Lord rrick’s POV
Sheena looked surprised at my shocking proposition.
"You’re asking to lie about divine revelation."
"I’m asking you to interpret divine revelation in a way that acknowledges the ambiguity already present in the original vision."
"That’s treason against the Moon Goddess."
"That’s serving the truth." I leaned forward. "You said yourself the vision was fragnted. Unclear. Open to interpretation. I’m just asking you to choose the interpretation that makes the most sense."
Sheena was quiet for a long mont.
"I can’t," she said finally. "I won’t commit such a betrayal of my sacred duty."
"Everyone wants sothing, Sheena." I kept my voice gentle, persuasive. "Na your price. What would it take for you to help ?"
"What I want," she said quietly, "you cannot give . No one can."
"Try ."
She shook her head. "It’s impossible."
"I’m very good at making impossible things happen." I smiled. "Indulge . What is it you want so badly that you believe it’s beyond reach?"
Sheena studied for a long mont, clearly debating whether to speak.
"What I’m about to tell you," she said finally, "cannot leave this room. Do you understand?"
"You have my word."
She stood, moving to stand directly in front of , her facial expression cracking just slightly.
"All my life," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "all I’ve ever wanted is to beco the Luna of the Black Wolf pack."
I stared at her, genuinely shocked.
Sheena?
The High Priestess?
Wants to be my brother’s Luna?
She stepped closer, and I saw sothing in her eyes I’d never noticed before - desperate longing.
"Can you make my wish co true?" she asked.
My mind was racing, trying to process this revelation.
"How?" I managed. "How would that even work?"
Sheena’s expression turned calculating. "I could rig the ssage. Tell Terrell that Angel belongs to you as his mate, leaving the Luna position vacant. And then..." She paused. "And then I claim it for myself."
"But the Moon Goddess - wouldn’t she intervene? Wouldn’t there be consequences?"
"I can handle the Moon Goddess."
I blinked. "You can... handle... a deity?"
"Yes."
"That doesn’t make any sense." I stood, pacing. "If you have that kind of power, why haven’t you done this years ago? Why didn’t you make yourself Luna decades ago instead of waiting?"
"Because I couldn’t do it without finding the true Luna first."
"Explain."
Sheena moved to sit on the edge of her bed, her hands folded in her lap, her expression distant.
"I’ve loved Terrell," she said quietly, "since I was young. When the Moon Goddess chose to beco this pack’s High Priestess, following in my mother’s footsteps, I thought it was a sign. A blessing. That I’d be close to him, important to him, part of his life."
She looked up at , and I saw pain in her eyes.
"I watched him for years without a Luna. Alone. Powerful and feared and respected, but alone. I consulted the Moon Goddess tirelessly, begging her to reveal his mate. But she remained silent."
"Until Angel."
"Until Angel," Sheena confird. "When the vision finally ca weeks ago, when I finally saw his mate’s face..." She laughed bitterly. "I thought my heart would shatter. Because I knew then that I’d never be his Luna. Never have what I’d wanted my entire life."
"So what changed?"
"When I t Angel for the first ti, I knew imdiately that Terrell would never accept her. She’s everything he’s never wanted - soft, human, forgiving, fat. I thought he’d reject her outright, and I’d have another chance."
Sheena stood, pacing now, her calm composure completely abandoned.
"The plan was simple," she continued. "I’d help them cut the bond. But first, I’d drink Angel’s blood and perform a ritual that would make Terrell see as his Luna instead. Make him believe the Moon Goddess had chosen all along."
"But?"
"But he saw Angel for the first ti and fell in love with her instead of rejecting her." Sheena’s hands clenched into fists. "Everything I’d planned, everything I’d hoped for... ruined because my Alpha actually wants his mate."
She turned to face directly.
"But then you appeared. You want Angel. Which makes everything simpler." Her eyes glead with sothing almost feverish. "I lie to Terrell. Tell him Angel belongs to you instead of him. Give you what you want. And in return, you protect if things go wrong. You help claim the Luna position that should have been mine all along."
I stared at her, trying to process everything I’d just heard.
Sheena - calm, composed, seemingly devoted to her sacred duties - was willing to betray her calling, manipulate divine ssages, and steal another woman’s position out of jealous love.
This is insane.
Completely insane.
"Terrell would never accept you as Luna without a mate bond," I pointed out. "You can’t fake that."
"I can create sothing close enough," Sheena said confidently. "A spell. A ritual. Sothing that mimics the bond’s effects. Combined with the authority of my position and the Moon Goddess’s ’revelation’ that Angel was never his..." She smiled. "He’d have no choice but to accept it."
"And what about Angel? At so point don’t you think she’d figure you out?"
"Don’t worry about Angel. By the ti she learns the truth about Terrell, I don’t think she’d like to stay around to play detective." Sheena moved closer. "Think about it, rrick. If we succeed here, you get Angel. I get the Luna position. Everyone wins."
"Except Terrell."
"Terrell gets a Luna who actually wants to be at his side. Who knows this pack, this life, who can rule effectively." Sheena’s voice turned pleading. "Isn’t that better than a human who’ll always see him as a monster?"
It should be.
By all logic, it should be better for everyone.
But sothing about this felt wrong. Deeply, fundantally wrong.
"I need ti to think," I said.
"The full moon is in two nights," Sheena reminded . "After that, the truth becos much harder to manipulate. Decide quickly, Lord rrick. This opportunity won’t co again."
She moved to the door, opening it - a clear dismissal.
I left, my mind spinning with possibilities and problems.
Angel could be mine.
Really, truly mine.
All I have to do is let Sheena do her thing. Then betray Terrell and steal his mate.
Condemn him to a false bond with a woman who’s manipulated divine revelation for her own gain.
The temptation was overwhelming.
But so was the wrongness of it.
I needed to make a decision.
And I had less than two days to do it.
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