with a small, knowing smile, "I cannot tell you."
My pulse thundered in my ears.
But I shoved those thoughts aside because there was sothing else, sothing much bigger that I had never forgiven. My voice trembled as I spat, "You took my wolf from ."
The goddess sighed again, this ti as if she were speaking to a stubborn child. "You would have been bound to the Lycan King if I hadn’t."
I blinked, confusion slicing through my anger. "What?"
"Do you wish to be bound to him?"
Her words sent a chill down my spine. What was she even saying?
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I—I would have died without my wolf!"
"But you didn’t."
My breath hitched.
My fingers clenched the fabric of my dress. "If his Majesty hadn’t been there I would have never survived it."
At that, the goddess burst into laughter. A deep-rooted, eerie sound that sent shivers crawling across my skin. The light in her eyes sharpened, almost mocking.
She was finally dropping the act.
"You think you’re special to him?" She chuckled, the sound soft and cruel. "Oh, poor pup."
A slow grin stretched across her lips, her cheeks turning the lightest shade of pink.
"He’s using you," she whispered, her voice almost... delighted. "Using you to get back at ."
I stared at her.
The words made no sense. Or maybe I just didn’t want them to.
"What." It wasn’t even a question, just a single, breathless sound.
"You can call it a lover’s quarrel," she continued with a small, almost fond smile. "I am his mate, after all."
The world tilted.
I felt like I had been punched.
She was lying. She had to be lying.
No. No, she was—
I shook my head frantically. "You don’t know what you’re saying."
She arched a delicate brow. "Don’t I?"
Her blue eyes glowed, sharp as blades. "Then ask him yourself."
I swallowed.
"Ask him," she continued, her voice deceptively sweet, "if he loves you."
I couldn’t breathe.
My chest felt tight, like sothing was squeezing the air from my lungs. "He... cares about ." The words felt weak, hollow, even to my own ears.
The goddess’s lips twitched, as if she had expected that answer.
"Is that why he’s isolated you from everyone?" she asked, voice dripping with amusent.
I stiffened.
"Is that why he killed the poor gardener just because he brought you flowers?"
My breath hitched. My body went still.
"What?" My voice cracked. "Jas..."
The goddess’s expression didn’t change. "Is it why he threatened to kill Elara if she ventures too close to you?"
A cold, numbing sensation crept up my spine.
No.
No, she was lying. She had to be lying.
I opened my mouth, but no words ca out.
My heartbeat pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else.
The goddess leaned in slightly, as if savoring my reaction. "He cares? Ha!" She laughed again, tilting her head. "Then tell , little pup—if he cared, why didn’t he free you from his tower?"
A chill ran through .
She smiled. "Why did he let take your wolf?"
I felt... sick.
My stomach twisted. My fingers trembled.
I couldn’t answer.
Because—
Because I didn’t know.
Because—
He had called that before, hadn’t he?
His toy.
I felt my heart shatter, cracks splintering through like broken glass.
Tears burned at the edges of my eyes, blurring the goddess’s form. I didn’t want to believe her.
But... what if she was right?
The goddess let out a soft, pitying hum. "Oh, poor thing."
I swallowed hard, my throat raw.
"Don’t worry," she cooed, her blue eyes twinkling with sothing unreadable. "I have an offer for you."
I barely managed to lift my gaze.
"Reject him," she whispered. "And I’ll give you back your wolf."
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